Missing

Max

“Alpha Maximus, will you be joining today’s Council meeting?” my Beta, Ryan, asked as he cautiously stepped into my office.

“No, send them my apologies. Or tell them to fuck themselves. I don’t really care,” I replied, running my hand through my greasy hair.

I hadn’t showered in days, and by the way Ryan wrinkled his nose when he walked in, it was clear he had picked up on that.

“Alpha, you’re doing everything you can, but you need to take care of yourself. Why don’t you take a break and—”

“Don’t.” I held up my hand and narrowed my eyes. “Just don’t say another fucking word.”

He nodded nervously and backed out of the room.

I had no control over my emotions in this frame of mind. I’d already fired one of my advisors for suggesting that I postpone the search, and I wanted to spare Ryan the same fate.

My sister was out there somewhere, missing, and I’d do whatever I could to bring her back home.

I wouldn’t let up for even a second.

It was Matthias or that witch who had taken her, I was sure of it, and there was no telling what they would do.

Bambi had been fucking right about them, just like she’d been right about everything.

The Council was moving too slow, not taking action, and Matthias had seized an opportunity.

And now she was in his grasp…

If that bastard touched one hair on her head, I’d rip his fucking throat out with my teeth.

I’d sent soldiers all up and down the East Coast, but there was no sign of Matthias, Devina, nor had there been any other attacks or kidnappings.

I knew he wasn’t based here, but he could’ve been anywhere.

I just needed a lead, some sort of clue, but I had nothing.

I slammed my fists down on my desk, howling with fury, sending papers scattering everywhere.

I furrowed my brow as I noticed that dozens of the documents I’d knocked to the ground had a picture of the same person, a young girl.

The word “Missing” was written in bold across the top.

I bent down and picked one up to examine it more closely.

I’d seen this girl before…

She’d been on the news, kidnapped just a few days before Bambi.

Bambi must’ve printed these flyers to hang up around town. I had to smile. She really wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing.

I remembered there was something strange about this girl’s disappearance. I’d dismissed it at the time, but the claw marks and the lack of relatives raised a red flag.

Werewolves who moved to cities congested with humans often did so discreetly, to avoid drawing attention to their origins.

Perhaps this girl, Jimmy, had some connection to what had happened to Bambi…

Two she-wolves kidnapped in the span of a few days… It was a long shot, but it was all I had to go on.

I grabbed my coat and keys and headed for the door.

***

It was night by the time I’d reached the city. Jimmy’s apartment appeared to be low-income housing for students. The building was practically falling apart.

I’d gotten her address from the news station by claiming I was a relative with information, and it led me here.

There was peeling police caution tape across the doorframe.

I jiggled the doorknob, but the door was locked.

A little maneuvering with my claw and it clicked right open, although the door was so busted I probably could’ve blown it down.

Her room was dormitory style, though it seemed she lived alone. There was hardly any furniture aside from the essentials.

Just as the news had described, there were claw marks everywhere. Definitely the marks of a werewolf. Maybe more than one…

I searched the room top to bottom, but there was little of interest—some cookbooks, clothing, school supplies.

I grabbed a weathered-looking backpack and turned it upside down, shaking it.

Several notebooks and pencils fell out, but one thing caught my eye—an envelope, with what appeared to be a pack insignia.

I opened the envelope and pulled out a letter written on stationery for a company called United Armory. The postal date was from months ago.

DEAR JIMMY,

I HOPE ALL IS GOING WELL AT SCHOOL.

YOU’LL FIND THIS SEMESTER’S TUITION ENCLOSED.

LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR RETURN TO THE NORTHERN PACK.

—M.C.C.

~The Northern Pack.~

I knew I recognized that insignia.

But who the hell was this M.C.C.? Was United Armoury his company?

I didn’t recognize the name, but I knew someone who would.

I’d rather roll around in a field of wolfsbane than ask him for help, but I didn’t have a choice.

My sister’s life was at stake, and the Northern Pack was under his domain at the moment.

I begrudgingly pulled out my phone.

Max

Ekon…

Max

I need your help.

Ekon

Fuck off

Ekon

All your family has done is piss on me

Ekon

Why would I help you?

Max

Because Bambi was taken by Matthias

Max

And I think there’s a clue at the Northern Pack

Ekon didn’t respond immediately, but I could see he was typing. No one knew of my sister’s disappearance yet, not even the Council.

I really didn’t want to team up with this prick, but besides being near the Northern Pack, he also had the best chance of scenting her because he was her mate.

Ekon

Where are you?

Max

New York

Ekon

I’m chartering you a private jet to Alaska

Ekon

We’ll find her, Maximus

***

Ekon

There was still tension between me and Maximus. That was an understatement, really.

But when he told me my mate had been taken by Matthias, our personal grievances didn’t matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was getting Bambi back, and safely.

I regretted how we had left things. I thought about her every damn day and every damn night, but I couldn’t bring myself to swallow my pride and ask her to come back.

I was still hurt by what she’d done, but I also felt like I’d failed her.

I wouldn’t fail her again.

Maximus had pulled up all the information on the Northern Pack that my databases held, and we were going over every detail.

I’d had much of my archives converted to Braille, so I was able to help him search through the materials, but some of the older documents were still unconverted.

“I’m not finding anything about a company called United Armory,” I growled. “I’ve lived in this pack my whole life. I know every armor distributor in these parts. Something is definitely shady about this.”

“Do you think it could be a dummy company?” Max asked. “Just a cover for something else?”

“It would have to be. The Northern Pack was bankrupt, always asking the crown for money. They barely had any companies to begin with. They were one of the few packs without a real trade,” I said, and I’d always disapproved of that.

“What did they do during the war?” Max questioned.

“They were ~neutral~,” I said with distaste. “Which meant they had no issue making deals with both sides of the war. Rudolph always took the fucking cowards’ route.”

“Wait, I might’ve found something!” Max shouted. “It’s buried pretty deeply in their ledgers, but the initials M.C.C. definitely show up a number of times. For…tuition expenses. This must have to do with that girl, Jimmy.”

“Rudolph created a dummy corporation for tuition expenses? That’s not very villainous,” I grumbled, feeling confused. “Makes him seem like a fucking humanitarian.”

“Yeah, but the only reason they’d do that is if they wanted the benefactor to be anonymous,” Max thought aloud.

Something suddenly occurred to me, but it couldn’t be true. If it was…

“Maximus, pull Matthias’ birth certificate from the files and read it out loud for me,” I said brusquely.

“Uh, okay, hold on,” he said, rummaging through the files. “Okay, here it is…Matthias Caleb Cabot, born on—”

“Stop!” I shouted. “It’s him. M.C.C. is Matthias Caleb Cabot.”

“Oh, fuck,” Max said, realizing what we’d just discovered. “That means that he didn’t just torch the Northern Pack out of the blue. He was living with them for years.”

“He manipulated them, no doubt, and Rudolph was all too easy to manipulate when money was involved,” I said in disgust. “He’d been healing and regaining power under my own damn nose.”

“But why did he massacre them? Why now? He had the perfect setup,” Max deliberated.

“Because he caught wind that Alpha Hunter was paying them a visit, along with me. Hunter wanted to buy the pack.”

“Shit, so he massacred the pack to remove any evidence of his presence. Rudolph would’ve given him up the second Hunter offered him a better deal than what Matthias was squeezing out of him,” Max said in awe.

“Exactly.” I nodded.

Max placed his hand on my shoulder. “Then I guess we know where our search is taking us next.”

Bambi

I was surrounded by darkness, save for a sliver of light that peeked through a crack in the ceiling.

The ground was damp and rough, with weeds poking out of every hole.

I’d felt slimy worms burrowing into the dirt around me.

I was underground, but I wasn’t sure where or how far below the surface.

I had a new appreciation for what Ekon dealt with every day.

The frustration of having no sight…

~Ekon, I need you.~

I wanted to scream his name, but he wouldn’t come, even if he could hear me.

I was completely alone.

Suddenly, I heard a sound come from a distant corner, and slow footsteps made their way toward me.

“Who’s there?” I shouted, my hands scrambling around the dirt, looking for something to defend myself with.

The figure walked underneath the sliver of light, and I gasped. It was the girl from the news…

~Jimmy.~

I guess I wasn’t alone after all.