I awoke to a strange sensation on my arm, only to see Kenna standing there. Before I could react or even utter a word, she jabbed a needle into me, and a sudden paralysis gripped my body. Panic surged as I realized I couldn't move or speak.
Kenna swiftly picked me up, carrying my limp body out of my room. The hallway stretched before us, and I desperately wanted to scream, to alert my roommates, but my voice was trapped in my paralyzed throat. I sensed the danger closing in, a realization that echoed the warnings from my dad, Blaike, and Nathan. They had been right all along – Kenna wasn't the person she appeared to be.
As we passed my friends' doors, I could feel their presence behind the walls, oblivious to the danger. My heart raced, and silent pleas for help echoed in my mind. Kenna's steps were like a slow march, each one taking me further from safety.
The fear intensified as we descended down the stairs. Despite the overwhelming fear, a flicker of determination ignited within me. I couldn't let myself be taken without a fight. I strained against the paralysis, focusing every ounce of my willpower on regaining control of my body.
Just as we reached the front door, a guttural sound escaped my throat, breaking through the silence. Kenna paused, her gaze narrowing. Summoning every ounce of strength, I let out a muffled scream. It was a desperate attempt to alert anyone in our cabin that I was in danger.
Kenna hesitated, her grip tightening on my paralyzed form. Entering the cool night air, I struggled against the paralyzing effects of the unknown injection, doing my utmost to break free from her grip.
She flashed a grin at me before shutting the trunk door. My heart raced as I sensed the car's movement. We were departing from the cabin, and a wave of regret washed over me. I realized I had placed my trust in someone I barely knew. How could the one human friend I had made turn out to be so cruel?
A chill ran down my spine, and it wasn't solely due to the cold. The realization that I was utterly alone, without even my phone, intensified the shivers. Would I have any chance to reach out to my friends? Where was she taking me? The uncertainty hung in the air, adding to the growing anxiety.
-
"Where's Leilani?" Saphira asked once she made it downstairs. It was now the morning and everyone was getting ready to eat breakfast. "Maybe she's in the bathroom or outside," Blaike said. "She's not upstairs," Saphira immediately responded.
Blaike shrugged his shoulders indicating that he had no clue where their friend could be before bringing the fruit bowl into the next room. Saphira exited the house to look for her. She headed to the back of the cabin where the swing was situated and couldn't find her. She looked onto the lake thinking maybe she decided to go canoeing on her own. She circled the cabin before heading back inside.
"I don't see Kenna either," Neha pointed out as soon as she saw Saphira. Immediately Saphira's heart dropped. "Wait what?" Jasper emphasized. "You can't find Leilani?"
Everyone looked at each other with confused faces. The music was immediately paused as the close group of friends began to converse.
"She must be somewhere," Julian replied. Nathan rushed up the stairs and entered her room. He found that Leilani's phone was still there and all of her belongings too. He exited her room to see Indigo and Violet exiting Kenna's room. He felt a bit of fear realizing that no one knew where she was.
"Kenna's belongings are gone. It was as if she was never here," Indigo stated.
"This doesn't make sense," Nathan replied. They descended down the stairs to see the rest of their friends with puzzled faces. As they began to converse about what could've possibly happened, a tired Elias came down the stairs yawning.
"What happened?" he was surprised to see all his friends not gathered at the living room table eating breakfast. Instead they were situated in the kitchen, with most of them standing up looking rather concerned. "Both Leilani and Kenna are gone," Lucian stated.
"What do you mean?" Elias chuckled, not understanding what Lucian was saying. "Kenna's stuff is gone, and we can't find Leilani," Blaike continued. Elias felt his heart stop for a brief second in fear, as his mind began to grapple with possibilities of the situation.
"Guys, there's no need to worry. Maybe Kenna had to leave early and Leilani drove her to the train station nearby or something," Raphael said.
"That's impossible because both the vehicles we drove to get here are still outside on the driveway," Blaike stated. "And even if that was the case, Leilani wouldn't have just left like that. She would've told someone. This is so unlike her," Saphira chimed in. "I knew something was off about Kenna," Blaike said.
"What do you mean?" Neha asked with curiosity.
"I don't know. She just seemed weird to me. Both Nathan and I got a bad vibe from her," he added.
"Yeah, there was something off about her," Nathan chimed in. Saphira's voice trembled with fear as she asked, "Wait, are you suggesting that Kenna kidnapped her or something?" A heavy silence hung over the group of friends, each avoiding the admission of that unsettling possibility.
It was evident that the atmosphere in the room had now shifted as the tension thickened. Leilani's friends wanted to find out where she was, and they were also curious about where Kenna might be. They wondered if Kenna had really kidnapped Leilani, or perhaps they both went somewhere without telling anyone, maybe to the store.
"No, why on earth would Kenna kidnap Leilani?" Julian interjected, his disbelief evident in his tone. "Just call her," Neha suggested. "But her phone is upstairs..." Violet responded. Saphira's fear escalated, and her mate held onto her, attempting to provide comfort. "Oh my," she began, her heart pounding in fear. "What if she hurts her? What if she kills her?" Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Take it easy, Saphira. Getting all worked up won't help us find them. Let's figure this out together," Blaike reassured, showcasing his leadership skills. "Some of us should check the area and see if we can pick up their scents. We don't know how long they've been missing, but it's better to try something than sit around doing nothing. The rest can stay here and keep an eye out in case they come back before we do," he added, signalling that he intended to be one of those searching the nearby surroundings.
Blaike's words barely left his lips before Nathan, swift as a thought, was already out the door, seamlessly transforming into his brown wolf form. His furry frame moved swiftly through the woods, nose diligently tracking Leilani's scent. As Nathan raced against time, a mix of anxiety and determination fuelled his every step. He needed to know that his best friend was safe.
Blaike followed with Jasper, Julian, Neha, and Saphira close behind, all shifting into their wolves as they tried to track down the scents of Leilani and Kenna. Raphael, Indigo, Violet and Elias were the ones to stay behind.
"What do you guys think? Where could they possibly be?" Violet pondered out loud. "You're awfully quiet Eli," Indigo said.
"Yeah, I'm just going to go upstairs for a second," he muttered, rising from his seat and heading towards the stairs. His legs wobbled, and a knot tightened in his stomach as he ascended the steps.
Entering his room, Elias shut the door behind him and sank onto his bed, clutching his shirt. Instead of slowing down, his heart seemed to accelerate, and he sat there, deep in thought, contemplating the apparent gravity of the situation.
Where could she be? Elias wondered, his mind racing through various scenarios. Was this an innocent disappearance, or was she truly in danger? He sifted through the possibilities, entertaining the unsettling thought that she might have been kidnapped or harmed.
Regret seeped in as he acknowledged the foolishness of rejecting her. In his mind, it was an attempt to protect her from the beast he believed himself to be, coupled with the uncertainty of his ability to make her happy. The weight of realization pressed on him as he contemplated the potential consequences of his decisions.
"Crap," he muttered, swiftly getting up and leaving his room. As he descended the stairs, he hurriedly exited the cabin, his friends questioning him about his destination. At that moment, nothing else mattered to him. His sole focus was on finding her.
He sprang onto the ground, swiftly transforming into his dark, black wolf, darting through the trees with determined speed. He couldn't just sit there and wait when Leilani could be all alone and cold out there somewhere.
He traveled quickly as trusting that his nose would lead him in the right direction. However, he couldn't smell her, which meant they probably didn't travel on foot. He mind-linked Jasper hoping that he or the others had found her.
E - Any signs of her?
J - No, we're still looking.
E - Where are you guys right now?
J - We just reached the train station. We couldn't pick up any of their scents. You're still at the house, right?
E - No, I left. I'm trying to find her too.
J - Okay, let us know if you do.
Elias kept running, covering every inch of the area and retracing the steps his friends had taken. Periodically, he checked in with Jasper, who shared the same news – they still couldn't locate her. Even when they decided to head back to the cabin, Elias persisted, trotting through the land with an unwavering determination to find her.
As darkness settled in the clouds gave out and it began to pour. In the wet rain, Elias raced back to the cabin hoping that she had returned. There was a glimmer of hope that Leilani would be inside, perhaps engaged in laughter over a joke from Nathan or engrossed in conversation with Saphira.
"Is she here? Did you find her?" Elias asked his friends after he had shifted back into his human form. They all sat in the living room with solemn faces. "No she's not. Blaike called her parents and they will be here soon and some other pack members too."
He felt his heart give out as his knees buckled to the floor. "Woah, Eli," Jasper said, reaching out to grab him before he fell. Elias began to shake, signifying that he was having a panic attack. This was all his fault. If he had just accepted her as his mate, he would've been able to protect her.
"Dude, are you okay?" Julian asked, looking concerned. "Get him some water," Neha stated which led Lucian to grab him a glass of water. "Does this happen often?" Saphira asked looking concerned.
"Not to my knowledge," Jasper responded. Elias took a few sips of water and tried taking some deep breaths. "Are you okay?" his friends began to inquire.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Blaike swiftly answered it to find Leilani's parents and a few members from their pack. Athena immediately embraced Saphira, seeking comfort in each other's arms.
"I appreciate you guys for calling me," Zander said earnestly. "Of course. It was the right thing to do," Jasper responded.
"We did a background check on Kenna and we didn't find anything odd. I should've trusted my wolf when Leilani mentioned her," Zander said.
"But truth is, we don't know if Kenna is the bad guy here. All we know is that they are both missing," Neha reminded everyone. "That is true, but something is telling me that Kenna has a big part to play in this," he replied.
As Leilani's friends and family gathered to figure out how to locate her, Elias found himself trapped in a trance, burdened by the weight of failure. Fear and anxiety gripped him tightly. No one knew Leilani's whereabouts, and the possibility that she resented him loomed heavily in his thoughts.
"Alright, we're going to check different plazas and try to access security cameras. We've already informed nearby packs to be on the lookout for both of them. Thank you guys for everything you've done."
Elias, Jasper, Nathan, Blaike, Lucian, and Saphira joined Zander and his pack members as they headed back out, leaving the others behind.