by Sonia Nova
Garr started going through what phrase he was going to use in his head, wanting to be ready when the time came that he had to speak, when Shea left the room in search of her daughter.
“Lila! Where are you, honey? It’s bedtime.”
Garr sniffed the air, trying to scent Lila. If he wanted to help Shea, he might as well start by helping her track down Lila. But to his surprise, Lila’s scent was stale.
She wasn’t in the house.
Garr’s heart fell and he rushed to the living room where Shea was looking for Lila. He grabbed Shea’s arm in a rush, being careful not to grip it too hard. Then, he pulled her across the house, tracking Lila’s scent. Finally, he stopped at the entrance, where Lila’s scent was the strongest.
Shea turned to him, her brow knitted in confusion. “Garr? Is everything okay?”
The words tasted bitter on his tongue, but he forced them out.
“Lila is gone.”
Chapter 9
Shea
Panic raced through Shea’s mind as she stared at Garr. “What do you mean? Gone? She must be around here somewhere. Where else would she have gone?”
She resisted the urge to shake Garr to get him to answer quickly. He was clearly considering his words. Shea knew that Garr struggled with speaking and she didn’t want to rush him, but if her daughter was in danger, she needed to know now.
“Her scent is stale. Ask Zeriq.”
It was a long speech for Garr, but Shea didn’t take the time to appreciate it. She rushed to the stairs. “Zeriq!”
She had only gotten a few steps toward his and Hazel’s room when they both burst out in response to her panicked shout.
“Shea, what’s wrong?” Hazel asked.
“I can’t find Lila,” Shea said. “Zeriq, is she–?”
Zeriq sniffed the air and immediately went pale. “Her scent is stale. She’s not inside.”
Shea was moving before he’d finished speaking. She dashed outside, scanning the yard, praying that Lila had just slipped out to make snowballs.
She wasn’t there.
“What’s going on?” Their mother walked out of the house, wiping her hands on her apron.
“Lila is gone!” Shea screamed. Her hands shook and her voice was loud enough to alert the neighbors, but she didn’t care.
“Gone?” their father asked with a frown. “I thought she just went to your room. She said she was going to grab something.”
Shea looked around, from her father to Garr and Zeriq.
“She’s not in your room,” Zeriq said immediately, and Garr shook his head to confirm it. “We would have smelled her.”
The world spun around Shea as she tried to make sense of the situation. If Lila wasn’t inside or outside, then where was she?
Hazel pressed Shea’s phone into her hand, and Shea realized what her sister meant. Was it possible that Evan had taken Lila? Shea wouldn’t put anything past him at this point. She quickly called Evan’s number.
Evan didn’t answer, letting the call go to voice mail. Shea called him again, her heart pounding in her chest. This time, he answered on the eighth ring.
“What?” Evan’s annoyed voice came through the speaker.
“Where is she, Evan!?”
“Where’s who? What are you talking about?”
“Lila! Your daughter, you bastard! What have you done with her?” Shea was aware that she sounded hysterical, but she couldn’t seem to moderate her voice.
“What!? Lila is missing?” Evan’s shock couldn’t have been faked. It made Shea’s heart turn cold, because it meant that Evan didn’t have her. “You’ve lost our child! How could you be so careless, Shea!? I’ll have her out of your custody for good this time.”
Shea choked on a sob. Evan was right. After he had left, Hazel and Zeriq had gone to check up on Maya and her parents had started cleaning up. She should have been watching Lila more closely. It was her job to watch her. She was her mother. But she had been thrown off by Evan’s insults and thinking about Garr and where he might’ve disappeared to. She’d been worried Garr might not even come back.
And now, Lila was gone. It was all her fault.
“I’m coming back,” Evan said, his voice turning serious. “You’d better have found that child by the time I get there, or the custody courts will be hearing about this.”
Shea dropped the phone with numb fingers. Custody was the absolute last thing on her mind. She just wanted Lila to be safe. What could have happened to her? Was she outside somewhere, alone and scared?
“Shea!” Hazel grabbed Shea’s shoulders firmly. “Take a deep breath. Calm down. You can’t help Lila if you’re in a panic.”
Hazel was right, of course. Shea needed to focus. Lila needed her.
“We need to call the police.” It was the first coherent thought she’d had since Garr had announced that Lila was gone.
“Mom’s already on it. Now come back inside. We’ll–”
“Here!” Garr’s voice rang in the cold night air. Shea looked around and saw both Zeriq and Garr sniffing the air. They were tracking Lila’s scent, she realized.
Of course! They would be able to follow her scent right to her.
Garr stood by the snowman, and Shea rushed to him.
“The carrot.” Garr pointed.
Shea looked at the carrot. Of course! Lila had mentioned that Garr had knocked it off when he’d walked out. Now, it was back in place, and there was a lump of snow next to the snowman, as if a stepping stone to help a small child reach higher than she normally would. Lila had probably slipped outside once Evan had left – telling her grandparents she was just going to their room. She must have piled the snow and put the carrot back.
But why wouldn’t she have come back inside?
Shea looked around. “Which way did she go?”
In answer, Garr started walking, crouched close to the ground, his nose inches from the snow. Shea had to restrain herself from bumping into him, she was so eager to find Lila. Her whole body vibrated with nerves as she scanned the darkness, searching for any sign of her daughter.
They walked to the back of the house where their yard ended and a small forest started.
“Garr?” Shea asked hesitantly. “What was she doing out here?”
Garr shrugged. Of course, he didn’t know. Lila’s scent wouldn’t tell him her motivations for being out in the dark rather than inside with her family.
Garr moved slowly into the forest, and Shea, Hazel, and Zeriq followed right behind him. Shea vaguely heard her parents saying that they’ll stay at the house in case Lila came back.
In the forest, it was easier to follow the trail. Lila’s footprints were the only ones in the snow. No scent trail was needed.
The footsteps went all the way through the small patch of woods and to the edge of a park on the other side. Before entering the park though, the little footsteps ended. There, the snow was all churned up as if by dozens of larger feet. Shea’s breath caught in her throat.
“What happened here?”
Garr sniffed the air and stiffened. “Mehelians.”
“What?” Shea vaguely recognized the word as a name of an alien species, but she didn’t know anything about them.
“A lot of Mehelians are nothing more than thugs for hire,” Zeriq explained. “They’re a race who will do anything for the right price. The Alliance has heard rumors of them possibly working for the Krezlians.”
Shea shivered at the mention of the evil race that had created Zeriq and Garr. “But Krezlians have been banned from all Alliance planets, including Earth!”
“Exactly,” Hazel said, staring at the footprints grimly. “Everyone is screened before coming to Earth. Krezlians can’t enter themselves, which is why they hire others, like Mehelians, to do their work. There have been stories that they’re here to kidnap humans.”
“But–but… the Krezlians want human women to breed with the Ezak-X, right? Lila is too young!” The very thought had Shea’s breath freezin
g in her throat.
“There have been reports of human children going missing.” Zeriq looked about as grim as Shea felt. “Adult females are more useful to the Krezlians, but children are easier to abduct. I believe they want to study humans, to figure out why humans can breed with the Ezak-X when no other race can.”
“But Lila wouldn’t…”
“Lila is very curious,” Hazel said gently. “She probably saw lights from their ship and just went to take a look. They could easily have grabbed her.”
“But there’s no ship here! Where is she?” The thought that the aliens had already taken her daughter was unbearable. Lila was Shea’s whole world. If something happened to her…
“There was a ship,” Garr said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. His voice was more of a growl than anything else as he spoke. “I saw the light. Here, and at the hostel.” He paused, clearly struggling for words. “Followed us from Space City. I didn’t realize. I’m sorry.”
It was the longest thing Garr had ever said to her, and Shea realized it must’ve taken a lot from him to say it all. But he’d done it for her, to help her.
“It’s not your fault, Garr,” Shea said. Her heart was breaking, but she didn’t blame Garr for Lila’s disappearance. Who could have known? “What do we do now? If they’ve flown away with her…”
Shea couldn’t finish the sentence. If the Mehelians had already left the planet with Lila, the chances that Shea would ever see her daughter again were slim to none. Her heart pierced at the mere thought.
“I don’t think they would have gone far yet,” Zeriq said, and Hazel put a comforting arm around Shea’s shoulders. “Definitely not off-planet. They must have an illegally stealthed ship if they plan to leave the planet with a human child, but getting out of the atmosphere is still difficult. It requires planning and waiting for the right moment. I bet they’re staying somewhere nearby to do that.”
“Right,” Shea said. Everything was starting to become crystal clear to her. Her panic faded, to be replaced with steely resolve. “Zeriq, Garr, will you be able to lead us to them?”
Zeriq and Garr exchanged a glance.
“They may have taken measures to hide their scent from us,” Zeriq said. “If they really followed you from Space City, they must have seen either Garr or me around Lila. And if they’re working with the Krezlians, they would know that we Ezak-X have a heightened sense of smell. They would know that we would try to come after them. I find it strange that they’ve taken Lila instead of a child that would be easier to abduct, one that isn’t protected by two Ezak-X.”
“You think there might be more to this?” Hazel breathed, giving her mate a nervous look.
Shea paused, trying to make sense of Zeriq’s words. “Do you think they might’ve mistaken Lila for a hybrid…?”
As soon as she spoke the words, Hazel’s eyes widened in horror and she immediately starting a run back toward the house.
“Maya!”
Shea, Zeriq, and Garr followed right behind, with Zeriq quickly overtaking them all in his hurry to get to his daughter. God, could they have taken Maya as well? Shea’s heart lurched in her chest. Maya had been in Zeriq and Hazel’s room when they had discovered that Lila was gone, but now that they’d left the house…
They all ran back to the house as fast as they could. When they came close enough, Shea saw her parents waiting at the doorstep. Moments later, Zeriq emerged from the house with Baby Maya in his arms.
Shea paused her running and heaved a heavy breath of relief. At least, Maya was safe.
Hazel rushed to her daughter and immediately took her in her arms. But now that the worry about Maya had been faded, Shea’s focus returned to her missing daughter.
“You didn’t find Lila?” her mother asked in concern when they reached the house.
Shea shook her head in defeat. “No…”
“The police will be here soon,” her father said. “I’m sure they can help look for her.”
“Yes, and in the meanwhile, we can try to track the Mehelians,” Zeriq said, having passed Maya to Hazel. “Even if they’ve tried to hide their scent, we can search the old-fashioned way, as can the police when they arrive. There must be some trail they’ve left behind.”
Garr took one of Shea’s hands in both of his. “We will find her.”
Even though he didn’t offer a practical plan like Zeriq did, Shea found his assurance intensely comforting. Her heart warmed as Garr freely offered his touch. It made her feel like she wasn’t alone in this. They would find her. Together.
Shea nodded, walking inside the house with a new determination. She went through to her dad’s study and pulled aside the painting that covered the entrance to the safe. Shea dialed in the code from memory and opened it.
Her dad was ex-military and had more than a few weapons stashed in the house. She picked up a rifle and loaded it, stashing extra bullets in her pockets.
She had only one goal in mind: save Lila.
Garr was right behind her, watching her with something akin to awe. “You will kill them?”
“Every single one of them, until I get my daughter back,” Shea said, her voice cold and emotionless. “They’ve messed with the wrong woman.”
Garr grinned and helped himself to a handgun.
“I know I don’t need to tell you to be careful with those,” Shea’s father said as he came up behind them.
“I won’t shoot unless I’m sure there are only evil aliens in range,” Shea vowed.
“That’s my girl.” Her father gave her a tight smile. “Let me arm up too. Hazel and Zeriq explained the situation to us. I’ll stay here with Baby Maya and your mom, and the police should arrive soon too. If the aliens are after hybrids, they won’t get Maya. And hopefully they’ll realize their mistake and return Lila too.”
It was hopeful thinking, but Shea appreciated it nonetheless.
Feeling like the gun wasn’t enough, Shea grabbed a knife from the kitchen as backup and stuck it into her waistband. They were just going out of the front door to return to the park and start tracking down the Mehelians – and Lila – when Evan’s car screeched into the driveway. He leaped out, stumbling in the snow.
“Do you have her? Did you–?” He paused as he looked at Shea. “What the fuck do you have a gun for?”
“Lila has been kidnapped.” Shea knew that she didn’t need to say anything more. She gestured back into the house. “Dad has guns if you need one.”
Evan looked at her skeptically. “Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for the police?”
“I’m going now,” Shea said, her voice as cold as ice. “You can wait for the police, if you would like. Or, you know, you could get your shit together for once in your life and help me save our daughter.”
Evan blinked, as if surprised Shea had talked back to him. Shea was so done with his bullshit. She didn’t know how she’d tolerated him for all those years, but she was done. Lila was in danger, and she didn’t care if she had Evan to back her up or not. She was going.
“Fuck that,” Evan said, rushing to the house to grab a gun. “I’m coming with you.”
They were silent as the five of them – Shea, Hazel, Zeriq, Garr, and Evan – walked back to the park to track the Mehelians.
“Which way now?” Shea looked between Zeriq and Garr, both of whom were sniffing the air around them. Garr had his nose poked into the snow, while Zeriq raised his as high up in the air as he could.
“What the fuck are they doing?” Evan asked, clearly appalled by their behavior. “Why are they leading us like dogs?”
Zeriq and Garr growled at the insult, but Shea didn’t have time to react to petty remarks when her daughter’s life was on the line.
“They are Ezak-X,” she explained curtly. “They have heightened senses and can smell Lila. We’re tracking her that way.”
Evan sneered at Zeriq and Garr, but he didn’t protest to the plan. It spoke volumes about how worried he was about Lila, and Shea appreciated the si
lence. It wasn’t like he could come up with a better plan.
“Three trails.” Garr pointed in three different directions. There were footsteps going in only one of them.
“Surely, it’s the one with footprints?” Shea asked tentatively.
“Not necessarily. They could have erased their footprints. We need to follow all three.”
No one argued with Zeriq. Shea glanced around at the group, wondering how they should divide it.
“Right, I guess we’ll need to split up.”
“I’m not going with them. I don’t trust no aliens.” Evan glared at Garr and Zeriq.
Shea just rolled her eyes. “Right. Evan, you can follow the footprints then. Zeriq and Garr can lead Hazel and me in two groups along the scent trails.”
She expected a caustic comment about her teaming up with an alien, but there wasn’t one. Evan looked almost as worried as Shea felt.
No one had anything else to say, so they got going. Hazel and Zeriq went one way, and Shea and Garr took up the other scent trail. Garr crouched low and started moving across the ground. Shea followed carefully, clutching her gun.
Whoever had taken Lila, they were in for a rude awakening… if they woke up at all once she was done with them.
Chapter 10
Garr
Garr was impressed by Shea. Most females would cry and fall apart in her situation, but not Shea. She was doing the opposite. Garr knew that she had come close to succumbing to her fears, but right now, she was pulling not only herself but the entire group together.
When she divided them up, no one questioned her. Her gaze was determined as she carried her gun and trekked through the snow. It made her look even more attractive in Garr’s eyes. Every time he found out something new about her, it just made him like her even more.
Her scent still affected him, but even his stupid cock had the decency to realize that amidst Lila’s kidnapping was not a good time to play up.
