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Me: What exactly is going on, Grace?
Grace: Werewolves are going missing all across the Pacific coast. We’ve had students disappear in the middle of the night with no trace of them left behind, not even their scent. The same has been happening with entire packs up and down the coast.
The air rushed from my lungs, shock widening my eyes as I read her message, viciously typing my reply.
Me: How could entire packs go missing?
It didn’t make sense. Werewolf packs were close-knit. They worked together to defend each other like the wolves in the wilderness. One alone could be taken, but an entire pack? It didn’t make sense.
Grace: At first, it was small packs. Packs who generally kept to themselves. No one noticed at first, and when they did, they believed that maybe they had moved to a new territory. But then, more social packs began to disappear. They were gone overnight without a trace.
Grace: That is when the larger pack Alphas began to meet. It was to see if the missing packs had moved into the territories of the other Alphas. But as they met, they realized that everyone was affected. That these packs were gone. Nothing but their personal effects were left behind.
Me: How long exactly has this been going on?
Grace: Months. Longer than you’ve been in that packhouse. The packs going missing have only gotten larger. And with no scent trails to follow, it’s impossible to know where they’ve gone. I’ve even tried some tracking spells…but nothing. Have you, by chance, seen anything in your cards or a vision?
I groaned at the reminder of my missing cards, sending another wave of nausea up my throat.
Me: My cards have disappeared. They’ve been gone for about a week now. But even before then, I hadn’t seen anything that told me about this. Everything you’ve said is completely new to me.
Grace: Well, when you find your cards, pay close attention and watch out for yourself. The Coronado Pack is big, but the latest pack to go missing was nearly as big. Whoever or whatever is doing this is growing stronger. I know that the pack may not accept you, but whoever is doing this won’t see past you being there. Stay safe.
Me: Thank you for the heads up.
Grace: Anytime. Stay safe and stay in touch. I hate that I heard about your mate from Rome and not you.
Guilt filled my heart, wanting to tell her the truth: that he wasn’t my mate, not by fate at least. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t reveal the truth about Nyte and me even to my friend because to say it out loud to anyone other than him made it true. I wasn’t sure I actually wanted my time with him to end anymore. I wasn’t sure I wanted his mark removed anymore. Even as I knew how selfish it would be of me to keep what belonged to another, I just wasn’t sure I could go on to live a happy life after giving him up.
It started as only a crush on him. Seeing him come and go with my brother all these years always left butterflies in my stomach anytime our eyes met. Now, that crush has grown into a wild garden that not even the most skilled gardener could manage. I was madly and deeply in love with him, so much so that I could feel it consuming me.
I went to place my phone back on the table, deciding to take the nap Nyte had suggested, but another message came through from Grace, grabbing my attention.
Grace: One more thing, we suspect a vampire and a witch are behind this. But we have no proof. So, keep that in mind when you get the cards back. You might be able to confirm our suspicions.
My eyes narrowed at the message. It wouldn’t be the first time a vampire messed with werewolves. But what would a witch gain from working with a vamp against werewolves? Our history with werewolves was complicated enough, and many high witches worked tirelessly to mend the ties between our kinds. I’ve never even heard a witch speak out entirely against mixing the relationship, especially since more than a few witches were sitting in the seat of Luna for powerful packs.
I didn’t reply to Grace, setting my phone back down as a new wave of nausea hit me. I buried my head into the pillow and groaned to myself.
What did I eat? I couldn’t think of anything out of the usual things that I had eaten, and Nyte had been sharing his food with me. He wasn’t sick. In fact, he seemed completely thrilled lately, as if he were walking on a sea of clouds anytime he looked at me. He also had no problem jumping up to get anything I asked for while I lay bedridden and miserable. Even volunteering to rub my tummy, which somehow helped ease my nausea.
The first time he did it, I thought it was strange. I had swatted his hand away and asked him if he had lost his mind. But he persisted, and I found myself relaxing at his touch by the third or fourth time. It was intimate but not sexual. We had begun doing a lot more intimate things that didn’t involve stripping down to our birthday suits and playing a round of naked wrestling. Like watching his favorite cooking show. Making bets on who would be cut off the show in each episode and ranting to one another when they sent home someone we didn’t think deserved to go.
He even began watching some of my favorite reality shows with me. We were fully engaged as we gasped at the drama between the housemates on the show. It made me feel like we were a real couple. Like my parents when they would watch Mom’s favorite novellas on TV. Or when Mom would sit and cheer for Dad’s favorite soccer team. It wasn’t just physical. We had reached a higher level than I ever thought possible when I came and asked Nyte for his help.
I just wish he would trust me with the trouble he was facing.
A frown creased my brow as I thought about the messages from Grace and how Nyte had been keeping it all from me. I had been living in a bubble all this time when I could have helped them as soon as I arrived. I could have helped any time before I lost my cards. All he had to do was ask.
It didn’t matter to me that the pack didn’t accept me as his mate. Technically, I wasn’t. They didn’t have to accept me. But even if I was, I still wouldn’t care if they didn’t accept me. I would still help because it was the right thing to do. And if a witch was involved, my duty as Ama’s granddaughter was to help. It was the duty of any future high witch to right the wrongs of her fellow witches, no matter who the wronged party was.
Rolling over off of my stomach, I stared at the door, wondering when he would be back. Grace had said the last pack to disappear was almost as big as Nyte’s pack. It could easily be a longer meeting with so much stress and panic at the prospect of now being next.
The Coronado pack was one of the biggest in the entire state, with the second being the Ocean Side pack that was up north along the coastline. If the pack taken last was really as large as this pack, then they would be fearful for their safety. And the safety of their children.
The thought came with images of Diego and the other children living in the packhouse. If entire packs were going missing, that meant their children were as well. The idea of anyone harming innocent babies sent a fire in my veins that I didn’t even know I could feel. A sense of protectiveness grinding my teeth.
I turned my gaze from the bedroom door, rolling over until my body slid off the other side of the bed to face the bathroom door. Cards weren’t the only way to see things. I rarely scried with water. Admittedly, I wasn’t very good at using water in my divination yet. I was barely learning to use a pendulum well. But water was the next best thing without my cards and no pendulum available to me to try.
