Shadow Wolves

Eleven

It had been three days since the raid and so far, no one had found the girls who had made a run for it. They had simply vanished like ghosts leaving no trace behind.

For Lucas it had been three days of frustration. He had been snarling and snapping like a caged up tiger, lashing out at everyone. He argued that without the girls they couldn't class this case as won. They had promised they would help all of the victims of Nathaniel's despicable deeds not to mention that those girls probably wouldn't survive as rogues, which they technically were. It didn't help that his moon-blessed was amongst the missing girls. If he ever found her then he would be making sure that she was never out of his sight again.

What was perhaps even more frustrating was that Chloe hadn't recognised him as her mate or, she had pulled off the performance of the century by acting like she didn't recognise the bond. Lucas doubted it was a performance though. He had sensed something off with not just Chloe but with the other females they had encountered. He wasn't the only one to notice it either and yet no one could figure out what exactly was wrong.

"Boss?" Bobby appeared in the doorway to the make-shift investigation hub. "Nathaniel is ready."

Lucas couldn't help but frown. He had wanted to avoid interrogating the Alpha until they had all of his pack accounted for but time wasn't on their side. It wouldn't be long before word of Nathaniel's incarceration made it out beyond the borders and they had wolves from all over laying down claims to the throne. Not only would that slow down the investigation but they could find themselves under siege. So it had been agreed that they would begin the interrogations of all of Nathaniel's men before arranging for them to be transported to the nearest holding facility.

"Okay, let's get this over with." Lucas turned to Bobby and motioned for them to lead the way. "Have you found anything about where those girls might have gone?"

"Not yet." Bobby replied that the pair made their way through what had once been Nathaniel's residence but had now been confiscated. "I'm not sure where Nathaniel got his tech from but everything is heavily encrypted. Even the CCTV footage has encryption all over it. We are making progress though. Hopefully once we crack the files we might be able to find some footage that shows us where the girls went."

"Let's hope so." Lucas replied as they neared the holding cells. "It's not safe for them out there without any form of protection."

"But they're werewolves. Can't they just shift and hunt or whatever?" Bobby raised an eyebrow.

"That's the thing." Lucas shook his head, eyes hardening. "They're werewolves but we can't sense their wolves. We have to assume that either something is blocking their wolven side…"

"Like a poison?" Bobby's eyes widened at the prospect.

"Yes." Lucas nodded. "But also the likeliness that these girls have been taught to hunt and defend themselves seems really low. Nathaniel wanted these girls to be completely defenceless like new born pups. Teaching them things like the fundamentals of being a werewolf would go against that."

Bobby was quiet as they shifted from one foot to another awkwardly. It was only recently that species had begun to learn more about each other beyond the basics. Until around thirty years ago, Bobby had known next to nothing about werewolves or the wiccan community let alone about the several other species that actually existed. But upon joining the ranks of the Committee's law enforcement division, they found themselves having to learn about quite a bit more than just species names. At least working from the tech side of things meant they didn't have to worry about it so much but with progression came more responsibility and Bobby had found themself being more exposed to the living side of their missions. With Computers and software there were no emotions so it had been easy to just switch off that side of themselves but now, it wasn't so easy.

"I can…" Bobby cleared their throat, eyes flickering to the tablet in their hands for some form of comfort in the familiar. "The interviews with the victims we have located are starting today. Maybe we can get some clues from talking to them and I will keep working on that CCTV footage."

Lucas gave a soft nod, letting Bobby make their escape before stepping through the doorway that led to where the Alpha and his minions were being kept. It wasn’t the pack's usual prison but Nathaniel hadn’t wanted Nathaniel to be put that far away plus, they weren’t fit for even the most depraved criminals. Perhaps if things were different and Lucas had been doing this off his own volition, he would have thrown the arrogant prick in there but he was working on behalf of the Committee so there were rules to follow.

“You’re just in time, Sierra is just about to start.” Alex spoke up, his blue eyes fixed on the large TV screen.

Lucas gave a short nod as his eyes focused on the screen as well where his cousin, Sierra, was currently swiping through a tablet until she found what she was looking for. He couldn't see her face as the cameras recording the interrogation and providing the live feed were all focused on Nathaniel but Lucas knew that Sierra's expression would be void of emotion or warmth. Her black eyes would give nothing away either. If anyone could remain as cool and unbreakable like an iceberg under pressure, it was Sierra.

Nathaniel however, looked not only like s**t but like someone trying to come off as confident but had actually done a lot of thinking and still hadn't worked out how he was getting out of the situation he was in. If was smart enough he would have realised there was no way out but then again, a smart man wouldn't have gotten caught. His scruffy face and the bags under his eyes were giving away that he hadn't slept well in his new digs over the past few days. He was certainly looking paler and there were perhaps a few more lines on his face from worry.

"Let's begin." Sierra spoke up once she had carried out the formalities for the recordings. "Mr Thorn–"

"Alpha." Nathaniel quickly replied.

"Mr Thorn." Sierra repeated without so much as a change in her tone. "How long were you the Alpha of the Blue Mountain pack?"

"My guess is you already know."

"How long, Mr Thorn?" Sierra pressed.

Nathaniel let out a frustrated sigh. "Nineteen years."

"And how did you come to be the Alpha of the Blue Mountain pack?"

"I inherited it."

"From your father?" Sierra asked.

"My uncle." Nathaniel's eyes narrowed his eyes at the she-wolf. "On my mother's side."

"Do you recognise the name Hal Cuzens?" Sierra carried on as if she was immune to the daggers being shot at her by Nathaniel's glare.

Lucas had seen Sierra deflect such looks from worse men before. His cousin was unflappable which was why he chose her to start Nathaniel's interrogation. It also helped that Nathaniel had a serious issue with women and having one in a position of power over him was no doubt making his skin crawl.

"What?" Nathaniel hesitated and Lucas didn't need to use his supernatural hearing to know Nathaniel's heart rate just spiked.

"Do you recognise the name Hal Cuzens?"

"No. Why kind of stupid question is that anyway?" The male snapped before letting out a huff akin to what a petulant child would do when sulking.

Sierra was quiet for a moment as she tapped on the tablet before holding up a picture of an elderly male. "Do you recognise this man?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" Sierra asked. "You've not even looked at the photo."

"I'm sure."

"Let the record state that Mr Thorn is unable to identify the male in the picture marked BM19. The picture is of Former Alpha Hal Cuzens who disappeared nineteen years ago from the Blue Mountain pack."

The silence said it all but if it didn't the look of sheer panic on Nathaniel's face did. He had been caught in his first lie. Just like that, the tone of the interview changed, the air becoming tense.

Ask him about where he got the girls from. Lucas mind-linked his cousin, wanting to take advantage of Nathaniel's weakened state.

"Where are the girls' parents?" Sierra obeyed. Lucas, changing the direction of the interview.

"I dunno." Nathaniel sniffed, looking away.

"Are they dead?"

"I don't know."

"Did you kill them as well, Mr Thorn?"

"I haven't killed anyone."

"You killed Alpha Cuzens and his family."

"I did not!"

"We have proof, Mr Thorn." Sierra countered. "How did the girls end up here?"

"I took them in as orphans because no one else wanted them." Nathaniel growled.

"But only females? No males. Is that because males don't make good strippers or s*x-workers?" Sierra stilted her head, her black ponytail moving like a hangman's noose. "Or is it because you thought girls would be easier to manipulate and control? Or maybe it's because you're not man enough to pick on someone your own size?"

"Now you listen here you smarmy little b***h!" Nathaniel roared, leaping from his seat and his eyes turned black.

That was as much as the man could say before Sierra was on him like a snake striking at her prey. In one quick move she had Nathaniel face down against the table. A pop filled the air when she twisted his arm suddenly and the man screamed in pain, jerking like he had just been electrocuted.

"I think we're done for now." Alex sighed turning from the screen to look at Lucas with his usual frown. "We can try again in a few hours when he's had time to heal."

Lucas didn't even have a chance to agree before all hell broke loose outside.

“I’ll help Sierra get Nathaniel back to his cell,” Alex spoke up. “You can go see what’s going on outside.”

Lucas nodded, hazel eyes darkening as he headed out of the room and followed the sounds of yelling and crashing. The hunt led him to the cells where Nathaniel’s men were being held. One of the doors had been forced from the inside and was bent over. Several men were sprawled out on the floor unconscious while others were being held down by agents. From the other cells the sounds of yelling and howling bounced off the walls like gunshots, the doors trembling as they were hit from the inside.

“What the hell happened?” Lucas asked when he spotted Johnny, blood leaking from a cut on his lip and another on his cheek.

“Fuckers in cell four found a way of busting the door open.” Johnny replied, his silver eyes flashing in rage. “We managed to get everyone except one."

"What do you mean except one?" Lucas frowned.

"I mean that one of the fuckers got away, Lucas." Johnny snapped. "And we don't know who it was."