***
Maximilian Cronin’s covenant was made up of a series of houses that sat next to each other, much like Conall’s Cedar Creek Estates, but in a way that allowed for more contact with humans. It was a common thing done by immortals in this century, to hide out in the open.
“Which one is his?” Conall asked quietly of Santiago, who stood next to him. Dominic and Drako were beside them as well. The pack alphas were hundreds of yards behind the covenant but their animal senses enabled them to survey the estates as if they were standing closer. The high and lush trees around them provided a sort of protection from prying eyes.
“The biggest one. In the middle, with the tall, black gates. The covenant starts with the peach-colored house, and ends at the gray stone house. That’s what I suspect. I haven’t scented any witches in the other houses. Just humans.”
Conall nodded.
“We should split up,” Drako chimed in, and the three weres turned to look at him. “I’ll take my pack in from the right. Dominic, you take the left. Conall and Santiago infiltrate the middle. That way they have no escape.”
Santiago nodded. “No escape. I like the sound of that.” The alpha was moving off to address his pack when Conall’s hand landed on his shoulder. Santiago lifted a brow.
“Cronin is my kill.” Conall glared at Santiago, expecting the other were to challenge him for it.
But the werewolf simply scowled and nodded. “Make sure you rip that fucker’s throat out. Let him bleed to death.”
Releasing him, Conall nodded. While Santiago wanted to kill him for being an all-around pain-in-the-ass, Conall wanted his blood for more personal reasons. He’d attempted to take his mate, kidnapped Vivienne’s family….
Turning around, Conall addressed his pack, relating the information on how they were to enter Cronin’s covenant. He briefly shielded his eyes at the appearance of rapid-fire explosions of light, and then Dominic and Drako, a fully gray wolf and a silver-and-gray mix, emerged at the heads of their packs, and began running in opposite directions.
***
The first thing Conall noticed, once they were inside the covenant, was the silence. He paused to listen, and could only hear the harsh breathing of the wolves as they scanned the houses nearby, the footsteps of pack members as they searched for trackers. Even the civilians were gone, which was strange. Furniture and clothing were still there, but everybody had vanished.
He took the steps two at time, following the faint but lingering scent of Maximilian Cronin, until he found a large office room. Santiago entered behind him.
“That son-of-a-bitch must have fled today because he was here last night. My pack was tailing him, and he was here. They were all here.”
Conall barely heard him as he walked over to the desk. An album lay there. He flipped it open, and his teeth clenched so hard that his jaw hurt. In the album were pictures of his mate, her sister, her mother, and her friends. He closed the album and continued to rummage. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but something told him that whatever it was, it would be there.
He found it moments later. An envelope. A pristine white envelope with his last name scrawled across it. Opening it, he pulled out the sheet of cream-colored, engraved paper, and read the contents.
If you’re reading this, then you’re in my house. Regrettably, I’m no longer there, nor are Evelyn and Cassandre, and soon you will find that even Vivienne is not where she should be. Really, Athelwulf, did you think it would be this easy?
Tossing the letter, Conall reached into his jacket for his cell phone and immediately dialed Sloan.
His beta picked up immediately.
“Where’s Vivienne?”
“In your room,” was Sloan’s immediate response.
Conall calmed, but only slightly. “I need to know that she’s in there.”
“I understand.” Conall waited, looking around the study as Sloan went in search of his mate. There were weres everywhere, pressing against levers to see if hidden panels was concealed, moving through rooms with guns drawn….
He heard the sound of a door opening, and then Sloan cursed. Conall’s entire body tensed.
Even before Sloan said it, he knew what his beta would say.
“She’s not here.”
“Find her!” Conall snapped. Closing the phone, he rushed for the door.
***
Santiago, who’d read the letter after Conall and had listened to some of his conversation with Sloan, followed, yelling for his pack to do the same. From Conall’s expression and his determined strides, something was off, possibly with his mate, and if that was case, and Maximilian Cronin was involved, the issue had just grown much larger, and much more serious.