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"Lewis, take over! There's an emergency at home!" he called over his shoulder even as he rushed out of the building.
"Need backup?" Lance called after him.
"No, it’s nothing I can't handle!" Jake said before the automatic doors clicked shut behind him. He could only pray that he was right, that Miranda was just playing some cruel trick on him and he'd rush home to find Melody and Sally playing blanket forts again.
He'd hug his daughter and kiss Melody, because the truth was, he didn't care to pretend anymore. The terror that something might have happened to either one of them was enough to tear him to shreds. It took all he had in him not to fully lose himself to panic.
He didn't even bother with his truck. In a place like Silverdale, it wasn't entirely unheard of to see a werewolf roaming the streets, and so he shed his human skin and raced down the street in wolf form.
Dash would likely tan his hide for it, but he would face any consequences later. Right now, he had to be sure his girls were okay.
And when he had run the three-mile length of the entire town, he skidded to a halt on the porch, shifting back in order to open up the door.
"Sally? Melody?" he yelled, but even before the names were off his tongue, he sensed that the house was empty. He could hear no hearts beating within the walls of the townhouse. Nor did he smell the scent of blood, which he had to take as a good thing even though the lack of signs of any life at all unnerved him.
Damn it, where are you?he thought, reaching for his phone in his pocket, only to realize he had lost it somewhere along with half his pants during his shift.
There was nothing left for it but to do things the old-fashioned way, and so he shifted once more. Dropping his nose to the floor, he breathed in the scents on the porch. Opening his mouth, he drew the smells over his tongue, letting his tastebuds tingle with information.
Picking up Sally and Melody's scents, he started to run again. He would run all day if that was what it took to find them, even if his lungs burned themselves inside out.
A couple of fairies screamed and offered angry exclamations as he barged his way past them, determined not to get mixed up in their scents or distracted from his mission by the fairy dust that scattered like glitter from their wings.
The stuff tickled his nose and made it almost impossible to concentrate, but he fought through, growling a warning at the two supernatural creatures to show he was not messing around before he continued on to the park where their scents were headed.
Maybe they are just feeding the ducks,Jake told himself, desperate to believe this was all some horrid prank on Miranda's end.
He pictured his daughter doing one of her favorite things, throwing seed into the pond for the geese and ducks. He could almost hear her laughing with glee. But as he skirted around the pond, following their scents, his heart sank.
On the far side of the water, one scent grew stronger, while one faded almost entirely.
The boot scuff marks he found on the shingle were enough to make his hackles rise, but the familiar scent of blood that hit his nostrils made his blood turn to ice.
He growled low in his throat, hoping Melody would hear him and call out if she were in trouble. He pricked his ears and heard nothing but the faint sound of ragged breathing.
Black pelt standing on end, Jake shoved his way off the park path and into the bushes, Melody's scent and the scent of her blood growing stronger. He tried his hardest to push Sally from his mind, only for a moment, in order to be sure the she-wolf was alright and to find out what the hell had happened.
He found Melody curled on her side, blood matted in her hair, eyes closed. Only the sound of her breathing eased his worry.
Struggling to shift in the close confines of the bushes, he gripped Melody and rolled her over, shaking her gently in an attempt to wake her.
"Melody, wake up! Come on, wake up, damn it," he said, starting to panic. And just when he was beginning to think he might have to slap her, Melody's eyes fluttered open.
"Wha…what happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," Jake sighed.
Melody lifted her hand to the side of her head and winced. Her fingertips came away red with blood. Realization dawned upon her face.
"Sally!" she exclaimed and made to get up.
Jake urged her back down. "You're hurt."
"It's already healing," Melody protested. "We have to go after her!"
"Not before you tell me what happened," Jake said. He had to know just how bad it was.
Melody's face fell as if she were remembering everything. Her voice shook as she said, "I thought we'd be fine just coming for a walk, but I got the sense someone was following us. I told Sally to race me home so that I didn't frighten her, but I let her get too far ahead, and someone, I think that damned warlock, grabbed me from behind…"
