Page 64 of Blood Pack Beginning

Pierrot shrugged. “I don’t know but find it interesting. Why have the entrance unbarred for that length of time with the cameras turned off?”

“To hide their actions. Duh.” Diego drawled. “And I think we’ve done enough yapping about it. It’s time we went for a look-see.”

Four-legged style.

It took but a moment to strip and then shift, the intense pain nothing new and quickly forgotten with the euphoria of becoming his beast. Diego shook his fur out and held in an urge to howl. A glance at Cyrus showed him in wolf shape, nose to theground, already sifting the many scents. This form allowed them greater ability to identify the various odors, such as the lingering exhaust from a diesel-powered vehicle, a surprising thing, seeing as how he didn’t recall anyone owning any.

The vampires split, one to the left, the other right, seeking their own path. Diego, however, stuck to the road. After all, a wolf wandering wouldn’t be an unusual sight. Cyrus trotted by his side.

It was a quarter-mile down the tree-lined road before they came across the first of the houses. Windows dark, as to be expected at this time of night, but the first hint of something amiss came in the form of a front door partially ajar.

Diego swiveled his head and made a soft noise to draw Cyrus’ attention. While he wandered in for a sniff and see, Cyrus kept watch.

The house, belonging to a young family with their first baby, appeared tidy—at least by normal parental standards. Some toys on the floor. The smell of baby spit-up on a blanket lain over a chair’s armrest. He nosed through all the rooms and caught only the four expected scents—male, male, female, infant. No signs of foul play, other than the fact the family appeared gone.

Gone without the purse on the side table in the front hall or the car keys sitting beside it.

He exited and shook his head at Cyrus.

The golden-hued wolf stared at him for a second before bolting for the next house, the door shut tight against intrusion but it had a latch handle and a smart wolf knew how to use its paw to press it. Cyrus’ turn to pop inside and emerge looking agitated. By the time they’d managed entry into five homes, all empty, it was becoming clear something had happened.

Where was everyone?

There appeared to be no signs of a struggle in any of the homes. Old, young, middle-aged. It was as if the entire pack had disappeared.

Time for a powwow.

They found the vampires in the center of the compound conversing by a bench. As they neared, Pierrot glanced at them and said, “Everyone is gone.”

Diego shifted, uncaring of his nudity to blurt out, “That can’t be possible.”

“Tell that to the empty homes.” Pierrot waved a hand. “Even that of your pack leader is vacant. Cars in the driveways. Purses, wallets, and phones left behind. In the home of a family with an infant, the diaper bag was sitting by the door.”

“That’s what we found, too,” an equally naked Cyrus revealed. “At least there were no dead bodies, like back in Moon Dew.”

“Seems they were removed en masse and most likely not voluntarily.”

A damning observation that had Diego clenching his fists. “Monty took them.”

“Most likely he is involved somehow, although I have no idea how. Like I said before, Monty isn’t a strong vampire. Even if every one of the Lycans here was previously touched by Roderick, he’d still struggle to get them to obey. In any case, the bigger question is, where are they?” Pierrot pointed out.

“I’d also like to know the why,” Cyrus interjected, his brow creased.

“Not for anything good, I fear,” Pierrot’s ominous conclusion.

“No shit. Whoever took them obviously wanted them for some purpose, else they would have killed them,” Cyrus retorted.

“We must tell Thaddeus at once. This many Lycans going missing along with our traitor is the worst kind of news.”

It chilled Diego to the bone to think a few dozen Lycans might be whammied into fighting for the wrong side or, worse, turned into savage ghouls. Clearly, Thaddeus, Nathan, and both councils had underestimated the problem. It didn’t matter that supposedly Roderick was dead. They had no idea how far his reach had extended before his death or, hell, if there was another who’d managed to replicate Roderick’s abilities to mesmerize Lycans.

“We have to find them,” Diego exclaimed.

“Agreed. Alas, I haven’t the slightest idea where to start looking.” Pierrot’s lips turned down. “And I fear we don’t have much time.”

Make that none at all.

Upon calling Thaddeus with their findings, their new alpha had grim news to impart.

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