The car parked in front of my house after three intense days of travel. Sitting in the driver's seat with Hunter by my side, I observed the silent house with a mixed feeling of relief and tension. Hunter casually remarked, “Your house is nice.”
“Thank you,” I replied, turning off the engine. We got out of the car, and a curious shadow approached. Meg, the nosy neighbor, seemed to have patiently awaited my return.
“Oh, good that you're finally back, Fierce. The police kept coming here,” Meg exclaimed, as if sharing a juicy secret.
I raised an eyebrow, perplexed. “The police were here? When?”
“Oh, yes, they came just before you arrived,” Meg replied, relishing her role as the messenger of chaos.
I thanked Meg for her “concern” as she scrutinized Hunter with curious eyes. Her intrusion reached a new level when she directly asked Hunter, “Who are you?”
Hunter, wasting no time, calmly replied, “I'm her brother.”
Meg, visibly surprised, looked from me to Hunter and commented, “I didn't know you had a brother.”
Hunter, displaying a lack of patience, responded straightforwardly, “Probably because Fierce has a lot to do and doesn't have time to explain to third parties.”
Hunter's sharp reply seemed to leave Meg momentarily speechless. I took the opportunity to end the conversation. “Thanks for the heads-up about the police, Meg. Have a good afternoon,” I said, subtly indicating that it was time for her to leave.
“Have a good afternoon,” Meg wished before walking away.
Once she was gone, I faced Hunter with a serious expression. “Try to be more human, Hunter. She's annoying, but she's my neighbor. We don't need problems with her.”
He shrugged, seemingly indifferent, but as we entered the house, I knew I would have to handle this delicate situation carefully.
The living room of my house was laden with the weight of the unknown as Hunter prepared to use his wolf abilities. He looked at me with inquisitive eyes, ready to start tracking any clues that could lead us to my missing children.
“Can I begin?” Hunter asked, revealing determination in his eyes.
I nodded, allowing him to use his alpha abilities to scan the room.
In the center of the room, Hunter stopped and, like a true alpha, chose to sharpen his sense of smell, taking a deep breath. His eyes focused on something I couldn't see, and then he spoke.
“Several humans have been here,” he declared, his voice filled with confidence.
I suggested that it was probably the scent of the police who had been investigating. However, his expression changed when he knelt down and noticed something else.
“Blood,” he stated, his observation sharp as a blade. I knew what it was. Stacy's blood, the nanny whom the kidnappers had brutally killed.
Hunter took another deep breath, his serious gaze indicating that something else had caught his attention. “The scent of an adult werewolf,” he said, frowning. “But it's not someone from my pack.”
A chill ran down my spine. Werewolves in Seattle, and I did not know any pack in the city.
That revelation put me on edge. “Do you think there's another pack in Seattle?” I asked, surprised.
He shook his head, perplexed. “Not that I know of, but apparently there is.”
Hunter explored every room on the first floor, using his keen sense of smell. I watched him expectantly, eager for more information.
“Did you smell the werewolf around here?” I asked, searching for any clues that could lead us to the kidnappers or, better yet, to my children.
Hunter nodded. “Yes, it seems the werewolf went through the entire house.”
My mind began to spin as I tried to understand what that meant. I asked Hunter if there was anything in the house that might interest the kidnappers.
“Not that I know of,” he honestly replied. “But why do you think they took the boys as hostages?”
Hunter stood up, his eyes meeting mine. “Sometimes, when someone wants something, they use what you love as leverage. The kidnappers may think that by taking the boys, they'll have an advantage in negotiating what they want.”
I reflected for a moment before responding, my mind working to find any connections. “I don't have anything that directly interests them, but maybe the kidnappers know that I'm a werewolf. Perhaps they're trying to use them to lure me.”
Hunter nodded, considering the possibility. “That makes sense. They may think you're willing to trade anything for your children.”
I swallowed hard, the idea of my children being used as pawns in a cruel game difficult to bear. Hunter approached, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“We need to find the boys as soon as possible,” I said, sharing the same urgency reflected in his determined gaze.
“You need to take me to the boys' room,” Hunter expressed his need.
Surprise took over me. “What do you mean? Why do you need to go to their room?”
Hunter kept a serious expression. “I need to smell the boys to track them.”
However, I hesitated. A large portrait of the boys, with Cassian in the center, adorned the room, and I knew Hunter would notice the resemblance. Before going upstairs, I needed to have a serious conversation with him.
“Wait, we need to talk before we go upstairs,” I interrupted, feeling the weight of the revelation I was about to make. Hunter frowned, questioning the reason.
Hunter tilted his head in curiosity. “What is it?”
“There's something you need to know about the boys' father,” I began, feeling a lump forming in my throat.
Hunter's expression remained unchanged as he awaited my revelation. I swallowed hard before uttering the words that would change everything.
“You are their father.”
The ensuing silence seemed to echo through the walls of the room. Hunter's eyes met mine, seeking some confirmation that those words were real. I held his gaze firmly, determined not to back down from this truth I had kept for so long.