“Arkadion, listen carefully. I didn’t send anyone to Arkadia with pictures, and if I did they would have been hand delivered,” Griffin said lowly.
Connor put the phone down on the counter and put it on speaker. He took the envelope Mojo handed him and rushed behind the counter to his jacket to get the other envelope. He pulled out the first set of pictures.
Initially he had only looked at the first couple of photographs, which had shown the bodies at the crime scene. He kept flipping and what he saw sent chills down his spine. The last picture was of Stanton, alive, beaten, and looking at the camera, terrified.
With shaking hands, he opened the second envelope and pulled out the pictures. They were of Rebecca, Kate and Sebastian with red Xs scrawled out over their midsections. The next pictures had dead babies and the last picture had him seeing red. It was a picture of Madison sitting in the diner last night. Exactly where she sat now, looking at him with worry in her eyes.
“Son?” Ma asked. Connor shook his head and took deep breaths, unable to speak. Claws ripped through his fingertipsand he dug into the counter. When he looked up he could hear gasps from around the diner. He opened his mouth and roared.
“Arkadion? Report!” Griffin barked. It was enough to break him free from his frozen moment of rage and terror. He forced his claws to retract and reached into his jacket to pull out his gun. He loaded the chamber and cocked it. He jumped the counter and went to the table that had the phones that were connected to Kate and Sebastian.
“Rex, Talon, Kaden, Beau. Head back to the pride house,” he yelled. All four men jumped up and without question left the diner at a run.
“Liam, lock the pride house down. Bran, you do the same thing at the pack house. Call in those outlying families. There is a killer on the loose in Arkadia. I’m forwarding to you the footage that David and Daniel gave me.” Connor darted to the diner door and looked out trying to identify any possible threat.
“You got it, Connor,” Liam said. Everyone heard him start shouting orders before the call ended.
“Connor, is he a distance killer or up close and personal?” Bran asked.
“Up close and personal. He’s running on Shifted Death, so his actions will be unpredictable and erratic. Hard to anticipate but it may make him sloppy,” Connor explained.
“Okay, we’re closing down the pack house now. Call with any updates,” Bran said before hanging up.
Connor went back to the counter that had the phone connected to Griffin.
“Sir, I’d like to request two units of Sentinels to begin patrols in Arkadia before nightfall,” he asked.
“He’s there isn’t he? He’s targeting you,” Griffin said.
“Yes sir. He is after my family.” Connor turned to look at everyone in the diner. To him the whole town was his family.
“Hold tight, Arkadion. We’re on our way,” Griffin said and hung up.
“I’m going to grab Peyton and then head to the pack house. Maybe the threat of a killer will get him to finally leave the bar. Connor, call me if you need help in patrols,” Mojo said and waved before walking out the door.
“Roman, make sure you check in with everyone, all coven members are to return to the house immediately. I’m bringing in David, Daniel, Nic, and Ashby. We’re being targeted by a killer who is addicted to Shifted Death, so be prepared for anything,” Gabriel spoke calmly into his phone.
“Yes sir. Baptista is rounding up everyone now. Should we close Purgatory?” Roman asked. Gabriel looked to Connor for his opinion.
Connor nodded. “Revenge set aside, he is an addict. If he can’t get someone in town he will go looking for another shifter. Purgatory is perfect hunting grounds for him,” Connor said.
Gabriel nodded. “Close down,” he ordered.
“Okay, sir, I’ll call Noel. They will close Purgatory and go underground. Hurry home,” Roman said. Gabriel ended the call and held out a hand to Ashby, who was trembling in his chair.
“Let us go,mon ange. Roman will start having kittens if we’re not back soon.” Gabriel used his melodic voice to soothe his mate. Ashby visibly straightened. He turned to the twins, who were desperately gripping each other’s hands.
“Come on, guys, I’ll make s’mores and we can catch up on our cheesy sci-fi movies,” Ashby said, putting on a brave face. Nic, seeing how scared the twins were, also smiled at them.
“I’ll make my famous hot chocolate,” he said, wrapping an arm around Daniel.
They nodded and all five headed to their cars.
Connor looked over to see Madison sitting quietly at the table. She watched him with utter trust in her eyes. He lookedover to see Rebecca walking over to the counter where he had left the pictures.
“Rebecca, don’t!” he yelled. But it was too late, and she had already gotten to the photographs of her, Kate, and Sebastian. She swayed and Aleks caught her. When Aleks saw the photographs he roared and looked at Connor.
“We find him and he dies,” Aleks said.