"This is untenable. The boy must be destroyed. Where is Parlethis?"
"It is quite late, my Queen."
"Wake him. I need advice."
"Of course, my Queen." Rabis bowed himself out of Friesianna's tent and went in search of Parlethis.
* * *
"Jude, where the hell have you been and what the hell did you give that kid? Winkler is so pissed he's ready to rip your throat out."
Shirley Walker, six feet of pure muscle, stared Jude Gilmore down. "And then we can't find you for hours? Tell me what's going on. Make it good, because fifteen werewolves and three humans stormed Winkler's house tonight. All those rogues are dead, but Winkler lost one of his—his assistant. If I learn you had anything to do with this, your life won't be worth the price of a stick of gum."
"They took Tina hostage," Jude whined, wanting more than anything to turn and cringe at Shirley's feet. "I gave the kid a dose of diamorphine. On the street, it's called heroin. I only gave enough to knock him out for a day. He should be fine, now. He just won't pass any drug tests for a while."
"I hear he isn't fine, and you'll have to answer to the Grand Master for this."
* * *
"Kid, I know you want to go now, but she won't recognize you," Winkler said gently. "Try to get some sleep tonight and we'll go in the morning. Marcus said he'd let me know when the questioning was done."
"Fine." Ashe, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, watched from the deck as several of Shirley Walker's wolves moved the bodies of fifteen rogue werewolves into a waiting van. Only six of them were in human form. Matt had three of his agents there, one of whom was vampire, to haul away three human bodies for identification at a lab in San Antonio. Ashe wanted to curse. With his abilities, he could have identified them easily for Mr. Michaels. As it was, he was still blind to everything, his mother had been attacked and he was helpless.
"Come on, let's go in. I still have some calls to make, Ace is standing guard over Peyton Miller, the Grand Master wants a meeting with me when Shirley Walker gets here and Trajan is growling at everybody."
"What are we gonna do without Andy?"
"I don't know, son." Winkler pulled Ashe into a hug. "We'll have to go on without him, somehow."
* * *
"Thanks for coming in early. I had no idea we'd need your skills," Bear Wright shook hands with Kerry Slater, a tall, thin shapeshifter with gray eyes, brown hair and character in every line on his face. Kerry had graduated from medical school five times in his three-hundred-year lifetime. He carried a case filled with medical supplies and had only been allowed inside the community because Bear had stared Marcus down over it.
"What seems to be the problem?" Kerry asked as Bear led him inside the Evans home.
"Adele Evans was attacked earlier by one of our local werewolves, and will likely have difficulty sleeping if we don't help," Bear replied, leading Kerry up the steps toward Adele's bedroom. Kerry ignored the blood covering the carpet on the steps as he followed Bear.
"I have something that will help," Kerry nodded, avoiding a deep stain of red on a step halfway up.
* * *
"Mrs. Evans?" Bear opened the bedroom door carefully, nodding to Lavonna Anderson as he stepped inside. Lavonna held Adele's hand tightly as Adele wiped tears away.
"Mr. Wright," Adele attempted to keep a sob from rising.
"Adele, this is Kerry Slater, who has at least five medical degrees," Bear smiled gently. "I think he can help you get some sleep."
"I hope so," Adele wiped more tears away. "Mr. Wright, can you please tell me where my husband and son are?"
"I'm not sure where your husband is at the moment," Bear said, struggling to keep the surprise from his voice. "Your son is safe at Mr. Winkler's beach house."
"That's what Lavonna said," Adele nodded. "I just can't believe he's not here right now."
"You'll see him in the morning," Lavonna squeezed Adele's hand and stood up. "Let Mr. Slater help you sleep."
* * *
"You saw a flash of light? That's it?" Marcus asked Nathan. He had no desire to speak with Hector or Edmond. Casimir had wisely pointed out that the community needed guarding and led them away from the DeLuca home.
"Well, perhaps not all of it, but I'll be damned if I can explain it," Nathan muttered.
"What else was there, then?"
"I swear, in the flash of light, I imagined I saw a woman. She was shining, as bright as I remember the sun shining in my youth. But that could be my imagination; my mind playing tricks," Nathan added. "Adele was dead by the time we killed the last of those intruders—I heard no heartbeat. The light came, then, and when it disappeared, Adele was alive again."
"Nathan, I hope you realize how ludicrous that sounds."
"I find it ludicrous that Dawn Smith stabbed Adele. They've always been good friends."
"I find this difficult to grasp as well. The darts are in my safe, and I hope we can get the poison analyzed. Several of my Pack are out tracking Dawn, but she must have planned this attack carefully. Her scent disappeared outside the gate."
"Has anyone informed her son?"
"I haven't called," Marcus shook his head. "Do you think she'll contact him, or go there first? Should we pay him a visit?"
"Worth a try," Nathan muttered.
"Want to come with me?" Marcus pulled keys from his pocket.
"Yes. Aedan would expect it of me."
* * *
Randy woke from a sound sleep at the pounding on his door. "All right, keep your shirt on," Randy muttered as he quickly pulled on jeans and headed for the front door. The pounding continued as he knocked a foot against the sofa leg on his way to answer the door.
"Marcus? Nathan?" Randy blinked in the brightness of the porch light as he swung his apartment door open.
"Randall, have you heard from your mother?" Nathan pushed past Randy and entered the apartment, sniffing as he went.
"Mom? No. Why?"
"Let's go inside," Marcus gestured with a hand. Randy stepped back to allow the Star Cove Packmaster in his home.
"Your phone, where is it?" Nathan asked.
"On the table. I turned it off before I went to bed," Randy replied, moving to the small kitchen and switching on the light.
Nathan turned the phone on and scrolled through messages. "Nothing," he handed the phone to Marcus, who thumbed through the messages before nodding.