Chapter 20

“You can’t take two of my pack members!” Alpha Alec roared loudly, his surprise evident at Blake's requests. “I won’t let you! They may have committed wicked crimes, abhorrent crimes, which I can assure you, they will be punished for, but I cannot let you take them!”

Before anyone could stop him, Blake rushed forward, grabbed Alpha Alec and threw him up against the bonnet of our car. Loud growls and snarls echoed out from the Eclipse Pack’s wolves who had suddenly shifted once more and began to rush forward to help their Alpha. As quick as lightning, my own pack shifted once again and rushed forward, blocking off the Eclipse wolves. Our warriors and hunters began growling menacingly at the Eclipse warriors, effectively holding them back from getting to their Alpha and Blake.

“I won’t tell, neither will I ask you again!” snarled Blake, his face close to Alpha Alec’s ear. “Where the fuck is Julianne and James? And their pretty pup, Louisa! Tell me now, or I won’t hesitate to allow my warriors to rip out the throats of every pack member of yours, standing here today! And that includes you too!”
“Okay, okay!” croaked a panic-stricken Alec, whose legs dangled mercifully off the ground. “Please, I don’t know where they are! I’ve not seen them for a few days. They’ve not reported to the packhouse! The best place to look would be at Julianne’s house, right on the edge of our territory. She may be there! I’ll get my trackers on it to hunt her down. As soon as we find her, I’ll let you know, and you can come and get them!”
“No need!” growled Blake angrily before throwing Alpha Alec down towards the floor. “I’ll go to the house myself. If you happen to find her before I do then I suggest you let me know as I will be back. If you don’t let me know, then I’ll rain a war on your pack so hard, that even god won’t know how to save you! Wolves, let’s go!”

Silently, we all turned around and began to climb back into our cars, pausing briefly to look back at Alpha Alec and his warriors. Alec had now stood himself up and was brushing the dust off of his clothes while looking furious, surrounded by a bunch of sheepish-looking warriors. Silently, I turned around and climbed in the car, slamming the door behind me. Sighing, I closed my eyes and could feel my body trembling with adrenaline.
“Libby, how do we get to Julianne’s from here?” Blake asked gently, holding my hand. “We will find them, I promise. I won't leave no stone unturned!”
“We are going there now?” I spluttered nervously. “Just let Alec’s trackers find them, like he said!”
“Yes, we are going there now,” Blake replied stiffly, looking deadly serious. “No, I can’t let them do that. They may find them and they could try to hide them. I can’t take that chance. So again, how do we get to the house from here?”

Nodding slowly, knowing that I wasn't going to get Blake to change his mind, I relayed the instructions on how to get to the house and sat back in my seat nervously. We were only ten minutes away and judging by how fast Alistair was driving, we would be there a lot sooner. Minutes later, with the engine roaring into the quiet of the night, the car was racing through the familiar leafy streets, once filled with children playing on bikes and scooters. But now, as the night lived on, the streets were empty and quiet. I gulped nervously, as the familiar white housing estate crept up on us. Swerving sharply, the cars raced, one by one, into the quiet cul-de-sac and towards the last house, right at the end. This was it. We were here!

Skidding to a halt on the once immaculate drive, we all jumped out of the car and I gasped in shock at the scene that lay before me. Instead of an immaculate drive and pristine gardens, there was now a driveway strewn with rubbish and leaves. The grass was overgrown, and all the plants were dead and brown. The house was silent and seemed empty, which made my skin prickle and my blood run cold. The house stood silent, illuminated by only the streetlights outside What had gone on here? I walked slowly towards the house, my body trembling like a leaf in the wind. Slowly, I made my way through the long, unkempt grass, towards the front room window and peered in. After a few minutes, my eyes adjusted to the dark and I could see that the room was messy and cluttered. It was clear to see that no one was in or had been here for a while.

“I thought you kept this place clean?” murmured Blake sarcastically, shooting me a cheeky look. “This place is a right dump!”
“Thank you! This place was clean! Once!” I retorted back angrily. “It doesn’t look like anyone has cleaned up or looked after this place since I have been gone.”
“Lazy, filthy sods is what they are!” Blake muttered, screwing his face up in disgust. “Come on. We need to find them. Someone has to be here. What about Louisa?”
“I expect she is at her boyfriend’s house,” I replied dryly while rolling my eyes. “Let’s just go home. They aren’t here. We are just wasting our time!”
“No! I’m going inside!” insisted Blake loudly before walking back towards the front door. “There may be a clue inside to where they have gone!”

Silently, I watched him march back towards the front door and thump loudly. As I had expected, the house remained silent. Growling in anger, he beckoned two warriors over and together, they began kicking in the front door. Within seconds, the door crashed loudly into the house, allowing us to enter into its murky depths.

How none of the neighbours heard the commotion and came outside was beyond me. But then would you come out to challenge a large group of werewolves in the dead of the night?

Stepping carefully over the threshold, I gasped in shock at what greeted me. The house was stone cold and smelling of damp. As I tried to flick on a light switch, I realised that there was no electricity either. A large pile of unopened posts lay scattered across the hallway floor which, was proof no one had been here for a while and as I looked around, I noticed the piles of empty kebab boxes, take-away wrappers and paper scattered across the floor. The furniture had begun to develop a thick coating of dust and as I made my way into the kitchen, I shook my head in disbelief. The once pristine cooker was now brown and sticky with used cooking oil and grease, burnt food strewn over the rings while the worktops were filled with empty bottles, containers, and tins of mouldy old food. The sink was piled high with dishes and cups and the bin overflowed onto the kitchen floor. Plates of uneaten food lay on the kitchen table, only fit for a science experiment due to the mould growing from it and from the other side of the kitchen, a foul smell radiated from the fridge. Not even daring to look, I covered my nose, went back into the hallway and made my way into the lounge. The lounge was usually immaculate as that was Julianne's favorite room in the house. But today, the scatter cushions were strewn all over the floor, empty glasses and coffee mugs filled the coffee table and bowls filled with used fag butts lined the top of the mantle piece. Piles of clothes were thrown across both sofas, while crumbs and bits of dirt littered the once white carpet.

“What have they done here?” mumbled Blake in disgust, as we walked towards the staircase. “This is pure filth! How can anyone live like this?”
“I know,” I sighed sadly. “This place was like a palace when I was here. They must have just let it go to the dogs when I left. Come one, let’s check upstairs. We may find something!”

Slowly, we climbed the stairs, being careful not to trip on the piles of shoes and clothes that lay scattered about. Whoever they belonged to, made it clear to see that they had left in a hurry. Silently, I walked across the towel-strewn landing, which smelt strongly of dampness and kicked numerous empty toilet roll holders out of the way.
“I’ll check Louisa’s bedroom,” I mumbled. “If she is home, which I hardly doubt, she will be there, but judging by this place, she too has absconded.”

I marched over to her bedroom door and roughly pushed the door open to gasp loudly at what greeted me. The room was bare and empty. Gone were all her clothes and makeup that were usually scattered over the floor and so were the boxes of shoes piled high. Gone were her TV and sound system, her fairy lights, and photos that she had stuck to the wall. Only bare empty furniture was left in their place alongside an empty bed with no bedding.
“She has gone!” I whispered, glancing back at a moody looking Blake.