Page 35 of Patrick’s Seduction (Scanguards Vampires #19)
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A few minutes later, Patrick had laid out his plan: he would go to the Gallagher estate, enter from a different side, sneak into the house, and scout it out to see if Cameron had returned, and how many other werewolves were present.
“Are you crazy? You can’t just walk into the lion’s den alone!” Fallon said in a raised voice.
“Wolf’s lair,” Patrick replied. “And I’m not going in alone. I’m taking Virginia.”
“By daylight? They’ll see you coming,” she claimed. “And even if they don’t, they’ll smell you!”
He sighed and took Fallon’s hands into his. “Trust me on this. Virginia is a Stealth Guardian. She can make us invisible, so the Gallaghers won’t see us coming.”
“Invisible? That’s ludicrous!”
“It’s not. The Stealth Guardians are our allies, and we know what they are capable of. Virginia is Wesley’s mate. She’ll help us. As for our scent: Wes is down in his lab, brewing a potion that will disguise our scent. We’ve done this before. Trust me on this. If we had more time, I would have asked Virginia to come meet me here so she could show you what she can do. But we don’t have that time.”
She took a few deep breaths before she nodded. “If you don’t come back, I’m coming after you.”
He could see in her eyes that it wasn’t an empty threat, but he would make sure that she would never have to execute it.
On the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, Patrick picked up Virginia and they headed north. Once in Marin County, Patrick didn’t take the main road leading up to the gate of the Gallagher property. Instead, he used an unpaved road that led around the Gallagher’s estate and ended about half a mile from its western border. Across a bare field, he spotted a fence in the distance. As he’d expected, this section was a simple chain link fence, not the impenetrable brick-and-mortar wall that surrounded the land on the east and south sides. But he wasn’t stupid enough to think that the Gallaghers didn’t have cameras around this side of the estate. He and Virginia would approach the fence invisibly.
“Well, let’s get moving. Looks like it might be a bit of a hike to get to the house,” Virginia said from the passenger seat. She was a striking woman with long red hair and an even fiercer warrior, and he was glad that she’d agreed to his plan.
They exited the car, and Patrick removed a bolt cutter from the trunk. “Ready.”
Virginia glanced around, then nodded. “Alright, I’m cloaking us now.”
He didn’t feel any different than before, and he could still see her. However, he wasn’t concerned, because he knew that Stealth Guardians had different levels of invisibility. They could make themselves and others invisible to anyone or just to select people. In this case, he and Virginia could still see each other, but nobody could see them. It was essential on a mission like this, where they had to work as a team and couldn’t risk bumping into each other.
They approached the fence. When they reached it, Patrick used the bolt cutter—which was also invisible to other people because it had already been in his hand when Virginia had made him invisible—to cut an opening into it. Then he hid the bolt cutter in a bush, and both squeezed through the opening. The bolt cutter would turn visible once they were at a certain distance from it because Virginia could only make things invisible when they were close by.
They walked swiftly, avoiding stepping on dry branches and other debris that would make a sound and echo in the woods surrounding the Gallagher mansion. As they walked, Patrick noticed a cottage in the distance. He pointed to it, and Virginia nodded.
“I think it’s time to take Wes’s potion,” she suggested, reaching into the inside pocket of her jacket. “There’s a chance that members of the pack are nearby.”
“Yes, that’s possible.”
He watched Virginia spray a good amount of the potion over her face and body, before handing it to him. He did the same, emptying the small spray bottle and then handing it back to her. He set his stopwatch for one hour.
“We’d better hurry now,” he advised.
“You didn’t tell Fallon that the potion only has a limited duration, did you?” she asked keeping her voice low.
“Why worry her?”
There was no need for her to know that once administered, the potion’s effectiveness would wane completely within an hour at the most, and their natural smells would be back, giving them away to any werewolf close enough to pick up their scent.
He pointed to another small house to his left. “Looks like some of the pack members live on the property.”
“Makes sense,” she replied just as quietly. “Wolves are pack animals. They want to stick together for protection. We need to find out how many we’re dealing with.”
“If we have time once we assess the situation at the house,” he said. “Our priority is finding Cameron’s whereabouts. We’ll worry about the rest of the pack later.”
They passed a total of four smaller single-level houses or cabins that looked no larger than a home with one or two bedrooms. It was impossible to see at first glance if the homes were occupied. However, he noticed car tracks on the narrow dirt roads leading to them. He pointed them out to Virginia, and she nodded, acknowledging that she’d seen them too.
A few minutes later, the Gallagher mansion came into view. From its back, it was clear that this house was larger than he’d first estimated. Rising three stories, there was a side wing that hadn’t been visible from the front entrance where they’d encountered William Gallagher and his son Byron. It looked more modern than the rest of the house, which meant it had been added later. He counted the windows on every floor and guessed that the building most likely had ten to twelve bedrooms. It could house more than just the Gallagher family. According to Thomas who’d done a lot of research on the Gallaghers, the patriarch of the family was a widower and had three sons and one daughter. It was unclear if he had extended family who lived here too. But from what he’d learned about werewolves, he knew that families stuck together, and he had to assume that there might be aunts, uncles, and cousins living either at the main house or in one of the smaller cottages dotted around the estate.
He exchanged a quick look with Virginia. “Cell phone on silent?”
“Done.”
Good. They were ready. As long as they remained silent, and their footfalls didn’t reach any werewolf’s ears, they’d be okay. He glanced at his stopwatch.
“We have forty-seven minutes.”
The soft grass that reached as far as the terrace and a couple of back doors swallowed the sound of their sneakers. Virginia pointed to one of the doors leading into the house. He nodded, and they walked toward it. In front of it, they stopped, and Virginia gave him a sign to remain outside while she passed through the door as if it was air. It was one of the other special skills only Stealth Guardians had—walking through anything solid except for lead. However, they could not make anybody else pass through solid objects.
Virginia was back in a few seconds. “Mudroom,” she whispered. “I unlocked the door from the inside.”
He quickly pushed the door open and entered, Virginia on his heels. She eased the door shut quietly. The first thing he noticed was the overwhelming smell of werewolves. Evidently, this was the room where they shed their clothes before they shifted and went for a run or a hunt—or whatever they did—in their wolf forms. The floor was dirty with leaves and soil. In one corner was an open shower area, most likely used to clean the dirt—or the blood—off them once they came back from their run.
Virginia motioned to the other door. It stood open and led into a hallway. Remaining silent, Patrick walked ahead. He could now hear voices and other sounds in the house. The smell of human food wafted to him, accompanied by the sound of cutlery and dishes clanging. Somebody was cooking lunch.
They walked by a door where the scent was at its strongest, and Patrick quickly looked inside without entering. A woman whose aura identified her as a werewolf was stirring something on the stove, while another female werewolf chopped salad or vegetables next to the sink. He couldn’t see the faces of either one, and they didn’t turn around, confirming that Wesley’s potion was effective in eliminating his and Virginia’s scent.
He heard sounds from the second floor. Somebody was walking up there, and the old wooden floor was creaking. Motioning to Virginia to follow him, he crossed the large wood-paneled foyer and headed for the room from which the voices came. The door was ajar, but not open wide enough for him to squeeze through.
Without a word, Virginia understood his predicament and used her preternatural skill of walking through solid objects to enter the room. A moment later, she peered back at him through the space between the door and frame and nodded. Slowly, she eased the door open wider and stepped aside to make room. Patrick squeezed through the space and entered, when the floor beneath his feet suddenly creaked.