I gave her a wry smile. “I understand. I’m here for my college roommate, but, uhm…” I looked around, giving a hopeless shrug. “I think she might have partnered up and forgotten to tell me. She’s disappeared.”
“Oh, no!” Mitali laughed, shaking her head. “Well, I hope she’s at least found someone cute.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as well, tipping my head to one side. The other woman hadn’t mentioned a fated mate, and I appreciated it. “I can only hope,” I replied, shrugging one shoulder. “I just hope she’s careful, you know? I read something about a girl going missing in Austin last week, and she’s a shifter.”
Mitali’s face fell a little, and she huddled a little closer as if she didn’t want anyone else to overhear us. “Yeah? I haven’t read any of the local news,” she admitted, looking down at her cup. “But a Red Paw wolf went missing… oh, it must be a few months ago now. In Austin, actually.”
“Yeah?” I lifted my brows, trying to seem interested without seemingtoonosy. “Is… is she okay?” I knew that Molly Broadleaf hadn’t been found — creepy.
My new acquaintance shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I was working with her family at a law firm in Birmingham, and they struggled to get answers. It didn’t help that they were back in Alabama, and she had gone missing in Texas. The police here really gave them the runaround.”
I frowned, tipping my head. “Did they give the same line about ‘bad dope’ or something? I’ve heard some of the pack wolves muttering about that here. Easy excuse.”
Mitali made a face. “I… Yeah, she was last seen at a free clinic, so that’s what the police said,” she sighed, shrugging one shoulder.
“Damn,” I said, not wanting to push any further. I wasn’t sure if Mitali was just helping the Broadleaf family as packmates or as actual clients — if it were the latter, I could find myself in some hot legal water if I kept plugging. “Well, let’s hope my roommate just found herself a cute boy and got too distracted to text me,” I said, trying not to let the conversation die.
“Yes, let’s,” Mitali agreed, nodding.
We made a little more small talk, but I made a mental note check into the free clinic later. Mitali wasn’t the only one to mention it, and it wasn’t a guarantee that these people were using drugs — or that they’d gotten the so-called ‘bad dope’ — but if they all visited this place for one reason or another, maybe the person grabbing them was working there. It was worth investigating. People visiting free clinics were often at high risk for one reason or another, be it drug use, financial hardship, or some other reason pushing them to seek free treatment instead of going to a private clinic.
Though some wolves had paired up and drifted off, the party grew louder. A nearby shout made me wince and Mitali gave my elbow a sympathetic squeeze. “I’m going to go check on my cousin. Would— Look, I hope this isn’t too forward, but you and your roommate are from around here, right?”
“Uh-huh,” I replied nonchalantly, unwilling to break my cover story, even if I did like this girl.
“If you hear anything about your missing packmate, would you give me a call? We haven’t had any updates on Molly in months, and if I could help her family at all, I’d like to.”
I blinked, a bit surprised. “Oh, um, of course!” I replied, fishing my phone out of my clutch. “Do you want to add your contact?”
The smile returned to Mitali’s face like she was genuinely concerned I’d refuse her. “Thank you,” she replied, quickly adding her information to my contacts. “I know it’s a long shot, but that’s all I’ve got right now.”
“I know,” I replied, returning her smile. She handed my phone back, and I tucked it away. “Well, have a good night.”
“You too!” she called, turning to brave the party again to find her cousin.
I headed in the other direction, slinking back towards the porch and into the large ranch house. As soon as I closed the sliding glass door, most of the party noise was immediately muffled, and I exhaled, relieved. My head was buzzing, and my heart felt like I’d been on a five-mile run.
Stepping further inside, I took a deep breath and allowed the darkness to shroud me like a blanket. It took a few minutes to steady my pulse, but I felt better afterwards, and curiosity welled as the feeling of being overwhelmed retreated. I walked carefully down one hallway, noting the house’s general layout: a bedroom, another bedroom, a huge bathroom — a nursery. I raised a brow, standing well outside the room. The last thing I needed to do was disturb children.
Doubtlessly, their parents would come running, and given one of their parents was Remus Silverstreak? Yeah, no, I did not need to explain to the most powerful alpha in the area that ‘no, I didn’t mean to bother your kids, I was just checking out your house — no reason! I just like ranch houses.’
As if anyone would buy that.
I crept back toward the kitchen and walked down the other hall, pausing only when I came to the home office. I knew I should keep walking, but…
Maybe Remus knows something. Demi had said she’d gone to the pack elders, not the alpha. There could be something in there that could help.
Taking a deep breath, I slipped inside, walking around the room carefully. I glanced over the bookshelves before walking around his desk, careful not to disturb anything. The office was well-kept and orderly, and the last thing I needed was for him to realize someone had been sniffing around his things. I stared at the desk drawers for a moment, but…No. Looking at files left on a desk or a tab left open on a computer was one thing, but actively snooping was a step too far. I couldn’t take a risk like that — not yet, anyway.
I turned around, heading out of the room and down the hallway.I think it’s time for me to go. I’ve gotten all I’m going to get.
I glanced towards the kitchen, wondering if it would be the best way to let myself out; when the bathroom door swung open, an all-too-familiar voice called out.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
ELI
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