Chapter 226: Not Here

The common area of the pack house was lively when Graeme and his Beta entered. It was likely to get even livelier tonight, but the spirit of the holiday was already underway here just as it was in the market.

The spiced scent of the traditional soul cakes recipe carried through the house from the kitchen. The kitchen here was used by whomever wished to cook, but often it was the guards, security, and others working in some capacity for the council. Many of those individuals were unmated but found a sense of intense companionship with those they worked closely with on a day-to-day basis. It was that companionship that made them so effective at doing their work to help secure and protect the pack.

There was not often a need to protect the pack in a grand way, at least not in several decades. Suicide forest made it so that the pack land was virtually unreachable by any humans, and strays were well aware to steer clear unless they were females or pups who came seeking protection themselves. This sometimes made it difficult for those whose job it was to guard and protect to stay focused when there was little to threaten the safety here.

When Graeme arrived with August, it was one of the most exciting times for those who did perimeter runs and the like. They finally had a specific threat looming that they could anticipate. Graeme knew that their knowledge of an Alpha and Luna now residing here, leading them but also expecting their devotion and highest level of performance, brought an even greater sense of purpose and belonging for most of them.

The Alpha and Luna leadership was a powerful force for uniting and harmonizing all of the pack members. And tomorrow when they saw the radiant, divine proof that August was their true Luna carrying the next heir, it would solidify that sense of oneness that they all had been missing. And they would do anything to protect that sacred belonging.

That was unless Andreas did something stupid.

Faces turned when they felt Graeme enter. Their excitement at his arrival was palpable—it always was, but now it was even more so. It was the eagerness and anticipation of Samhain, but he could also feel something else in it. They must have heard from the pups that were at August's art lesson today that she was glowing.

Despite his reason for coming here with his Beta, he grinned. He couldn't help it. He was proud to finally be in a position here and with his mate that felt in alignment with the pack family and their legacy and traditions. They were facing some challenges for sure, but everything was falling into place.

His grin was like a wildfire that spread around the room for those who witnessed it. They didn't even need to ask if the rumors the pups had started were true, because the way Graeme's typically serious and stern expression softened and gave way to the joy underneath was enough. No one saw him grin like this. It was rare, at least since his parents had passed.

He gave a silent nod to those who were looking his way before alighting on the steps that climbed to his office, Sam following closely behind.

"Will he be in his office or Zoe's area?" Sam murmured behind him low enough that no one else would overhear.

"Zoe's," Graeme's expression returned to one that was inscrutable. He couldn't afford to be distracted. "The question is, where is Pearce?"

"Maybe they are together."

"Maybe."

Not many were moving around upstairs, and those who were thinned out even further as they made their way toward Zoe's wing of the pack house. Graeme and Sam walked past her office, the conference room, the library not finding either elder. But Andreas' scent was here. He had been here recently.

"There is a lab on the floor below this one," Graeme recalled, stalking toward the stairs that would lead them that way.

He had never been down in the lab. It covered the length of the entire floor above them and resembled it in design with white counters and tables and chairs. A lab coat was hanging by the door where they entered, continuing the white theme of everything in the space. It was like an extension of Zoe.

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The lab had evidently been ransacked. There were bottles and broken pieces of equipment littering the floor like someone was in a hurry. Either that or they were absolutely furious.

"He's not here," Sam growled as he stalked further in, stepping over pill bottles that shuffled and rolled under his feet.

"He was. And he was looking for something. Hopefully he didn't find it." Graeme's eyes lingered on all of the medication bottles and the empty shelves behind cabinet doors that were hanging open on their hinges.

"Why? What would he be looking for?"

"Trouble. We know that for sure. Trouble in pill form, it seems."

"Maybe he needed Zoe to help him with something, and that's how he discovered she wasn't in the dungeon any longer."

"I think we can be certain about that. He hasn't shown any interest in visiting her since she's been down there. He only uses her for what he needs." Wait… was he starting to feel sorry for Zoe now?

"Maybe he came down here just out of anger that she was gone…" Sam thought aloud.

"None of these speculations are helping us. We need to find him quickly. I will look in his office. Why don't you ask around the pack house to see if anyone has seen him? Call me if you find anything helpful," Graeme turned to retrace their steps, his pace quickening this time as he took several steps at a time on the way up to Andreas' office.

What was the elder be up to?

The office door was closed with no sign of movement inside. Graeme kicked it open easily, but there was no Andreas. He let out a growl of frustration, but then his eyes fell on the ornate desk that appeared so out of place in this small office. It took up almost the whole length of the wall.

Zoe told August that his mother's ring was in this desk at one time.

He circled around the desk and began rifling through drawers, shoving papers and folders and cigars aside. The central narrow drawer just above where Andreas' chair was pushed in was locked. Graeme pulled it off the hinges, all of the contents spilling out as he did. There were pictures and a pocket watch that he had seen the elder carry when he was younger. And a simple grey ring box.

Graeme stared at it for a moment, preparing himself for what it might hold. The truth of Zoe's words found in something precious that had adorned his mother's finger for as long as he could remember.

He held his breath and reached for it, popping it open in his hand.

Sure enough, the vibrant purple and violet stone was revealed in a simple sterling setting. And with it, a flood of memories.

"You're dead old man," Graeme snarled and headed for the door, tucking the ring box into his pocket and leaving the mess behind.

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