Page 104 of Claimed

“What happen–” I start to ask again, but his phone rings and when he pulls it from his pocket, I see it reads that it’s Linc calling.

He’s talking to Linc for a moment before he ends the call and fires questions at me about the holes in the floor and ceiling. Asking if everyone is okay. If I saw what came out of the floor.

Reading my confusion, he gives us a brief update that Wyatt and more of his betas are in the lake. They all rose, machine guns and all, and Grey spoke to Linc who said it’s something Erica did, that they’re all now in the lake except for one beta that didn’t get lifted into the sky.

Machine guns? I’m nauseous at that notion and relieved Wyatt didn’t just barge in here with one and start shooting everyone.

“A kid,” Greyson says. “Don’t wanna leave you alone but gonna go find him and question him. He’s the only one who wasn’t pulled up and we need to know if there’s anything else about to happen.”

“A kid?” I ask.

“Teenager. He probably ran off scared after those guys and their machine guns got sucked up into the sky. Your brother called him…” He pauses to think and says, “Lucas.”

I kick the impossibly high heels off and run barefoot for the door.

“Stacy!” Greyson shouts and catches up to me, catching my hand and halting me with questions in his eyes.

“He’s my little cousin!” I exclaim, pull away and rush out.

“Scents were masked, but I’ll find him,” Grey says, catching up again. “We were over there.” He gestures across the parking lot.

“He’ll be scared. I’m coming, too!”

Grey looks about to protest but I’ve already hauled my dress off and dropped my underthings so I can shift and run.

***

I smell faint fear scents, some urine, likely breaking through whatever mask my brother used, as we run past where I now know by scent that Wyatt had some of our pack betas waiting for him.

It’s a good hour or more of looking before Lucas’s faint scent hits my nose. We’ve caught up with him deep in the woods close to Drowsy Hollow.

I shift to person shape and call out his name. Greyson, still as wolf stands beside me and sniffs the air as my cousin’s scent obviously hits his nose, too.

“It’s me, Lucas. It’s Stacy. Come out, okay? I promise you it’s okay.”

Leaves rustle and my cousin in his wolf shape steps forward, fear scent pungent.

“It’s okay. This is Grey. He’s my mate,” I tell him.

Lucas backs up a little, looking at me with betrayal in his wolf’s eyes.

“Come with us. We’ll talk,” I urge, extending my hand. “Wyatt was wrong. Really wrong. This pack isn’t what he said it was.”

He looks at Grey who is behind me, now shifted to person shape and immediately takes off running.

“Stay here,” Grey clips and shifts back to wolf, taking off after him.

“Grey!” I shout. “He’s scared!”

He turns around and barks at me in a way I know means he wants me to wait here. So I do.

Not three minutes later, the leaves rustle. Luke is shifted to person shape and he’s breathless and terrified, but he’s walking beside Grey.

“It’s okay, Lukey. I promise it is,” I tell him.

Grey grabs my hand and presses his mouth to it before he says, “Let’s go home. We’ll talk there.”

***

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