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Luna exchanged a look with Remus before continuing. “When I dressed Bella in clean clothes last night, I noticed she had a birthmark on her right shoulder blade. Here.” She pointed. “I thought it looked rather like a waning moon, and then I thought I was probably seeing things that weren’t there…”
Fiona raised her brows. “Well. Thatisinteresting.”
Remus growled softly. “So they took this girl and her parents to extort money from the rest of the pack. They were working with Ryan because they needed additional funds, right?”
I nodded. “That’s what Ryan said, yes.” If this pack was really so rich that they had treasure hidden somewhere, they were probably a good target for ransom.
Fiona pursed her lips. “Perhaps,” she countered, “or perhaps they knew these people were related to the first shifters, and wanted them for whatever terrible experiments they were running.” She grimaced. “One of the rumors surrounding the treasure indicate that only the pack alpha is able to gain access to it. If they knew Bella was an alpha, perhaps they thought they’d use her as a key once they gained her parents’ compliance…or after they’d finished with her parents.”
The thought alone was revolting. “Even if she is an alpha—” and at this point, we were all pretty settled on that conclusion “—that doesn’t mean she’s the pack alpha. She’s achild.”
Fiona snorted. “Do you really believe humans, who think they can learn to control werewolves, have any concept of the difference between an alpha and a pack alpha, Eli?”
I raised a brow. “Touché.” They might be running experiments, but they knew jack shit about pack structure. All alphas did not become pack alphas. All betas didn’t become pack betas. It was a fact of life, and not one I was interested in explaining to humans, either.
Remus rumbled unhappily. “Regardless if they understood that, they probably viewed capturing a child alpha as a bonus. Once they got rid of her parents, they could brainwash her. Even if they couldn’t control her the way they hoped to control the others, they could essentially raise her any way they wanted.”
“And,” Luna added, looking disgusted, “it would be easier to get future wolves from her if she had children.”
The idea made me shudder. The more I learned about this project, the more I hated it — and I didn’t even think that was possible. I leaned back in the armchair, scrubbing at my face. “They’re going to want her back,” I realized grimly. “It’s not just that someone escaped; she was probably the one they considered the most valuable.”
A silence fell over the room as the gravity of the situation settled over everyone else. Remus and my father exchanged looks. Luna stared into her tea, likely lukewarm by now. “We can’t let them have her,” she said softly.
“Of course not,” Remus said, his voice taking on a hard edge. “There is no way we are letting them get their hands back on that child.”
My father nodded, rumbling his agreement. “We’ll assign her bodyguards,” he decided. Remus nodded in agreement. My father turned to look at me. “I would suggest that you and Iris don’t return to your condo, though. I suspect Bella wants to stay with Iris, given how distraught she was to sleep in another room earlier, and I’m not sure that’s the safest place for her right now.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but then I paused. This wasn’t my father being overprotective of me; this was my father identifying potential safety risks. No matter what I did or did not want to do on my own, I couldn’t think about only myself in this instance — there was Iris to consider. And Bella. Even with Clay and Jaxon, I wouldn’t be able to protect the two of them if this Project Night Moon mobilized even half the Raven Brothers to get the little girl back.
“Okay,” I said a moment later, nodding. “Won’t it seem odd that I’ve just up and left, though?”
Nic shook his head. “Tell Amber you need to return to London. There’s some family business I’d like you to handle personally.”
I raised a brow. “Okay,” I said. The story itself would be believable enough, but… “AndwillI actually be going to London? I don’t think that’s the best solution to this.”
Remus shook his head. “There’s a safe house. It’s been in my family for ages,” he said, glancing at Fiona for a moment. She inclined her head to one side, and he continued. “It hasn’t been used for a while, but it is maintained in case my family ever needs to disappear. You, Iris, and Bella can all stay there. No one should know about it, save for the person we have who maintains it.”
“They are a very close ally of the pack,” Fiona said, nodding gravely. “Aiden is one of Remington’s oldest friends. I am sure they’ve never shared that secret with anyone.”
I gave a slow nod, tapping my finger against the arm of my chair as I rolled this idea around in my head. It was better than any others currently springing to mind…and if I told my assistant I was returning to London as my father had suggested, that might even buy us time, if the Raven Brothers bought that. I could tell her I was taking Iris with me. Just drop a subtle hint. That would be perfect.
As much as I’d rather be in my own home, I knew this was the best solution. “We’ll leave as soon as Iris is able,” I said, nodding again to myself. “I’ll need to go to my place to get a few things, though. All of Iris’s belongings are there, too.”
“I’ll take care of it,” my father said. “And I’ll make sure it looks like you’ve packed up to head overseas for a bit.”
Fiona hummed, standing up. “I’ll go call the caretaker,” she murmured. “The safe house will be clean, and I wouldn’t want him thinking someone uninvited was sneaking into it.”
Luna got up, too. “Well, if that’s the plan, I’ll run to the grocery store. We need food for the next few days, and I’ll make sure to pick up things Eli and Iris can take with them when they go.”
Remus rumbled.
“Take Clay with you,” I suggested before they could argue. “If nothing else, he can push your cart.”
Luna gave me a sideways smile. “Sure,” she agreed, heading to the hallway to grab her purse and her keys. “I’ll be back soon.”
Eventually, it was only me and Remus left in the living room. I sighed and leaned forward, elbows on my knees as I rubbed at my face. When I had chased Iris out of Remus’ office a few weeks ago, I had never imagined this would be coming. That felt like a lifetime ago now.
“You should get some sleep, Eli,” Remus said quietly. “The bags under your eyes would put most humans to shame. There’s nothing we can do right now until we get some more information and Iris is feeling a bit better, so.” He shrugged. “Rest while you can.”
