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Chapter

Forty-One

K NOX

I shifted restlessly on the hard chair, eager to stop fucking chatting and take action. We weren’t any closer to finding Hannah and Jessie than we had been an hour ago, but Zander insisted on holding a goddamn meeting.

“...while we instigate a perimeter search of—”

“Sheriff!” The receptionist barged into the bullpen, reeking of distress. Her eyes were wide, her pulse racing, and her face was an unusual shade of burgundy.

Zander stood, unflustered by the interruption. “What is it, Nell?”

She took so long to respond that I wanted to shake it out of her. Clearly, something was very wrong.

“There are another two missing omegas,” she panted, looking as though she might faint. “The calls just came in. They didn’t return to work after lunch, and a white van was reported speeding through the center of town and driving dangerously.”

“We’re sure the omegas are missing and not just staying home with their families until the danger blows over?” Zander asked. It was a smart question. I wasn’t sure I’d have thought to raise it.

Nell shook her head. “I’ve checked. They aren’t at home either. I think…” She bit her lip. “Sir, I have a really bad feeling about this.”

So did I, and my instincts didn’t often steer me wrong.

“Get me their details,” Zander said.

“Yes, sheriff.” She hurried out.

The room fell silent. No one seemed inclined to speak. I noticed Everett on his phone and wondered if he was messaging Milo to check in. I should do the same with Danny. I pulled my phone from my pocket, but before I had the chance to type anything, Nell rushed back into the room, even more purple than before.

“It’s happened again!” she cried. “Jamie Burke was taking his mother to a medical appointment when they were attacked and he was snatched off the street.”

“Fuck,” I swore. “What about his mother?” If I recalled correctly, she was the same person we’d already been charged with finding once today. She wasn’t fully aware of what was going on around her, and there was no telling what she might have done if attacked.

“The doctors have her.” Nell wrung her hands. “But Jamie… that poor boy…”

Zander narrowed his eyes in thought. “Deputies Clay, Hawk, and Bea, I want each of you to take the lead on one of the missing omegas. Nell will provide names. Talk to their family, bosses, colleagues, and friends. Find out if anyone saw anything. Someone needs to talk to Mrs. Burke and the doctor ASAP to see if they got a description of the attacker.”

“Z.” Garrick jerked his head toward his own team.

Zander nodded. “Deputies, I want you to each partner with someone from Search and Rescue. There’s a chance we’ll be able to trace them from one of the crime scenes, although it seems they have a warlock helping to cover their tracks.”

Garrick ordered Angela, Yuri, and Francis to accompany the deputies.

Once they were gone, Zander addressed those of us who remained. “I have to wonder whether the first kidnapping—that of Hannah and Jessie—was intended to distract us while additional kidnappings were undertaken.”

“Surely they’d know we’d be on guard if there had been a kidnapping,” I pointed out.

He shrugged one shoulder. “Perhaps, but they’d also know that our resources would be occupied. We’re a small town; we only have so many people available to help.”

I gritted my teeth, knowing he was right even though I hated it. I finished tapping out a message to Danny and sent it. Almost immediately, Zander’s phone rang.

“Sheriff Blackwood,” he answered, raising the phone to his ear without checking the screen. “Hold on. Calm down, Milo. What did you say?”

I stiffened. Everett was already on his feet, his eyes a brilliant gold.

“Danny was taken?” Zander asked.

Fear lanced through me. My fangs extended, catching on my lower lip, and I growled.

No, no, no .

It wasn’t possible. Danny was safe at the bakery. He’d promised not to go anywhere alone.

Zander glanced at me and turned away, speaking more softly into the phone although he must realize that I could hear every word. He ended the call and pocketed his phone, pivoting slowly toward us. His face was pale, his eyes shimmering unnaturally. It might be the most emotion I’d ever seen him display.

“Milo and Danny walked home for lunch together. Danny told Milo he was on his way back to see him but didn’t show. Milo went over to check on him, and he said it looked as though he might have been taken.”

A growl tore through me. Fur rippled across the exposed skin of my forearms, and I snarled.

This couldn’t be happening.

I should never have left the bakery earlier. I should have spent the day parked inside, refusing to leave no matter what else happened.

I’d let my mate down.

“What about Milo?” Everett asked.

“He called Dad to come and get him. He was just arriving as we ended the call.”

Everett relaxed slightly but then tensed again, as if recalling that his brother was still in danger. “Are we sure it was the wolves? It could have been Rex.”

I growled again, my hands curling into claws. If that asshole laid so much as a finger on Danny, he would pay for it.

“One way to find out.” Zander gestured to the door. “Everett and Knox, go. See what you can find. You’d both be useless here anyway.”

I grabbed my jacket from over the back of the chair and shoved my arms into it, all of my instincts driving me to get my eyes on Danny as quickly as possible.

“Car?” Everett asked.

“Yeah.” If we had to drive anywhere from Danny’s place, it would be faster to have transportation already with us.

We hurried out and got into the car, then drove over. Aaron’s vehicle was parked outside and he, Milo, and Melinda were all inside. We pulled up behind them and I threw the door open and jumped out before the engine was even off .

I paused, sniffing, but there was no scent except for the faintest hint of wolf and ozone. The warlock was getting better at masking their presence.

I headed to the front door and tried the handle. It was locked, so I inserted my key and let myself in. The living area smelled of both Danny and myself and there were no foreign scents, thank gods.

In the hall, his sweet scent turned sour with fear. My chest constricted, and I flexed my hands, ready to fight to defend my mate.

Only… I was too late.

I followed the scent of terror to the back door and then to the bedroom. The window was ajar. I climbed through and dropped to the ground. The gun I’d left in Danny’s nightstand lay discarded on the grass.

“He came out this way,” I called.

Knox jogged around the corner. Aaron didn’t follow, which surprised me. He must have decided to stay out in front to protect Milo and Melinda if needed.

“They trapped him in the house, so he tried to escape through the window.” I nudged the gun with my foot. “He was prepared to defend himself, but it doesn’t look like he got the chance. I don’t know about you, but I don’t smell any blood.”

That was a relief, at least. If they’d killed him, he would have bled. Shifters didn’t slaughter their enemies neatly.

I stripped off, ignoring the chill in the air, and my wolf took over. We followed Danny’s scent to the edge of the property and onto the road, where it came to an abrupt halt.

Damn.

I closed my eyes and groped around, searching for the weak connection between us. It wasn’t fully formed yet, but it should be enough to lead me to him. My consciousness grabbed onto the bond and began to follow it. But a few yards away it was as if I ran into a brick wall, beyond which my sense of the bond vanished.

Shit. The warlock had messed with my ability to find my mate. I just prayed it was more of their masking magic and that they hadn’t damaged our bond. Surely I’d have felt it if they had. Wouldn’t I?