Chapter 210

Almara’s Pov

Arthur and I were about to head out the front door and hunt down our daughter when something dawned upon us. We have no plan.

If Grace is the number one most wanted wolf then Arthur and I aren’t too far behind, and while I don’t doubt our parental instincts to fight off a few good-for-nothing gammas, how many will it take before we get worn? How many will we have to fight at once?

Not to mention, let’s say we do locate her- then what? Bringing her back home will be the first place people come looking for her.

I sit on the lightly stained oak wooden chair at the island while Arthur paces anxiously back and forth. I wish he would sit and save his energy, he shouldn’t be putting any extra stress on his body.

An hour has passed since Boss and Rudy have left, it’s going to be getting dark soon. “Elenor went to my parents, she should be arriving there soon. Maybe she’ll call and tell us that Grace and my father are there after all,” I say though even I don’t believe it.

“But then what? What do we do after we get her. How do we get out of this?” Arthur asks and I sigh. It seems the only way out is through.

We’re going to have to go to the vampire land and get our paws bloody. It’s either that and hope we win against the familiars, or the alternative which is hand Grace over; which might as well not even be an option.

“We can worry about that after we get her. Right now our baby needs us,” I say while fighting back tears.

“I thought you believed she might be safe and sound at your parents?” Arthur says, catching me in my false hope.

“I don’t know what to think,” I close my eyes and for a moment let the exhaustion settle over me.

Arthur stops pacing and loops his arms around my waist from behind as I place my elbows on the counter and bury my face into my palms. “I’m sorry,” He whispers in my ear. “We’re on the same side,” I nod my head. We’re the only ones on the same side.

An idea passes through my head, but just as quickly as I think of it I dismiss it. Arthur senses the inner workings of my brain and pulls back. “What is it?” He asks.

I debate about dismissing the whole idea, but it would be pointless. I guess nothing is too crazy at this point. “When Bess, Robert, and I went looking for you we drank a potion that hid our identities,” I shrug. “We could do that and make decent headway before the potion would ware off,”

I peek a glance at Arthur who’s considering it. “But,” I interject before he can come to any decision. “Gathering the ingredients would take us a couple of days. Time that we just don’t have,” Arthur’s face falls and I wish I had never even brought up the idea.

“That can be a backup plan. Maybe along our way we can gather ingredients if we come across them,” He says and I nod in agreement. That could work.

We look at one another for a moment in silence. The house feels so big and empty without our bundle of life running through the halls and filling the silence with her joyful laughter.

“I guess there really is no way around this,” Arthur says.

“No way but through,” With that, we nod and know what must be done. Arthur goes up to Grace's room while I repack my makeshift travel bag.

Arthur returns with one of her favorite dresses. One she wears all the time. A loose-fitting flowy canary dress detailed with teal flowers. I fight back the tears again. “Are you ready?” Arthur asks, his voice sounding strong enough for the both of us. I nod.

“Let’s go get our baby girl,” I say.

As we trek through the backwoods of our neighborhood we sniff Grace’s dress and let that guide us. Her smell isn’t very strong around the area of our house which makes me think she hasn’t been here for a couple of days. Which means, she truly could be anywhere.

Arthur and I march on in silence. We’re simultaneously listening for intruders while also completely absorbed in our surroundings for any clue or sign that Grace did indeed come through this way.

Sticks crunch beneath our feet, leaves rustle above us. If the circumstances were any different this would be another one of our beautiful walks that we’ve taken many times before as a family. I let my mind replay one of those fond moments.

Last fall, Arthur and I took Grace through this same path. It seemed we were up to our knees in fallen leaves, yet the trees still sprouted hundreds of differing colors. It was sunset. The warm glow of the sun shone through the branches and the sky overhead was a firey orange.

Of course, we had no reason to be wary of our surroundings. Instead of tuning our ears to hear people that wanted to harm us, we only needed to focus on the sound of one another's laughter and playful howls.

Occasionally, we would show Grace how to listen for and carefully hunt a bird. We were the only threat in the woods that day. Then a thought interjects this memory. Was our house bugged back then? I shiver at the thought.

“You okay?” I hear Arthur ask.

“I think whoever bugged our house wanted us to find the hidden mics and cameras,”

“Why do you say that?” Arthur asks.

“Why else would they leave them there? Why not collect the information you need and then take them away?”

“But why would they, whoever planted them, want us to find them?”

“Maybe they knew we would come after them if we did. Maybe they want us to pay the vampires a visit and we’re walking right into their plan,”

Arthur stops walking and contemplates my prospect. “Well, what do you suggest?”

“Maybe we don’t go to the vampire territory,” I say and chew on my lip All this hemming and hawing about what to do is getting tedious. We’ve never been on the side of the ones being played and I’m trying to be one step ahead of our opponents but it feels like they have us cornered.

“So, you would rather us just wait and see what happens?” Arthur says though I know it’s more of a rhetorical question. Still, I answer.

“I’m saying, what if us heading towards their land is actually only putting Grace further in danger,”

“Us not being with her is also dangerous,” Arthur retorts. I click my tongue, he has a point. Just then my phone rings and I pull it out and see Elenor’s contact illuminating my screen.

Please let her be calling to say she found Grace and my father.

“They aren’t here,” Elenor says with a frustrated sigh and I can’t tell if she's bothered that they are nowhere to be found, or that she made the journey for no reason. “It doesn’t look like anyone has been here for a while,”

“Thanks,” I say and shut the phone. I turn to face Arthur and shake my head. “She’s probably in their hands,” I say referring to the enemy. Arthur straightens his back and assumes his soldier stance.

“Then hidden plan or not, that’s where we’re going,” He says and leads the way.