A COURT OF SHIFTERS AND SECRETS

T H I R T Y - N I N E

"When was he reported missing?" 

"About five months ago" Rune answered "Both his roommate and father filed Guards report a few days after he went missing. It wasn't uncommon for him to go low contact at times to focus on his studies and exams. It wasn't until he missed a few family dinners, events that he religiously attended since his mother passed, did his father know that something was wrong." 

"He didn't question his son's disappearance sooner?" 

"Like I said, it wasn't uncommon for him to not answer his phone for days at a time, especially during exam time" Rune shook his head "And quite honestly, the father didn't have much time to investigate why his son wasn't visiting. Grisha Edwards' youngest daughter is very sick and requires continuous treatment from the local medical institution, something that costs much more money then anticipated which has him working long hours at one of his three jobs." 

There was a pit forming in the bottom of my stomach at his words, something not sitting right with me at my Beta's words. 

"What night did he go missing." 

Rune hesitated "The night Heir Lupine was returned." 

The feeling turned into an even bigger pit. 

"And what Pack did he belong too?" 

All three men glanced at each other, briefly shaking their heads before looking back at me. 

"What Pack did he belong to Beta" I demanded softly "I will not ask again." 

"The Edwards family are devote Pack members to the Lupine Pack" Rune whispered "As were the sixteen other people, all ages seventeen through nineteen, that went missing within the last year." 

~~~~~

Atlas 

Ten years ago

"Mom" I pulled on her dress, frowning as she sat on porch swing, a gift dad gave to her for their ninth anniversary. 

She was bundled up in three big blankets, mascara smudged and a blank expression on her face as she continued to gaze over the garden dad gave to her a year ago when she expressed joy over her new found habit of gardening. 

"Mom" My nose wrinkled when she took a sip from the dark crimson juice she usually reserved for times like this. 

Times that started to occur more frequently as my father started to travel more and more for his Heir meetings. 

The cries from my newborn brother grew louder in frequency, making me wince at not only the pitch but also his desperate attempt for the loving attention of his mother.