Eaton growls but ultimately his wolf slips to the back, allowing the human to reemerge. The alpha’s command is powerful within his pack. When Eaton does, his eyes hold nothing but pure murder.
“Tell us what happened,” Aries states.
Around me are Ford, Dante, Wake, Titus, Sevan, Keene, Kylest, and Raven. The others must have kept everyone in the ballroom so the pack isn’t separated and everyone can be protected easier. It’s hard to guard the ones you love when they’re scattered all over the place.
“I was leaving the kitchen when I was attacked from behind,” Eaton begins. “I didn’t see or hear them coming. First, I was shoved hard into a wall. My head bounced off it, leaving me disoriented. The next thing I knew, blinding pain radiated down my side and leg. I spun and tried to focus on who did it, but all I saw was a blur of a being. Fi must have felt my pain and came looking for me.” Eaton shakes his head. “I never want to see that look on her face again.”
“How did someone get into the pack house with none of us realizing it?” Dante asks.
“If they’re fae they could have cloaked themselves so they were invisible,” Kylest states. As a fae prince, he would know.
Raven, his mate, adds, “If they slipped in beside a shifter or even a vampire, they wouldn’t have known. Once the magic is in place, it’s very hard to detect. Only the strongest fae could have and, even then, there’s no guarantee.”
“Will you two grab Davian and Robin and scour every corner of this house?” Aries asks. Robin is Kylest’s sister and Davian is a panther shifter who is Robin’s mate. Robin has the same strong, magical abilities Kylest and Raven have. “Once you’ve cleared a room, can you ward it off in some way so no one else may enter it?”
“Of course,” Ky replies. “But if this being is fae or a mage, they could create a spell to make someone invisible. If they are already in the room, then I’m locking them in there with everyone else. And if I ward it off, if someone in the pack needs to use the room to hide, they can’t.”
Aries’ eyes widen as he pushes through us and back toward the ballroom. Once he enters, he scans the room until he finds his mate and their almost three-year-old son, Quinn.
“I’ll gather them and Paige and the girls and stay with them,” Wake says, rushing to his side. “Find this being and kill them,” he snarls as his wolf rises up.
Aries nods and quiets the room. He takes a moment to update everyone. The more who know, the better. This way they can keep a look out.
The one question floating around my head is why Eaton? He’s not a male who strikes me as having enemies, though I know better than most that enemies aren’t always someone you wronged. They can be a jealous lover or a best friend who was turned on you. The attack can come from someone you least expect.
After Aries speaks, he turns to us. “Ford, Sol, will you help us look?”
“Of course,” I reply.
“Count us in, too,” my mate says as she walks to my side. While I never like the idea of putting my mate in harm’s way, she is one badass female. Not many have the combined power she does.
Sienna is right behind her and moves to stand by my brother. When you combine shifters with vampire powers and even fae magic, as is the case with my mate, they have huge advantages over others.
“Where’s Jupiter?” I ask.
“Imogen has her.” I nod. She’s another female I wouldn’t want to mess with. She’s a mage with vampire healing and is mated to Titus, who is a wolf shifter in the Avynwood Pack. She may be young, but the power and knowledge she has is immense. She can put up wards, cast spells, and has fantastic intuition.
“We’re not going to leave everyone unguarded,” Aries begins, “but it’s safer if they stay together. Power in numbers.” He directs Dante to fan the pack out throughout the room. The humans in the center, the shifters and other paranormals along the perimeter with some intermingled within. While the humans who are mated to shifters do have their long lives, they don’t gain any of their other powers unless one of my kind gifts them abilities. Humans are just as vulnerable as always without them.
Everyone in our group each takes a section of the pack house. Aries goes to his home, which is next door, to make sure no one is hiding there. Ford takes Wake’s home and Orion takes his. Almost all of the pack live in the main house, except Aries, being the alpha, built a separate home nearby. Wake, his son, did the same. As for Orion, he and Ariane didn’t want to be as close to the pack. Yes, they are on the same property but farther up the mountain a distance away. The Avynwood Pack has a lot of land here in North Carolina.
I teleport to the bedrooms and start making my way through them one at a time. I let every one of my senses take over. I listen for the smallest sounds. Try to find the faintest scents. Anything that would clue me in to what I’m looking for. If this being can cloak themselves, they could be anywhere.
Room after room I explore until I cross over to the other side of the house. This isn’t a small place. And now that stuff has gone down, none of the couples are in their rooms getting it on. But I don’t miss the smell of sex in some of the spaces. Fate, I can’t wait to crack this case and get out of here for some alone time with my mate.
I pause mid-step. Case. Oh. My. Fate. This is it! It’s finally time for Ford and me to put our paranormal agency into effect. It’s our first real case!
The idea of an agency to rid the world of horrible paranormals has been a dream of mine. Okay, maybe not a dream, but something I can do with my brother to waste time. When you live an infinite number of years, you tend to get bored easily. Since there is no one out there who keeps paranormals in check, I thought Ford and I could do it. Currently, the good paranormals kill those who are bad to keep others safe.
As if hearing my thoughts, Ford appears at my side. “Wake’s home is clear.”
I grin and stare at him, no doubt with mischief in my eyes.
“No,” he says firmly. “I don’t need to read your mind to know where your thoughts are. This is not our first case.”
“But it could be! Imagine if we solve this case. Paranormals from around the world would come to us when they have someone after them. We could be the best of the best. Well, we already are, but this could be something else we excel at.”
I’m a cocky male. I don’t deny that. The Verascue name is known around the realms. It started with my mom and dad and how they built a legacy around themselves. Eloise and Seth Verascue spent thousands of years putting our family on the map. Then, when I came along, I added to our fantastic legacy. Add in my less attractive brother, our mates, and we’re unstoppable.
“I heard that,” Ford says with no real bite in his tone. I don’t have my mind block firmly in place at the moment. “You’re the less attractive brother. Not me. I really wish you’d get that through your head. Lilah has been building your ego up a little too much.”
“Please, brother. If you’d just look around any room we’re in, you’d see how everyone’s eyes are always on me.”
“That’s because they’re waiting to see what idiotic move you’ll make next.”
I take a step closer and get right in his smug face. “Idiotic? Try waiting for me to keep you in check. I’m not a wild card.”