I turn around fully, now, my heart starting to beat faster. “She had them in her possession?”
“Yes.”
“Someone for sure gifted them to her,” Aurelia says breathlessly.
“That’s too much of a coincidence,” I say. “Two of us need to get back in touch with the director of the orphanage—”
“Leila and I can do that,” Aurelia says. “He already knows us.”
“Good, then the auction—”
“I’m keeping an eye on it,” Zoé says.
“I will help,” Emilien offers. “I will make sure we have the money to bid on it.”
“Good. Nox, Gustave, and I will go to the storage area, where we have Meg’s possessions and all the folders from the orphanage.”
“Got you,” Gustave says.
Nox nods. “What are we looking for exactly?”
“The person who gifted her the crystals,” I say.
“Are you sure he let his face show?” Leila asks.
“Yes, going by how obsessed he is, I think he made sure to watch her. He gave her presents,” I say. “There is no way he did that from a distance. I am sure he wanted to see how she smiled, how she opened them...” A shiver of horror goes down my spine. “He...he kept Meg for a reason: she is his favorite gem.”
“Goddess,” Nox mutters. “Let’s make sure to find her and release her from that prison she is in.”
Chapter thirty-six
Another Kidnapping
*ARDEN*
We are in the midst of going through Meg’s things—as Leila said, there is a collection of crystals—when Eric and Vander suddenly barge into the room.
“Arden,” Eric comes to the point immediately. “You need to come with us.”
“What happened!?” My gaze wanders to Vander, noticing the anxiety in his eyes. “Something with the pack?”
“Yes, a young woman was abducted,” Eric explains. He looks calm, but his voice is tense. “Her name is Juliet. She ranked beta, her blood group is—”
“No way,” I blurt out, jumping up. It slowly starts to sink in. “Wait a moment… a member from Vander and my pack! I need to go there immediately.”
I can’t believe it. They kidnapped someone from my pack, someone I could possibly know. It was always real, but this makes it even more real.
“That’s not all,” Eric says. “She was with her son, a three-year-old boy.”
I stare at him. “Don’t tell me—” I whisper.
“The boy is alright.”
“Wait, they abducted her in front of her kid… just like that, with potential witnesses around?” I ask, shocked.
“Her mate reported her missing,” Vander explains, chewing on his lips anxiously.
“Her mate?”