Page 93 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess

“We can,” Arden reassures her. “It’s just not advised to do because our blood is different. It’s not visible if you do the regular checks, but if someone does a spontaneous detailed check-up, it would show that something about us is different.”

“That’s why adult shifters usually don’t donate,” I say.

“But that doesn’t count for minors,” Gustave muses.

“What?” Leila looks up.

“Before we get our wolves and can shift, there is no reason not to donate blood. And Louis was eighteen when he was reported missing.”

“But isn’t there an age requirement?” Leila asks.

I chuckle. “Yes, there is. But it’s an age requirement an alpha can easily work around if needed. But, you are right, a child would definitely raise suspicions.”

Emilien stares at us. “Gustave is right, though,” He breathes out. “A seventeen-year-old could donate blood easily. Maybe even an eighteen-year-old. Maybe they didn’t know not to donate blood. Plus, it’s not like the werewolf gene is doing anything bad to the humans in case they receive it. Maybe it works even better. Zoé, give us all the information Nox gathered from the archives. The blood donors in particular.”

“I agree. Let’s shift our focus,” Arden says. “Instead of just checking the data for blood tests, let’s look at the donors.”

“Going to send it to your tablets,” Zoé says.

“Do you also have the recipients?” I ask.

“You mean those who received AB negative blood?” she asks.

“We would need more than that,” Arden intervenes. “People with AB negative can receive all negative blood types. Send us the donor’s list for now and the recipient list later.”

True to her words, we soon receive a file. It’s a copy of what Nox photographed, so it’s not the best quality, but it’s clear enough for us to read. I skim through it until—“Shit!”

“What?” Gustave asks.

“Denis is on it! Here…” I turn my tablet for the others to see. “Denis Bain, the beta wolf who disappeared recently.”

Arden frowns, staring at his tablet. “He donated blood a couple of years ago.”

Zoé types something, browsing her own information. “He did,” she verifies. “He donated blood in college. It’s in our database because his alpha approved for the reason Arden specified earlier. Werewolf blood is no danger to humans, so he let him do it. It was for a college project, and it was less suspicious to just let him do it.” She turns to Arden. “I have the data of blood recipients, but it’s a lot.”

“Send it to me,” he encourages her. “I want to look for something specific. But I’m pretty sure that we’ll find all our victims somewhere on these lists.”

“I need to tell that to my brother,” I mutter. “Marius can verify it for the victims in our area.”

“Yes, and weneedto find these names,” he says. “This is our chance to know with certainty who was abducted or who disappeared for different reasons.”

“I will go through the list Aurelia provided,” Leila offers. “It’s shorter, so I can do it alone.”

“Aurelia, Nox, and I can go through the one Nox found,” Emilien offers.

“Me too,” Gustave says.

“No,” Arden interrupts him. “I still need you to find the meaning of that rune Leila had a vision of.”

“Got you!” he says.

Arden gets up to walk to Zoé. “We’ll tackle the blood recipients,” he says.

Everyone goes to work, and I step out briefly to give Marius a call and tell him what we found and what I need him to do. Once back in the office, I head back to work. One by one we find our potential French victims, none of us sure if that’s something to celebrate now or feel bad about. It’s obvious now that most of them probably didn’t survive, but at the same time, it also means progress for us.

“I found her.” Arden disrupts the silence.

We turn around to look at him. On Zoé’s screen is the data sheet for a ten-year-old girl. “Meg, or rather Megan Rose Acorn,” he says. “And Claire Lavigne is on it, too.”