Page 61 of Blood Pack Beginning

“There’s Sasha’s car,” Pierrot murmured as he parked beside it.

The parking lot and the motel strip showed no sign of life at this late hour. Windows were dark, and no one wandered around outside as they piled out of the SUV. The room number Amir had texted showed the drapes pulled tight and no lights inside. Odd, because it seemed unlikely they’d be sleeping, especially since Amir most likely flagellated himself for his brother’s actions. Omar did so like digging himself holes, which he then expected Amir to fill.

As they stretched from sitting so long, Diego nudged Cyrus. “Think the big guy finally got laid?”

Cyrus sure hoped so. Getting involved with Sasha, or any woman for that matter, might be just what Amir needed to finally tell his fuckup of a brother to deal with his own self-induced shit. Wild how Lorelei and Amir could be so responsible in direct contrast to Omar.

While Cyrus and Diego headed for the door, Pierrot and Anabel appeared to be scenting the air. It took Cyrus but a millisecond to figure out what caught their attention. He smelled Lycan, and it wasn’t Amir—or Omar, for that matter.

Diego reached the door and knocked, only to frown as his light tap swung it open. “It’s not latched,” he stated, stupidly stepping inside before checking for danger.

Cyrus rushed to join him, crossing the threshold, ready to fight. Only, there was no threat.

“Place is empty,” Diego stated.

A light switch by the door illuminated the pair of lamps on the nightstands. The bed, while slightly mussed, held no one—but did smell of sex. The room also reeked of blood. Diego darted past a large wet spot on the carpet for the bathroom and flicked on a light. “No one in here but the shower is wet.”

“There’s blood on the floor, and the room smells of Lycan,” Cyrus murmured. “Several of them.”

“By my count, six wolves I don’t recognize, and Monty,” Pierrot declared as he entered.

It led to Diego frowning. “Seven against two, but I’m not seeing any real signs of struggle.”

“Tell that to the blood in the carpet,” Cyrus drawled.

“You think they killed Sasha and Amir?” Diego asked with clear concern.

“I think we’d know if she died.”

Pierrot bent over and plucked something from the carpet. He held up a dart. “I’m thinking they didn’t have a real chance to fight because they were drugged.”

“Drugged so that Monty could take them, which leads me to wonder how he knew where to find them,” Cyrus murmured. His gaze narrowed on Pierrot. “Only a handful of people knew they’d be here.”

Pierrot lifted his hands. “Sheath your claws, wolf. It wasn’t any of us. Let me see if Anabel is back.”

“Back from where?” a suspicious Diego asked.

“Questioning the clerk who checked them in.”

It didn’t take long for Anabel to return with grim news. “The human working the motel desk tattled on Sasha and Amir’s presence. He had a simple geas placed on him that required him to report to someone called Felix anytime a guest checked in or had visitors after dark.”

“Felix, as in Xander’s right-hand man?” Diego exclaimed with wide eyes.

“Doubt there’s another, and the whole after-dark thing implies they were specifically keeping an eye out for vampires,” Cyrus surmised.

“Our traitor was worried we’d track him down,” Pierrot grumbled.

“But why take Sasha and Amir instead of killing them?”

“I don’t know, but I doubt it bodes well,” Anabel grimly pronounced.

“Do you think they were brought to the compound?” Diego asked.

“I don’t know.” Pierrot scrubbed a hand through his hair. “How far from here is it?”

“Couple minutes by car. But I can tell you right now, the gates will be locked for the night.”

“As if we’d be knocking,” Pierrot scoffed.

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