28. New Findings

Chapter twenty-eight

New Findings

*AURELIA*

W hen I return to our van, Nox is already there, explaining that he successfully searched the archive for information and got a whole list of potential donors for AB negative from the entire last century, plus he managed to get into the digital database with Zoé's help, who then copied the data preserved there.

Once he has finished, Zoé finally joins us. "I've aged four years," she says, looking exhausted.

"It can't be that bad," Emilien says, amused.

"It can." She sighs. "I had to chat with that nice nurse a second time because she saw me leaving. I told her that I got a call from my mom and will return later."

"Well," Nox says with a smile. "Congratulations on your first mission."

"You did really well," Arden agrees.

At their praise, her eyes light up. "Really?"

"Absolutely," I say. "Thanks to you, I was able to weasel my way through that talk with Dr. Moreau."

"Let's get back now so we can sort through everything," Emilien suggests.

"Talking about the material," I say while he maneuvers the van out of the parking lot and back onto the street. "I swear, I saw Louis Auclair's name on the list of blood donors down in the blood bank."

Arden looks surprised. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I say.

"Maybe it's someone with the identical name?" Zoé suggests.

Arden doesn't answer, just furrows his brows. He is completely lost in his thoughts. I know that look now. So, I don't push him for an answer anymore and decide to wait until we are back at the Council.

On our way, Emilien halts briefly so that we can order some lunch and take it with us. He gets us burgers, claiming we haven't had the real deal yet if we didn't try them. With our food and our newfound information, we return to the headquarters.

"How is that possible?" Leila asks while eating her portion of fries. We have just met with her and Gustave and recapitulate everything we've gathered.

Zoé is currently digitizing everything, while Arden has begun to view the first copies she printed. He starts with the one I provided, with Louis's name on it. "It is his name," he mutters. Looking up at me, he sighs apologetically. "Not that I doubted it."

"I know. It's always better to double-check."

"Could it be someone with the same name as Zoé suggested?" Nox asks.

"The age fits, though," Arden says. "That would be quite the coincidence."

"But why would he donate blood?" Gustave asks. "He is a werewolf. It's not a good idea to donate blood for humans. And he wasn't a student, either. He was a warrior, mostly working for the pack. These types of shifters don't interact much with humans."

"You are right. Once we have our wolf spirits and can shift, we should avoid doing something reckless like that," Arden agrees. "It's one thing to get our blood work done, to get tested, but to donate blood could be reckless."

"Can shifters even donate blood?" Leila asks. "I didn't know that."

"We can," Arden reassures her. "It's just not advised to do because our blood is different. It's not visible if you do the regular checks, but if someone does a spontaneous detailed check-up, it would show that something about us is different."

"That's why adult shifters usually don't donate," I say.

"But that doesn't count for minors," Gustave muses.

"What?" Leila looks up.

"Before we get our wolves and can shift, there is no reason not to donate blood. And Louis was eighteen when he was reported missing."

"But isn't there an age requirement?" Leila asks.

I chuckle. "Yes, there is. But it's an age requirement an alpha can easily work around if needed. But, you are right, a child would definitely raise suspicions."

Emilien stares at us. "Gustave is right, though," He breathes out. "A seventeen-year-old could donate blood easily. Maybe even an eighteen-year-old. Maybe they didn't know not to donate blood. Plus, it's not like the werewolf gene is doing anything bad to the humans in case they receive it. Maybe it works even better. Zoé, give us all the information Nox gathered from the archives. The blood donors in particular."

"I agree. Let's shift our focus," Arden says. "Instead of just checking the data for blood tests, let's look at the donors."

"Going to send it to your tablets," Zoé says.

"Do you also have the recipients?" I ask.

"You mean those who received AB negative blood?" she asks.

"We would need more than that," Arden intervenes. "People with AB negative can receive all negative blood types. Send us the donor's list for now and the recipient list later."

True to her words, we soon receive a file. It's a copy of what Nox photographed, so it's not the best quality, but it's clear enough for us to read. I skim through it until—"Shit!"

"What?" Gustave asks.

"Denis is on it! Here…" I turn my tablet for the others to see. "Denis Bain, the beta wolf who disappeared recently."

Arden frowns, staring at his tablet. "He donated blood a couple of years ago."

Zoé types something, browsing her own information. "He did," she verifies. "He donated blood in college. It's in our database because his alpha approved for the reason Arden specified earlier. Werewolf blood is no danger to humans, so he let him do it. It was for a college project, and it was less suspicious to just let him do it." She turns to Arden. "I have the data of blood recipients, but it's a lot."

"Send it to me," he encourages her. "I want to look for something specific. But I'm pretty sure that we'll find all our victims somewhere on these lists."

"I need to tell that to my brother," I mutter. "Marius can verify it for the victims in our area."

"Yes, and we need to find these names," he says. "This is our chance to know with certainty who was abducted or who disappeared for different reasons."

"I will go through the list Aurelia provided," Leila offers. "It's shorter, so I can do it alone."

"Aurelia, Nox, and I can go through the one Nox found," Emilien offers.

"Me too," Gustave says.

"No," Arden interrupts him. "I still need you to find the meaning of that rune Leila had a vision of."

"Got you!" he says.

Arden gets up to walk to Zoé. "We'll tackle the blood recipients," he says.

Everyone goes to work, and I step out briefly to give Marius a call and tell him what we found and what I need him to do. Once back in the office, I head back to work. One by one we find our potential French victims, none of us sure if that's something to celebrate now or feel bad about. It's obvious now that most of them probably didn't survive, but at the same time, it also means progress for us.

"I found her." Arden disrupts the silence.

We turn around to look at him. On Zoé's screen is the data sheet for a ten-year-old girl. "Meg, or rather Megan Rose Acorn," he says. "And Claire Lavigne is on it, too."

Emilien stands up, approaching them and staring at the screen. "It's them, clearly. This is Claire."

"They both received blood," Arden says. "That's how our culprits knew their blood group. They obviously didn't donate blood. They were too young to do that, but they were recipients. Claire was in an accident and needed a blood transfusion. It's said that she and her father disappeared shortly afterwards. Meg was really sick. Her body was inflamed, and she collapsed. That's why she received blood. That's not all," he says before any of us can say anything. "Meg was diagnosed with lupus, but the diagnosis never reached her or the orphanage because she went missing shortly after."

"Lupus," I say, surprised. "She has an autoimmune disease? That's rare for a werewolf."

"But not completely unheard of," Gustave mutters. "Isn't Lady Valerie of weak health?"

"Not really," Emilien says. "She was while growing up due to her having a very special gift. She is not in poor health anymore."

"But she was a child," Arden muses. "Gustave might be onto something. Maybe Meg is special too, maybe that's what's interesting about her. Maybe that's why she is still alive."

"Isn't that too many maybes?" Emilien mutters his question.

"I agree," Arden says. "I need more than that. Meg…" He pauses. "I will start going through the material we got from the orphanage. Every picture, every snippet with Meg on it. There has to be something, somewhere." He pauses. "Now that we know how they find their victims, we know their hunting territory. We can finally narrow down the real victims of this case and where they were found. This will help us tremendously."

"They have to have someone who works in the hospital," Leila says. "I mean, to know who donated blood and who received it."

"Maybe, but technically, it's not necessary," Zoé says. "It wasn't too difficult to hack their system."

"For so many years, though?" Gustave points out. "Did we check the employees of the hospital?"

"I did," Emilien says. "None of the doctors and nurses stood out."

"What about the others?" I ask, remembering the cleaning staff I walked by. "Cleaning staff, cooks, maybe someone for their IT?"

"You are right. I was too focused on the actual medical staff," Emilien admits.

"We still don't know what they are doing with the victims," Gustave says quietly. "That's driving me crazy."

"Me too," Arden mutters.

"Well." Emilien sighs. "Let's go to work. Tomorrow, the celebrations around New Year's Eve begin, and I want us all to take the night and the next day off. We all need it." I want to say something against it, and I can feel how almost everyone else is equally eager to argue with him. "You need it," he interrupts us. "Just so we are clear, these are actually Eric's orders, and I agree with him. You have all worked without any real rest, but the mind needs a break to work to its fullest. We won't get any results if we continue to strain ourselves. So, let's give it our all today and tomorrow, and then take the evening and the next day off."

Leila nods. "Not much I can say against that."

"You are right," Arden admits. "I want to spend some time with Vander and also with Aurelia and her friends."

"Me too," I agree.

"There is a celebration in the pack's orphanage," Zoé says. "I want to spend New Year's Eve with them."

"So, it's safe there?" Arden asks.

"Now that the Council is investigating, the ranked members all try not to take a wrong step," Zoé says.

"A bit too little too late," Arden says quietly.

Emilien looks at him and sighs. "I have to agree."

"And you, Gustave?" I ask.

He looks flustered. "Promise me you won't laugh."

"We promise," Zoé says.

"I'll be with my family," he says. "My brother is usually the center of attention, but I like him. He is nice to me, and it's our own little tradition to go on a run for New Year's Eve. Other than that, I want to read and relax. I hate partying and staying up late."

"That came unexpectedly." Arden blinks. "I thought you would be one of the frat boys."

"Me too," Leila agrees.

"I know," he says, looking flustered. "But I don't really care about that stuff."

After our little chat and exchange of our plans, we all return to our work. Gustave's question still lingers in my mind, though… What do they need these wolves for? Why the effort to kidnap so many, secretly?