“I did. Mina brought me to the area later that night. While we were there, we heard a couple of guys—humans—talking about needing to abduct a female wolf. They were making a deal with someone for money in exchange for the wolf.”
“And, you think Violet is whom they decided to abduct?” Mr. Vargas asked. “You think someone is targeting our pack for their gain?”
“I do,” Eli insisted.
“What proof do you have? I don’t mean to discredit what you’re telling me, but I know from years of experience that when young ones become moon kissed they don’t always stay with their pack. Sometimes they move on to find new places for themselves and carve their own paths. Others venture into the woods and become lost, exhilarated by the feel of the change and forget to double back when they’ve gone too far.”
“That’s not what happened to Violet.” The words propelled themselves passed my lips without thought. I’d promised Eli I would let him do all the talking, but I didn’t like the implications being placed on Violet. She hadn’t run away to carve a new path for herself. She hadn’t ventured into the woods and gotten lost either. “She was taken. I can feel it in my gut.”
Mr. Vargas’s eyes locked on mine. “While I am generally a firm believer in intuition, I have to say, in this situation I need more proof than that. There are bigger issues I’m dealing with at the moment. Ones that involve the pack as a whole. I don’t have the time, or the man power, to shift my attention to one particular girl who may or may not be truly missing. Same goes with Glenn.”
“This isn’t just about one particular girl, Father. It’s not about Glenn either,” Eli insisted. “This involves the pack as a whole. Who’s to say the same people won’t take another member?”
“I understand your cause for concern, son. I truly do,” Mr. Vargas insisted with a nod of his head. “But I cannot push the matter I’m currently dealing with aside to focus on this one. It’s of too much importance.”
My heart deflated. Coming here had done no good. We had no tangible proof. All we had was what we’d witnessed. Unless Tate had something to add. Maybe he’d seen who shot him with the tranquilizer. Maybe he’d heard something.
“What about Tate? Did you know he was shot with a tranquilizer last night, the same night Violet disappeared?” I asked ready to lay everything on the table. Eli stiffened beside me, and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to divulge that information. If I wasn’t, it was too late now.
“I’ve heard nothing of the nature. How do you know this?” Mr. Vargas asked. His intense gaze pinned me in place.
“Eli told me. Tate was watching over me last night while I camped with my boyfriend and some of his friends.” I swallowed hard, hating having used the word boyfriend in reference to Alec in front of Eli and the alpha of the pack. There didn’t seem to be a better label to place on Alec, though. He wasn’t a friend. I didn’t kiss my friends the way we’d kissed in the lake last night. Yet, the word boyfriend didn’t seem to fit either. Not really.
I guess I wasn’t sure what we were.
“Why would you need my son to watch over you while you camped?” Mr. Vargas asked. It was a valid question.
“One of my boyfriend’s friends happens to be one of the guys who abducted Glenn. And since I’ve been moon kissed and am what they’re looking for next, Eli figured it would be best to have someone watch over me while I camped.”
“Why would you put yourself in such danger? Why spend the night in the woods with them at all?” Mrs. Vargas asked. There was a wild note whirling in the pitch of her voice.
“I wanted more information. I wanted to find out where Glenn was. If he was alive. Taryn deserves to know what happened to him.”
“Did you find anything more out?” Mr. Vargas asked.
“No.” I pulled in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I did happen to see Violet in the woods, though. She was running in wolf form. Alone. I didn’t think it was wise for her to be there, considering what I knew, so I sent a message to Eli. He said he’d message Tate. Unfortunately, Tate was shot with a tranquilizer and passed out. He was never able to help Violet home safely. I was warned by one of the Caraway witches on the camping trip that I needed to be careful that night. She had a gut feeling something was going to happen to me. I think it was Shane and his brothers planning to abduct me.”
“You think they took Violet instead of you. Why?” Mr. Vargas asked.
I could feel everyone’s eyes boring into me. Unease prickled across my skin.
“She was a weaker target than me,” I whispered.
Mr. Vargas seemed to consider what I’d said.
“I think you’re right,” he said after a few minutes had passed. “Eli, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to speak to you alone.” He stood and walked toward be back of the trailer.
A loud sigh rushed past Mrs. Vargas’s lips once they were gone.
“I hope you’re wrong. I’ve been praying all morning that little girl would find her way back home on her own, that maybe she got turned around in the woods or wandered too far,” she said. “But now, I can’t help thinking you might be right.”
“I was hoping I was wrong too.”
Mrs. Vargas stood and crossed to where I was so she could pull me into a hug. “I’m glad you weren’t taken, Mina. I know it’s sad Violet was, but if it had been you, I don’t know what Eli would have done. He would be beside himself if something ever happened to you.”
My breath hitched in my throat as I awkwardly returned her hug. Did she really think Eli cared for me that much?
“My heart is breaking to pieces for Violet’s family,” she insisted as tears glistened in her eyes. “I can’t imagine.”
Silence built between us as we both became lost in our thoughts.
“How rude of me. Can I get you anything to drink? I’m not sure how long they’ll be talking,” Mrs. Vargas said.
I shook my head. “I’m okay.”
“Well then, at least have a seat. You’re making me nervous standing there.”
I crossed the room and sat at the end of the couch opposite her. It didn’t feel right sitting in the recliner now that I knew it was the alpha’s seat.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Mrs. Vargas had gone back to folding laundry. Her attention zeroed in on the couple arguing on TV. I caught the tail end of the dramatic scene. They seemed to be fighting over something that involved the woman’s younger sister.
“I can’t believe Scarlett did that. Now her husband knows she knows. I’ve been waiting for five episodes to find out when that all would come out,” Mrs. Vargas said. She’d somehow managed to submerge herself in her show even after everything we’d just talked about.
When Eli and his dad came back, I was ready to get out of there. I’d listened to all of the soap opera drama I cared to.
“You ready?” Eli asked. Tension swirled through his green eyes. It had me guessing the conversation with his dad might not have gone well.
“Yeah, sure.”
“I’m glad you stopped by, Mina,” Mrs. Vargas called out to me as I followed Eli toward the door. “Swing by anytime. It’s always a pleasure to have you over. Oh, and tell your grandma I said hello.”
“I will, thank you.”
“And, Eli,” she lifted her voice, giving it a motherly tone. “You better stop being so scarce around this place. We would love to see you more, especially the boys. You know how much they all adore you.”
“I know,” Eli said. His cheeks tinted pink, and I had to hide my grin. “I’ll try to swing by at least once a week for dinner.”
“You know, you could also offer to let us take a gander at your place. I know I speak for all of us when I say we’d love to see what you’ve done on the inside,” Mr. Vargas chimed in.
“I will.” Eli gripped the handle to the front door and twisted. Once we were outside, he glared at me. “What are you smirking at?” The corners of his lips twisted into the ghost of a smile, letting me know he wasn’t as irrita
ted with me as he pretended to be.
“I told you to stop by your parents for dinner once a week, didn’t I? You should have listened to me,” I said as I nudged him with my elbow.
“That you did.”
My cell buzzed in my back pocket with the new text as we headed toward his place. It was Gracie again.
Can you take Winston for a walk, please?
I rolled my eyes and let out a puff of air. How had I known I’d end up being the one to take care of that stupid puppy? And Winston? When had she named him?
“What’s wrong?” Eli asked.
“I have to swing by my place to take Gracie’s puppy for a walk.” I sighed. “I’ll come to yours when I’m done.”
“Oh, so you do still want to have dinner with me tonight?” A satisfied look glimmered in his eyes.
“Actually, I wanted to hear what your dad said. You looked irritated when you came back from talking with him.”
Eli crammed his hands into his front pockets. “And here I thought you were all about enjoying my company tonight.”
I shoved him playfully. “Will you stop? We have serious matters to talk about, and don’t think you’re getting out of keeping me in the loop on it. Whatever it is, I want to know.” Even if it went against his father’s orders.
Pack law was pack law, though. When the alpha said it couldn’t be repeated, that was it. Mum was the word.
“Get the dog. We’ll take it for a walk together. I’ll fill you in on everything then,” Eli insisted, surprising me.
“Okay.” I darted up the stairs to my place, eager to get the little runt so Eli could tell me everything his dad had said.
11
Eli grabbed the leash from me after a few steps. I wasn’t sure if he thought I wasn’t walking the puppy right or if he just wanted to do it himself. I didn’t care either way. Having to stop every two seconds to untangle myself from its leash was getting on my nerves. A low chuckle rumbled from him. I glanced at him to see a wide smile building across his face while he watched Winston sniff everything in his path.
“I didn’t know you were a dog lover,” I teased him.
His bright green eyes sucked me in when he shifted to glance at me.
“Who isn’t a dog lover?” he asked.
“Me for one. I’ve never been much of an animal lover.”
“Says the girl who’s a wolf.”
“That’s different,” I insisted as I tucked a few stray hairs behind my ear.
“How? A wolf is an animal, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but I change into one. I don’t have to babysit it.”
“There are some in the pack who would disagree with that statement. They happen to think wearing silver is how we babysit our wolf.”
“Hmmm. I never thought of it that way,” I said.
“Sort of makes sense though, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Silver was how we controlled our wolf self throughout the month. I’d often thought of it as a way to keep a leash on our wolves, but I’d never thought of it as a way to babysit it.
We continued down the gravel road that wove through the trailer park, allowing Winston to sniff and run as much as he saw fit. Sylvie Hess stood outside her place when we neared it. She was blowing bubbles with her youngest boy. Her face lit up when she saw us.
“Aw, you two are so precious together,” she gushed. “I love that you’re taking a stroll with your puppy. How sweet.”
Her words made unease snake through my stomach. How had I been blind to what we might look like while walking a dog together? Shit. Now everyone who saw us would probably think we were a couple. I would never hear the end of it
“It’s Gracie’s dog. She’s at Callie’s helping to console her. I’m taking him for a walk for her, and Eli just happened to join,” I said to clarify.
“Right,” Sylvie said, dragging the word out.
My teeth sank into my lower lip. She didn’t believe me. No matter what I said, it wouldn’t change her view of the situation. Why did this bother me so much? I shouldn’t care what Sylvie, or anyone else, thought in regards to Eli and me. It wasn’t their business.
Only, I did care.
I grabbed the leash from Eli and continued walking, making sure to keep my head high and my face in a relaxed expression. Once we were out of Sylvie’s earshot, I slowed my pace. Eli needed to catch up to me, and we needed to talk about the conversation he’d had with his dad. No more chitchat.
“I didn’t think someone assuming we were a couple would offend you so much. Damn,” Eli said. He smoothed a hand along the back of his neck as he exhaled a long breath. Instantly, I felt horrible for the way I’d overreacted. “That was harsh. Even for you.”
I closed my eyes and pulled in a deep breath. “I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t want people thinking we’re together.”
“Why?”
I couldn’t answer him because I didn’t know the answer myself.
“What was it your dad said to you earlier?” I asked, ignoring his question and skipping to one of my own.
I could feel Eli’s eyes on me. His gaze grew hard and cold. I knew I’d pissed him off by sidestepping his question, but I didn’t care.
“He’s leaving the situation to me to handle.”
My brows furrowed. “Why?”
“Why not? You don’t think I’m capable?”
Great. Just when I thought it wasn’t possible to make him anymore upset with me, I go and question his ability to handle the situation on his own.
“It’s not that. I think you’re more than capable, but I also think it’s a big task to take on alone. What does your dad have going on that’s so important he can’t handle the situation himself?”
“You know I can’t tell you that,” Eli insisted. “It’s alpha business. All I can do is reiterate what you heard my mom say earlier. It’s something big. I know it sounds like he doesn’t care about what’s going on, but trust me, he has the pack’s well-being at mind right now.” A pleading tone registered in Eli’s voice that had me second-guessing my irritation toward his dad. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he hadn’t ever done our pack wrong before. Wesley Vargas took his position as alpha seriously.
I did hope he made an announcement once whatever it was he’d been dealing with had been handled. Curiosity would get the best of me otherwise.
“Okay. Fine.” I locked eyes with him. “I won’t ask again, and I’ll trust that your dad has the pack’s best interest at heart like always. Also, I think you’ll handle this situation just fine without him.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Eli pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket. “Dad did give me this, though. It’s a number for a contact at the station.”
“A contact at the station? The police station?”
“Yeah.” Eli passed the scrap of paper to me.
I read off the number. It wasn’t familiar. The name at the top said Dan, but there wasn’t a last name. While I wasn’t familiar with many of the police officers in town, I did know one thing they all had in common.
“Why would your dad have a contact at the station? I thought everyone at the police station was human.”
“They are.” Eli nodded. “Apparently, this guy and my dad were friends when they were in high school. A group of trouble-making vampires came through town, searching for the Montevallo family. This guy, Dan, got mixed in with some of them by accident one night, and my dad was forced to shift in front of him to save his life. Since then, Dan has done anything he can to make sure the pack has a smooth stay here in Mirror Lake. He’s been helping the pack for years with things. He’s like our source at the station. When something strange happens that can’t be explained rationally, he reaches out to dad to see if there’s something supernatural going on. The guy is legit.”
“I didn’t realize we had someone on the inside like that.”
Winston paused to pee on Felicia’s flowers at the edge of her trail
er. I pulled on his leash, making him start walking again so he wouldn’t take a dump there too.
“Dad has mentioned his name a couple times, but I never knew the full story behind their friendship until today.”
“Isn’t your dad nervous Dan might tell our secret to someone?” I had to ask. The fear was front and center in my mind.
“Nah. Dan’s kept the secret for this long, I don’t see why he would tell anyone. Besides, who would believe him?”
“Good point,” I said. “So, what can Dan do to help with this situation? I don’t understand why your dad gave you his number.”
“Dad thinks the same thing I do—Violet wouldn’t have been sent directly to whoever is in charge. Shane’s brother would have to call and arrange a meeting with whoever is running the thing so they could do an exchange. Violet has to be held somewhere while all the details are being worked out. What better place than that guy’s own house?”
“So, you’re going to call this Dan guy and see if he can get you Shane’s brothers’ addresses?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“I thought so too.” Eli grinned.
We passed Taryn and Glenn’s tiny trailer. Glenn’s truck still sat in the same spot as the night he disappeared, but Taryn’s cherry red car was gone. I wondered where she was. At work? Searching for Glenn? At a doctor’s appointment? My chest squeezed at the thought of her raising her baby without him. While I knew she wouldn’t be the first in the pack to raise a child alone, her situation was a hell of a lot sadder than anyone else’s.
“Give me a second. I’m gonna run inside and grab my cell. I’d like to give Dan a call. It’s time we get this ball rolling,” Eli said once we neared his trailer.
“Okay.” I paused, bringing Winston to a stop with me. He glanced at me. “Just stopping for a second,” I whispered. He seemed content enough with my answer and moved to sniff a large grease spot on the gravel. I tugged on his leash, detouring him from it. He decided to try and follow after Eli instead.
Mirror Lake Wolves 02 - Moon Hunted Page 9
