Chapter Eighteen

**Sloan**

~buzz~buzz~buzz~

Sloan groaned as he heard a dull buzz to his left. He stretched out, blindly searching around for the source of the disturbance. His fingertips brushed against his phone, which was vibrating on the bedside table. He shifted to get a proper grip on the device, causing Myra to snuggle deeper into his side.

“WHAT?!” He growled in a loud whisper, annoyed that someone was calling him after they had finally fallen asleep.

“We have a problem… and I wouldn’t be calling you if it wasn’t manageable,” Tristan explained, but the panic in his brother’s voice alarmed Sloan.

“What happened?” He asked, soon forgetting his tiredness. He glanced over at Myra and smiled at the slight sheen of sweat that still clung to her barely covered nude body.

“We had a breach in security…”

“Give me two minutes,” Sloan said, ending the call. He brushed a kiss on Myra’s forehead and peeled himself away from her warm body. Sitting lazily on the edge of the bed, Sloan cracked his neck and stretched his exhausted; yet well-pleasured aching muscles. When he got out of the bed, Myra mumbled a bit and rolled over. But her deep, steady breathing indicated that she was still asleep. The sight of her breasts caused his cock to twitch.

“*Not now.*” He scolded his wayward organ. He walked naked into the closet, pulled on a pair of sweats and shrugged into a white tee.

He then quickly brushed his teeth before exiting his bedroom. Out in the hallway stood Tristan, who was waiting somewhat impatiently. Sloan also noticed additional sounds resonating from different parts of the house. The volume implied that multiple individuals were moving about the compound.

“Leanne, stay here with Myra.” Tristan nodded to the woman who Sloan didn’t notice was standing next to the bedroom door. She nodded at Tristan’s orders.

“What happened?” Sloan asked again, and Tristan pointed to the stairwell.

“It’s Elizabeth…”

“What the fuck… Tris…” Sloan groaned, turning around to return to his bedroom.

“She’d escaped,” Tristan called out, stopping Sloan in his tracks.

“Escaped? How?” *When?* He thought as they raced down to the dungeons together. When they got to the door leading to the holding cells, the scent of blood assaulted Sloan’s senses. “Security cameras?”

“Declan’s reviewing them as we speak,” Tristan stated as they came upon the gruesome scene. There were two brutally slaughtered bodies laid about the room, and the cell doors were wide open. Bloody footprints, both human and animal, were spread chaotically about the room. “Before you ask, it’s Toby and Adam.”

“Fuck, they were rookies,” Sloan said under his breath.

“From the layout of their bodies, Toby was first… then Adam. It looked like he tried to get to the panic button.”

“Why did you assume Elizabeth escaped and she wasn’t another victim?” Sloan asked, inhaling all the different scents in the room. He separated the overpowering metallic, rust scent of blood, even the sickeningly sweet smell of Tristan’s cologne and the residual aroma of Myra on his beard. “*What is that? Ash?*”

“Yeah, I smell it too… it’s ash.”

“It’s familiar… I just can’t place it.” Sloan confessed, still staring at the two dead shifters. “*They were just rookies… guarding Elizabeth should have been an easy task.*”

“The cell is empty; if she were a victim, her body would be here. The real question is, how the hell did they get in and out without any of us noticing? There are at least six different footprints, not including Elizabeth… Sean?” Tristan called out to one of the Shifters investigating the scene.

The man nodded, switching off the lights and flashed an ultraviolet light on the ground. The footprints lit up, and Sloan could see different sets of prints, including one pair leading up to the cell doors but two sets retreating from the small cell.

“*Son of a bitch!!*” Sloan thought, slamming his fist into the wall. “Have their families been notified?”

“I assumed you would want to do it; I didn’t want to overstep my duties as Beta. So far, we have been able to keep this under the lid, but the sooner you notify the families, the better.”

“Thanks, bro… Sean, cover them up please.” Sloan stated as he exited the room. “*Declan?*”

“*Yes, Alpha?*” He heard his voice echo in his mind.

“*Updates?*”

“*We are still going through the CCTV footage to see what the hell happened. Security has also swept through the packhouse, except your bedroom.*” Declan reported, and Sloan felt like his world stopped.

“FUCK! Myra!”

The reality of the situation crashed down on him. Their home was infiltrated and violated, and he left Myra unsecured in a soundproofed room. Without saying another word to Tristan, Sloan rushed back to their bedroom.

It didn’t take him long to climb the three flights of stairs back to their second-floor oasis. As he rounded the corner, he saw Leanne was still guarding the door. He almost broke down the door, trying to enter. Once inside, he realized his loud entrance startled Myra from her sleep.

“What… who… ummm…”

He heard her mumble incoherently. He sighed in relief that she was unharmed, but the sight of her bare breasts reminded Sloan that Tristan was right behind him.

Sloan growled and turned to attack his brother, but his smart Beta stayed away from the bedroom. He heard him chatting with Leanne out in the hallway. Sloan quickly closed the door, providing them with some privacy.

“Angel, I know you didn’t get much rest,” Sloan started to explain, looking at the clock, and he winced. It’s only been two hours since they’d both fallen asleep. “But there’s a problem, and you need to get dressed.”

He watched as she left out a great, big yawn before attempting to rub the sleep off her face. Her hair was a curly mess which only added to her cuteness. Her movements slowed as her head dropped gently to the side, and her breathing evened out.

Sloan slowly approached the bed, looking around for anything different within the room. He rubbed her soft cheek and whispered to her. “Angel… Myra, I need you to wake up.”

“But I don’t want to go to school,” She smiled, opening her eyes again, but she froze, looking into his eyes and worry flashed over her face. “What happened?”

“There was a breach in pack security last night.” He stated, “Elizabeth escaped, and two rookies are now dead…”

“Oh my God.”

“Declan’s reviewing the security tapes as we speak. You need to get dressed, and our room swept as a precaution.” Sloan explained.

She nodded, and he watched as she untangled herself from the bedsheets. She winced, climbing out of bed, causing Sloan to crowd her. He gently stroked her cheek and smiled sweetly at her. He observed the dark circles and bagginess of her eyes from her lack of sleep, smirking to himself.

“Good morning, Angel.” He whispered, laying a feather-light kiss on her still swollen lips.

“Morning.” She giggled as Sloan kissed down her neck to settle where he marked her last night. “What happens now?” Her question was like a dash of ice-cold water to his libido.

“*Damnit, get your head in the game Jamison.*” He cleared his throat before answering her, “You stay here; I will get you something to wear.” Thankfully she nodded, and Sloan entered their closet. He listened carefully and quickly grabbed one of his white t-shirts and a pair of his sweatpants. “Here you go.”

“I’m not even going to protest your choice.”

“Two reasons. One, I don’t want to waste time searching for a dress for you and two, I like my scent all over you.” He said, nuzzling her neck. She giggled, pushing him off her and quickly pulled on the clothing. Sloan struggled to concentrate at the sight of her naked body, but he allowed the reality of their current situation to keep him in check. The last thing she did was take one of his hair-ties from the bedside table and pulled her hair into a messy bun.

“Adorable.” He smiled, taking a tie as well and tying his hair up into a man bun.

“Not done… I am drowning in your clothes.” She said, knotting the hem of the tee then folded the sleeves. “Done. I just need to brush my teeth.”

He nodded and accompanied her to the bathroom, his eyes still roaming over the room, looking for something that may not belong. She quickly brushed her teeth, and just as she was finishing up, Declan’s voice echoed in his head.

“*Alpha?*”

“*We are on our way,*” Sloan replied, taking her hand in his, and they exited the room. “Tristan, please have the crew thoroughly check the room for anything.”

“Gotcha. Bugs, listening devices, video recordings etc.”

Sloan nodded, leaving his brother to deal with it. With Myra in tow, they walked down to the ground floor. He avoided passing the dungeons on their way to the security office. However, the smell of death hung faintly in the air.

“This isn’t how I imagine us waking up after our Claiming.”

“Oh yeah? How did you imagine it?” She teased; however, the sensual coo of her voice caused his fragile control to snap.

Sloan pushed her up against the nearest wall, and he kissed her deeply. He felt her nails rake through his hair as their tongues danced with each other. His hands roamed over her back and down to her butt, which he squeezed, resulting in Myra moaning. “You are playing with fire, Angel.”

“But you burn me so well.”

“Excuse me.” Declan cleared his throat, reminding Sloan that they weren’t alone in the house which was crawling with Shifter and the threat and consequences of Elizabeth’s escape hanging over them.

“One problem at a time,” Sloan muttered more to himself than to anyone in particular.

“Sorry.”

“Never apologize for wanting me.” He smiled, setting Myra back on her feet and looked over at Declan. His Beta was standing discreetly away from them and avoided spying on their carnal activities,

“What did you find?”

“Come and see for yourself,” Declan said, entering a room to his right.

Sloan kept Myra’s hand in his, and they followed Declan inside. Upon entering, Myra stopped and gazed in awe. Sloan briefly closed his eyes and mentally kicked himself for not giving her a proper tour of the house. The security room was a large semi-circular room, with numerous monitors mounted on the wall. There were four other Shifters in the room, two were reviewing the security tapes, and the other two were watching live feeds. Every inch of the house was under surveillance, both inside and out.

Declan stopped by one of the techies and patted his shoulder. “Okay, Kenny, play the footage.”

The young man pressed a button on the keyboard. At first, there weren’t much occurring; they were all staring at the entryway to the house. Suddenly, the screen distorted, then nothing.

“I don’t get it… what happened?” Sloan scratched his head.

“Play it back, Kenny. Frame by frame; Sloan, pay attention to the time code,”

Once again, the techie tapped on some keys and the video started playing again in three-second intervals. Sloan noted the time jumping from 10:45.56 to 11:15.24.

“There’s thirty minutes unaccounted for.”

“Exactly, this happened only to the cameras leading to and from the dungeons. All the other cameras inside and outside the house were fully functional.

“But that can’t be.” Myra voiced, making the men turn to her. “Think about it… how did they get inside the house and not be seen from any external camera?”

Sloan draped his arm over her shoulder and kissed her hair. “Good thinking Angel… Kenny, focus on the main entry camera, outside, before the disruption.”

Kenny nodded, and he continued tapping on the keys. They all watched as the images and time code reversed, and there was a moment of blackness, then red.

“There! The ballsy bastards, play it.”

At the time code, 10:39.53, they saw movement in the brushes just out of the camera view. There was a flash of red and the screen blacked out.

“I’m going to isolate the seconds before the camera went blind and enhance the brushes… now just to brighten the image,” Kenny explained as he talked through his actions. “Sorry, this is the best I can clear up the picture.”

Myra gasped and stiffened in Sloan’s arms as the blurry, masked image came into view.

“Myra?” Sloan asked in concern.

***

**Myra**

Gazing at the blurry image on the screen Myra’s mind flashed to the night of her attack.

~Memory~

*Looking down a dark alley, Myra switched to her night vision when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an animal crying.*

*“Such pretty eyes.” Someone growled as a masked face emerged from the shadows before an animal pounced at her.*

~End of memory~

“Myra?” Sloan’s concerned voice pulled her back to the present.

“That’s the mask from that night,” Myra whispered as she felt fear creep up her spine. Once she had spoken the words, she felt Sloan tense beside her, and his eyes darkened in anger. She gently placed her hand on his chest, trying to provide him with some comfort. After a couple of deep breathes, she sensed he was calmer.

“Is there anything else you can remember from that night?” Sloan finally asked.

Without thinking, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. “Ash…”

“What did you say?” He asked in shock.

“Last night, I swore I briefly smelt smoky ash and blood… it was so brief, I thought I imagined it. But that night in the alley, I remember the hint of ash.”

“It has got to be the same rogues who attacked you and have been causing havoc throughout the city… But how is Elizabeth mixed up with them?” Sloan thought out loud. “Kenny, try to clean up that image some more. Also, it looked like it was a six-creature team that infiltrated the house, so focus on the ambient surroundings.”

“Yes, Alpha.” The boy answered; however, Myra felt empty as the gravity of their situation soaked in.

“Declan, I want the team from last night’s monitor duty in my office by noon.”

“Will do, Alpha. Also, they are ready to move their bodies to the morgue.” Declan replied, and Tristan appeared in the doorway.

“Sloan, the boys’ parents have just arrived… I set them up in the Common Rooms with Leanne.” Tristan mentioned. Myra looked up at him, and he looked just as sombre as Declan and Sloan. All three appeared to have aged some years between last night’s celebrations and this morning’s tragedies.

“Thanks, Tris… Um, Myra…” Sloan turned to her, looking awkward. Sensing what he’s about to say, Myra placed a finger on his lips.

“Don’t.” She scolded, “I’ve been Omega for less than twelve hours I’m sticking by your side… besides, you are going to need my support.”

“Thanks, Angel.” He sighed, moving her finger, and he kissed her right temple. Linking their fingers together, they walked off as a unit to the Common Rooms.