by Bianca D’Arc
“I should be around for dinner,” he told her, putting one arm around her shoulders as casually as he could. His inner wolf was adamant in wanting to touch her. He couldn’t be close to her without wanting to stroke and pet and kiss. “There’s a diner and another fancier American bistro type place. There’s also a bakery that serves sandwiches where we could get lunch tomorrow, if we’re both free.” He was planning even farther ahead than just dinner. He wanted to be with her as much as he could.
“That sounds nice,” she answered, seemingly content to walk down the street tucked close to his side.
They lingered over lunch. Helen got her desired pulled pork sandwich while Jim had two and a side of ribs. He liked how daintily she ate, even when the food was inherently messy. She had class, did Helen, and he found himself enchanted by her manner.
He was so enraptured by his lunch companion that he almost didn’t notice when Joe walked into the dining area and did a quick scan. Jim looked up and met Joe’s gaze as the Alpha headed straight for their table. Jim went on high alert. The Alpha looked concerned, and Jim figured there was some kind of trouble.
Joe nodded to them both as he joined them at their table. It was a square table set for four, and they were only using two of the chairs. Joe pulled out one of the spare chairs and sat, his expression troubled.
“I hate to bother you at lunch, but we have a little situation that you need to be aware of,” he began. Jim put down his fork and gave the Alpha his full attention. “We’ve got a missing teenager,” Joe told them, getting straight to the point. “Calum Ingles is a good kid. Maybe a little wild but basically clean. He’s at that age where they like to go exploring and sometimes get into trouble.” Joe sighed, shaking his head. “Thing is, they usually go off in groups. The teens stick together, generally speaking, but Calum went off on his own two days ago, and nobody’s seen him since.”
“Two days ago?” Helen asked, concern clear in her tone. “How did nobody notice until now?”
“Miscommunication,” Joe told her. “His grandmother thought he was staying over at a friend’s. Apparently, that fell through when the friend’s mother put the kibosh on the sleepover, but Calum didn’t go back home. Nobody knows where he went, but I’m half afraid he might’ve gone to the old feed mill. The friend lives out near there, and the teens sometimes prowl the outskirts of town in that area because they know nobody has been at the mill for years.”
“I scented a lot of teenage wolf scents on my prowl out that way,” Jim admitted. “I discarded those as of no interest, so I can’t be sure if one was stronger than the others. They were all pretty recent, though. Within the past week, or so.”
“That makes sense. Like I said, that area is popular with the teens who are learning their skills. They know nobody really goes out that way, except those of us running perimeter checks. They’re out from under watchful eyes and able to test their boundaries a bit. We all did it, as young pups,” Joe said, trying unsuccessfully to hide his worry. “What concerns me,” he finally admitted, “is that bear child that was kidnapped in Pennsylvania. You found her in West Virginia, right? Which is where you were following this target of yours from?”
“Yes, Alpha. And I can understand why you’d be concerned about that. The sorceress that was killed in the West Virginia op had stockpiled a bunch of bodies in her warehouse. The man we followed from there was overseeing the body storage area, in fact. They were keeping them in chest freezers.”
“So, if he’s familiar with the technique of draining magic from one being and taking it for himself…” Joe let the sentence drift.
“Or if whoever laid the black ward can do the same,” Helen put in, making the men frown.
“Then, we’ve got a problem,” Jim finished the thought. “I’ll go check out that feed mill right now. I was going to wait until dark, but if Calum’s there, he doesn’t have time for us to sit around waiting for dark.” Jim stood and reached for his wallet. He dug out a few bills, which would more than cover their lunch tab, and put them on the table.
Helen stood also. “I’m going with you.”
“No—”
“He might be hurt,” she insisted, not letting him finish what he was going to say. “I’m going with you, and that’s that.”
Damn. Her little chin was lifted in a stubborn, adorable line. She was going to insist, and he’d be a cad to leave her behind. Still, he had to try.
“Sweetheart, this could be very dangerous. And besides, we don’t have a car. I can run, but you need some kind of transport.” He hoped she would leave it at that and accept his decision, but the set of her jaw told him his hope was in vain.
“Then, we’ll get a car, and I’ll drive.” She looked at the Alpha. “Surely, there’s a car rental place here somewhere, isn’t there?”
Joe pulled out his phone and started tapping. “I’ll have a car out front for you in ten minutes. Thanks, Helen. If he is hurt, I’d be grateful for your help, but I also don’t want to put you in unnecessary danger. You stay in the car unless and until Jim finds Calum. Understood?”
Helen nodded. “I promise,” she told the Alpha. “I just… I feel like I need to be there.”
Helen didn’t know why she’d said that, but once the words were out of her mouth, she realized the truth of them. She had a feeling she just had to stay with Jim and be there, with him, when he explored the site of the old feed mill.
“I’ve got the sheriff, the deputies and anyone else who’s good at tracking out looking for this kid. I’ll keep you posted on our progress, if we have any. Likewise, if you need backup, we’ll all be out in the field, all around town and the perimeter. All you have to do is call, and whoever is closest will come,” Joe said, looking from her to Jim.
Jim nodded. “Thank you, Alpha. We’ll call if we need assistance. With any luck, Calum will turn up on his own, no harm done.”
Joe left the table, grabbing a few people on his way out the door, who left with him. Probably trackers who would help with the search.
“You don’t really believe he’s going to show up on his own,” Helen said quietly, gathering her things.
Jim shook his head. “Probably not,” he admitted.
“Do you think he’s at the mill?” Helen asked as they walked out of the restaurant. They waited on the sidewalk for the promised car.
“Only one way to find out,” he told her. He looked preoccupied, as if he was already thinking through the actions he would take when they got where they were going.
A minute later, a young man drove up in a rental car. He hopped out and held the keys up, looking at them. “You called for a car?”
Helen stepped forward and took the keys from the youngster. “Do you know a young man named Calum Ingles?” she asked, on a hunch.
“Cal? Sure. He’s a lot of fun. Why?”
Jim stepped closer. “Does he ever go out toward the old feed mill on the edge of town?” Jim took a rather obvious sniff of the kid. “I know I caught your scent out that way. Yours and a lot of other young pups.”
The kid looked as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “It’s just a place we go, you know? There are cool obstacles we can try without everyone watching and criticizing when we screw up. We have our own competitions.”
“You have an obstacle course out there? Outdoors or inside one of the old buildings?” Jim asked, his tone patient. “I won’t get you in any trouble. I just really need to know.”
The boy seemed hesitant but relented. “You know how there are a bunch of silos, and they have these conveyor things? We start the course through the rusty hole in the half-collapsed silo then run up the conveyors to the top and then down into the mill building, itself. There’s a lot of machinery in there that we go up over, jump and slide under, that kind of thing, then we take another conveyor back out to the silos and do a final long jump from the roof of the shortest silo. The finish line is when you make it to the ground, and how far out you jumped is taken into account
in the awarding of points.”
He sounded eager as he described the acrobatic course the children had devised. Helen thought it sounded altogether too dangerous, but she wasn’t a werewolf, so she didn’t know what was easy for them. For certain, human children could get really hurt if they tried something like that.
“You won’t tell my dad I’ve been out there, will you?” the boy asked, looking a bit sheepish, for a wolf.
“I think that’s something you need to tell him yourself,” Jim said, his tone unyielding. “But don’t be surprised if he already knows. Nothing much gets past the Alpha in a Pack like this.”
The youngster brushed his toe in the imaginary dirt on the sidewalk. “You’re probably right, but I’ll tell him. I promise.”
“Good lad,” Jim praised the kid and patted him on the shoulder. “Tell him I’m going to check out your obstacle course. Calum’s missing, so if you hear from him, call your father right away. He’s mobilizing half the town to look for him.”
The boy’s eyes widened as Jim opened the passenger-side door and got in. Helen took that as her cue to walk around to the driver’s side. She got behind the wheel and adjusted the seat and mirrors before putting the car in gear and heading down the street. Jim gave her directions, since she didn’t really know her way around town, yet.
“Was that boy Joe’s son?” Helen asked once she was heading in the right direction.
“His youngest,” Jim confirmed. “I’ve met him once or twice before, when he was younger. Good kid, as far as I know. He has the makings of an Alpha when he gets older, too. He might even be strong enough to lead this Pack after his dad, if he continues as he’s going.”
“You can tell that so young?” Helen was surprised.
Jim shrugged. “Sort of. There’s a lot that goes into a good Alpha wolf. The training he’s getting just by watching his farther counts for a lot, but there’s the dominance issue, as well. He’s very young, but his wolf is definitely of a dominant type. How strong he proves to be will depend on the rest of his experiences as he grows and all sorts of other factors that can’t really be quantified.”
Helen found that fascinating, and said so, but Jim still seemed preoccupied by what would come next. He gave her the instructions for turning off the main road then had her drive out over open land and into some light tree cover that still had enough room for her to fit the car through. She could see the tops of silos just over the hill they were cresting, and then, there they were. An old building with a number of big metal silos attached by spindly conveyors.
“Stop here,” Jim said. “I’m going in on foot, and you can watch from the car up here. Do you have your phone?”
She stopped the car and turned off the engine. “In my bag,” she said, reaching for the big bag she’d slung into the back of the car. She dug through it until she found her phone then held it up triumphantly.
“Put Joe’s number in your contacts list.” He waited while she did so, reading off the number when she was ready. “If you see anything happening that looks bad, call him. He’s got people all around the area, and he can get someone here to help more quickly than you’d think.”
Helen nodded, worried now that the moment was upon them. “Be careful,” she told him, unable to stop herself from worrying about his safety.
“I will. You stay in the car and keep the doors locked. Be ready to leave in a hurry, if you need to, and don’t hesitate to call for help, if something happens,” he reminded her. He moved closer for a deep kiss that was over all too soon, then he was out of the car and heading toward the old buildings in the distance.
Helen didn’t feel right watching him jog into danger. She wasn’t sure why, but she had a really bad feeling about the old feed mill. The place looked creepy and sinister to her, and it was broad daylight. She couldn’t imagine how bad it must be at night.
She stayed in the car but sent her magical senses out, probing delicately at the land around her, moving outward, toward the feed mill. What she found was not reassuring. There was the black ward, all right. She could feel its malevolence all around the area, but it was concentrated on the main building, which was off to one side of the property. The feed mill itself didn’t seem to be within the ward. Curious, she probed farther.
There were others in her family better suited to this kind of work, but even with her minimal traditional magic skills, she was able to discern that there was a presence in the main building, and she’d bet the feed mill had been very deliberately left out of the ward. Why? If the young wolves used the place for their obstacle course, it would be a honey of a trap to catch them.
Helen knew, all of a sudden, why Calum had disappeared. Even before her magical senses brushed past his terrified presence within the walls of the old feed mill, she knew what she was going to find. He was there! Definitely there. Imprisoned.
She had to tell Jim, and she had to get to the boy. She could feel how low his magical reserves were. He was near death and so very scared. Poor kid. She had to help him. First, though, she had to get the word out.
She called Joe and told him what she had discovered in as few words as possible as she got out of the car. She didn’t wait for his questions. She just told him to hurry getting over here, and ended the call. Tucking her cellphone into her pocket and arming herself with a bundle of lavender she’d put in her purse after her afternoon in the B&B’s garden, she headed out after Jim.
Chapter Fifteen
Jim was able to follow a scent trail he could only assume belonged to Calum all the way through the maze of the abandoned part of the feed mill. Where things got tricky was the area where the black ward began. In this case, it looked like whoever had laid this ward had deliberately excluded the part of the mill used by the teens for the obstacle course. It was only at the point where they left the dilapidated silos and entered the sturdier structure of the building that the ward ran through the path.
Jim hesitated. The ward was likely set in such a way that he could enter here, but he wasn’t altogether certain he would be able to get out again. This enemy had baited their trap for the pups, but would it also catch him, if he crossed over that boundary? He wasn’t sure, but the possibility was real.
Of course, folks knew where Jim was, and if he didn’t surface to report his findings in a reasonable time, they’d come looking. Plus, Helen was out there. She’d call the cavalry if he didn’t come back soon. The kid, though… The kid couldn’t wait. Jim had to take the chance and go in to help that teen who’d been caught all too long in this tangled web of deceit.
Black magic. It made Jim’s skin crawl. Hidden magic. Unseen and deceptive. He held his breath and crossed over the barrier. As he’d thought, it sprang up behind him, the trap sprung. No matter. He’d deal with that later, on the way out. Right now, he had to find the boy.
Jim picked up the scent trail once the barrier was behind him. The boy had come this way on his own, but then, another scent intruded. Someone had intercepted Calum, and there were signs of a scuffle. Jim proceeded cautiously, lest there be some kind of physical traps set to catch whoever came this way. He picked up another scent. This one he knew from the warehouse in West Virginia.
Bingo. He’d found his man. Buford—or whatever his real name was—had been here no less than a few hours ago. Jim followed the mingled scents until he came to a door. Pausing to listen, he didn’t hear anything that would tell him what was behind the door. There was just one way to find out without specialized equipment he didn’t have on him.
Jim readied himself for what he might find and opened the door. A quick visual scan of the room showed it was empty, except for a large crate of the kind people kept dogs or other large animals in. Inside, wrapped in a tight circle—almost a fetal position—was a young wolf, looking at Jim with tired, scared eyes.
“Calum?” Jim whispered low so that only the wolf in the crate could hear him.
The wolf’s head lifted, but every motion seemed a struggle. The wolf had been drain
ed of most of its magical energy. That much was clear to Jim.
“I’m an ally of your Pack. Your Alpha sent me to find you,” he told the boy.
There was more to Jim’s presence, of course, but Calum didn’t need to know about any of that right now. No, at this moment, Calum needed reassurance. Jim wasn’t part of Calum’s Pack, and he might very well suspect a trick. It was up to Jim to convince the teen that he had legitimately come to rescue him.
“Everybody’s on the hunt for your trail, and I was asked to check out this location because I came here on the trail of a very evil individual who was thought to be in the area.” Jim walked closer as he talked, noting the way the wolf’s ears moved to catch his words. “I’m guessing you fell into their trap, and they’ve been stealing your energy for the past day or two.” Jim crouched down in front of the crate and casually broke the small lock that had kept the latch closed. “I’m going to let you out, and if you can walk, we’re going to get out of here. If you can’t walk, I’m going to carry you, okay?”
The wolf tried to stand, but it was too weak as Jim opened the wire door.
“That’s okay, Calum,” Jim told the wolf. “I’ll help you, all right?” Jim was about to reach in when he froze in place at an unexpected sound.
“I don’t think so.”
A man’s voice came from the other side of the long room. There was an archway there, and fans blowing the air out of it, which was why Jim hadn’t scented the newcomer. Jim stood and turned to face the man in the archway.
“Well, if it isn’t Buford Somersby. I’ve been looking all over for you,” Jim said, trying to evaluate the threat level posed by the man and any help he might have hidden around here somewhere. Jim had to remember, this guy practiced black magic—the art of the unseen. Jim could take nothing at face value.
The man made a dismissive gesture. “That’s just one of my names. You may call me master.”
Jim scoffed. “Fat chance.”
