"A few werewolves have been spotted to the east," Hayden said to Flynn.
I kept my eyes on my empty plate, scared they would be able to see the truth in my eyes.
"They seem to be looking for something or someone."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Kyle
I was still livid. I paced up and down the length of the study. The sound of the door opening made me swing my gaze to see James step into the room.
Unable to put into words how angry and upset I was, I turned away from him. The image of the human girl's blood was seated in my memory. It wasn't just any girl. It was Crystal. My fear and anger swirled inside me, putting pressure on my chest. It became harder to breathe.
"What happened?" James asked me.
I was so angry I leaned my hands against the window and bowed my head. Crystal was out there somewhere, injured, with a killer. I closed my eyes for a moment, giving in to the despair that spread in my chest. A killer who'd killed full-grown male werewolves who could shift. The pain in my chest worsened.
If Claire hadn't said something, I wouldn't have known. I would have carried on looking for her not knowing she was in some real danger. Not that knowing made it any easier to find her. At least I now knew she was using wolfsbane to mask her werewolf traits.
Trying to pull myself out of my dark despair, I stood up straight and pushed away from the beautiful scenery that the window looked over. Turning to face my beta, I rubbed my chin.
"Crystal was hiding with Claire."
James frowned slightly as he took in what I had just revealed.
"Claire?" he asked, sounding like he had a hard time believing it. I nodded.
It was unbelievable. Like telling someone the tooth fairy was a lying thief.
"But why would she do that?" he asked, still not able to understand it. He could join the club because I still didn't understand why Claire had done so much to keep Crystal from me either.
It felt like everyone around me was trying to keep her from me. First Keri, and now Claire.
"I don't understand," he murmured, still trying to process my statement.
We were trying to figure out why, but without Claire revealing it to us we wouldn't figure it out. It was as difficult as trying to figure out why Crystal had run away in the first place.
"Why did she tell you?"
It took a moment to fight the overwhelming need to smash something to smithereens. I felt so betrayed and angry. The helplessness I had felt before had been overwhelmed by the deception of the people closest to me.
"She was worried about Crystal."
"Why?"
"When she heard about the discovery of the latest victim."
"I don't understand what that's got to do with Crystal. Crystal is a werewolf. The blood at the scene was a human girl."
"Wolfsbane."
With that one word the realization played out in his features.
"How sure are we it was Crystal?" he asked, the concern evident in his eyes.
I arched an eyebrow at him. Thinking it could be someone other than Crystal was just an attempt to lessen the fear.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked as my beta and my best friend.
