Ch. 66: Searching

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Rachel~
I was in the cafeteria with Angela, June and Melody. They were talking about weekend plans. Melody’s boyfriend had some friend they were trying to set up with Angela. Even though she was against the whole thing.
“I can get my own man, Mel!” she yelled at her in laughter.
“Well, I’ve certainly never seen that…” June commented wryly.
“Hey!” Angela yelled back.
Melody just smiled and looked at her phone.
“Oh, you guys are too cute, it sickens me,” Angela said, waving her hand at Melody.
I got a text from Ally and departed the table after saying a quick ‘see ya.’ I rushed to the library door.
“Morning ladies,” Mr. Waller said as he opened the door for us.
“Morning,” we greeted him.
We walked into the library and back to our favorite table.
“Any progress with Kyle?” I immediately asked her.
“Not just yet, our plans will hopefully work out tonight,” she said, looking out the window.
“Tonight?” I asked again to clarify.
Ally just nodded.
“Are you alright?” I asked her after a moment.
She sighed and turned to me, “Yeah, I think I will be. I’ve just been a little lost lately. I’ve been thinking about my grandma a lot and how much I miss her. We’ve been going through her things at home, and I can’t stop wishing I had gotten to know her more before it was too late, you know?”
“I can understand that,” I agreed with her. “Have you talked to your mom about how you’re feeling?”
“Yeah, she’s feeling similarly too actually. I do have to admit though,” she paused and smiled, “It does give us something else to focus on outside of the divorce.”
I hummed in response. Sometimes there isn’t really anything you can say. I just wanted to let her know somehow that I was listening, that I was here.

Nick~
We all did our fair share of work this morning. The packhouse and the surrounding area was a complete mess. It really looked like a tornado and a hurricane had come through. Trees had to be removed, dirt moved over and flattened out, furniture thrown out or repaired. My mom’s poor garden had been totally trampled.
After moving around what I could, I focused on my future Alpha. He needed me right now more than ever. We theorized and made plans. I followed up on his orders and checked in with the pack-members who had contacts in other packs in California and surrounding states. I collected their feedback and brought it back to Jake who was currently helping Rob rip out a tree stump from a tree that had gotten cracked in half during last night’s fighting.
Poor Rob, his mom was so fierce and kind. She had grown up working in the kitchen alongside her mom, before realizing she had a talent and passion for fighting. His grandmother had been given the week off to grieve the passing of her only daughter, even though she pushed back and agreed only to taking today. She is a hard working woman who almost never took a day for herself. Sadly, this was a reason to take a day off for her. Rob didn’t need to be here either but I’m sure he was just trying to be useful at a time like this.
“Jake, I’ve got some updates,” I announced as I walked closer to them.
They got the stump out and Rob shifted to roll it down the hill and out of the way. We would have our work cut out for us once we started working on replacing everything.
“Shoot,” Jake said, wiping sweat from his brow.
I nodded and started in, “No other pack has been attacked as of yet but will be keeping a wary eye out. We did find a pack in Nevada who was able to confirm they had a witch in their pack. She agreed to connect with us later today. No others have confirmed to work with any witches. As for demons… no luck there. Everyone we spoke to did say that they are terribly sorry for what has happened, wish that your parents are found soon, and will be ordering their historians, librarians, and teachers to look into any witch or demon history that has anything to do with their packs. We did get an offer from three nearby packs - they would all like to send their best trackers out to where your parents last were and see if they can shed any light on what could have happened.”
“I assume you’ve got a system to be tracking all these developments?” he asked me.
“Of course, J. I’ve got you,” I said back seriously.
Jake nodded. “Thank you, Nick. Let’s keep digging, look into other pack-members who might have alternative contacts with other werewolves. Expand and include other areas in North America. And let’s take those packs up on their offers for tracking help. I’ll gladly accept that help. Can you arrange a conference call with them later today or tomorrow? I’d like to express my gratitude. Where are the trackers coming from?”
I checked my notes, “Blue Waters, Eastern Hills, and Dark Mountains - all from the San Jose/ Santa Cruz areas, roughly.”
Jake nodded again and started walking towards the packhouse before adding, “Please let them know their trackers are welcome to stay here should they need a place during their search.”
“Got it,” I affirmed as he headed back.
I exhaled and looked around, observing the activity outside. I had never seen our people look so grim before. There was no laughter, no young pups chasing each other. No one was shifting just to go for a run. Everyone was quiet and focused on the tasks in front of them. With this amount of work ethic, they would have this place cleared in the next few hours. I looked over towards the woods and spotted Evan.
“You don’t have to do that alone,” I told him as I neared.
“It’s fine,” he said in a hollow voice.
I got closer and saw the boxes he stacked now. Preparing them for the cremation ceremony tonight. The bodies of our brutally murdered warriors, our family members, contained inside. Harry, Mitchell’s dad, had the horrible job of separating everyone into separate boxes. And now everyone was here, before Evan, as he moved them closer to where we would hold the ceremony tonight.
He moved the last box from the trunk of the jeep to the side of the pit and sank to the floor.
Looking up at me with tears in his eyes he asked me, “Nick - how could this happen? And… Why am I feeling like this is only the beginning?”
I didn’t know what to say. I felt the same way. I didn’t have any answers this time, nor a theory about how to get one.