Chapter 22

Ezra

"I don't want to lie to her," Korren reminded us.

"We won't. We're just making sure we have a concrete lead. The last thing I want to do is get her hopes up for nothing."

"Agreed." Valor leaned against my chair, looking at the screen over my shoulder. "She's been searching for her sister all her life. It would be cruel to promise her something that may be out of our power."

Korren's exasperated huff was followed by a muttered, "Goddess."

"Okay, walk me through the plan. How are you going to track a girl who disappeared seven years ago?" Korren asked.

I kept my eyes on the screen in front of me. "I'm going to use road security footage. Traffic cams, stoplights—anything that records is fair game. Once I'm in, I'll plug Brielle's picture and a rough estimate of the date into my search engine. The computer does the work from there. We just have to wait for a match."

Code filled the screen. Several firewalls were up in arms, ready to protect the network. I took a sip of my coffee and cracked my knuckles.

"And once we have the match?" Korren pressed.

"We'll follow the footage and look for markers or signs of the direction they could have gone. That's where Valor and Brielle come in. If she has something that belonged to her sister, Valor can track her from the last known location."

"Since she's her sister, it should be easier to track her—regardless of how long it's been," Valor added.

Korren's comms unit beeped "That's the healing center. I'll see you guys at home. Contact me if you have any updates."

"I have to head out, too." Valor checked his watch. "Alaric and I need to go over the progress reports from the pack training sessions." He clapped me on the shoulder. "I'll check in."

I nodded as they retreated from the room. Once alone, I worked on disabling the firewalls and layers of encryption. Then, after successfully removing those obstacles, I plugged in my laptop with the tracking software and got to work.

The memory of Brielle's face when she told us about her sister was agonizing.

I vowed to bring her sister back. I had to.

My wolf howled in agreement. The thought of his mate living with this pain was unbearable.

The system pinged when the facial recognition software came up with a match. My eyes greedily scanned the screen. There she was. She was young, but it was unmistakable. It was Brielle. I rewound the footage and braced myself for what I was about to see.

It wasn't enough.

My self-control frayed as the sound of Brielle's screams dug into my mind. Hearing about what happened was one thing, but seeing it was much worse. The first time I watched the incident, I was too wrapped up in her fear and pain to notice anything. After a deep breath, I watched it again.

And again.

By the fourth time, I'd memorized the faces of the men the Council had sent, the shifters who intercepted them, and the weapons they used. During my fifth watch, I noticed something in the smoke. Right as the car peeled away with Brielle's sister, the license plate flashed into view.

I paused the recording, enhanced the image, and scribbled the numbers on a notepad. I followed the car's path to the edge of the city, where it vanished into unsanctioned territory.

It wasn't a surprise. An organization could only get away with refusing the Council's regulations if its members lived beyond reach.

I plugged the license plate into my search engine. The vehicle had been used a number of times since the incident, and its last known location was a few territories away—in the heart of unsanctioned land.

That was an issue, but I knew Alpha Wynn wouldn't mind the excursion once we explained the details. Still, my stomach lurched at the idea of Brielle leaving Hidden Creek.

We'd be with her, but I preferred to keep her far from danger. I frowned. That wasn't an argument I would win.

Ignoring my inner turmoil, I quickly cross-referenced the plates with a federal registration site and found that the female who owned the car also managed a bar.

The satisfaction of a job well done was nearly enough to override my worries regarding Brielle.

I blew out a harsh breath.

Fuck, I'm going soft.

Strange, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered apart from giving our mate the one thing she longed for.

It was time to find our mate's sister.