Chapter 208

Almara’s Pov

I sink into my leather couch ignoring Elenor’s judgmental grimace as my wet and muddy fur matted with dried blood is no doubt staining the skin of the cushions. I don’t understand how her mind can even care about trivial matters like that during a time like this.

There is one place for sure that my father and Grace could be at, though it’s the last place I hope she’s at- vampire territory. They could possibly be back at my parents’ house. Maybe they went there after hearing the news that Grace is wanted.

Other than that, any other guess is as good as any. They could be held captive by any gamma, they could be on any road, or on any off-beaten path. And who knows for how long now?

“I’m going to call in a favor,” Elenor says already punching a number into her phone. I look at her quizzically.

“A favor?” I clarify, but Elenor doesn’t feel the need to repeat herself. “Who are you calling?” I ask, deciding it’s probably better to make my question more specific.

“Well, this place is an open target,” Elenor says waving her hands in the air as though to summarize her point in one single swift motion. I swallow a lump in my throat. She’s probably right.

Just because we got one herd of wolves away from here, who’s to say another pack won’t be back? Then another, and another. It’s only a matter of time before all the windows are smashed.

Actually, now that I think about it, locking the doors won’t do us any good with the broken window now open and available to anyone.

“This place needs proper security,” Elenor says lifting the phone to her ear. I can’t argue with her on that. If we’re to leave looking for my daughter, that leaves my house vulnerable and then I’ll have no where to bring Grace back to.

I listen to Elenor’s end of the phone call, it’s rather short. She says a name and gives my address, with that she snaps the phone shut and looks at me with pity in her eyes.

“Have you anything to drink?” She asks and I point to the direction of the liquor cabinet.

“Help yourself,” I say and go to cleans up the broken glass on the floor. Once that’s finished I go upstairs and try to clean myself up.

I take a look at myself in the full-length mirror in my bathroom and come to a full understanding why Elenor looked at me with pity. The brightly lit white bathroom doesn’t fail to illuminate every scratch, bruise, and sore on me.

Twigs and leaves are nestled in my hair, my scrubs are torn, blood is dried in various spots on me. I don’t even think it’s all mine.

I take a quick hot shower. The steam causes my wounds to sting, but I let it cleanse me. Dirt and blood pool at the tub and swirl down the drain. I throw on some loose clothing and brush my hair as I head back down stairs right as the doorbell rings.

Before I can reach the front door, Elenor is already there opening the door wide for two husky-looking men. They look like they belong on a wrestling team. It makes me wonder why they aren’t drafted for the war.

They nod in my direction and I don’t do anything but continue to take in the size of their shoulders which seem perpetually scrunched up to their ears. “I take it you know why we called,” Elenor says raising her eyebrows curiously.

“We have a pretty good idea,” The one man wearing a fitted black suit says. He openly eyes every corner and crevice of the walls around him. “Maximum?” He says and looks at me, but I have no idea what he means.

“Yes,” Elenor answers for me.

“Rudy,” The man in the black suit says snapping his fingers and the man behind him, who I figure is Rudy props a metallic suitcase on the island counter.

“Here you go boss,” Rudy says, his voice deep and gravelly. The one referred to as Boss presses his thumb to the suitcase and the lid pops open.

Inside lay an array of gadgets of all different sizes and shapes. He unclips one from it’s place in the suitcase and holds it up to inspect it. It’s shaped like a gun, but with a more rounded barrel.

He presses a button and a small line, almost like the tip of a pen, but longer shoots out from the tool's cavity.

“How long will this take?” I ask, getting antsy about wanting to hunt for Grace.

“As long as it takes,” Boss says and I cross my arms at his remark.

“Almara, please. Let the men work,” Elenors says.

“What are you doing anyways?” I snap. This time it’s Rudy who steps forward.

“Your house needs security as well as traps should anyone set paw in here,” Rudy says rubbing his hand over his thick beard.

“What kind of traps?” I ask.

Boss holds his gun out for me to see. “This will draw up lasers around the house in a maze-like pattern. It will appear invisible to the naked eye. Should someone trip the alarm system and walk through a laser line, the lasers will become hot and burn them.” Boss shrugged. “The longer they stay put, the hotter it gets.”

“Will it kill them?” I ask, wary of wanting to come home to a few dead bodies.

“It could if it's their head that triggers the system,” Rudy says with a smile that tells me he enjoys the thought of that.

“Only if they’re stupid enough to stay put long enough. Usually, instinct kicks in before then,” Boss man says with a business-like attitude. I nod slowly.

“And what happens if someone breaks in and I’m not here to see who it is?”

Boss holds up another gadget that looks like a piece of charcoal. “This is a hidden camera. It will ping to your phone and tell you exactly who is in your house. If they have any social media the camera will relay that information to you so you can see where they live and who they are.”

Rudy pulls a stool out of the way, “We will also get the notification, and should the intruder not leave the property, we’ll come pay a visit.” I don’t ask what that entails. I figure at this point, the less I know the better.

“Let’s get to work,” The boss says and flips the suitcase shut, and flashes me a smile. I toss a glance at Elenor who looks proud of herself.

I wait until the two men are out of earshot. “How do you know them?” I whisper.

“We go way back,” Elenor says, not taking the hint and keeping her voice at normal volume. A coy smile plays on her lips and I also decide not to further investigate her relationship with them. The less the better.

“But they can be trusted?” I ask. The entire wolf population has an incentive to stab the Hurricane Pack in the back, what makes these two guys any different? Not to mention, they’re the only ones who know the layout of the lasers and where every camera is. Wouldn’t that be something in their advantage?

Elenor shoots me an offensive glare. “I wouldn’t call them unless they could be trusted, Almara.”

I decide to drop it. I suppose at this point it doesn’t matter. They’re all we got and if they can at least eliminate the rest of the competition on those seeking my daughter then I’ll take it.

I decide to pack a quick travel bag with high-protein snacks, a mini first aid kit, and a camel pack with water. Just as I’m zipping the bag shut, Rudy comes walking in with his gaze fixated on something in his palm.

“Is this yours?” He asks before I can question what it is he’s looking at. He holds up what looks to be a small black dot the size of a raisin in between his fingers.

“No,” I say, moving closer to take a look at it. “What is it?”

“A microphone. Maybe a camera,” He says with a certainty that sends a rushing chill down my spine. “Someone’s bugged your house,”