Page 85 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

I had to be strong.

Sierra stepped beside me. "This is kind of creepy."

That was one way of putting it. "It feels like they should be somewhere in the house." I tried to keep the emotion from my voice, but it leaked through, so I pushed forward through the room and toward the hallway.

The three of them followed me, and I paused at the large eat-in kitchen on the right. All of the maple cabinets were closed—which was the norm—but the large empty pot on the black stove and a sink full of washed-off dishes made it clear that something was wrong. Mom hated a cluttered kitchen and always told me that the trick was cleaning as you cooked.

Just another reminder that they were truly gone.

"What time of day did they attack?" Griffin asked as he took my hand.

"Midday on the new moon." I noted that two of the chairs at the round table were pulled out; probably due to Mom and Dad sitting down with their coffee.When we are at our weakest,Ilinked with Griffin. I got that Killian trusted Sierra, but I didn't yet. Trust had to be earned at this point.

"New moon?" Sierra parroted. "I guess that's one way of remembering the date."

I wasn't going to touch that comment. Anything I could've added would have exposed me further.

Killian cleared his throat. "So, where should we begin looking?"

"Why don't you and Sierra search the woods and see if they left something behind or, at least, find what they did with the de—" I couldn't finish the sentence. I wanted to know where the pack was buried…or if they even were.

Sierra grimaced. "Yes, we can do that."

She understood my meaning, which relieved me. I didn't have to say it after all.

Needing to change the direction of the conversation, I said, "Griffin and I can search here." I wanted to be the one who went through Dad's stuff—there was no telling what I might find.

"Are you sure?" Killian asked. "We can help—"

"No, I need to do this." I had to. Depending on what I found, I might need to process it a little while on my own.

"You heard her." Griffin stood behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "If you guys need anything, we're only a phone call away."

"That sounds like a plan." Sierra saluted. "We can circle deeper in the woods and see what we find. They had to leave something behind."

"Let's hope so." I needed answers.

The two of them headed to the door as Killian called out, "We'll be back soon."

When the front door closed again, I spun around, placing my head on Griffin's shoulder. I needed a moment to brace myself for what came next. It was hard enough being in the house, butgoing into Dad's study and my parents’ room would make things even worse.

I'll be right here with you the entire way.Griffin pressed a kiss to my forehead.We can take as long as you need.

But the longer I put it off, the harder this would be.No, let's get moving before Sierra gets back.I headed back down the hallway, straight to my room on the left. I wanted to look in there and make sure nothing had been left behind by the hunters.

Going through my own room shouldn't be as hard as the others, so it made sense to start there.

I stepped inside, and the scent of unfamiliar shifters hit my nose. I hadn't smelled anyone until this room, which meant they’d spent a lot of time in it. The silver walls of my room felt as though they were mocking me—like I'd tempted fate by matching them to my hair.

The collage of me and the pack was missing, and the teal sheets of my bed were crumpled. Mom had been a drill sergeant when it came to cleanliness, so it was another sign that people had gone through the house.

"This is your room?" Griffin asked, as he stepped in behind me.

"Yeah. It was." It didn't feel like home anymore. There were too many horrible memories for that...at least, for now. "Our pack has lived in this town ever since we left Shadow City."

"Why did the silver wolves leave Shadow City?" Griffin asked as he walked to my small bookshelf, scanning the titles of the classics that I loved to read.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Dad and I had assumed we had so much more time for him to teach me things. "I know we were in danger there, but I have no clue why, or from who."

---