Chapter 15

**Jinx Willow's P.O.V.**

I watch Derric as he carries Lilliana on his left hip, Jeremy seated comfortably on his shoulders as we walk through the woods.

"So," I say softly "How old is the oldest pup?"

"Sixteen," Derric says "He's a hellhound that you saved. You kept him from killing a few months ago."

"What," I say "He's here?"

Derric stops.

"Yes," Derric says "You remember him?"

"Yes," I say "I was frantic with worry. I didn't know where he was at."

"He's here," Derric says "He's a difficult one to train. He's lost control several times and I had to use my Alpha tone to force him to stop. We've had to lock him up many times, too, as well."

I nod, looking ahead. Derric pushes open a door, leading me into a large wooden cabin.

"Welcome to the orphanage," Derric says "Mrs. Cynthia! Mr. Greg!"

"Alpha," A man says, coming around the corner with a toddler hanging off his arm and one wrapped around his leg "Oh. Hello. You're a new face."

I give him a small smile. All of a sudden, I hear feet pounding against the floor and a boy rounds the corner, eyes locked on me.

"I feel you," He says "You're her. You're the one who stopped me from killing all of those warriors."

Immediately, my arms are itching to hold him.

"Hunter," I say softly "Hunter Nicolas Williamson."

"You know my name," He says "How?"

"I never forgot it," I say softly "Your wolf told me your name before you lost consciousness. Your name is written on my bedroom wall back at Council grounds under all the unknown ones I tried to save."

"Really," Hunter says softly "How many are there?"

"I have five hundred names," I say softly "One hundred and thirty seven of them are unknown. Knowing you made it here now makes that one hundred and thirty six."

I look at Derric.

"The others," I say softly "Did they make it here?"

"I think it's time you met Lindsey," Derric says "Why don't you pups go play in the playroom while I show Jinx to Lindsey?"

They all race off and Derric holds out his hand. I take it, allowing him to lead me through the house and out the back door into a fenced yard where a bunch of bloodhounds lay around, sleepily watching some pups play.

"They watch them all night," Derric says "And all day."

Derric points to the corner where a sandy brown colored wolf lay curled in a ball, her head facing away from the pups.

"That one is Lindsey," Derric says "She's a bloodhound who lost control after losing her pup. Her mate, Vincenzo, is one of the hellhounds who guided your group in."

"I remember," I say softly "She was with them but I didn't know it was her. How is she?"

"Not so good," Derric says "Once we brought Hunter back from Blue Moon with us, she sort of just shut out all the pups. She stays near the orphanage but she doesn't interact with them like the other mothering bloodhounds. Vincenzo told me their pup didn't die, she just went missing. They've been counting the days since her first shift. Today makes sixty eight days past her twelfth birthday and she hasn't found her way to them. Lindsey's given up counting but I know that Vincenzo hasn't. I think Lindsey just gave up because she felt that she was hoping for something that may never happen."

I nod, slowly approaching the sandy colored wolf. She growls lowly.

"Lindsey," I say softly, causing her to stop growling "Hi, honey. I feel you."

She whimpers lowly, slowly lifting her head to look at me. I kneel down in the dirt beside her and guide her head to my lap. I look up and see hellhounds, lupus, hounds, and bloodhounds gathered around the metal fencing, watching me with Lindsey. I lean down, kissing her muzzle.

"It's okay," I whisper "Your pup is alive...I'll find her and guide her home."

Lindsey whimpers and I brush my fingers through her fur in an attempt to comfort her wolf.

"Until then," I whisper "I need you to get up, eat, and interact. Even if it's just helping to watch the pups. Can you do that for me?"

Lindsey stands up, her small wolf turning to face the pups before she lays back down.

"The pup you comforted," I whisper "Hunter, the new hellhound, do you want him?"

Lindsey nods her big head. I look up.

"Derric," I say softly "Can you tell Hunter to come here?"

Derric nods, stepping back into the house. Moments later, he comes out with the man, all of the pups, and a woman.

"Hunter," Derric says "Go to Jinx."

Hunter slowly approaches and I hold my hand out.

"Come sit next to me," I say softly "She needs your comfort, like you needed hers. Can you do that?"

Hunter nods.

"Yeah," Hunter says "What do I do?"

"Just sit with her," I say softly "Cuddle with her when she cries, stroke her fur. Just be with her and watch over her."

"Okay," Hunter says "I can do that. What if she gets mad?"

"She won't," I say softly "I can feel all of you and I know who's mad and who's not. She's sad, but she hasn't gotten angry. Just stay with her."

Hunter nods, pushing his fingers into Lindsey's fur. I get up, making my way to Derric. I grab his arm.

"Time to get back to work," I say "We have pups to find, hellhounds, hounds, bloodhounds and lupus to save, and a species to exonerate."

Derric nods. We return to the office and I sit over the papers, looking through them.

"Oh my goddess," I whisper "You've been sitting right in front of me the whole time."

"What," Alpha Peter says "What did you find, little girl?"

I growl lowly.

"I may be younger than you," I say "But you won't disrespect me."

I get up.

"Derric," I say "Can we use this bulletin board?"

"Yes," Derric says "What'd you figure out?"

"Hold on," I say "I'll explain in a minute."

Derric nods. They all watch as I pin each thing up to the bulletin board, drawing lines to link each thing before pointing to the one in the center.

"Your pack is in the center," I say "Correct?"

Derric nods.

"And all the other packs are surrounding it," I say, drawing a red circle "And yet, Black Moon has not had a single attack."

"So," Alpha Peter says "Nobody wants to attack lupus, hellhounds, bloodhounds, or hounds. They're too afraid to do that."

"Wrong," I say, raising an eyebrow "The reason they haven't attacked you is because the one hundred and thirty six hellhounds, bloodhounds, hounds, and lupus that I've sent here never made it. Why? They got snatched."

"What," Marcus says, putting down a book "How did you figure this out?"

"Lindsey and Vincenzo," I say "Fourteen year old daughter. Disappeared the day that an attack on Purple Moon happened."

I draw the line between Lindsey and Vincenzo's daughter, Valerie, and a warrior named Julian from Purple Moon. I continue drawing lines to those who were attacked and those who are now missing.

"They're not framing hellhounds," I say "They're snatching them."

"How," Derric says "Hellhounds don't have a weakness."

"Icefire," Darian says "It's a hellhounds only weakness. It's the exact opposite of hellfire. Icefire is nearly impossible to get, you'd have to be in very good standings with a High Priestess, but witches are so protective of their High Priestess that it's nearly impossible to even get in touch with one."

All of a sudden, Derric's phone rings.

"Hello," Derric says "Alpha Derric of Black Moon Pack speaking. What can I do for you? Alright, one moment. Elder Nikida, it's for you. He said you'll know who it is when you answer."

Elder Nikida takes the phone.

"Hello," Elder Nikida says "Bela? Isaac? Yes. Yes. No. We're not on Council grounds right now. No. She's with us. We're all at Black Moon Pack. Yes. No. Yes, she knows. I'm not sure about that. Yes. Alright."

Elder Nikida pulls the phone down from her ear.

"Jinx," Elder Nikida says "Your parents would like to speak with you."

I take the phone.

"Hello," I say, leaning against Derric's desk beside him "This is Jinx."

"Hi," A woman's voice responds "I'm your mother. My name is Bela. Your father's name is Isaac. We're coming to the pack you're in. We'd like to see you...maybe you could be at the border when we arrive."

"It depends on if I'm busy," I say "But we'll see."

I hand the phone back to Elder Nikida.

"So," Derric says, coming up behind me "Who is taking them and setting up these attacks?"

"I don't know," I say softly, wrapping my arms around myself "That's the only piece I haven't figured out...as well as where they're keeping the hellhounds they're snatching."

Derric grabs my upperarms, his thumbs rubbing against them softly.