Eli grabbed the leash from me after a few steps. I wasn’t sure if he thought I wasn’t walking the puppy right or if he just wanted to do it himself. I didn’t care either way. Having to stop every two seconds to untangle myself from its leash was getting on my nerves. A low chuckle rumbled from him. I glanced at him to see a wide smile building across his face while he watched Winston sniff everything in his path.

“I didn’t know you were a dog lover,” I teased him.

His bright green eyes sucked me in when he shifted to glance at me.

“Who isn’t a dog lover?” he asked.

“Me for one. I’ve never been much of an animal lover.”

“Says the girl who’s a wolf.”

“That’s different,” I insisted as I tucked a few stray hairs behind my ear.

“How? A wolf is an animal, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but I change into one. I don’t have to babysit it.”

“There are some in the pack who would disagree with that statement. They happen to think wearing silver is how we babysit our wolf.”

“Hmmm. I never thought of it that way,” I said.

“Sort of makes sense though, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

Silver was how we controlled our wolf self throughout the month. I’d often thought of it as a way to keep a leash on our wolves, but I’d never thought of it as a way to babysit it.

We continued down the gravel road that wove through the trailer park, allowing Winston to sniff and run as much as he saw fit. Sylvie Hess stood outside her place when we neared it. She was blowing bubbles with her youngest boy. Her face lit up when she saw us.

“Aw, you two are so precious together,” she gushed. “I love that you’re taking a stroll with your puppy. How sweet.”

Her words made unease snake through my stomach. How had I been blind to what we might look like while walking a dog together? Shit. Now everyone who saw us would probably think we were a couple. I would never hear the end of it

“It’s Gracie’s dog. She’s at Callie’s helping to console her. I’m taking him for a walk for her, and Eli just happened to join,” I said to clarify.

“Right,” Sylvie said, dragging the word out.

My teeth sank into my lower lip. She didn’t believe me. No matter what I said, it wouldn’t change her view of the situation. Why did this bother me so much? I shouldn’t care what Sylvie, or anyone else, thought in regards to Eli and me. It wasn’t their business.

Only, I did care.

I grabbed the leash from Eli and continued walking, making sure to keep my head high and my face in a relaxed expression. Once we were out of Sylvie’s earshot, I slowed my pace. Eli needed to catch up to me, and we needed to talk about the conversation he’d had with his dad. No more chitchat.

“I didn’t think someone assuming we were a couple would offend you so much. Damn,” Eli said. He smoothed a hand along the back of his neck as he exhaled a long breath. Instantly, I felt horrible for the way I’d overreacted. “That was harsh. Even for you.”

I closed my eyes and pulled in a deep breath. “I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t want people thinking we’re together.”

“Why?”

I couldn’t answer him because I didn’t know the answer myself.

“What was it your dad said to you earlier?” I asked, ignoring his question and skipping to one of my own.

I could feel Eli’s eyes on me. His gaze grew hard and cold. I knew I’d pissed him off by sidestepping his question, but I didn’t care.

“He’s leaving the situation to me to handle.”

My brows furrowed. “Why?”

“Why not? You don’t think I’m capable?”

Great. Just when I thought it wasn’t possible to make him anymore upset with me, I go and question his ability to handle the situation on his own.

“It’s not that. I think you’re more than capable, but I also think it’s a big task to take on alone. What does your dad have going on that’s so important he can’t handle the situation himself?”

“You know I can’t tell you that,” Eli insisted. “It’s alpha business. All I can do is reiterate what you heard my mom say earlier. It’s something big. I know it sounds like he doesn’t care about what’s going on, but trust me, he has the pack’s well-being at mind right now.” A pleading tone registered in Eli’s voice that had me second-guessing my irritation toward his dad. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he hadn’t ever done our pack wrong before. Wesley Vargas took his position as alpha seriously.

I did hope he made an announcement once whatever it was he’d been dealing with had been handled. Curiosity would get the best of me otherwise.

“Okay. Fine.” I locked eyes with him. “I won’t ask again, and I’ll trust that your dad has the pack’s best interest at heart like always. Also, I think you’ll handle this situation just fine without him.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Eli pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket. “Dad did give me this, though. It’s a number for a contact at the station.”

“A contact at the station? The police station?”

“Yeah.” Eli passed the scrap of paper to me.

I read off the number. It wasn’t familiar. The name at the top said Dan, but there wasn’t a last name. While I wasn’t familiar with many of the police officers in town, I did know one thing they all had in common.

“Why would your dad have a contact at the station? I thought everyone at the police station was human.”

“They are.” Eli nodded. “Apparently, this guy and my dad were friends when they were in high school. A group of trouble-making vampires came through town, searching for the Montevallo family. This guy, Dan, got mixed in with some of them by accident one night, and my dad was forced to shift in front of him to save his life. Since then, Dan has done anything he can to make sure the pack has a smooth stay here in Mirror Lake. He’s been helping the pack for years with things. He’s like our source at the station. When something strange happens that can’t be explained rationally, he reaches out to dad to see if there’s something supernatural going on. The guy is legit.”

“I didn’t realize we had someone on the inside like that.”

Winston paused to pee on Felicia’s flowers at the edge of her trailer. I pulled on his leash, making him start walking again so he wouldn’t take a dump there too.

“Dad has mentioned his name a couple times, but I never knew the full story behind their friendship until today.”

“Isn’t your dad nervous Dan might tell our secret to someone?” I had to ask. The fear was front and center in my mind.

“Nah. Dan’s kept the secret for this long, I don’t see why he would tell anyone. Besides, who would believe him?”

“Good point,” I said. “So, what can Dan do to help with this situation? I don’t understand why your dad gave you his number.”

“Dad thinks the same thing I do—Violet wouldn’t have been sent directly to whoever is in charge. Shane’s brother would have to call and arrange a meeting with whoever is running the thing so they could do an exchange. Violet has to be held somewhere while all the details are being worked out. What better place than that guy’s own house?”

“So, you’re going to call this Dan guy and see if he can get you Shane’s brothers’ addresses?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I thought so too.” Eli grinned.

We passed Taryn and Glenn’s tiny trailer. Glenn’s truck still sat in the same spot as the night he disappeared, but Taryn’s cherry red car was gone. I wondered where she was. At work? Searching for Glenn? At a doctor’s appointment? My chest squeezed at the thought of her raising her baby without him. While I knew she wouldn’t be the first in the pack to raise a child alone, her situation was a hell of a lot sadder than anyone else’s.

“Give me a second. I’m gonna run inside and grab my cell. I’d like to give Dan a call. It’s time we get this ball rolling,” Eli said once we neared his trailer.

“Okay.” I paused, bringing Winston to a stop with me. He glanced at me. “Just stopping for a second,” I whispered. He seemed content enough with my answer and moved to sniff a large grease spot on the gravel. I tugged on his leash, detouring him from it. He decided to try and follow after Eli instead.

“Don’t let him piss on my steps,” Eli grumbled when he noticed Winston hot on his heels.

“I thought you were a dog lover. Why do you sound so harsh?” I chuckled.

“Funny,” Eli muttered before he disappeared inside.

I watched Winston strut around while I waited for Eli to come back. A black beetle caught his attention, and I laughed when he pawed at it like a cat, jumping back each time it moved toward him. He was a cute little thing. I could see why Gracie was so infatuated with him. Thinking of her had me glancing at the Marshal’s trailer. From where I stood, I couldn’t tell if there were any lights on, but the vehicles parked in the driveway let me know everyone was home. Guilt ripped through my chest. The desire to walk over and tell Violet’s parents everything I knew was nearly overwhelming.

Would it do any good, though?

Eli’s door opened and he crept down the steps with his cell in hand. He glanced at the slip of paper his dad had given him and punched in Dan’s number. I could hear the phone ring from where I stood. Eli took a few steps away for privacy. I watched Winston attack the bug while trying not to appear as though I was eavesdropping. Eli’s one-sided conversation floated to my ears, but I couldn’t make much out. I did hear him give Shane and his brother’s first and last names to Dan, though. Seconds later, he hung up and started to where I stood.

“Dan is on it. He said to give him about twenty minutes,” Eli said. He took Winston’s leash from me and I let him.

“That’s fast.” Twenty minutes didn’t seem long at all.

“Yeah, Dan doesn’t seem to mess around. He seems to be strictly business.”

“Which is a good thing.”

Eli nodded as we started toward my place. Gran pulled up in my dad’s truck before we reached the porch. She looked tiny behind the giant steering wheel. And pissed. I glanced at Dad in the passenger seat. His face was pressed against the window, and he was drooling while he slept.

“Hey, Gran,” I called to her as she slipped out of Dad’s truck. “Let me help you.”

“I’ve got it. I got him in here all by myself, and I can get him out,” she grumbled.

“Where did you pick him up at?” I ignored what she’d said and rounded the passenger side to offer assistance.

“Eddie’s bar,” Gran muttered. She opened the passenger door and had to catch Dad before he fell out. “He’s as drunk as a darn skunk.”

When wasn’t he? He’d been this way for years now.

“One of these days, his liver is going give out on him.” She maneuvered his dead weight around, but seemed as though she was having a hard time. I stepped in to help. “A person can’t pump their body full of poison the way he does and not expect it to have consequences.”

Dad slurred something I couldn’t make out as I lifted one of his arms over my shoulder. Both Gran and I stumbled under his weight, but Eli was there to catch us. He’d tied Winston to the porch. I was glad. There was no way Gran and I could carry Dad into the trailer by ourselves when he was this wasted.

It didn’t take long for Eli to get Dad situated in his bed. Afterward, we brought in the groceries Gran had bought.

“Oh, Gracie wanted me to tell you she’s staying at Callie’s tonight. Did you hear about Violet?” I asked as I started to put away some of the groceries.

Gran’s face darkened. “I did. That’s why I went to the store on my way to pick your dad up. I wanted to make them a casserole so they don’t have to worry about cooking. My heart goes out to them. I’ve been praying all day Violet would make it home safely on her own.” Gran placed her cold ingredients in the refrigerator and then shifted a look at me. “I don’t have a good feeling about this, though.”

A shiver ran along my spine. Intuition was my grandmother’s best friend. I often thought if she hadn’t been born into the world of werewolves, she would’ve been born into the world of witches. Some days it seemed as though she walked between both worlds, tiptoeing along the line. While many in the pack thought of her as a healer, I saw her as more than that. Gran was a healer with a vast knowledge of herbs and remedies, but she also had kickass intuition. She’d taught me intuition was something to listen to. It wasn’t something to be ignored. However, it was still something I struggled with.

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“I think there’s something suspicious going on. That little girl didn’t run off on her own and get lost. She’s either hurt or someone’s taken her.”

I couldn’t believe how spot on she was. My gaze drifted to Eli. He stood near the front door, leaning against the wall. Astonishment flashed through his eyes. I couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever witnessed Gran’s intuition at work. In fact, I didn’t know if he knew it existed.

I guess we were both learning things about each other’s family today. One secret for another.

“I hope I’m wrong, but the feeling is strong. I think something dark happened to that poor girl, and it’s going to tear her family apart if she isn’t found soon,” Gran insisted as she went back to putting away groceries.

I wanted to tell her how right she was but knew I couldn’t.

“I will say, though,” Gran said. “I’m surprised to see the two of you hanging out so much lately.” Her eyes shifted from me to Eli and then back to me again. One of her brows lifted, and I knew what she was thinking. The same thing Sylvie Hess had—that we were a couple now.

What was with everyone always pushing us to be together?

“It isn’t what you’re thinking,” I insisted.

Eli cleared his throat. “I should probably get going. I’ll see you later, Mina.” He bent down to pet Winston, who had curled up at his feet, and then cracked the front door and slipped out.

“Eli, wait,” I muttered. Guilt gnawed at my insides from spastically having corrected yet another person about us. I was sure he thought I sounded as though being with him was the most horrible thing on the planet.

I dashed to the door and down the stairs after him.

“Eli, wait!” I shouted. He paused in the gravel road. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded,” I insisted once I reached his side.

“It’s okay. No harm, no foul.” He shrugged. “I’ll let you know when Dan gets me an address.” He started walking again. I followed, unable to let the situation go so easily. I felt horrible.

The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. It was more than that though. The strange pull I felt toward him wouldn’t allow things to end on weird terms between us tonight.

“What about my grilled cheese and tomato soup? Don’t I get to finish it?” I asked, grasping at straws. It was all I had.

Eli cocked his head to the side and glanced at me. The sliver of a smirk twisted the corners of his lips. “Of course.”

Tension dissolved from my muscles, and I released a breath as we continued toward his trailer. Once we stepped inside, Eli warmed up my grilled cheese and soup in the microwave. He placed it in front of me on the counter and motioned for me to eat.

I took a bite from my sandwich and realized his eyes were still on me. “Don’t watch me eat. It’s creepy.”

“I just wanted to make sure it was warm enough for you. That microwave can be fickle.”

I gave him a thumbs-up. “It’s warm.”

“Good,” he said as he warmed up his food next.

My cell buzzed from in my back pocket when I went to take another bite of my sandwich. I pulled it out, thinking it was Gracie. It wasn’t. Alec was calling me.

He couldn’t have called at a worse time. I’d just smoothed things over with Eli, but I couldn’t ignore his call.

“I’m going to take this outside. I’ll be right back,” I said as I started toward the door.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Give me one second,” I said as I opened the front door and stepped down the wooden stairs.

I swiped my thumb across the screen to answer Alec’s call. “Hey, what’s up?”

“How are you feeling today?” he asked. His voice rumbled through the phone in a low tone, making him sound as though he’d just woken up.

“I’m fine. I think the question is how are you feeling today?” I countered.

I knew he’d woken with a hangover from hell this morning. It was why I’d offered to walk home instead of having him drive me.

“Better now. I felt like death this morning, though. Thanks for walking. Made me feel like a jerk letting you, but I’m glad you did. I came home and slept for hours. I woke up about fifteen minutes ago and ate something.”

“Do you feel human yet?”

“Yeah, finally.” The sound of him drinking something filtered through the phone. “Do you want to go to the movies tonight? Everyone wants to see some new thriller.”

“The remake of that eighties movie?” I’d been dying to see it but hadn’t been able to make the time.

“That’s the one. It starts at nine. Think you can come? I can swing by and pick you up,” he said before taking another swig of his drink.

I wanted to go, but I didn’t think it was a good idea. The timing was bad. Eli was waiting on Dan to call with the address is for Shane’s brothers, and I had a feeling once he got them we’d be making a trip to their houses tonight. If I was out with Alec, Eli would go alone.

There was not a chance in hell I was letting that happen.

“I wish I could, but I can’t tonight. I promised Gracie I’d stay home and watch movies with her.” The lie rolled off my tongue easily.

I wasn’t sure when, but at some point, lying to Alec had become normal. It had to say something about our relationship. Maybe it said something about me too.

“Oh, okay. Talk to you tomorrow, then,” Alec said. He didn’t sound pissed, just disappointed.

“I’m sorry, but I really need to spend time with my sister tonight. She’s been feeling down lately,” I said without knowing where I was going with the excuse. All I knew was I needed a legitimate reason. One he’d understand. One that didn’t leave our relationship in jeopardy. I liked Alec. More than he knew. He was part of my before. He spoke to the human side of me. A side I wanted to keep alive and strong. “Her best friend’s sister ran away. It’s got her feeling a little shaken up.”

It wasn’t the entire truth, but it was as close as I could get.

“Really? That’s horrible. Yeah, sure. I understand. Spend time with her. Maybe we can hang out sometime tomorrow?”

God, he was so damn sweet. He could do so much better than me. Part of me thought maybe it was time I let him go.

“Thanks for understanding,” I said, meaning it. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow sometime, okay? Tell me how the movie goes.”

“Sure.”

“I’d better get in there and make some popcorn. Have fun tonight.” I hated how strong my desire to get off the phone with him was. It had me feeling like a horrible person. Deep down I knew I wasn’t; things were just complicated. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, tomorrow. Have a good night,” Alec said.

“Bye,” I said before I hung up.

I crammed my phone into my back pocket and started up the steps to Eli’s door as I smoothed my hands over my face. Flickers of guilt spread through me like a wildfire, but I tried to stomp them out. Telling Alec the lie and spending time with Eli tonight instead had everything to do with the pack and nothing else. I had to help get Violet back. After all, I was partially responsible for her being missing.

Eli was on the phone when I stepped inside. He jotted down something on a scrap of paper. I hoped it was the addresses for Shane’s older brothers. I closed the door behind me and crossed to where he stood at the kitchen counter. His handwriting was horrible, nothing better than chicken scratch, but I was able to make out two addresses.

“Okay, yeah. Thanks, Dan,” Eli said before hanging up. He pushed the scrap of paper toward me. “There we go. We now have Peter and Drew’s addresses.”

“Is that what that says?” I squinted as I glared at the paper, giving him a hard time. “I don’t read chicken scratch well.”

“What are you taking about? My handwriting is perfect. A little on the small side, but perfect nonetheless. Maybe you need glasses?”

“Ha-ha.” I shoved him playfully. “I don’t need glasses. You need handwriting lessons.”

“Whatever. Here are the addresses.” He picked up the scrap paper. “One lives on Beacon Road and the other on Wilmont Avenue.”

“Those are far away from each other, but at least they’re in town.”

“Yeah. It shouldn’t be too hard to find both.” Eli grabbed his grilled cheese and shoved it in his mouth. “Which one do you want to start with?”

“I don’t know. I think Peter is most likely to have Glenn, but I think Drew will have Violet.”

“We should probably make Violet a top priority since she’s younger. Plus, we need to make sure we can get to her before Drew sells her to whoever the boss man is he’s working with. She can’t be moved again.”

“Looks like we’re going to Drew’s house first then. If Violet isn’t there, maybe we’ll at least find clues as to where the meeting with the boss was held at.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Eli said. He motioned to my grilled cheese and tomato soup. “Eat. You’re not going to do me any good if you pass out from hunger during the middle of our mission. Hungry ninjas are clumsy ninjas.”

“You should totally make a T-shirt with that on it. I’d buy it.” I chuckled as I reached for my sandwich. I tore off a corner and dipped it in my soup before popping into my mouth. It was cold, but still tasted good.

“I bet I could sell the heck out of them.” Eli grinned.

We ate as quickly as we could. While sustenance was important, so was finding Violet.

“Who called you? Is everything okay with Gracie?” Eli asked. My stomach twisted. I’d hoped he wouldn’t ask.

“It was Alec,” I said around a mouthful of grilled cheese. There was no point in lying to him. He’d be able to tell. He always had. “He wanted to know if I wanted to go to the movies with him and his friends tonight.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I was watching movies with Gracie tonight. I said her best friend’s sister ran away, and she was shaken up about it.”

Eli froze mid-chew. “You told him what?”

“I had to give him a valid excuse,” I insisted, hoping he’d understand.

“You can’t tell him anything else.” Eli’s eyes hardened.

“I know,” I said, holding his stare.

“Finish eating, and then go change into all black. Do you have something to wear, or do you want to borrow a shirt of mine again?”

“If I go home, Gran will want to know what I’m doing. I think it would be best if I borrowed a shirt of yours again. If you don’t mind.” It was part truth, part lie. Gran would wonder what I was doing, but a part of me also wanted to be submerged in Eli’s scent again.

“I’ll get you something to wear,” Eli said before throwing his trash away.

The conversation about Alec was done. We were back to pack business, and I was grateful. I watched him head down the hall as I finished the rest of my sandwich, trying not to think about what I was getting myself into by going with Eli to Drew’s tonight.