Page 84 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

"Don't ever scare us like that again," Killian growled.

"Hey, it wasn't her fault," a familiar female said as she climbed down from the truck.

My body tensed as I stared at Sierra. Her sandy-blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her gray eyes scanned me. She was a few inches shorter than me, but her big personality compensated for it.

"Wait...I thought you were alone." I didn't like the fact that Killian had brought someone with him. I got that Sierra had been his late sister's best friend, but the fewer people who knew about me and my pack, the safer we all would be. I scowled at Griffin, wondering why he hadn't told me this little fact.

"Hey, I didn't know." He lifted both hands. "When I tore out of the coffee shop, Killian was alone."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude, but when I heard about you being taken, I told Killian I wanted to help." Sierra put her hands in her pockets. "There have been so many attacks. The other day, my sister got injured in one of the outbreaks, and Killian told me about your pack being killed." She paused as her jaw clenched. "It's got to stop. The unrest is spreading farther and farther."

"I promise she's trustworthy—and worst case, I can command her not to share." Killian placed a hand on his heart. "I wouldn't have brought her here if I doubted she was trustworthy."

"Okay." It wasn't like I'd planned on shifting to my animal form anyway. I needed to stay human as much as possible so there weren't any other accidental sightings.

"Besides, I thought you might need a friend who doesn't have a penis." She pointed at Griffin and Killian. "Because even though they try to be good guys, they're kinda assholes."

I laughed, surprising myself. "We all have our moments." Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing for her to be here. If she could make me laugh like that, she could be a godsend.

"True that." She lifted a hand, but there was sadness in her eyes. "So what's the plan?"

That was the real question. "We need to find clues. Anything that might lead us to whoever killed my pack and attacked me in Shadow Ridge. The problem is someone came here and cleaned up the bodies."

"Which means they were making sure they didn't leave anything behind." Killian pursed his lips. "That means it's someone organized."

"Yes, but we already knew that," Griffin sighed, "between the attack outside our houses and them taking her from the coffee shop."

We could stand out here and speculate all day. "Our best bet is to look for answers. They have to be here somewhere." I hated to suggest it, but the first place to look would be the last place I wanted to go. "Let's start at my house. After all, my father was the alpha, and he had a study. A few days before we were attacked, he was going in there and locking the door a lot." I couldn’t believe that it had taken me until now to remember that little fact.

"I agree." Sierra waved to the vehicles. "That's the place to start. Let's go."

We got into the vehicles and Killian followed Griffin to the house. As we drove past the neighborhood houses, my pain somehow increased. And the closer we got to my house, the more hurt coursed through me. I didn’t know what kind of state I’d be when we arrived back at home.

House after house looked untouched. The only sign that no one was around was the overgrown grass that now covered the yards. Soon, the turn to the back of the neighborhood and my house appeared. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe again when we pulled into my driveway and got out.

I made my way to the side of the house where the air conditioner unit sat. I bent and picked up the key that was hidden under the rocks surrounding the unit. As I straightened, a branch snapped not ten feet away.

CHAPTER FOUR

I spun around,searching for the source of the noise. My heart pounded so hard my ears rang, and I sniffed, searching for any scents outside the norm.

Nothing.

Needing to make sure, I slowly walked to the tree line…and a faint scent of musk tickled my nose. However, it wasn't strong enough for someone to have been there moments ago. This scent was a few days old, probably from whoever had cleaned up the pack neighborhood. A squirrel or something must have run by and caused the disturbance.

Is something wrong?Griffin asked as he made his way toward me, following my gaze into the woods.

That was a tricky question, even though he hadn't meant for it to be.I heard a branch snap, but it must have been an animal.I forced myself to turn back to the house that I dreaded entering. I was tempted to say we needed to scout out the area more, but that would only prolong the inevitable. Searching the house was the best bet for finding clues or, at least, something that could point us in the right direction.

Putting one foot in front of the other, I made it to the sturdy, red chestnut door of my childhood home, but the door wasalready slightly ajar. I pushed the door open the rest of the way, trying not to freeze. If I paused, there was no telling when I'd finally get going again.

The living room looked the same as it had that morning when I'd left to walk to the river. The beige, cloth couch sat against the tan wall with Dad's brown, leather recliner in the corner. The news flickered on the television with the sound muted, and the remote control sat on the arm of the recliner. That was where Dad always sat.

Sadness tugged on my heart, but I pushed it away. If I started crying now, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever stop.

I entered the house, stepping onto the dark walnut floor. The scent of lavender—Mom's favorite fragrance—overwhelmed me.

My throat went dry as I held back the tears burning my eyes. I didn't want to break down in front of everyone.

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