Page 253 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

“We all suspected a wolf was taking them and killing them,” Elder Forsythe replied.

“When I looked over the reports, I figured it had to be someone the kids knew and trusted,” I said. “I can’t see any other reason for so many pups to wander off the compound on their own.”

“Your logic is sound,” Elder Forsythe said. “At that time, everyone had their theories, but there was no evidence linked to a perpetrator. Whenever someone was suspected, there was a brief trial with circumstantial evidence. In the most benign cases, the accused was released without charges, and in the worst, they were put to death. But the kidnappings continued.” His dark eyes became even darker. “All of us were so paranoidand desperate to find answers, but there weren’t any. Lives were lost, relationships were ruined, families fell apart.”

“If you don’t mind the question,” Elder Sage began, “why the sudden interest, Night Shepherd?”

“We found reports about the missing kids in the office of the alpha cabin,” I said. “We were working through the paperwork for other reasons, but this mystery interests me.”

“I believe there is one boy who survived the kidnapping. Samuel.”

I nodded. “I tracked him down, but he was too traumatized to tell me anything I could use. It’s just so bizarre to me that the kids were taken, and their remains were never found.”

“If their remains were missing, how do you know they were killed?” Mom asked the elders. “They could be alive, couldn’t they?”

“It’s unlikely they would have survived,” Elder Queene said gravely. “It’s possible one or two might still be alive, but whoever took them would have had to keep them somewhere and discreetly provided for them for the past ten years. Maybe they could get away with a few pups, but a dozen would be hard to wrangle.”

“How awful,” Mom whispered, her hand on her chest. “My heart breaks for the parents who lost their children.”

I patted her shoulder. “Is it possible that the pups were taken to another pack?”

“Possible, yes, but unlikely,” Elder Queene replied. “Again, maybe they could get away with sneaking in one or two boys, but there would be too many new pups entering the pack. Not tomention, the children would smell like they were taken from our territory. People would notice. They would ask questions.”

“Was it just the Kings pack who suffered such losses?” I asked. “Or did other packs lose pups?”

“Children have gone missing over the years in various packs, of course,” Elder Queene said. “But those disappearances usually had clues and remains and viable suspects. Our disappearances had none of those things.”

“You brought up Samuel before,” Elder Forsythe said. “And it jogged a memory. One thing that always stood out to me was that the poor boy swore he saw a shadowy monster with long talons. Of course, that is probably just a child’s mind scrambling to make sense of whatever horrors he witnessed that day, but there are ancient fairytales that use the same imagery. Those stories talk about shadow monsters with jagged teeth that were said to suck the mind out of a person, leaving them incapable of living. The fairytales were created to keep children from wandering too far into the woods by themselves.”

“I know legends like that can be rooted in some truth,” I said. “Did creatures like that ever exist?”

“Again, your logic is sound, but we don’t believe creatures like that have ever existed outside of legend.”

“We believed the children had grown curious about the story and wanted to see the creature for themselves,” Elder Sage said. “They went out into the woods while no one was watching and were taken by whoever told them about the myths. We believed young Samuel was somehow able to survive, but his trauma manifested as the shadowy creature because that was why he ventured into the woods in the first place.”

That made some sense. We’d need to track down the root of where the children had heard the story. But was that even possible at this point? Whether the children were lured into the forest by someone they trusted or tempted into it because of a story, both the elders’ theory and mine pointed to an adult wolf who would have had time to gain their trust or get them interested in those old stories.

“The air was heavy with sadness ten years ago,” Elder Woods murmured. “The other elders and I…we suspected something had happened with the King pack, but we weren’t sure what.” She looked at the Kings’ elders with tears shimmering in her eyes. “Such a great loss as that…I cannot even fathom the toll it must have taken on these wolves.”

“We appreciate that you can empathize with our tragedy, Elder Woods,” Elder Queene said. “Likewise, I hope you can understand that we had little to do with Gregor and Troy’s distaste for you and your people.”

“Of course.”

Elder Forsythe inclined his head in thanks. In response, Elder Woods patted his shoulder.

I hadn’t planned for there to be any interaction between the Warg and King elders, but it warmed me to see them get along—not just from an emotional standpoint but from a political one as well. This connection could help bond the two packs.

“Night,” Elder Sage’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “It is honorable for you to look into this, but odds are, you will never get answers. After so many years, the young victims are likely dead, and the guilty parties have either died, escaped, or are so well-hidden it would be impossible to drag them out into theopen without their confession.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m not certain if solving this will help you win over the council or the pack.”

“I’m not doing this to win any points with anyone,” I said. “When it comes to those missing pups, I only want to give closure to their parents. They deserve it. As for the rest of the pack and the council…well, they’ll have to deal with me once I win the alpha challenge, anyway.”

The elders all smiled. “Ah, you’re very confident,” Elder Forsythe said. “Be careful, Night Shepherd. If you’re too confident, you might miss the forest for the trees, so to speak.”

Their warnings didn’t faze me. “I won’t miss anything,” I vowed. I looked at my mate for the first time since I started asking them about the missing pups. “Because there’s too much at stake.”

Another thirty minutes passed, and Bryn was still in her trance. Talking about some of the elders’ theories had kept me busy for a little while, but now the worry crept back in. I started pacing again.

“How long is this supposed to go on for?” I asked. Having Bryn this physically close to me but mentally far away was wrong. It only elevated the pricking anxiety in my chest.