Pursuit of Happiness 08

The other two males practically give themselves whiplash, nodding.

Jason turns, "And, Gerry?" Gerry looks at him, eyes wide in fear. "If you continue to act like an idiot, I will kill you myself. Shut up and watch the girl."

Joanna turned her face to the wall as Jason stomped up the stairs to get more sleep. She didn't want them to see her smile.

It was funny if she didn't think about the fact that she was being held against her will by a rival pack. To be forcibly mated to... Wait, had he said Alpha? She knew Michael Ross was destined to be Alpha. Was he already? Had Calvin Ross stepped down? Or were they planning something else? No, they wouldn't be forming their own pack, that made no sense.

The smell comes to her and she turns to look at her friend, wishing she could talk to her.

Lyssa needed to be cleaned up again. The males wouldn't care if she laid in her own waste, but for the smell.

Nathan Severn rides his motorcycle on the dirt lanes and roads to the east side of the Ross range. Shaft driven and well-tuned, the bike was substantially quieter than most motorcycles but not silent.

Any wolf would recognize it as a vehicle, not to mention the smell of the exhaust. But, unless he got close or went by their refuge too many times, no one would take note.

He rode fluidly, skillfully, with an ease and skill on the bike that even few of his kind had mastered. He thoroughly enjoyed himself under normal circumstances.

He had applied to be a motorcycle officer but had been relegated to driving a patrol car. Motorcycle positions were coveted in the area and his application was behind those of a few more senior officers.

He looks and thinks as he rides around trying to figure another angle for the disappearance of the two Wyeth females.

His older brother had made detective; the humans had found his family to be adept at figuring out crime scenes. Of course, a wolf's sight, hearing, and sense of smell were advantageous in such an endeavor. They looked to Nathan to do the same.

Nathan was also a fan of crime shows and novels.

One of the first tenets of crime solving - never dismiss family members out of hand.

So, the Wyeth pack acted as if the two had been kidnapped, but what if they weren't?

What if they escaped? What if there was some sort of conspiracy? What if they were planning on pulling down the Wyeth pack? And, perhaps, the rest?

It was reported that there were signs of a struggle.

No, it didn't make sense. All they needed was to leave the den for something related to the party. Leave and not come back.

Why stage an elaborate ruse?

If they wanted the pack in an uproar, a simple absence would suffice.

Alright, then. Next theory. What if it was someone in the Wyeth pack?

OK. Who would it be? He had seen both the Alpha and Beta of the pack, seen their reactions.

Werewolves were terrible liars. Between observations of body posture, scent, sound of heartbeat and voice timbre it was not hard to divine another wolf's true intent. Neither Alpha Wyeth, nor his Beta, showed anything but genuine concern.

Alright, then, someone else?

Unfortunately, he had no idea of the dynamics of the pack, or which members might have reason to remove or harm the two females.

Next. Rogues. None sighted in the vicinity in recent memory. The attack was organized, planned. Rogues generally worked from opportunity.

Again, why there? Females could more easily be taken away from the den, off the pack lands.

So, they were targeted. Someone specifically wanted one or both of them.

It could be anyone.

No. It couldn't be.

It was someone who had been watching them. Someone who had an idea of their movements. Which pointed to Wyeth pack.

But they escaped across Ross range. They had been waiting there. If they had no idea when Joanna and the Beta female would be there, the kidnappers could have been there for some time. Which pointed to Ross pack, or someone in collusion with them.

The Ross pack had gone through a lot of changes lately. The loss of the Madam Alpha. A sad, sad thing. The Alpha's deterioration. The change of Alpha to their son, Michael Ross. A lot of changes, it would rattle some.

He decided. He would look more closely at the Ross pack.

Night was coming. Time to go home and look at things in another way.

He hoped they were alright.

He hoped they would be found.

Night was falling. The second night Emmett was without his mate. That Joanna was gone. The pack was edgy, quiet.

Everyone was walking on eggshells around Emmett and the Alpha pair.

All other pack members were accounted for. No one within the Wyeth pack had any active part in the abductions.

The other five packs were supposedly conducting their own investigations. Nothing useful had come to light. No one had admitted to anything.

While the basics of pack life continued unabated, there was a concentration of activity based on finding their missing members.

Joanna and Lyssa had been missing for 28 hours.

Gerry pulls his stiff dick from his pants. "Hey, girlie."

Joanna's eyes flick over to him and go wide. Michael had told them not to touch her.

"Come over here and get on your knees."

Jason growls. "No touching."

"Hey. I wouldn't be touching her. She'd be touching me."

"No, idiot." Jason points at her. "Stay there." Yeah, like she was planning on getting closer to him. "He wants her untouched. He wants to oversee her training himself."

Training. What kind of training..? Oh. Eeeww.

Joanna's chest heaves and she closes her eyes. Her imagination was conjuring up all sorts of ugly images now. Being made to suck Michael's dick. Would he slap her, chain her, tie her to the bed? Would he hurt her while he was fucking her? Was he the type of male who would get off on that?

Well, he had kidnapped her and was going to force her to be his mate. He could force her to do almost anything else. Her life would be absolutely hellish if she didn't get out of here.

[Oh, Selene, Lyssa. We've got to get out of here.]

Opening her eyes again, she sees Gerry stroking his dick and eying Lyssa.

Oh, no, no, no. How could she stop him?

Grabbing a blanket and pillow, she goes over and settles down next to her, wrapping her arms around her friend.

[C'mon, Lyssa. Wake up. I could use some help here.]

Foggy.

Bone-tired.

It was hard and the smells were wrong.

Lyssa struggles up from her drug-induced stupor.

Something was wrong. Something she had to remember.

She smelled males, none familiar. A familiar female. An arm around her. Her back warmed by another body. But it was wrong.

She felt stiff. Thirsty. Hungry. Dirty.

She moves arms and legs, twists her head.

The sound of metal clinking startled her. The body behind her jerks. [Lyssa?]

[Jo?]

Footsteps approaching.

[He's gonna drug you again.]

She forces her eyes open. They show as mere slits.

Someone, male, looming over her.

She lashes out, biting him on the leg. "Ow! Son of a bitch! She bit me!"

"Dose her, you idiot."

She screams as he stomps on her arm, breaking it. [Oh, Selene. Lyssa. Oh, no.]

The ice white shock of pain overshadows the prick of the needle. But the pain dulls as she slides back to oblivion. [Lyssa?]

Sleep.

By definition Lyssa was not asleep.

Joanna was curled up behind her, upset, sleeping fitfully.

Alan slept while Jason and Gerry kept watch.

Emmett stood in their bedroom, staring out the window into the darkness.

Randall held Ariel, rocking her in their bed, both trying to find sleep.

Erich looks again at the maps.

Nathan looks at the Ross pack's holdings and property.

Anton and Cameron were out searching, driving dark roads and lanes.