Chapter 53

Dash POV

"Nice to have you back, Dash. For a highly ranked beta you're sure not around much," Gunner grumbled.

"Don't worry, Gunner, I'll be there to help you model your baby's nursery and save you from your girlfriend's fist when she finds out," I replied.

Gunner shot me daggers.

"Can we focus on the major issue at hand? You said they were professional," Zelah stared at her mate, Kaleb.

Kaleb snickered. "I wouldn't lie to you like that."

I couldn't get over the resemblance. She even smelled like my Zora but there was a difference. Zora's scent was unique to me. I failed to mark her but I realized we did have a connection that resembled a mate bond when I felt her being intimate with another wolf.

She didn't bear my mark though so how do we have a bond? It was a mystery I could only discover when I had her back.

We gathered at my house in the living room to come up with a plan. As much as I hated that my close friends had something going on with the woman I loved I wouldn't want anyone else on my team.

I couldn't even think straight. If our mate bond was strong and complete I would be able to sense her. My wolf was in agony he wanted to break through my skin and go out and find her.

"What did the guys at the bar say?" I asked.

Gunner exhaled. "They said they saw her come in and leave with some guy but she seemed fine. Is there a chance she could pop up tomorrow?"

"Dead or alive?" Zelda snapped.

Gunner raised his hands. "We have to explore all the options."

"If she was kidnapped by her parents' killers then we might not have much time. I hate this," I uttered.

"Who's that vampire you were working with? Maybe he can help," Kaleb suggested.

"Keegan's gone under for a while. I think he got a little bit too close to the truth. This all has something to do with that blasted Pandora," I said.

A look passed between Kaleb and Zelda it was quick yet meaningful. It happened so fast but I swear it happened.

"I think it's time to bust out Mr Dean. That old man knows a lot if he admitted himself into the home. He's hiding something," Gunner said, standing.

"Mr Dean? Are you talking about my Dad? Last I checked he wasn't in an old folk's home."

Gunner grinned. "No, but your Grandfather is."

"Are we just going to get him out? No one's going to allow that especially if he might know something."

"I was planning on getting him out with Zora but things got complicated… anyway Kristie the manager disappeared and Donna the assistant took over. She knows more than she lets on. I'll have betas around the home in thirty minutes but we'll need a distraction first," Gunner explained.

Why didn't I like the sound of this?

***

As promised thirty minutes later Gunner positioned skilled betas around the home. It was dark however the lights in the building were on.

"What's the distraction?" Zelda asked.

"Should be seeing smoke in a few seconds," Gunner said, staring at his phone.

Had this plan run by me first I might have disapproved. Sure enough smoke appeared from the east end of the building and the smoke alarm went off.

"Get back," Gunner ordered us in the shadows.

We came using two cars so Mr Dean's wheelchair would be comfortable in my four-by-four. We didn't have enough time to hire a van.

"My Dad said his Father was dead," Zelda murmured.

I turned to her. "Your family seems to hold a lot of secrets and everything revolves around the Pandora," I observed.

Zelda swallowed hard. "I don't know I guess."

"Here they come," Kaleb said.

He shot me a threatening look but I brushed it off. He's one to threaten someone after what he did with my girlfriend! She wasn't my girlfriend at the time but it's still a record.

A beta disguised in a staff uniform wheeled Mr Dean out of the old folk's home and into the dark parking lot. I opened my car quickly as my employees exited the building. Pretty soon the fire trucks would arrive.

"Donna wouldn't let me take him so I had to knock her out and lock her in the closet," the beta confessed.

"What about the fire? You can't leave her there!" Zelda scolded.

"It's not a fire. It's just a smoke machine. All the elderly people were ushered outside through the back door. We might want to get out of here fast though," the beta replied.

He was right. There were bound to be witnesses but we could handle that tomorrow.

***

We drove back to my house. Mr Dean was lucid by the time we settled him in the living room. He wasn't as disoriented as Zora described him.

"Mr Dean, we need your help. How much medication did they give you?" Gunner asked.

Mr Dean rubbed his forehead. "I didn't take those damn pills," he mumbled.

"This is about your granddaughter Zora. They took her," I blurted out.

He snapped his neck straight and his eyes widened. He seemed more alert than any of us.

"Wait, that isn't her?" he pointed at Zelda.

Zelda shook her head. "I'm Zelda… your other granddaughter."

"Blasted… he took her. The leader of the serpent's organisation."

"Wait the Serpent isn't a man? It's a group?" I asked.

All this time, I had been searching for a man, but it was pointless; they were like ghosts.

Mr Dean shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "They are a group of men who hide in the shadows. They practically don't exist."

"Are you so scared of them you admitted yourself into a hospital?" Zelda asked.

She took the words out of my mouth.

"No, I did it to keep an eye on Zora. The home provided a roof over my head and free food. I couldn't argue with that arrangement. Martin shouldn't have given her up for adoption, especially after what he did…"

"What did he do?" I demanded. "What happened to Zora?"

Old man, Dean rubbed his hands together. "Even walls have ears. I stopped taking the medication when a new serpent visited me. He asked about Zora, Astra and the Fishers. He's the first serpent to show his face in a long time. Which makes him equally as deadly."

So the person who killed my parents and Zora's could be different people but the scent at both crime scenes was the same. This was messed up.

"Can you recall what he looked like? We could have someone sketch him," Kaleb said.

"Great idea. I'd like to know what this son of a gun looks like and why he thinks he's so powerful," Gunner said.

I excused myself to get some air. This was all good but we weren't any closer to finding Zora. We lived in a small town but it felt massive at that moment. I shifted into a wolf once my clothes were shredded and fur covered my skin I walked off my property. I stopped to glance at the half-moon.

Where was my mate?

I'll find you Zora even if I have to cover every inch of this Pack and break into every home to find you..