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Ten seconds later, his phone rang.
“Thank you for the prompt response. Do you have news?”
“I regret that we do not. Mordecai can’t locate Morella, Alaric, Bain, or Laszlo. I haven’t been able to reach Apollonius, unfortunately. Kirsten went to Alfheim to make certain they aren’t there, and Aaron is in Faerie. Mordecai has his contacts in the other realms on alert, and I have my people searching through all known parties’ digital lives.” He took a breath and spoke carefully. “Lauren has access to the after-action report on the Drake Security server, and I’ve given her permission to share this report with you. It occurs to me you may want me to give you direct access, and I can certainly do that, but it will mean installing our software on your device.”
“I’ll get with Lauren and look it over. Should I need direct access, I’ll let you know.”
Things hadn’t always been friendly between Nathan and Gavin, and it was clear both men were attempting to keep things civil. Being too careful could sometimes cause problems as well, and Gavin sent a note to Queenie to remind him in five days to make a plan to invite Kirsten and her men for a meal. Gavin wouldn’t eat, of course, but Lauren, Nick, and their guests would, and Gavin could drink wine while he sat and talked with them.
Gavin met with Queenie, fed from one of Nick’s lionesses while she was in the building, and then went through the minds of the shapeshifters who’d been captured. He made notes to Queenie, to let her know who was likely fine and who would need extra attention to work through the trauma. Six months earlier, he’d have rolled his eyes at Zander for doing so, but he got it, now. These were his people and he was responsible for them. Mostly, the apex predator shifters followed a survival-of-the-fittest mentality, but the prey shifters often needed some handholding.
Besides, they were his employees. Merely looking at it from a managerial view, the business would be best off with employees who’d effectively dealt with the distress of their capture. He also asked Queenie to remind him to see if Lauren or her mom might know of a local therapist. His peek into everyone’s head had shown him a half-dozen who’d had extensive therapy in the past, and who thought they were going to need it again. He was tempted to alter their thinking to help them, but then he’d have to change the memories of all of their friends who’d expect them to need therapy, and it would be easier to just provide a set number of sessions for anyone who felt they needed them.
The alpha arrived with his werewolves, and Gavin had the three brought to his downstairs parlor. Queenie had gotten him the information on which two missing shapeshifters the two wolves were partnered with. The male had been dating a civet, and the female had been seeing a horse.
The alpha introduced the female first, so Gavin started with her.
“If I can taste your blood, no more than two mouthfuls, possibly only one, I might be able to use your bond with your horse to find him. If he’s in another realm, and I fear he is, it won’t work.”
“I’ll try anything. Where do you need me?”
“The more our auras intertwine, the better the connection. I can do it by biting your forearm, but if you’re comfortable sitting on my lap, the neck works better.”
She stood, walked to him, and straddled his legs, aiming the side of her neck at the perfect angle.
He licked to help numb the outer layer, and then bit, adding plenty of pain blocking venom as his fangs sliced through flesh.
She tasteddivine, but he went into her mind, found the threads to those she was bound to, sensed which belonged to the horse, and followed that energy.
And found nothing.
He retracted his fangs and licked the area, but didn’t relax his embrace of the emotional wolf in his arms — he didn’t sense she’d need steadying for long, so he could hold out and let her move away from him at her own pace.
She sat up and he released her, and told her what he could. “Your horse is strong, willful, and resilient. Your love for each other is a beautiful thing.”
“But you couldn’t locate him?”
“Not even a north/south type direction. I’m sorry.”
She stood and went to sit by her alpha, who put his arm around her.
The male wolf told him, “I don’t think sitting on your lap will be productive. It’s probably best if you drink from my arm.”
Gavin owned an antique conversation chair, made to situate three people so they could see each other and talk. He stood and walked to it, pointing to the seat he wanted the wolf to take. This would put them within inches of each other — close enough for their auras to mingle without Gavin touching any part of the wolf except his arm and wrist.
He bit, found the connection, and keyed into the civet.
West. Desert. Being kept in a cage in human form. Gavin pulled back before someone sensed the civet was being looked for. Located.
“We might overshoot it, but my gut tells me Vegas. She’s safe,” he told the wolf. “In a cage, in human form, not hungry or thirsty.”
Queenie was standing guard at the door, and he met her gaze. “Let the pilot know we’ll be at the airport in two hours, and text Nathan to let him know we’ve found the general direction of one of the missing civets.”
Gavin didn’t like going out during daylight, but they needed to get there before the civet was moved. He would not, however, risk flying into an area where the sun would take him again, so they would need to wait before he flew west.
He looked to the Alpha. “It’s just the civet. None of the others. I’ll need your man once we arrive, so I can dial in the location.”
“I want to go, too,” the female told him. “Just in case that puts us closer. Close enough for you to sense something.”
