Page 25 of Secrets and Ruin

“This is bad,” Shamus said, using a rag to wet Teagan’s forehead as if he had a fever.

“We tried everything we could think of. Ice and water, noise… I hit Carlos, and he didn’t react at all. I have no idea, Pa.”

I looked around, seeing that no one else was around. Carey wasn’t in the room, neither were the boys or either of Shamus’s children. None of the pack was. I focused on my territory and in less than a second, knew where everyone was. At Kick Shot, probably getting something to eat to be out of Heath’s way.

“That’s not good,” Heath said softly, opening one of Carlos’s eyes. “Ranger should be back soon. He can do some medical—”

“Wow, I am stupid,” I muttered, walking out of the room to grab our first-aid kit. I put it in the living room on the coffee table, then held up a hand at everyone. “Hold on.” I went upstairs to my closet and found a very old bag I kept for sentimental reasons, with all my stuff from when I was an EMT and even before that, on my way to becoming a doctor. All of that was so long ago, but I hoped I could still make my way around it.

I checked each werewolf, seeing they did have reactive pupils, even if the light didn’t wake them. Their blood pressures were all acceptable, and none of them was running a fever. They showed no signs of any illness or side effects from whatever was done to them.

“They’re healthy,” I declared, looking up to see Ranger had arrived but hadn’t stepped in to help me. “Sorry. I… don’t do this much anymore. I forgot I even had this thing.” I lifted my old bag to show them and held it out to Ranger. “If you need it….”

“You can just leave it somewhere so I can find it later,” Ranger said, sitting down on the couch. “So, we’re missing Fenris?”

“He hasn’t been in the condo all weekend if my nose is right,” Landon said quietly, staring at the sleeping werewolves.

“I got the same impression,” I confirmed.

“We should call Dirk back.” Shamus sat down on my loveseat, his elbows on his knees as he studied the werewolves we were all worried about. “He could look over stuff. He’s smart enough to hack things, yeah?”

“If we call him back, we’re dealing with bigger problems. He’s probably safest with Niko,” Heath said, shaking his head.

“Is he?” Landon asked with a soft growl. “Don’t you remember what Zuri said about Fenris’s scars?”

I leaned back, sitting on the floor as I looked up at Landon, remembering the exact moment he was talking about.

“That Niko is the one who scarred him? That?” Frowning, I realized what Landon wanted to say. “Do you think Fenris did this? To Teagan? To Jenny and Carlos?”

“That’s the idea you said you didn’t like, isn’t it?” Heath looked over his son.

Landon started to pace, growling softly as if he couldn’t contain it.

“Yeah, it is,” he finally agreed, turning to look out my windows. “The entire thing… It took intimate knowledge of Teagan’s security in the condo, how we stay in contact, and how we make sure everyone is safe without needing to breathe down their necks. We only started using that one app after Arlo was taken by that werecat, so they didn’t have their phones on them. It wouldn’t have been hard to ask everyone to keep their phones away from dinner under the idea that Fenris wanted to cut off the technology for the evening. He’s like a lot of old supernaturals. Sometimes, they need a break from the fast-paced world on their phones.” Landon put a hand on the glass. “Paint over the cameras… turned off the security’s auto functions. Teagan would have taught him to use it while he stayed there with him, or he would have picked it up. Seen Teagan use the code, something….”

“But this is Fenris we’re talking about. That man can’t plan what he wants for lunch,” Shamus said, disbelieving. “He’s too chaotic. He makes snap decisions, not masterminds an idea over weeks or months. He’s the textbook definition of a werewolf ruled by instinct and emotion.”

“That’s why I hate it,” Landon snapped, turning on us. “I told you, Pa. It’s too smart. It feels… professional. If he could pull it off….”

“It means we have fallen for the greatest act of all time, and not once would he have lied to give himself away,” Heath finished for his son. “It’s well beyond what we know of Fenris, and I’ve known him for some time.”

“I have no real evidence. It’s all circumstantial. This is something others could have learned, but he’s convenient. Maybe I’m just looking to blame him, or he’s being framed. We’ve dealt with that before.”

“As it stands, he’s a member of this pack, and he’s missing. We have three werewolves unconscious, and it must be magical. We need to figure out how to help them.” Heath shook his head. “I won’t blame Fenris until I have real evidence.”

“What about Dirk?” Landon asked.

“I’ll call him and ask him to stay with Niko,” I said, standing up. “He went to visit old friends in Berlin over the weekend, right? If he’s not there, I’ll tell him to get into Niko’s territory as quickly as he can since the pack has been attacked. Whether it was Fenris or someone looking to grab Fenris for other reasons, the pack was attacked, and Niko is the safest person I can send him to.” I pulled out my phone, walking away to make the call.

“Is he?” Landon asked again.

I looked over my shoulder at him, seeing the desperate expression of a man in love.

“He has to be.” It was all I could say. I hit call and waited. Behind me, the others tried to figure out how to wake up Teagan, Jenny, and Carlos while Landon paced, drawing ever closer to me.

My call went to voicemail, and I felt the sensation of my stomach dropping just as I had when no one picked up earlier. I tried again, stepping further away from the werewolves. Dirk still didn’t answer.

I tried Niko next, wondering if he could find Dirk for me.

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