Naomi gulped, and beside her, Beth did the same.
“It could be coincidence,” Beth said, but Naomi could tell she didn’t really believe it.
“There’s no coincidence that strong,” Liam put in his opinion. His gaze was steady on Mark. “How do you know Beatrice?”
“Knew,” Mark said. “Knew Beatrice. She was our next-door neighbor at the time Naomi and Beth disappeared.” He paused. “Those are your real names, you know. Naomi and Beth. I, uh, I helped… that is, Mom and Dad let me help pick the names, when you were born.”
Liam leaned forward. “What did she look like?”
“She was old to me at the time, of course,” Mark responded. “I mean, I was twelve. Looking back, I’m thinking, maybe twenty or so? She didn’t like kids at all, she always got this sour expression on her face when she saw us, like we were infectious or something. I was a little afraid of her,” he confessed. “She was tall, with this flaming red hair, and green eyes sharp enough to cut you.”
“Oh, yeah,” Naomi and Beth said in unison, then stopped to look at each other. Their usual exuberance was dimmed, however, as they turned their attention back to Mark. “That’s Beatrice.”
Liam shook his head, frowning. “How could it be? If she was twenty then, that would make her about forty now. Not even Douglas mentioned that she was so much older than him, and he went out on a date with her once.”
“Oh, she took good care of herself,” Beth spoke up, Naomi nodding in confirmation. “She was totally vain. She was always trying stuff to get rid of wrinkles, she’d get like, facials and stuff every week.”
“And she knew how to use cosmetics like an expert,” Naomi added. “She never left the house until she was perfectly made up. I doubt anyone who didn’t know her would have believed her a day over thirty.”
“But why would Beatrice, of all people, have taken you? And how did she keep you hidden away? There’s no way… I mean, she lived right next door! It’s not like she could have kept it secret that she had you.”
Naomi and Beth looked at each other. “Valerie,” they said in unison.
“Who’s that?” Mark asked.
“Our mother… wethoughtshe was our mother,” Beth corrected. “Beatrice’s older sister.”
“Did Beatrice have any visitors, before we turned up missing?” Naomi asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes,” Mark said slowly, his brow furrowed as he tried to call up memories from two decades ago. “I don’t remember exactly when, but it was another woman her age, maybe a little older, with the same red hair. She wasn’t as mean as Beatrice was, I remember her smiling at me a couple times. But I do know she left before you disappeared.”
“I bet she was somewhere in the vicinity, not too far anyway,” Naomi said. “Beatrice kept watch, nabbed us when she found an opportunity, and Valerie came by and picked us up and whisked us away. No one would have suspected Beatrice, and since Valerie hadn’t been there at the time, no one would have thought to put her visit together with our disappearance.”
“Lady Flora said our other sisters weren’t related at all, either.”
Beside her, Beth sat up a little straighter. “I bet they did the same thing before us.”
Mark was appalled. “You mean, there are two other shifter families out there, missing their daughters?”
“Yes.” Naomi sighed, leaning into Liam’s strength. “But it’s best if they don’t find them. Lady Flora said they had embraced being Rogue, there is no way to redeem them.”
“That’s horrible,” he whispered. “But… but why?”
It was Liam who answered. “As far as anyone can tell, it was to build a family of Rogue females. The girls were expected… encouraged! …to stalk, seduce, and kill. Unlike the other two sisters, Naomi and Beth resisted. They’ve been re-building their lives here in the Hudson Valley.”
Liam leaned forward to offer his hand to the other man. “I’m Liam McConnell, by the way. I’m Naomi’s Chosen.”
Mark’s eyes widened in recognition. “The physician who’s also a veterinarian, right?” He took Liam’s hand, shaking it. “I’m very glad to meet you.”
His gaze went to Beth. “Have you a Chosen also?”
Beth’s face fell, and she turned away a little, hiding her expression. “N-no,” she whispered.
“That’s a story for another time,” Naomi said firmly. “You know,” she added thoughtfully. “It’s probably just as well that you fell asleep, that night. We have years of knowing Beatrice, and if she was really determined to have us, she wouldn’t have hesitated to rip you to pieces.”
“Oh, my God,” Beth said, shuddering. “Yes, no question. You’re really, really lucky that she didn’t kill you then, just because she could.”
Mark blanched. “She was that bad?”
