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I was sure I could do this. I had to be sure.
As soon as we got back, I leaped off Ginger’s back and approached the mic that was still set up by the seating area. More people had gathered back here since Cole and I ran away. I wondered if they hadn’t heard the howls, or if Cole had been tuned into the sound because of his position as an alpha. Maybe it was Ginger who'd howled, and Cole knew his sister’s howl that well.
Whatever the case, I approached the microphone and tapped it to check it was on. It took a bit of finagling, but with Ginger’s aggressive bossiness, we finally got the music turned off and the microphone working. I lifted it to my mouth and cleared my throat.
Everyone looked at me, and for a moment, I blanked on what I was going to say. All the rehearsing and planning I’d done on the way here eddied right out of my brain. Nonetheless, I clenched my fists and steeled myself.
“We have an emergency,” I said, my voice steady and calm. “Two of our pack members have been taken. We don’t know for sure, but we suspect that this is Lanyon Clover’s doing. We need all able-bodied shifters to assist in the search. Ginger, standing here to my right, can take you to the abduction point.”
Every set of eyes across the party was solemnly focused on me. They were listening to me. They trusted me as the voice of the alpha.
“We suspect that Lanyon Clover may have some way to force shifters out of their lycan form,” I continued. “Proceed with caution and at your own risk. Stay together in teams of three or more. Do not exhaust yourselves. If anyone has any questions…well, I can’t promise I’ll be able to answer them, but I can promise to do my best.”
I looked over to Ginger, who gave me a curt nod before lifting her head to the sky and giving a rallying cry.
I watched as dozens of people in the crowd shifted, naturally gathering into groups of three or more, just as I’d instructed. They followed Ginger as she sprinted back into the forest to search for Paulette and Rosie.
I knew Cole had ordered her to stay, but I also knew there was no way that would ever happen. If the shoe were on the other foot, Cole would have ripped through anyone standing between him and me. Hell, I knew I would do whatever I could to tear anyone apart if Cole was taken. I watched them fade into the distance, catching sight of a few familiar wolves—Travis, Houston, and Lana.
When they were gone, I was flooded by another several dozen shifters who hadn’t left. They asked me what felt like hundreds of questions, and I had answers for very few of them. I did the best I could–a few shifters requested permission to go home, and I stressed to them that they never had to ask for permission to leave. We had single parents, elderly members, and young wolves who were too young to stay out too long past curfew. There were also a few shifters who found Lanyon Clover genuinely terrifying.
I didn’t blame them.
I sent them off with my blessing, urging them to stay safe by staying on main roads and near other cars if they were driving.
As the crowd thinned and dispersed. Sylvia approached me, leaning down to look me in the eye. “How you holding up, kid?” she asked.
“I… uh…” I stammered. “I’m so…what do I do?”
“What do you mean?”
“My friends are missing,” I said a little breathlessly. “What do I do?”
“For now, you and I have done what we can,” she said. “I’m old and slow, and you’re human. So now, we call the police and rest while we wait for Cole’s next orders.”
“It feels wrong to rest when Paulette’s blood was soaked into the dirt,” I said.
“Marley, this is something you’re going to have to get used to. There is always going to be more to do. So you have to rest when you’re able.”
I nibbled on the inside of my lip and gave a nod. “You’re right. Let’s call…I guess it’d be park rangers up here, right? Who cares, I’ll call everyone I can.”
Sylvia laughed and put an arm around my shoulders. “Come on, the hosts offered us their kitchen. Let’s go make some coffee. It’s probably going to be a long night.”
I tried not to look daunted by that statement as I let Sylvia lead me into the nice shifter couple’s home. After brewing coffee and coming up with a game plan, we sat down and got to work. Sylvia and I set up our makeshift command center in the yellow glow of the kitchen. Our hosts provided us with several maps of the area, highlighters and pens, and sticky notes. A method started to naturally form while we looked over the maps and talked back and forth with Cole, Travis, Farrah, and the other shifters out searching. We were covering a good amount of ground, but as the updates became slower and slower, coupled with the shifters’ diminishing energy levels, it was becoming clear that we would need help from agencies with the proper infrastructure.
I called the local police department, a sense of caution mingling with my hope. After a brief and somewhat disheartening conversation, I ended the call and frowned. “They’re claiming it’s not under their jurisdiction.”
Sylvia let out a deep sigh, her hand raking through her hair in exasperation. “Typical,” she muttered. “Let’s give the park rangers a shot. Maybe they’ll assist in the wilderness.”
I dialed the park rangers’ office number. After a few minutes on the call, I ended it. Dejected, I looked at Sylvia. “The rangers agreed to send a couple of people, but they didn’t sound too enthusiastic about it. It’s crazy that no one seems to be taking this seriously.”
Sylvia leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. “Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon. Non-shifter law enforcement often don’t see shifter matters as their problem. If anything, they only begrudgingly assist to avoid bad press. But their help is rarely anything to write home about.”
“Why are we doing this, then? If we know it’s fruitless?”
“Because we leave no stone unturned, Marley. Once they come out, we can trust that we’ve done everything we can to help find our friends.”
I didn’t like that answer. It was disappointing, and it held the subtle implication that we may never find Paulette and Rosie.
