2. An Important Visitor

Chapter two

An Important Visitor

*AURELIA*

I don't have any classes in college the next day, so I can devote my time to getting some work for the pack done. I'm trying to get involved as much as possible with the elite warrior training but also the scheduling of patrols. Nox does the same. So, we spend the morning hours with our currently reigning beta, Vincent. He has taken Nox under his wing, to teach him everything he needs to know about his future tasks as a beta. Fortunately, he also takes some time for me, and we put together the schedule for the week.

Once we are done, I go to look for Dad. He has called me in for a little meeting. He hasn't told me what it's about, so when I finally enter his office, I can barely contain my curiosity.

Maybe we messed up somewhere? Maxima suggests. The schedules from last week weren't perfect, and it was us who did them.

No, he normally tells me immediately when I did something wrong. That's the whole point of him and Vincent mentoring me.

One look at my father told me I'm right. He looks worried but not in the way that indicates that I worried him. Instead, he gestures to me to come inside and close the door. Once I sat down opposite of him, he puts a stash with letters and folders in front of me. "Let's start with these first. These are the proposals of this week."

I stare at him. "What?" I chuckle.

"I receive these weekly, and I'm wondering if I should start to track these guys down to skin them alive."

"Wait, they are proposals for me?"

"They even have pictures," Dad says.

I snort. "You're kidding?"

He nudges the folders towards me, and I pick one up, skimming through it. He is right. This reads like the poor guy being advertised for me to choose him, with pictures, CV, and all that. Taking a closer look, there are several second- or third-born sons of alphas, a few sons of betas, and even one or two actual heirs to the alpha rank… probably those who want to broaden their power.

"This is disturbing," I mutter. "Some of these feel like the alphas are selling off their sons."

"That's pretty much what they are doing," Dad says. "As this affects your person, I wanted to show them to you before answering them. So?"

"No way. I'm waiting for my fated mate. And if, for whatever reason, I decide to take a chosen mate, I want to choose them myself."

"Then I will reply to these with a firm no," he says. He shakes his head. "What were they thinking anyway?" He puts the folders aside before looking at me again, his expression much more serious now.

It sets my alarm bells off instantly. "What happened?"

"There is another one," Dad says, and I immediately know what he means.

"Another disappearance?"

"Yes," he says. "I already talked to Liam, and he is going to do his own research." He hands me a new folder. This time it's a thick one with all he and our allied packs have gathered so far. Over the last couple of weeks, we have noticed several wolves going missing. It happened slowly. One disappearance after another. From varying packs, not just from one.

"Who disappeared?"

"Another omega. A she-wolf this time. Disappeared from Mountain Gorge Pack," Dad explains. "They only noticed her disappearance so quickly because she was working in the nursery, and the alpha's five-year-old son really liked her. He is on the spectrum, and it's said she was the only one who managed to calm him down."

"So, they've still only taken omega wolves," I mutter. "This is clearly not a coincidence anymore."

"They vary in ages too," Dad says. "The youngest to be abducted was a fifteen-year-old girl, the oldest close to fifty. And they abduct she-wolves and male wolves alike."

"It makes no sense," I mutter. "What do they want? If they were after only one age group, then we could at least narrow it down, but this way…"

"The only thing they share is that they are omegas," Dad adds.

"Now, what is the reason for that, though?"

"It could be someone who deems them unimportant and thinks no one will miss them," Dad analyzes. "It would give them time with whatever they plot. Or it could be something only omegas can do. At this point, I can't tell why it's happening."

I look at the folder again, looking at each and every picture. Twelve wolves have been abducted all in all. Of course, it might be that one or two of them disappeared for another reason, but still… that's a high number. The newest addition is the young woman Dad just mentioned, Theresa.

"The only other thing they share is that they are all unmated," Dad says.

"Why is that important to the culprit? I don't think whoever kidnaps them is respecting the mate bond."

"I don't know. Maybe because it takes them longer to be reported as missing," Dad muses. "Maybe it's something else about them that pulls them in. Maybe they are supposed to be sold as slaves."

"We need to do something," I say. "It's bad enough that it took so long for us to notice."

"They were smart," Dad says. "Never kidnapped anyone from the same pack twice. They are targeting packs throughout the entire country. It was just a coincidence that I met two fellow alpha friends, and they talked about an omega having disappeared in their pack. If they hadn't mentioned it at that time, we probably still wouldn't know."

"There has to be something that connects them aside from being unmated omegas," I say. "I refuse to believe it's just a coincidence. I mean, Theresa was well-liked. She was friends with the alpha family. That's a risk no one just takes for the sake of it."

"There is something else too," Dad says. "These twelve are the ones we know about. We don't know if there are more unreported disappearances."

"I haven't even thought about that," I mutter. "But you're right."

"Aurelia, I hate to make you work during your vacation," Dad says. "But you will be in Paris soon and, I need you to bring this to the Council. To Eric, preferably."

"Of course," I say. "This isn't sabotaging my vacation at all. It needs to be done! Maybe the Council has more clues for us or can help us in one way or another."

"Good." Dad puts the folder away. "I will put something together for you to take to Paris and present to Eric. And now," he smiles, "how about we greet our guests?"

"Guests?" I ask.

"Your brother is visiting," Dad says.

I chuckle while I follow him out of his office. "Couldn't be more specific, could you?" Dad just smirks but doesn't answer. He and Liam meet regularly for business, and a lot of times I join them too, so he wouldn't make such a big deal of Liam visiting, would he? It could be Marius, I guess. He is mostly attending lune duties, and while he and Celine visit regularly, they have been pretty busy recently.

"Hello, little peanut!" a voice reaches me.

I halt, looking at the man awaiting us in the private dining room. He has cut his black hair a bit shorter, and I spot a new tattoo on his arm… a mermaid. Clearly, a nod towards his mate. He looks fantastic!

"Finn!" I exclaim.

I laugh when he hugs me. "Looking good, little sister," he says.

"Thanks, right back to you. It's good to see you." I take a look at him. "Being alpha looks good on you!"

"Swamped with work." He chuckles. "I'm glad we could visit for the winter solstice, though."

"We?" I ask.

"I didn't come alone," he says with a grin.

I turn around just in time to see his mate Freya joining us. "I can't believe it!"

"Did we manage to surprise you?" Freya laughs and hugs me instantly. She looks fantastic and so happy.

"You look good! Wait, do I feel some muscles there?" I tease.

"Yep." She shows me her bicep with a proud smile. "Swimming keeps me fit."

"Must be cool to be a siren." I chuckle.

"I'm still learning so much about my heritage," she says. "But at Ocean Snow we are close to the ocean, so my siren family is close by, too. Finn and Matthew help me to learn as much as possible about my wolf side, and Aenon and Nen, my cousins, teach me everything about my siren side."

"You need to tell me everything," I say. "It feels like forever since Finn brought you here and we went shopping."

"It truly feels like it's been years, although it was probably just two or three months," she agrees. "Truth is, Finn and I thought we would be able to visit more often thanks to the portal, but the last couple of weeks have been crazy."

"We fully understand," I reassure her. "It's amazing what you have already achieved in such a short time, but I want to get to know everything in detail. You are staying for a few days, right?"

"Yes," Finn answers now. "Our beta, gamma, and delta are more than capable of filling in for us for a couple of days. So, we decided to take a little break."

"We will stay for the winter solstice and Christmas," Freya adds.

Dad has let us catch up before joining the conversation. "Flora is so happy to hear that. The winter solstice celebrations will be at Liam's pack, at Red Claw, this year."

I nod. It's always a huge celebration, that we take together with our allied packs. Every year a different pack is the host.

"But, for Christmas, we hope you will all join us here," Dad adds.

"Felix, Dario, and I will obviously be here, too," I say.

"We'd love to," Freya says with a happy smile. "I have never celebrated either holiday, so I can't wait for it!"

"You will love it so much," I reassure her. "The winter solstice is massive and magical, and Christmas here is beautiful."

Finn turns to Dad. "Will Liam and his family join us?" he asks. "And Marius and Celine?"

Dad nods. "They are coming. Annie and Liam will visit Annie's family the day after; Christmas isn't too huge for them. And Celine's father went on a short trip with his chosen mate. She and Marius said they are happy to join us."

"Who knows how often we'll be able to celebrate with all our siblings," I say to Finn.

He almost looks a bit nostalgic. "You aren't wrong," he says. "We should cherish this year. Next year, Annie's and Liam's twins are a bit older, and they might want to celebrate in their pack. And we don't know what will happen with the rest of us, and if we'll all have the time to meet at the same place."

"If anything, I should be depressed," Dad teases. "Last year, three of my sons moved out of the pack." He turns around when footsteps are approaching us, and my twin brothers Felix and Dario appear. Dad grabs them and keeps them in a deathly grip before he looks at them as if he were in deep sorrow. "Good thing I still have my two youngest."

"I feel like we missed something crucial." Felix grins.

"Did something happen?" Dario asks, worried.

"No." Dad smiles and lets them go. "Just your brother and sister acting as if they are a hundred years old."

"Very funny," I chuckle while I watch Finn play around with Felix and Dario.

"When are you going to leave for Paris?" Freya asks. "I was actually a bit worried you'd leave before we could see each other."

"My flight leaves the day after Christmas," I tell her.

"Paris." She sighs dreamily. "You must be so excited!"

"I am," I agree. "I was there once when I was very small. I can't remember a lot. But this time, I'm going with all my friends."

"It will be amazing," Freya says. "I bet it's going to be the trip of your life."

"Maybe you will find your mate," Finn teases.

I laugh. "Right. I need to go to Paris to find my counterpart. That would be so extra."

"That would be really you," Felix says.

"Are you saying I'm extra?" I say, pretending to be offended. "I will remember that for the next time I need to give you a false alibi."

"What was that with the false alibi?" Dad plays along, pretending to be dead serious now.

Felix and Dario exchange a gaze. "We need to go. We have homework to do," Felix says while tugging Dario away from us.

"Oh, Finn," I say. "You need to meet Titan."

"Who or what is a Titan?" he asks.

"My cat."

Finn stares at me in disbelief, as if he is trying to figure out if I am joking or not. "You were totally going for shock value now, weren't you? You have a cat?" He looks at Dad. "Here in the pack house?"

As if on cue, Titan chooses this moment to walk into the dining room. He truly is an impressive sight to behold, with his thick brown fur, his big ears, and his long body. "How did he open the door?" Dad asks in disbelief. "I closed it behind us."

"Oh, he figured that out on his first day here," I say.

"Awesome." Finn grins. "I will lock my door tonight." He smiles when he watches how Freya scoots closer to Titan, kneeling down in front of him. She looks truly fascinated by him. In times like these she looks so young. She was forced to grow up fast due to her upbringing, but it's the little things that show how eager she is to learn new things. I decide to approach the two of them to help her pet Titan. Funnily, Titan doesn't seem too opposed to being close to Freya; maybe it's the smell of the ocean she carries and because she is a siren. Maybe some sort of fish-cat thing is going on here.

For a moment I have to pause at my own thoughts.

Now, that was silly.

Really, Maxima mutters. Let's forget you ever made that fish and cat comparison.