20.

The sense of panic that was beginning to consume Farryn threatened to send her into a frenzy. “Xavier doesn’t live here in town, that’s what Amelia said. How would anyone come to the conclusion that he is missing?” Farryn had to consider the safest way to word her question without throwing any more suspicion onto herself. Emily’s eyes seemed to harden nonetheless.

“Because Darius was supposed to go and check on him this morning to make sure he was okay. When we realized Darius was missing we went to Xavier’s home, it’s torn apart with his blood everywhere. He put up a fight but he’s gone too.” As Emily explained her eyes remained locked on Farryn’s face, searching for any hint that the alpha might be lying about what she knew. Farryn exhaled sharply as she closed her eyes, the wolf inside was pacing fervently, had their connection been strong enough Farryn would have been able to hear her words rather than just feel her sense of worry. She gritted her teeth hard as she pressed the heel of her palm between her eyes. She was starting to get a throbbing migraine and now was not the best time.

“Have Tony call in all border patrols, I want everyone searching. Tell him to keep a few here for the pups and elderly’s protection but every able body is to be out looking.” Emily nodded her head briskly and had just begun to turn away when Farryn reached out quickly with a hand to her shoulder.

“Please believe me when I say I had nothing to do with this Emily and I will find them both alive.” For a moment Emily’s gaze softened as she considered the female before her. The two had their share of disagreements and fought often when Farryn had stayed at their house but had never gotten physical. The only time Emily had seen her willing to physically hurt someone had been the two times she had been left with no choice in the matter.

“For your sake, I hope so.” Emily sighed deeply before rushing off to find Tony and deliver Farryn’s orders. The alpha turned to the Faerie siblings who had waited silently. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. Her lips twisted into a frown as she closed her mouth quickly and began to walk briskly.

“Where are you going?” Celeste asked as the pair followed behind closely. Farryn shook her head slowly in silence. She didn’t know where she was headed yet but she couldn’t sit around doing nothing. Everyone in town was rushing around to find their search group before heading out. Many ignored Farryn as she walked by, a select few, the bravest, snarled in disgust as she passed. With each look of distrust, she could feel her heart shattering piece by piece. Despite her inner turmoil she kept her head high and face expressionless. She couldn’t give the pack any more reason to target her right now. The wolf inside of her was pushing forward, Farryn could feel the wolf’s need to come out and find her missing packmates. The best trackers in the pack would shift to search for any scent left behind, many would remain in their human forms because they were smaller.

“Celeste, Vini, we’ll make up our own search party.” She didn’t need to add the fact that at this moment, no one else would want to be grouped up with them. She heard no sound of complaint from either Fae and quickly headed into the forest. “Spread out, we need to cover as much ground as possible as quickly as possible. I don’t care what you find when you find something tell me right away.” Her tone of voice showed that there was no room for arguments even if they had one. Farryn looked over her shoulder to see the two nod before heading in either direction of her. Farryn headed north, towards the border they shared with the humans. The last bit of information they had gotten about Deacon had come from a human town according to the Fae so that would be a good place to start looking.

It took her about thirty minutes to near the human border. The closer she got the stronger a foreign scent became. The smell didn’t match a human, it smelt of sulfur and brimstone. Her nose crinkled as her confusion and curiosity only grew. Everything in the area looked untouched but the scent crossed the border and Farryn was left with no choice but to follow it. Farryn had only taken two steps over the border before she stopped. She could feel eyes on her but the foreign scent was burning in her nostrils and masking any other scent there might be. Her fingers curled slowly as she took a few more steps before turning to look over her shoulder. No one was behind her but she knew someone was close by.

She looked forward once more to find Xavier standing mere inches in front of her. Farryn jumped in alarm before relaxing with a sharp exhale. “Shit Xavier you’re okay!” She placed a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her racing heart as she took in his appearance. He seemed okay, she couldn’t see any wounds and certainly couldn’t smell any blood which was a good sign.

“Where have you been? Everyone is freaking out. Why are you over here? Why is there blood in your home, they said it was a mess!” Farryn extended her hands to place them on Xavier’s arms but he quickly took a step back out of her reach as he snarled softly. Farryn froze before lowering her hands. “Xavier?” Those beautiful amber eyes were swimming. The vibrant color turning a molten gold color before slowly darkening to a dark brown. His lips parted with another snarl as he approached her quickly, driving her back under she was pressed firmly against a tree. A cruel smile graced his lips at the scent of her fear. Her hands lifted to press at his shoulders but he was quick in grabbing both of her wrists and lifting them above her head. The scent of sulfur was washed away by his scent of a fresh ocean breeze.

“Xavier let go of me.” Her voice was a hard growl even as she shivered. Her wolf inside had fallen silent. Xavier held her wrists in one hand as he slowly stroked his fingertip down her bare arm then along the contour of her face. His eyes watched his finger as it came down to her jaw where his feather-light touch changed, he grabbed ahold of her face tightly drawing a wince from her which only made him smile more.

“What’s wrong *Alpha*? You’re looking rather pale.” He chuckled as her eyes hardened.

“I said to let go of me, Xavier.” Xavier’s grip tightened, threatening to break her jaw as he pushed her into the tree hard enough to crack the bark before releasing her quickly. Farryn rotated her wrists slowly as she rubbed at her jaw. “Why are you over the border?” She questioned him quietly. The authoritative Alpha tone was gone, slightly afraid that he might reel back and deliver a death blow. Farryn watched as Xavier’s shoulders tightened before he turned away. His head tipped back to the sky for a brief moment as he breathed before finally turning back to her, his eyes their normal amber color.

“I was following Darius. He came to my house early this morning. He seemed off so I followed him out here but lost him.” Farryn’s brows twitched together as she gazed at the male skeptically. Xavier turned his head away as he looked around them, he seemed to be looking for something but when he looked back to Farryn he flashed her a grin. “Why are you over the border?” He repeated her question back to her easily as if she had crossed it before he had. Her arms crossed over her chest defensively.

“Because your house had been torn apart with blood all over the place and Darius is missing. We assumed that you were hurt or dead somewhere.” His grin reminded her of a fox. She had this sinking feeling that he was leading the conversation where he wanted it to go and she had no true control over it. “Well, here I am, alive and well.” He winked before turning to head off towards the human town before Farryn caught his arm and pulled him to a stop.

“Yes, but that doesn’t explain the blood in your home. What happened Xavier? You really should come home and let us carry out the search for Darius.” Xavier scoffed sharply as he ripped his arm free of her grasp before turning around sharply.

“Come home? You’re kidding, right? You heard Rosemary just as clearly as I did yesterday. That isn’t my home. No matter what I do that will never be my home and it’s the same for you, isn’t it?” His head cocked to the side as he approached her once more, this time Farryn stood her ground. Her feet spread apart just slightly to give herself a wider base. His eyes caught the movement causing him to chuckle under his breath. “You’re just as much an outsider as I am, even with that fancy title of yours. Do they know your secret Farryn? Do they know why it is you refuse to shift into that beautiful wolf of yours? Would they understand if you tried to explain, or would they blame you?” Farryn’s head reeled back as if she had been struck. Her head shook side to side quickly as she forced a smile to her face.

“I have no clue what you are even trying to hint at right now. You don’t know anything about me so don’t assume to.” Xavier’s eyes seemed to sadden slightly as he extended a hand towards her cheek, her jaw slightly bruised from his grip earlier, but he stopped just short of touching her.

“I know you better than you think Farryn, I understand you better than you could ever know. Everyone has their secrets, but not all are as dark as ours.” For a moment neither dared to move, not until Xavier’s hand slowly lowered to his side, the movement snapped Farryn back to her senses as her lips curled into a snarl.

“Go back to the pack Xavier, we’ll find Darius. You are not needed out here. You can explain to the others why your house has been left a mess.” Without another word, Farryn pushed herself past Xavier, bumping their shoulders together and gaining another electric spark in return. She could hear the way his breathing faltered, the way he inhaled just slightly deeper as she walked by. But she didn’t look back at him, she didn’t allow herself to have the momentary thought of what it might have meant as she followed the scent trail of sulfur and brimstone.