Jayden
As soon as Sara and Ariel showed up with mine and Ash's SUVs, we gave Ash's to Dad and Papa and sent them to the prison to interrogate the dire wolf.
Then I turned my SUV around, my brothers and the witches piled in, and we headed home.
Emerson wanted to come along, but we needed him to stay and help Poppy make a map and sketch the prison with guard placements. Angelo convinced him, saying we needed the information she had before we could tear the place down.
On the drive home, Mase called the king to give him a short summary of everything with the promise of a detailed report later after we resolved a "small domestic crisis."
And itwasa crisis, even if not everyone would recognize that as such.
Mr. Nibbles was Posy's one and only friend for a long time. When her mom died, he was there. When her 'father' beat her bloody and broke her bones, he was there. When she was abandoned by her brothers, he was there. Even if he was only faux fur and stuffing, Posy loved him and depended on him for comfort, and he'd always been there to provide it.
And now he wasn't.
"Can you drive faster?" Wyatt hissed from the passenger seat.
Apparently, you're not the only one who's worried, Quartz snorted.
You should be, too,I rebuked him.Posy is upset.
I never said I wasn't worried. I'm just better at hiding it than all of you.
Arriving at our house, we found an overturned ant hill. Tristan searched the flowerbeds in the front yard. Crew walked along the treeline and peered into the underbrush. Going inside, we found Tyler opening every cupboard in the kitchen, Peri turning the dining room upside down, and Matthew on his hands and knees looking under the living room furniture.
"Where is she?" Mase growled, startling his beta.
Matthew shot up and whacked his head on the coffee table with a little wince.
"In her special room," he said. "She's checking it for the fourth time. Alpha, we've lookedeverywhere!In the cabana, in the pool itself, all over the backyard, every room in the house. What are we going to do?"
"I'll go talk to her and see the last time and place she saw it," Cole said, already trotting toward the stairs. "Keep looking!"
Wyatt volunteered to double-check our bedroom and bathrooms, Mase took the guest rooms, Ash headed for the home office, and I went to search the laundry room and basement, even though Posy hadnevergone down there.
The basement wasn't creepy or covered in spider webs or anything like that. It was finished with flooring and walls and lighting. We'd never decided what we wanted to do with the space, though, so it was empty. Of course, Mr. Nibbles wasn't down there, and I headed back upstairs.
Something's wrong with Sid,Quartz said out of the blue.
Great. That's what we need right now, I mumbled to myself, then asked Quartz what he thought was wrong.
He hasn't said a word, not a peep to any of us or Ash, since Matthew linked us.Quartz shrugged.And he's ... squirmy.
Squirmy,I repeated slowly.
Remember that time he ate all the ice cream that Mom got for Wade after he had his tonsils out? And Wade cried because his throat hurt? And Mom had to go back to the store after dark? And she was pregnant with William and tired and upset because Dad had to go out of town unexpectedly?
Yeah, I remember.
He's the same as then. Squirmy.
I blinked rapidly a few times.
Oh. Oh, no.
Linking my brothers and the betas, I told them to bring Posy to the living room.
You found him?Mase asked hopefully.