Bram cleared his throat. “Personally, I think we have reason to suspect foul play regarding Sloane. He wouldn't have run away of his own volition, not with everything that had just happened. He'd finally completed his bond with Goldie and—”
“Bram!” Saige shouted, head snapping in his direction.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“That's not something that needs to be announced to everyone,” she scolded.
“By the moon, Goldie. You smelled as though you’d used him as a scratching post for your entire body. It's not exactly a secret,” he said back, exasperated.
“Not everyone has the nose of a bloodhound, Bram.” She tilted her head toward her grandmother to make her point.
Bette leaned forward in her chair. “Oh, don't hold back on my account. I love a good interspecies romp!”
“Sweet sun rays. Maybe the girl just didn't want her dad knowing about it?” Hunter surmised, glancing at Khol.
“Why would I care? My nose works the same as Bram's. Sloane is her mate; of course they would complete the bond. It's only natural for women of our race to have voracious appetites—”
“That's the end of that discussion!” Saige shrieked. “Moving on... But I agree with Bram, I don't think he would've left. Not now. He promised he was coming back.”
“So that leaves the possibility of what? Kidnapping?” Fischer asked, a worried frown creasing his brow.
“Well, it certainly doesn't seem coincidental that his dad—who he hates—suddenly dies and Sloane has to go to the prison to get his ashes. And now he's dropped off the face of the earth. The prison really didn't have any information?” Kai asked.
Bram shook his head. “The prison confirmed the death, but Sloane never arrived. From what I could tell, they were truthful.”
“I tried to contact him via telepathy earlier. It was like a void. Nothing to connect with, almost like when a computer is offline. I could feel his mind, I just couldn't breach whatever was blocking me,” Fischer added, and Khol grunted.
“Perhaps this is connected to the latest shit that Asrael’s been testing. Sloane suddenly has the ability to become a dragon, at a time when Az is obsessed with cellular modification. If Az saw an inkling of something promising when you were at The Castle, it stands to reason that he would want Sloane for other purposes,” Khol explained, a grim look on his face.
Saige sucked in a sharp breath, and Fischer tugged her from her own seat onto his lap. “It'll be okay, sweetheart. We'll get him,” he promised, his voice low and full of sincerity. Fish was a comforting presence to our woman, but I knew that having her on his lap with his face nestled into the crook of her neck was comforting him too. My heart swelled as I studied the effect Saige had on each of us. I loved seeing her wrapped up with them, providing exactly what we needed on an individual level, each of us giving her something unique in return.
“They could hurt him! We need to— I don't know... Do something! Right now,” she ordered. “I can't just sit here while he's out there all alone! He’salone.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
“Firefly, we need all the information on the table before making any moves. If we're lucky, Sloane and the girl could even be at the same location, since it seems likely that Montague is behind both of these things,” Faris said, as he opened a notebook and pulled out what appeared to be a glitter gel pen topped with a large purple pom-pom.
“Is that my pen?” Saige asked, her eyes narrowing at him suspiciously.
“Finders keepers. It’s mine now,” Faris replied, running the fluff ball against his cheek. Gods, this dude was one of a kind. It was strange, because I could see flashes of Fischer's personality in Faris. Which begged the question—was that ever really Fischer's personality or had it been Faris all along? What a mindfuck. It was easy to accept him into the group at least, thank fuck.
“Perhaps we can try to reach him again, like we did with Kai. We can lend you our magic to get it done?” Gran proposed.
Fish hummed in thought. “It's not a bad idea, but I'm not confident it will work since I can’t actually reach his mind. What are you working on, Kai?” he asked, as Kai typed away.
“The GPS of the vehicle. It was damaged, but looks like there's still a weak signal. I'm trying to get coordinates; the vehicle didn't just disappear.” Kai continued tapping away for a moment before shouting, “Got it!”
Bram and Khol both jumped up, ready to roll.
“I'll come this time,” Fish said, helping Saige stand before rising himself.
“I will too,” Kai added, closing his laptop. “Maybe I can pick up his scent.”
Hunter stood and looked around at us, shifting lightly on his feet. “I’d also like to come. My affinity may be helpful in this situation.”
Khol looked apprehensive. “And what exactly is your affinity?”
My brother smirked, jogging out into the large, lush yard. We all looked on eagerly as he widened his stance and let his arms hang loosely at his sides. Slowly, his head fell back and his fingers twitched. Nothing was happening yet, but anticipation was thick in the air.
I heard Saige gasp as the ground started to vibrate beneath our feet. Hunter began rotating his wrists, index finger out and blades of grass rose from the ground, following the motion of his finger. Next came small pebbles and loose dirt, all spinning around my brother like a tornado.
