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“He’s been abducted.”
Elara’s stomach somehow simultaneously bottoms out and shoots straight up her throat. "Tell me where you are. I’m coming."
Kira rattles off an address, a restaurant downtown. Elara finds the location odd, but it doesn't really matter. What does is getting to her friend and figuring out what happened.
And then what to do.
Kade’s warning about Shadowgrace and Denzel rises in Elara’s mind, making her wonder if she can call on them to help or if it's a bad idea. Kade seems to think they can't be trusted, and then Denzel was rattled by her show of magic. But who else is going to help find Laith and bring him back safely?
Don't get ahead of yourself, Elara chides as she goes far above the speed limit and hopes there aren’t any cops around. Luck seems to be on her side, even as she bites her lip knowing her parents would never approve. But it's clearly an emergency.
When she pulls up to the restaurant, there are three cop cars to the side questioning a young woman who looks vaguely familiar. Though, Elara can't put her finger on where from. A distraught Kira is leaning up against the side of the building, a small blanket wrapped around her shoulders as mascara runs down her splotchy face.
Elara parks and practically runs to her friend, open arms offering her comfort. Cars honk as she disregards any traffic.
"Kira!” she calls out, colliding with her. The two girls hug, sliding down to the ground and sitting. Then, as Elara pulls away, she notes the nice clothes Kira’s wearing.
"What happened?" Elara asks, wanting to get to the bottom of it and spring into action. Her heart is racing, adrenaline pumping through her, ready to send her in any direction at a moment's notice. Her wolf is there with her, under the surface, giving her strength and a newfound confidence they’ll save Laith, whatever he’s gotten himself into.
"Laith finally invited me on a date, and we booked a reservation here." Kira points to the restaurant at her back, one of the most popular in town for nice dates.
"I showed up, and he wasn't here. I thought he was just late. I was a little annoyed, but whatever. So, I waited out here for him. It was like forever. When he finally did show up with no explanation about why he was late, some goons came and pushed him into a van. They drove off before I could even raise my voice."
Kira chokes on a sob, and Elara pulls her close again. "What the hell?" she says, mostly to herself, gritting her teeth. She isn't usually much for cursing, but lately, she’s found herself doing it a lot. Insanity like what’s going on in her life does that to people, she supposes.
Elara shakes her head. "I don't understand what anyone would want with him. I mean, we know what he is, but I don't get why they would..."
"Shh," Kira urges, pointing to the cops swarming the place and starting to tape it off as a crime scene. Although Elara doubts there will be much evidence for them to find. It all happened so fast. Laith never even went into the restaurant.
"Who’s she?" Elara asks, pointing to the blonde girl talking to the police.
"Oh, that's Arielle. She's a senior."
As Kira explains, the girl finishes and walks over, her face wrinkled with worry.
"Arielle, this is my best friend, Elara. Elara, this is Arielle."
The two girls nod at each other as Arielle offers her hand to help both of them up. "The police are doing everything they can," she says to Kira before turning to Elara. "I heard her scream and came to see what was going on. I watched the van drive away, nothing special. I'm sure there are a ton of vans just like it. I’ve met Kira before, so I stayed with her."
Elara nods, grateful Kira hadn't been facing the initial shock of this all alone.
Kira lets out a strangled sort of sound, and Arielle rubs her shoulder. “Think positive thoughts, okay? Someone will find him. I'll help however I can."
Arielle’s gaze falls on Elara, and it's intense, much more than she would expect from some mutual friend of Kira's. Her gaze lingers, and the sensation makes Elara queasy.
Arielle's hand flies to her head with a hiss.
"Are you okay?" Kira asks, her voice thick.
Arielle nods, looking away from Elara. "It’s begun," she whispers.
Elara frowns as she opens her mouth to ask what she means, but Arielle turns abruptly away. With rapid steps, she leaves with no other explanation.
Elara gives her friend a confused look, even as her stomach somersaults. Those were the words Kade used a lifetime ago, when she was attacked. By him. She shakes her head. They can talk about the weird girl later and how Arielle could be linked to all this. Right now, the priority has to be finding Laith.
"I don't understand who could have done this," Elara says. "Did you see anything?"
Kira nods. “I got a good look at one of the men who grabbed Laith. The one who first punched him before they got him inside the van.” She tenses. “You're not going to like it.”
