“Did she actually tell anyone she was going for a run?” he asked.
I shook my head. “She was upset because the others were gossiping about Alex. Nobody saw her after we arrived at school. I’m not sure she was in the morning classes at all, but that’s usual for her.”
“She skips school a lot?”
“She likes to run. Pack runs aren’t enough for her. She’s pretty dominant, has a lot of excess energy, particularly after she’s been told what to do. Alex was the only one who didn’t rub her up the wrong way by being bossy.”
“They shared a room despite both being dominant?”
“Alex was more dominant than Mara, and Mara accepted that. It wasn’t a big deal, most of the time.”
He rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “Do you think Mara could have been the one who hurt Alex? Had she reached the point where she was sick of being bossed around?”
“They were like sisters,” I said in disbelief. “Mara would have fought her as wolf, not stabbed her in the back.”
“But she could have fought Alex?”
“Maybe. I don’t know! No, I do know. They cared about each other. Alex wanted to rewrite history and give Mara a better life than she had, and Mara saw how Alex behaved as a reason to look out for her.”
“You noticed that?” He frowned. “Even people who care about each other can snap.”
“Mara didn’t hurt Alex! Why are you so keen on blaming her for this?”
“I’ve seen this happen before,” he admitted. “When too many dominant wolves are around together, things go wrong. The alpha of the old pack often got rid of the more dominant wolves to avoid anyone staking a claim. Byron’s accepted everyone as is. That’s noble, but not without its consequences.”
“There are other dominant wolves,” I said, a sudden fear gripping me. “What if this isn’t over?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” Ryan said.
“Mara… she thought somebody in the pack hurt Alex. She said she was going to find out who and deal with them herself.”
“A lot of werewolves have been saying things like that. It doesn’t mean much.”
Unless it had put Mara in the direct path of danger.
I raced over to Mara’s home. Her schoolbag was in her room. I tried to trace her scent to figure out where she had gone, but it got complicated. I kept trying and wound up by the woods.
“Dorian!”
I froze, my wolf wanting to continue yet knowing we had to obey Nathan’s voice at the same time.
“Dorian,” Nathan said, more firmly, and I turned slowly.
He was with Ryan, and I knew he’d been told about Mara.
“Her bag’s here,” I said. “And I’m pretty sure she went into the woods.”
Ryan and Nathan exchanged a look.
“Go home,” Nathan said. “We’ll look for her.”
“But—”
He gripped my shoulder tightly. “Go home. Stay with Perdita.Protecther. Do you understand me? We’ll find Mara. Just stay home.”
I stared at him dumbly, then started walking when Ryan gently shoved me in the direction of home. I explained to Perdita what was happening and watched out the window as a large group of adults set off into the woods.
Victor stood outside his house, his face pale and horrified. When he caught me looking, I turned away.