Remus’ expression darkened at the mention of the elders, and I suspected he was thinking the same thing I was.Why didn’t they do anything about this when Catherine and Ryan went to them?
“Has she ever disappeared before?” Remus asked, his brows furrowing. “Did she get into any trouble when she was younger?”
Catherine shook her head. “Oh, no. Absolutely not. She never got detention in school. Ashley volunteered at the local homeless shelter twice a month because shewantedto.” Her upper lip trembled a little. “The track team had done some volunteer work during her freshman year, and she enjoyed it so much, she continued. Ashley is a good girl, Remus. You have to believe me.”
“I believe you,” Remus replied, nodding. “Just trying to get my footing here.”
I leaned forward. “Is she dating anyone that you know of?” I asked. “Or did she have a recent breakup?”
Ryan just looked puzzled, but Catherine shook her head. “No. She dated someone her freshman year, but they broke up amicably, and his family moved to Seattle last year. She also dated another young man last summer, but it wasn’t a dramatic breakup, either. Last I’d heard, he was seeing another girl in their class.”
I frowned.Guess that would have been too easy.
Remus hummed. “I assume no one bothered her at school? No unwanted attention, no one picked on her?”
Ryan shook his head. “Absolutely not. She and the rest of the track team girls were like sisters.” He gave Remus a hard look. “I know what you’re thinking — kids don’t tell their parents everything, but I’m telling you, Ashley was always upfront with us. If she ever had a problem, she told us. And if she ever had a problem likethat, we’d have reported it to the police and to the pack.”
Remus was in the middle of asking them about Ashley’s friends when I saw movement outside the front window. I tipped my head and frowned, signaling Remus that I was headed outside. He gave a slight nod, and I stood, excusing myself to the Sanders quietly before letting myself out the front door. An old Crown Vic with faded black paint had rolled up. I frowned as it parked behind my car, but my frown became an outright scowl when the driver stepped out.
Iris.
“Are you following Remus now?” I demanded, folding my arms over my chest. “Couldn’t find what you needed in his office, so you’re tailing him now?”
And speaking of tails…Where the hell are those guards? How many times is this girl going to lose them? They hadone job, for fuck’s sake!
No wonder Remus hadn’t put much stock in that theory. They might have been good guards, but they were shit trackers.
Iris’ expression morphed like she’d gotten a whiff of trash left out in the sun for the last three days and she folded her arms over her chest, staring me down. “Oh, I get it now,” she snapped, her eyes flashing. “The Silverstreaks don’t give a shit when it’s a former addict who’s gone missing, but when it’s some family that works for Silverstreak Motors, everything’s different, huh? I see how it is.”
I jerked, actually taken aback by the accusation. As far as I could tell, Ashley Sanders was the only missing person, and no one had said anything about drugs. If a missing person had been reported to Remus, I was confident he’d have looked into it. After all, the Sanders had called him late last night. He hadn’t wasted any time.
So, what the hell is she talking about?
“This is the only missing person who’s been reported,” I snapped.
She rolled her eyes, and I growled. Either Iris knew something and refused to share, or she was lying to get a rise out of me. Both couldn’t stand. I knew I shouldn’t cast my alpha, but… I could already feel the tinge of red entering my vision. “Tell me what the hell is going on,” I demanded.
Iris rolled her eyes and flipped me the bird, taking a few steps back towards her car. “Get fucked,” she snapped, ducking her head as she opened the door for to her Crown Vic and slipped inside. “Your stupid tricks won’t work, Eli.” She slammed the door, and the car rumbled to life.
I watched, stupefied, as she backed out of the driveway and tore off without a second glance in my direction. The red had long since faded away, but my wolf remained, his confusion mixing with mine as we stared at the place Iris had been standing a few moments earlier. I hadn’t cast my alpha often, it was a pretty feral tactic, but Ihaddone it — and done it successfully. I’d cast my alpha over another alpha in my pack when his temper exploded out of hand, and he’d jumped another wolf. He struggled and fought it, but I still subdued him.
Iris’ wolf was so absent that I barely sensed her at all. There was no way she should have been able to withstand that.
So how the hell…?
My wolf growled, confusion giving way to suspicion. He laid his ears flat against his skull, lips peeling back to reveal a sharp row of teeth. I agreed with all of it, one hundred percent. There was no reason that she should have been able to do that. If she had nothing to hide, she wouldn’t have hidden it.
She’s involved with this somehow. I’m certain of it.
13
IRIS
Supermarket Parking Lot
Outskirts of Austin, Texas
Yesterday was a bit of a bust — Eli Archer was the last person I expected to see at a missing girl’s house — but it wasn’t a total loss. I was able to get in touch with another family in Oklahoma after the cousin of a missing wolf passed on their information to me at the Moonmate ceremony.