Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

"Where is everyone?" Trish asked as we came to a stop in front of the old barn at Gray Wolf Winery.

I glanced around, spotting Jax's work truck and a silver Toyota 4Runner. There were no other vehicles, and none of the pack were wandering around. All three of us got out of the SUV and made our way into the barn. The lights were on, and there was coffee in the coffee maker, though it was cold and looked like it hadn't been touched since that morning.

"Maybe they made a supply run," Charlotte said.

"All of them?" I asked. "And in whose truck?"

"What? Do you think I'm a Magic 8 Ball and have all the answers?" Charlotte shot back. "I'm just brainstorming here."

"Sorry," I muttered. "I just don't like the looks of this. It feels… off."

"Smells off, too," Trish said, sniffing the air like a scent hound. "It smells like… like sandalwood mixed with patchouli."

Charlotte sniffed and immediately made a gagging noise. "Patchouli should be illegal. That stuff makes my eyes water like I'm locked in a room with twenty cats."

"That is bad," I said, knowing how allergic she was to the sweet animals.

"Kai doesn't use sandalwood or Patchouli," Trish said. "I'd remember those scents."

"So someone else was here," I mused.

"Someone with bad taste in cologne," Charlotte quipped.

Trish started searching each of the rooms in the old barn, calling out for Kai and Jax. Charlotte and I joined her. There was nothing. No movement. No shifters. No sound.

Until we got to the very last old stall. Trish opened the door, and all three of us let out a collective gasp.

Trish was the first to recover, and she fell to her knees to shake one of the five shifters who were lying unconscious in a heap on the floor. All of them wore various forms of clothing that looked as if it had ripped, maybe while trying to shift. But they were all in human form now and looked less than helpless.

"Are they breathing?" Charlotte asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"They are," Trish said, sounding relieved. "They've been hit with some sort of magical sleeping potion."

"Can we wake them up?" I asked, reaching for the closest one. Ryder was his name. I recognized him from when I'd toured the property.

"You can try," Trish said. "If it's a spell you might be able to break it, but if it's a potion, probably not."

As a witch, I'd already known that, but I appreciated her reminding me. I held Ryder's hand in mine and tried to see if I could pull the curse from him. But nothing I did worked. All I got was a queasy feeling from the rancid energy that was radiating off him. "It's not working. Whatever this is, we either need to call the coven in or wait it out."

"Probably wait it out," Trish said. "If whoever did this wanted them dead, they'd already be gone. Leave them. They'll come out of it sooner rather than later. Hopefully they won't suffer any side effects after they wake up. Right now, we need to look for clues for how to find Kai and Jax."

I pulled my phone out and immediately called Jax, but his phone went straight to voice mail. The same thing happened when I tried Kai. "Dammit!" I cried.

"You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" Trish asked as she stared at me, looking perplexed.

"No, but I had to try." I glanced back down the hall and then said, "Come on. I have an idea."

"What idea?" Charlotte asked.

"I think I know how to find out what happened to them." I rushed to Kai's office and then sat down at his computer. Thankfully there was no screen lock, however, when I clicked the link for the security cameras, it was password protected. "Crap. What would Kai use as a password?"

Trish and Charlotte stared at me blankly.

"Hello, I need to see his security footage, but I can't do that unless we hack his computer. Now, start brainstorming."

"Ohhhh," Charlotte said. "I get it now." She rattled off the most obvious things a person could muster, including Kai#1 and AlphasRule.

"Maybe something a little less obvious?" I said.

"Use PoundPuppy2012," Trish said.

I glanced back at her. "Are you serious?"

"Yep." She tapped a picture frame on the shelf behind her. "It's Kai with his little brother before he was cut off by his family because of his status. The signature off to the side is PoundPuppy2012 ."

"His parents cut him off because he was cursed with the wolf bite?" I asked, horrified. I couldn't imagine cutting off my loved ones for any reason, especially when they'd had no choice about becoming a wolf. It was barbaric and just plain heartbreaking.

"Yeah. Sucks, right?" Trish said.

I tried the PoundPuppy password and just like that, the screen came up. I quickly searched the cameras for any activity and finally hit paydirt with the one that was installed outside Kai's office in the barn.

"What is that?" Charlotte asked as she peered over my shoulder. "Fog?"

"No," I said. "It's smoke. From a smoke bomb. See it there?" I pointed at the black contraption that was barely visible from the corner as the smoke got thicker and thicker. There was coughing, followed by Kai swearing. And then there was a cackle that sounded like something straight out of a horror film. The lights flickered, and then Jax walked in.

My heart started to pound against my chest, and I desperately wished I could warn him. But just as the thought crossed my mind, Jax crumpled to the floor, looking exactly like the men at the other end of the barn.

I was nearly in full panic mode, wondering if I'd just overlooked Jax among the other unconscious shifters.

No. That didn't happen. That could never happen. I just felt a pull when he was around. I assumed it would be the same even if he was still deep under.

Movement on the screen caught my eye. Someone reached over and tugged at Jax's feet, moving him off camera. I pressed my fingertips to the screen as if that could stop them and had to fight back tears of anger. How dare they do that to Jax? Hauling him around like a sack of potatoes. It was just wrong. Inhuman.

"What's that?" Trish asked, pointing to a shadowy figure at the top of the screen. They were petite and wearing jeans and a T-shirt. For the entire video, the person managed to stay just out of range of the camera until right at the end.

Trish paused it, giving us a decent view of the person's face despite it being a little blurry.

"That's Fiona!" I cried, jabbing my finger on the screen.

"Fiona, the neighbor, Fiona?" Charlotte clarified.

"Yes, Fiona the neighbor. I don't know why she did this. Why did she set off a smoke bomb? What's the end game?" I spewed as thoughts whirled in my head.

"There's only one way to find out," Trish said as she headed for the door. "Let's ask her."

I stared at my friend, unable to process what was happening. Jax was gone. Kai was gone. And somehow, the grouchy neighbor seemed to be the prime suspect.

"You coming?" Trish asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. I'm coming."

"Me, too," Charlotte chimed in, and together we trudged across the property and walked right up on Fiona's porch and rang the doorbell.

We were greeted by a hunting rifle and four words. "Get off my property."