Page 80 of Conner's Luna

"You're going right now?" Velia hisses at me.

"I won't get far trying to sneak into a house of witches and wolves when they're in the house, will I?" I point out reasonably. I nod to Braxton as he sets down the keg.

"You're going to get them drunk then sneak in," Velia says flatly.

I hate the worry and guilt in her eyes. "I am," I tell her firmly. "You need to watch my girl for me."

Velia gives me a tight nod. She knows what's at stake, especially if the LaNu's think ClearHowl is involved. It doesn't make sense. We've worked with the organization before. Our allied packs have, too. So what happened?

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The off-limits hallway is easy to find. It's also spelled with a pretty nasty alarm. My wolf stares at the innocuous white door as we try to determine if our plan to get inside will work. I took the sheets off of one of the beds upstairs. They smell tart, like lemons and flowers. I hate it, but it can't be helped.

Wrapping myself up like a little kid paying ghost, I turn the knob and step through the spell, wincing at the magic lashing my skin. It's not often I've had to tangle with spells, but Carmichael has. He told me it feels as if you're fighting an invisible enemy. He's not a fan.

Neither am I. The magic sucks at the sheet as if it's being tugged on by hands that aren't there. I feel disoriented for a moment as I stumble through, my wolf snarling, lip curled back.

The magic sneaks through the sheet. I can feel it curl over my bare skin of my left forearm. I freeze, ready to abandon this and try another way when it abruptly vanishes.

I wait, holding my breath. It all took four steps and fifteen seconds, but I'm drenched in sweat. When nothing happens I leave the sheet behind and walk silently down the hall. When I'm only ten feet away from the door I pick up Ariana's scent.

Holy fuck. She's really here. When I open her door, I'm prepared to face off with a terrified, possibly angry, she-wolf. What I don't expect is to see Ariana fast asleep, surrounded by tissues, with tear-tracks on her cheeks.

In her hands is a picture of her pup. Aw shit.

She wakes up when I cover her mouth with my hand. Sheer terror fills her eyes as she stares up at me, thrashing until it registers that she has no chance of escaping me.

I remove my hand slowly, "hello, Ariana."

"Conner Grim," she says faintly.

I smile bitterly. "Your family is in my packlands, Ariana," I cut right to the chase. Her face pales in the dark moonlight shining through the window. "Why do you think my pack is involved in the recent abductions?"

Ariana sits up, her eyes wary, but she doesn't protest, doesn't even try to argue. As she slowly grabs her laptop from the table in the corner, my wolf and I analyze everything we can about her.

She's omega. Not a born, not like Uncle Mattie and Auntie Cassie. She's been turned, most likely from her mate abandoning her. Maybe she's had worse done to her. It's why she isn't fighting me. Her wolf went belly-up to the alpha presence in a heartbeat.

She shows me a folder on her laptop. I click it, impatient. It's emails, all from my Uncle Alex's office. Invitations to join ClearHowl.

"What the fuck is this?" I ask her in a low voice.

With a trembling lower lip she murmurs, "Alpha Alexander reached out to me two years ago. I... um... he found out that I was MateLess and your pack always issues invites. I didn't really pay attention, but they kept coming and then..." she inhaled slowly. "I have... had... a friend, Kayla, and she was MateLess, too. It's why we were friends. She was... she was a lone wolf and rejected by her mate, like me. She was invited to join ClearHowl. She..." Ariana starts to cry. I hand her a box of tissues and she wipes her eyes and starts to talk again. "She was going to ClearHowl. I helped herpack! But... she disappeared. I never... she just vanished and no one would help me find her."

"When did this happen?" I ask her.

"Nine months ago," Ariana whispers.

I forward the folder to my email, then ask her, "do you have a picture of Kayla?"

Ariana nods and shows me another folder. This one has pictures of Kayla and a few other documents. She's been investigating, probably all on her own.

Shit. Carmichael and Rique are going to be furious with me. Oh, well.

"Ariana, please know that ClearHowl doesn't harm females," I say to her, gently. Her eyes widen on me, but it's too late. My fingers press into her neck, my wolf snapping his canines at her quivering omega she-wolf. "Come with me. Do not try to run from me. Don't argue or shout out," I give her the Alpha Order as my wolf postures dominance to her.

Obediently, Ariana stands and follows me. I grab her laptop and the picture of her pup. I feel like an ass, abducting a scared omega like this, but at the same time, a tiny thrill runs through me. She is obeying an alpha-order. Something that, only a few weeks ago, I wasn't capable of.

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