Page 36 of Conner's Luna

Uncle Devel nods. "We checked out the possibility, but she's a wolf with no known connection to human or witch family. They seem to be targeting she-wolves."

A chill runs down my spine at the implication and my wolf howls, paces, spits, and snarls furiously as if the ones who did this were standing in front of him. I hold back the rage as my fingers twitch with the urge to call Bailey and check on her again.

They won't take her, she's human, I remind my wolf. He doesn't settle, and with a jolt of awareness I realize that Bailey is safe, butLydiaisn't. Motherfucker.

I look back at the bodies, "were they experimented on?" I whisper.

"We think so," Alpha Alex says grimly. "Four of these girls were killed around the same time. The three humans and one she-wolf. We think they were purchased as a group and the humans were disposed of as soon as they were determined to not be shifters. The she-wolf they experimented on, first. Her corpse is at least a month younger. Then, they got another she-wolf from the brothel."

"Purchased her separately and now the fuckingpendejosare abducting she-wolves," Nico rasps out.

"We need you in on this investigation," Uncle Alex says to Sarj, Sean, and me. "Keep it close, but you're already entrenched at State. Report any information back to me, but be careful. Experimentation suggests that this is a group, not a lone individual. We don't want them to know that we are onto them."

I nod, staring at the body of Jolena with ice chilling my heart. "The RedMoon?" I mutter.

"I will handle all communication with them," Uncle Alex says grimly.

"Xander-" Dad starts to argue with our alpha.

Uncle Alex shakes his head, "no. Let me handle this. Tony's never liked me, but fuck him."

"Homophobe," Dad mutters. He gnashes his teeth, glaring at the corpses as if the full force of his will can turn back the clock and save them.

"Exactly. I want to pressure him for answers. Jolena was abducted from his territory and if she had approached us for a pack, then she most likely went to RedMoon, too." A hard light enters Alpha Alex's eyes, "Conner, stay alert. The situation may change at any time."

I blow out my breath, but nod in agreement. Mates are everything to a wolf, but the threat to our species trumps even my battle with Trey over Lydia.

---

The three of us are quiet as we start our drive back to campus. Sarj looks emotionless, keeping his thoughts and feelings locked up tight as usual. Sean looks pissed and worried. He's in the backseat when he typically claims first driving privileges, and he's twirling his phone in his hands. I think he's texting Georgina, but judging by the number of times he's checking his screen, she's not answering him.

"Dad said the pack is on lockdown," I tell him. "None of the younger shifters are allowed to go on runs alone and they all have to stay within the territory."

"There's a curfew, too," Sarj murmurs.

"What are you thinking?" I ask him. Sarj is training to be a gamma. Although he didn't say anything at the warehouse, I know my friend was observing, thinking,calculating.

"Are they targeting only females, or were those girls just soft targets?" he asks.

"The females from the brothel are," Sean points out.

"Dad said that Jolena was vulnerable, but that's still risky," I add. "Eventually, she would be missed."

Sarj nods, gazing into the night as he drives. "Still..." he murmurs. "I don't think we can assume they just want females."

I pause. I didn't think about it that way. It changes things, doesn't it? I didn't think about any danger toward us. "So we all stick to the same rules that Dad and Uncle Alex instituted in the pack. We stick together, always in at least pairs, keep eyes on all our wolves." I clear my throat, "and on Lydia and, ah, Bailey."

"You think Bailey is in danger?" Sean asks me, frowning at me. "If she is, it's only because she's always around us," he points out.

I scowl right back at him. "If we avoid her, then we let her go back to being bullied."

"We can't ignore her," Sarj muses in a low voice. "It's too late. Jolena was abducted six weeks ago. We have to assume that whoever took her has been watching campus for at least that long."

My fingers clench into fists. "Uncle Dev didn't know who the assholes could be."

"He's in anti-trafficking," Sarj points out with a scowl. "This is different. Unexpected."

"Someone knows about us," I say into the quiet interior. "We need to be active about this."

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