Leila

'They are beginning to wake up," Regan said quietly as he joined us. Damien was by his his side.


'How bad is it?" Xander asked.

Was it normal for them to wake up this early? Antonio's sorcerer has proven to be tricky, fighting him while being distracted by mindless pack members would only lead to injuries.

I saw Regan smile but thoughts of Grey filled my mind. He wasn't hurt, that was obvious through the bond but he hadn't shared Antonio's location or his own location for that matter.


'It's going pretty well. Hera must have made a break through because the people waking up are confused but back to their normal selves."

My feet came to a halt, 'seriously?!"


Relieve filled every inch of my being. Hera that sly wolf remained tight lipped about this for some reason but it didn't matter. All that matters is that they're okay.

Maybe after all this, we'll apologize for the lives lost.

Glancing at Xander, it was pretty obvious that we were thinking the same thing.

'That's a relief. A very good relief," Liam said with a small smile.

'Did you see any child?" asked Xander.

His question made me blink. It dawned on me that I hadn't come across a single child or young wolf. There were female and old members among the mind controlled members but there wasn't a single child in sight or a pregnant woman.

'No. I noticed the abnormality some minutes into the fight. Initially, I assumed that the children were kept in a house but that might not be the case."

My stomach clenched.

Antonio.

Where would you hide children? What were you hiding them for?

'We haven't checked all the houses though and there's the chance that they may be in a security house that's far from the pack," Damien said.

'True but I'm still worried," I replied.

'I'll ask the women after a while. Their head should be clearer then," Regan assured, trying to quell the panic that was growing among us.

Xander frowned, 'alright."

'Hera, some people are beginning to wake up," Xander said through the pack bond.

'They should, I had help from Ash. We're still working on the others."

Ash? The guy with Sonia?

This wasn't time to ask questions, even though we were all thinking about them.

'Is there any ritual that entails killing children for power?" Xander asked.

I glanced worriedly at Liam only to find him looking at me.

Goddess please, let it not come to that.

'Yes Alpha, it's the most cruel way to get power. Why are you asking?"

'We haven't seen a single child or pregnant wolf since we got here."

'That can't be good. It's not like they got words of our invasion and are protecting the children from the battle."

'Can you sense for any young mind? Is that possible?"

'I can do something like that. Give me a moment."

'Thank you Hera. Please let me know if it becomes too much for you. We'll search for them at the same time."

'Alright Alpha."

We will have to wait around for the pack members to get a little better. We need them to remember memories of what happened before we came.

'You didn't ask Hera about Grey's location," I stated. 'Why?"

Antonio's sorcerer may have found him and was already in his head. Manipulating him to feel safe or maybe he's just unconscious somewhere because he has been knocked out.

'She should concentrate on the shield and the children. We will sniff out Grey if we have to."

Now more than ever, I wondered if mental magic was something I could do.

Did Hera know?

I wish I could do something but we could only depend on Hera.

'Spread out. Our priority is to find grey and anything that looks out of place. Question any clear headed pack member you see about the children," Xander ordered. His voice loud enough for the surrounding soldiers to hear.

'Yes Alpha."

I looked around, relying on my werewolf ability to see.

Night was coming.

****

No one had found Grey.

He was silent in the bond but we could all feel him. Alive and without any crucial injury.

So far, everything seemed normal. I haven't spoken to anyone yet and no one had dropped any information on the bond.

The situation felt like we were doing patrol on a normal cool evening in the pack.

It made me feel weird. Like I was in a nightmare that seemed to be a normal dream except from the sense of impending doom that screamed danger.

The sudden sound of footsteps running shattered the calm.

Strangely, I found myself glad to hear it.

Liam and I turned to see a middle age woman running towards us. We had split into groups earlier. Regan and Xander were together while Damien was with the soldiers.

'I'm sorry," the woman panted, taking in deep breaths through her mouth. 'I don't know what happened but I can't find my daughter. I noticed that you all aren't threatening so I decided to take my chances."

Liam and I exchanged a look.

'Have you seen her? She's six with short black hair and beautiful brown eyes, she's in the short side."

'I'm sorry but we haven't seen her," Liam replied.

'Oh, okay." Her face fell.

'But if you can tell us what happened or where last you saw her, we can help you search," I quickly added with a sweet smile.

'Really?" The hope in her eyes made my heart feel weird.

Help us find the children goddess. They are innocent.

'Yes."

It's the least we could do for this innocent pack members that were dragged into this by someone that's a stranger to them.

'Okay," I watched determination return to her eyes. 'I'll try and remember everything that happened. I've been feeling off since I woke up."

'Off?"

'Like I'm waking up from a long sleep. A really long one. I don't even know when I fell asleep…" her eyes widened as the sentence left her mouth.

'Oh goddess!! I don't know when I fell asleep!! I woke up in the fishermans house, what was I doing there?!"

Her brain was beginning to catch up and it was leading to a panic attack.

'Hey," Liam called, placing his hand on her shoulder gently. She looked up with wide eyes.

'My mate, I don't know of I did anything with the…oh goddess…"

'Let's take a breath for a moment."

'But…"

'Shh. Breathe with me."

She did, copying his movements.

I let Liam handle her since he was doing a good job so far.

'Good job. Come, I don't want you in your feet." He led her to a bench that was in front of a nearby house.

'Thank you," she said as she sat. 'I'm not usually like this, I don't know what's wrong with me."

'It's fine. We all have bad days." Liam sat beside her, I stood by his side, giving her space.

We didn't want her feeling trapped for any second.

'I remember the day going on as usual. Although, the soldiers had an air of anxiety around them, it was the norm this days…"

'Help!!"