CHAPTER SEVEN
Kyle
I was still livid. I paced up and down the length of the study. The sound of the door opening made me swing my gaze to see James step into the room.
Unable to put into words how angry and upset I was, I turned away from him. The image of the human girl's blood was seated in my memory. It wasn't just any girl. It was Crystal. My fear and anger swirled inside me, putting pressure on my chest. It became harder to breathe.
"What happened?" James asked me.
I was so angry I leaned my hands against the window and bowed my head. Crystal was out there somewhere, injured, with a killer. I closed my eyes for a moment, giving in to the despair that spread in my chest. A killer who'd killed full-grown male werewolves who could shift. The pain in my chest worsened.
If Claire hadn't said something, I wouldn't have known. I would have carried on looking for her not knowing she was in some real danger. Not that knowing made it any easier to find her. At least I now knew she was using wolfsbane to mask her werewolf traits.
Trying to pull myself out of my dark despair, I stood up straight and pushed away from the beautiful scenery that the window looked over. Turning to face my beta, I rubbed my chin.
"Crystal was hiding with Claire."
James frowned slightly as he took in what I had just revealed.
"Claire?" he asked, sounding like he had a hard time believing it. I nodded.
It was unbelievable. Like telling someone the tooth fairy was a lying thief.
"But why would she do that?" he asked, still not able to understand it. He could join the club because I still didn't understand why Claire had done so much to keep Crystal from me either.
It felt like everyone around me was trying to keep her from me. First Keri, and now Claire.
"I don't understand," he murmured, still trying to process my statement.
We were trying to figure out why, but without Claire revealing it to us we wouldn't figure it out. It was as difficult as trying to figure out why Crystal had run away in the first place.
"Why did she tell you?"
It took a moment to fight the overwhelming need to smash something to smithereens. I felt so betrayed and angry. The helplessness I had felt before had been overwhelmed by the deception of the people closest to me.
"She was worried about Crystal."
"Why?"
"When she heard about the discovery of the latest victim."
"I don't understand what that's got to do with Crystal. Crystal is a werewolf. The blood at the scene was a human girl."
"Wolfsbane."
With that one word the realization played out in his features.
"How sure are we it was Crystal?" he asked, the concern evident in his eyes.
I arched an eyebrow at him. Thinking it could be someone other than Crystal was just an attempt to lessen the fear.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked as my beta and my best friend.
"I don't know." I pulled a hand through my hair, feeling my stress level spiral out of control.
My decision-making was clouded by my emotions. It was hard to look at things with a logical aspect when I could feel the rising panic at what was happening.
"She didn't lose a lot of blood." He was trying to make me look at the positives in the situation. "And whoever took her didn't kill her."
I closed my eyes and tilted my head upward as I rode the fear of finding her dead.
"It tells us wherever she is, she's probably safe for the moment." But I'd had time to think this whole situation through and I was leaps ahead of him.
I opened my eyes and looked at him. "If she's on wolfsbane, she only has a limited supply."
James frowned.
"If she has been taken, it was only because they thought she was human." James' eyes held mine as he realized what was more than likely going to happen, but I had to voice it anyway. "When she runs out of wolfsbane, they will discover she isn't human. And then they will probably do to her what they did to the rogue."
I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling my muscles tense under my hands.
"So we have to find her before that happens."
I shook my head. It wasn't that easy. "We have no idea where she is. How can we save her when we have nothing to go on?"
"I'll go and speak to the tracker that went over the scene and see if there is something we can use," he offered.
I wasn't convinced it would work but we had to try something. I had to hold on to the hope that despite all the odds against us I would find her.
"You do that and I'll update everyone," I said.
He gave a slight nod before he left my study.
I took a deep breath and released it before I went looking for Cade and Blake. I needed their help. They weren't far. I found both of them outside talking while watching some of the werewolves train.
I greeted Blake.
"Anything new?" Cade asked when I came to a stop beside them.
"Yes," I answered in a heavy voice.
Blake frowned.
"You know the female blood we discovered?" I said, and Cade nodded.
"It's Crystal's."
Both Cade and Blake went through the same array of emotions as I retold the story. How Claire had hidden Crystal right under my nose, and how Crystal had used wolfsbane to hide her werewolf scent from me.
Scarlett joined us and Cade pulled her to him, hugging her a little tighter than usual. The fact my mate was in serious danger made them realize this could have happened to their mate.
"What's wrong?" she asked, not missing the small action.
After I told her the story, she hugged me like she could ease the fear I felt by embracing me. I hugged her back briefly before pulling away.
"We're wasting time," I said as I led them back to the study. We got out a map and began to theorize where Crystal could be. There wasn't much.
When Keri entered the study, I stiffened and my anger renewed. If she hadn't kept the fact Crystal was my mate from me, I would have had the chance to talk to her and we wouldn't be in this mess now.
Blake brought her up to speed quietly, away from the group, as the rest of us continued to look over the map, trying to figure out what to do next.
Keri and Blake joined us at the table.
"When was the first rogue killed?" Keri asked Cade.
"About ten days ago," he replied, pointing out the red pin where the first murder had taken place.
I didn't know how that was going to help us find my missing mate. She tapped her finger to her lip for a moment, deep in thought.
"What is it?" Blake asked, touching her arm.
"The person who's responsible for the murders is new to the area," she began to say. I frowned, unsure of where she was headed with this. "We need to see if we can get a list of new rentals or purchases of large properties in the area."
It made sense. How had none of us thought of it?
"Why a large property?" Cade asked with his usual stance and his arms crossed.
"Because chances are there are more than one and they will want their privacy," she replied.
It was the reason we kept all the packs on large properties away from prying eyes. It made keeping our secret easier.
"I picked up a few things from watching my father," she said with a shrug, answering the unspoken question.
Blake put a hand to her back. His concern was evident in the way he looked at her. Thinking about Victor brought us back to the place where we had all fought for our lives to defeat him. He had been an evil, ruthless werewolf.
"I'm fine," she insisted to Blake with a weak smile. Thinking about her father couldn't have been easy.
"Thanks," I said. For the first time I saw a glimmer of hope that the friendship we had developed was still worth saving.
Our eyes met and she nodded to me.
"We need to pinpoint it near the bulk of the murders," she continued.
The weight on my chest lightened slightly. We had a possible way to find whoever had Crystal. It didn't feel so hopeless anymore.
Crystal
After breakfast I made the excuse my arm was still hurting so I could retire back to my room. I changed into some of my own clothes. The less time I spent around them the better. Luckily Flynn hadn't insisted the doctor have another look at it.
There were werewolves that were looking for something. It could be nothing. Did Kyle know I was here? But that was impossible, I told myself, refusing to believe that scenario. Sitting down on my bed I bit my nail as I tried to keep my nervousness at bay.
They were probably looking for the injured human girl. It only increased the pressure to get out of here as soon as possible. The weak and frightened girl in me wanted to stay in the security of the room but I had to leave.
I gave myself a pep talk strengthening that weaker part of me. I could do this. As long as I kept my head I would be okay. I had to speak to Flynn and see if he would allow me to leave but I couldn't do that from my room. I glanced at the door. Decision made, I stood up and took a deep breath and released it before I left the room in search of him.
The house was fairly quiet as I made my way downstairs. A nervous knot tightened in the pit of my stomach, making me feel nauseous. I was afraid to run into Travis again. He gave me the creeps. There was a coldness about him that hadn't been matched by anyone I had met in the compound yet.
I could hear a loud voice coming from outside. I hesitated for a moment before reminding myself the only way out was to find Flynn. I walked through the living room to the back of the house, following the sound of a voice issuing commands. The back doors of the house led onto a vast grassy area.
I stopped.
One Keeper fought with another while Travis watched over them, issuing them commands. It was a surreal sight to see the Keepers training. I stood transfixed as I watched the powerful blows get shrugged off without lasting injuries. It was a little unbelievable.
Across the distance, Travis looked at me. Fear prickled at me. Flynn, who had been standing on the sidelines watching, followed his gaze to me.
They were both my enemies, but I would pick Flynn over Travis any day. I walked to Flynn as he watched me. I felt the heat of Travis' gaze but I refused to look at him. The less time I spent around him the better.
"You feeling better?" Flynn asked. I nodded my head.
"What's this?" I asked, slipping into the pretense of the weak injured human girl who knew nothing about their way of life.
"They're training," he said, inclining his head in the direction of the two fighters. They were both shirtless, muscles straining as fists hit their mark. It was powerful and hypnotic as I watched beside Flynn.
"Do they do this every day?" I asked, looking around at the faces of the men who stood watching. I noticed for the first time there were conspicuous absences.
"Yes."
"Are there female Keepers?" I asked.
"Yes. We are only a small group that have been sent to analyze the current situation in the area before we decide if more Keepers are required."
I frowned. Current situation? What did that mean?
"Will more Keepers be sent?" I asked, feeling it necessary to know what their plans were.
He studied me for a moment as if assessing my need to know.
"Not at the moment."
"Why were you sent here?" I asked. Under his gaze I slid my tongue across my bottom lip.
"Usually if there are only a small number of werewolves breaking the law our presence isn't necessary but recently there have been a large number of rogues who have banded together, murdering on a large scale. It cannot be tolerated."
I flinched at the evident hatred that dripped from his words.
"You have no need to be scared of us," he assured me, changing his tone. "We're on your side. We were born to protect humans from werewolves. They are the true enemy."
He had no idea.
"What is a rogue?" I asked, cementing the idea I was indeed a human who had no idea what werewolves were.
"It's a werewolf who doesn't belong to a pack."
I waited a moment before asking the next question. "Was the werewolf that attacked me a rogue?"
He nodded.
I let my eyes drift back to the Keepers who were still fighting as Travis stood silently watching Flynn and me.
It was then I got a glimpse of a birthmark on the hip of one of the fighters. I frowned. It was only a brief glimpse of it but I managed to make out a triangle and a circle within it. Why would they have birthmarks like werewolves?
I reeled from what I had just seen. It didn't fit with anything I had previously or currently knew about them. Birthmarks on werewolves matched up mates. Was it the same for the Keepers? Did they have mates?
It was only when I saw the other Keeper with a birthmark when his arm lifted to block a blow that I felt I had seen enough to venture a question.
"Do you all have birthmarks?"
He was quiet for a few moments before he answered, "Yes."
"Is there a reason why?" I asked, giving him a side glance to see if my questions were making him uncomfortable but he didn't seem to mind.
"All Keepers have a birthmark, other than that it serves no other purpose."
I frowned slightly as I tried to figure out why they would have the birthmarks but not have the same significance it had to werewolves. I felt the heat of Flynn's eyes on me. It made me bring my questioning to an end. I didn't want to make him suspicious.
"I need to go home."
He didn't answer me immediately, which made me turn slightly to face him.
"It's not safe." That was not what I wanted to hear.
"Why?" I asked, feeling more hopeless at the situation I was in. There went the only easy way out of here.
"There are werewolves in the immediate area." He was talking about the ones Hayden had mentioned earlier. "We'll wait until they leave before I'll escort you home."
That would lead to another whole list of issues. I had no home. I wanted to be able to walk out of here on my own.
But what about Kyle? my conscience piped up. There was no guarantee the Keepers wouldn't attack the packs and if they increased their numbers they could well wipe out an entire pack. My heart constricted when I thought about my mate. Not only did I feel horrible for running out on him, I also now felt a responsibility that I had to at least let the pack know what I had learned. But how could I do that?
There was no guarantee I could even leave here before the Keepers discovered my secret and even if by some miracle I did, I couldn't exactly go back to tell Kyle what was happening. He wouldn't allow me to leave and that would lead to more trouble.
I shook my head slightly, trying to stop the path my thoughts were taking. First things first, I had to get away from the Keepers.
"How long before you think it will be safe?" I asked, trying to gauge if I would have enough wolfsbane to keep my identity a secret.
"It's hard to be precise. Maybe a day or two."
I was still worried about my limited wolfsbane supply.
"I'm going to go out a bit later to check things out," he told me.
"Are you going to hurt them?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I have no intention of that but if they attack me I will have to defend myself."
I didn't want anything to happen to innocent werewolves who had no idea who they were dealing with. Only rogues would attack with intent to harm. The werewolves for Kyle's pack would only track him to ensure he didn't go near their compound. They would keep their distance.
"While I'm out you'll need to get Hayden to check your arm and re-bandage it."
I nodded my head even though I had no intention of doing that. I was screwed. If I did let Hayden check my arm he would realize something wasn't right. My arm would be completely healed with no visible signs of my earlier injuries. And if I didn't go and see him, and Flynn found out, he would become suspicious.
I was in trouble and running out of time.