~ the Dark Howlers pack ~
'KNOCK-KNOCK!'
"Come in!" Damon responded without raising his gaze from the document in front of him. He knew who was at the door.
"You are working hard, so I thought of bringing you something nutritious," Stephanie said.
With Dawn and Zina not being around, Trisha was left to deal with food for all guests. Sure, they were Omegas who knew their way in the kitchen, but Stephanie didn't want to let just anybody prepare food for high-ranking members of the pack. One can never be too careful. Damon didn't object. He missed Stephanie's cooking.
Damon smirked at the sight of a tray that had a bowl of tomato soup garnished with bacon bits that smelled divine. There were also a grilled cheese sandwich, grapes, apples cut into bite-sized pieces, and a mug of steaming coffee.
He looked up to see Stephanie standing and staring him down, just as his mother used to do.
"You can have that after your meal," Stephanie said while pointing at the coffee.
"You treat me like a child," Damon grumbled.
"That's because you are acting like one."
This brought back Damon's memories that stretched over the last decade. It was heartwarming.
Damon leaned into his chair. "It's good to have you here, Steph."
"It's good to be here. Now eat. Don't make me come back and find that the food is untouched and you had only coffee. Fruits are also important."
Damon threw a piece of apple into his mouth. "Yes, ma'am!"
Stephanie shook her head and was about to leave, but she paused when Damon asked, "Is Richard OK with you working here?"
Stephanie officially retired from her work, but since the group from the Red Moon pack arrived, Stephanie was spending most of her days in the packhouse.
Talia was reluctant to let Stephanie come to the packhouse because they still didn't clarify Lisa's situation, but she let Damon handle this.
Stephanie either didn't want to share details about Lisa's whereabouts, or she was unaware of what was going on. Just in case, they kept tabs on Stephanie, so they knew that she didn't contact anyone outside of their pack territory via mind link or via phone. And she didn't interact with outsiders.
With every passing day, Damon was more convinced that if Stephanie was the one who leaked information to Lisa, she did it unintentionally. Stephanie would be devastated to find out that Lisa was behind the attack on the Blue River pack.
Damon was nearly certain that Lisa was behind it, but he wanted to make sure before telling Stephanie. For that, they needed to find Lisa, but it appeared as Lisa and Tristan had disappeared completely. Damon was not surprised. Rogues were experts in blending in with humans, and no one could find them unless they wanted to be found. That was one of the perks of not having the mind link.
"Don't think I'm suffering by coming here," Stephanie said to Damon. "If I'm home, I would be bored because Richard is helping with construction, and all my friends are busy with activities related to the newcomers."
Damon was glad to hear this. "I want to thank you for your efforts."
"Everyone is doing what they can for the pack, Alpha."
Damon cocked an eyebrow. "Why are you so official?"
Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest. "You started it."
"I did?"
"You sure did. When you thanked me like I'm an outsider."
"Fair enough," Damon said.
Stephanie waved at the food. "Eat up. I know you have a lot of work, but you should eat. Alpha needs energy if he will help his people. I'm going to start with dinner. I will make extra, so I take home for Richard and myself. Consider that as my fee for working after my retirement."
Damon looked at the door that closed after Stephanie, and then he popped a grape into his mouth. It was sweet and juicy, and Damon realized he was starving.
He checked the time, and sure enough… he had missed lunch. No wonder Stephanie brought him food.
Trisha could do the same, but she wouldn't dare interrupt Damon while working.
Should he call Talia now or later? Damon checked the live feed on his screen to see that Liam and Cornelia were lazing in the living room. There was no sound, but it was obvious they were relaxing, which meant that nothing significant had happened.
Damon wanted to call, but Talia said she would call him when she was done checking the rooms below the basement.
Damon decided to call later.
He pushed documents to the side to make space for the tray, and he started eating with gusto.
'Luna!' Liam called Talia through the pack link. 'Axel is on the call. It sounds urgent.'
Talia was alerted. 'Is he coming?'
'He won't talk to me,' Liam responded.
'I'm on my way,' Talia responded and then said to Keith and James, "I'm heading up first. Axel called."
James and Keith were preparing to take Beta Raymond's body out of there.
Their plan was to remove the body and then check the papers that were scattered all over the room.
As soon as Talia got out of the basement, she saw Liam standing with her phone in his hand.
"Yes?" Talia said as soon as she got the phone.
"Talia… it's Yasmin and the kids…" Axel said while wheezing. "They… they…"
"Calm down, Axel. What happened?"
"They are gone."
"Gone? Where?"
"I got everything ready and was about to go and see her, but she was not in the kids' room. I checked the main house, and she was not here. I thought she went to my parents, but they are not responding. They never shut down their pack link. The guards didn't see anyone coming or leaving. I'm on the way to their home now, but… something is wrong. Yasmin wouldn't leave without telling me."
Talia could sense dread creeping up her spine. "I'm on my way, Axel. Investigate, but don't do anything rashly. Increase the security at the portals and put our people on alert. Tell them it's a drill. Let's hope Yasmin went for a walk with the kids and forgot to tell you." But that wouldn't explain why Sophia and Isaac were not available via the pack link.
Talia ended the call and moved to the living room with urgency.
Liam was right behind her. "Is Luna Yasmin in trouble?" With his werewolf hearing, he could hear what Axel said.
"It seems like it, but let's hope everything is fine and Axel is panicking because she forgot to tell him where she went. I will need Amelia or Cornelia to take me to the portal. Mind-link Keith, Arya, James, and George and tell them I'm heading to the Midnight Guardians pack."
"What about Alpha Damon?"
"I'm calling him right now." She was set on going without delay. Her people needed her. Her family needed her. Every minute counted because the time difference was working against her now.
Talia rushed to tell Amelia to prepare the teleportation diagram to the portal of the Midnight Guardians pack.
They knew that the portal would be needed, so Amelia and Cornelia had one ready, and they needed a few minutes to set up energy crystals.
Talia bit her lip while listening to Damon's phone ringing. The third time, fourth… why didn't he pick up?
"Hello?"
Talia frowned. "Steph? Why are you answering Damon's phone?"
"Normally, I wouldn't. However, I saw that it's you calling, and I thought that if I left it unanswered, you would worry," Stephanie said.
"I am worrying. Where is Damon?"
"I'm in Damon's study. I came to pick up used plates because he ate here while working. He is not here, but he left his phone on the desk. I'm not sure where he went, but I could guess it's related to newcomers and the construction that's happening. I heard Caden complain during lunch how some materials were subpar and that Damon should check."
Talia released a long breath. "I see. Sorry. I just…"
"It's OK," Stephanie said. "When I see that boy, I will give him a good scolding for leaving his phone behind. Until then, can I take a message? Or do you want me to reach out to Caden and Maya and see if they are with Damon?"
Talia thought for a moment before responding, "No. It's fine. Just tell him that I called."
"Alright. Take care."
A moment later, the phone in Stephanie's hand lit up with a notification. It was a message from Talia: "Call me when you get this."
Stephanie released a long breath and ran her hand through the raven black hair of an unconscious male who was sprawled over his desk.
