Chapter 276: Sacrifice

When Lucas finally broke down the door, they were both gone. There was no indication of how they had exited or where they went, but they were gone.

"Fuck," he yelled, slamming his fists against the wall before running back out into the hallway.

He saw Violet, looking weak and shaken, standing outside a room with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Has she taken more revenge on us?" she asked with a tremulous voice, one hand toying with a chain that was around her neck.

"What?" his eyebrows pinched together. "Violet, stay in your room. It isn't safe," he said before running off the other way.

They couldn't be far. They had just disappeared. Surely they were still on pack land.

Lucas descended the steps leading to the front door of the pack house. Once he alighted at the bottom, he looked around to see the common area nearly empty of people. Had the vampire done something here as well? Where was everyone?

He pushed out the front doors and found what appeared to be almost the entire pack gathered on the front lawn. They were all clustered around something at the crowd's center.

"Graeme!" Lucas called, pushing past people toward the center of whatever had their attention, which he imagined was where the Alpha would also be.

People were murmuring, their eyes flashing with excitement. It was the opposite of what he expected, which was a pack terrorized by a dark creature who was draining unsuspecting victims of blood. Instead, there was a pulse of joy and relief.

"Graeme!" he shouted again, causing some to turn and frown. Who was this male who was shouting in the midst of so much happiness?

Finally he arrived near the eye of the circle to find the pup, Livvy, who had been missing for weeks now being cradled in her mother's arms with all of her family members placing their hands on her in wonderment and love. Graeme was there as well, speaking with her father and another female who stood by—Selah, if he recalled correctly. He recognized her from the council.

He approached Graeme, more reserved now in his volume but still pushing forward with pressing urgency. The Alpha male finally noticed him and turned to give him his attention.

"I need to speak with you," Lucas insisted, gesturing for him to leave the circle so they could converse privately.

Graeme's brows threaded as he regarded the apparent panic that had settled on Lucas' features, and he gave Livvy's father one last pat on the shoulder before he nodded to Lucas and followed him beyond the reach of the crowd.

"Zoe is gone," Lucas panted, eyes darting around to see if there was any trace of her.

Graeme crossed his arms across his chest. "She escaped?" he asked accusingly.

"No, it's not like that," Lucas shook his head. "He is here. The creature we were warned about. He took Zoe with him," his voice faltered in the end, much to his dismay.

He had failed to protect her. This was like a fucking pattern of failure in his life. And not only that, she had sacrificed something for him. He didn't even understand the extent of what that meant—only that she had given something of herself in negotiation for him to be spared.

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"But we are heavily guarded tonight," Graeme's much deeper voice objected. "No one should be able to get through. Are you sure she didn't just run to avoid speaking in front of the pack?"

"I saw him. I am positive," Lucas gulped, thinking how this encounter was much more than simply 'seeing' the vampire in question, but he didn't know how to explain what had occurred. It would sound crazy.

The dawning of realization lit in Graeme's eyes, and he slowly uncrossed his arms.

"August," he said, a hint of desperation in his tone. He didn't know where she was. Last he knew, she was following pups toward the haunted forest with Finn trailing behind her.

Graeme raced through the front doors of the pack house and the common room toward the back where the fire was still blazing, licking the dark sky above. Lucas trailed him along with Sam and Greta, who had caught sight of the urgency in the conversation between Lucas and Graeme.

Once Graeme arrived in the back clearing, he froze. Andreas was standing there, free from his cell and seemingly entranced by the fire. He didn't take notice of anyone around him as he walked ever so slowly toward the leaning pile of logs that had long since been consumed by the pure fire transferred to them from the churn that morning.

"How did he get out?" Graeme snarled, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Not sensing an immediate threat back here, Sam darted toward the dungeon to investigate what had occurred and whether Pearce was still contained within his cell. Greta watched him go before turning back, mouth agape, watching her brother watch Andreas. Should she follow her mate? Should she remain here? But more than those questions was the one that brought her the most trepidation: where was August? Where was their Luna?

Andreas continued walking toward the fire, and finally Graeme growled, calling out to him.

"Andreas!" he roared, but the elder did not appear to hear him. He stayed transfixed on the fire in front of him, making steady progress in his approach toward the flames.

Sam returned in haste to Graeme's side.

"Pearce is still withheld, but the guards are dead."

"How?" Graeme turned to him, a frown of discontent feathering his features.

"They were beheaded. The cuts appear swift," Sam reported, a knot of nerves twisting in his gut. He had never seen anything like it. He would have guessed a sword of some kind did it, but none of them had ever battled with swords in this pack or in any others.

Graeme's head turned to catch Andreas' first steps into the fire.

"What the…" Graeme gaped, watching the elder continue walking forward, attempting to merge himself with the flames without feeling any apparent pain or reservation over the task.

Graeme sprang forward, chasing after Andreas whose flesh was already charring. He could scent it—such a horrific smell, the smell of burning flesh. This had been his intent for the elder tonight, yes, but perhaps he was wrong to have planned it. Watching Andreas offer himself up in sacrifice to the fire was itself horrifying. Forcing it on him would have been worse.

He grabbed Andreas out, unbuttoning his jacket and covering the elder in it to extinguish the flames that had already taken hold.

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