Chapter 2

*Grayson*

I stared at Ginny, hating the disturbed look on her face. My sister was almost never happy these days. It was true there was practically nothing to be happy about, but I hated that she was letting it get to her this much. Especially since there was nothing I could do about it. I ran my hand down the length of my face, releasing an exasperated sigh. If there was anything I absolutely hated then it had to be this constant almost permanent state of helplessness. My entire pack was in danger but there was nothing I could do about it.

We've lost about twenty werewolves and five pups in the past three weeks. No one seemed to know what had happened to them. Their dead bodies were simply just stumbled upon. At first we hadn't taken the deaths seriously. It was true that werewolves were immortal but it wasn't unheard of that a werewolf died. There were so many things that could cause a werewolf to lose their life. Natural causes, for one. That had to be the most common cause of death. Ancient werewolves died all the time.

Sadly, that wasn't the case.

"Why aren't they here yet?" She asked in agitation, looking down at her phone to check what the time was. We had fixed another council meeting, the tenth one in only four days. If we didn't put a stop to the killings and as fast as possible, it was safe to say the entire pack was going to slowly but surely be wiped out. I was about to say something to calm her down when the door burst open and the pack healer walked in.

She halted in her steps, taking note of how empty the chairs around the long table were. Aside from Ginny and I, there was no other person seated for the meeting. She frowned a little, appearing concerned. "Why isn't anyone here yet?" She asked quietly, taking a few steps further inside the room. Ginny shook her head at her, making a gesture to indicate that she equally had no idea.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I instantly knew that something wasn't right. I fisted my hands, hoping against all odds that it wasn't another death. I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with another death in under twenty four hours. I had contacted Trevor, an old friend, about a week ago but he was yet to give me a solid reply. He was a supervisor to the best scientists the country currently had and I needed their help.

Fast.

I wasn't sure what exactly it was that was causing the delay but Trevor had assured me he was going to put together a team. Apparently, his team was going to help in getting to the root cause of the brutal murders. I had no doubt he was going to do all he could to help me out. He was doing me a favor in return for saving his life a few years back when he'd been attacked by rogue wolves.

He'd contacted me three days ago to inform me that he wanted me to be personally protective of the team's leader. At first I'd found it odd that he seemed to care more about the leader than the rest of the team, but when I realized later on that the leader was female and she was best at what she did, it made complete sense. I had immediately promised to look after her. Werewolves had a hard time staying away from their mate, so I couldn't imagine what it would be costing him if they were romantically involved.

The door burst open and the rest of the council seemed to enter the room all at once. Ryan strode to Ginny, pulling her to his side and giving her a kiss on her head. He was my beta and my sister's mate. She managed a small smile in his direction but even that didn't reach her eyes. She was too concerned about the state of unrest in the pack and I was worried it was beginning to affect both her health and her relationship.

For one, she had practically moved in with me after I had tried to hide the deaths from her. She made it clear she wanted to be kept in the loop, even after I tried to let her know it wouldn't exactly be the wisest decision to make. We both knew she had an unhealthy way of taking everything that concerned the pack very personally. Almost more personally than I did.

I could see Ryan trying to deal with not having her around but I wondered how much more he could take. He was already dealing with the pain of losing so many people in such a short amount of time. We all were. He didn't deserve for his mate to not be by his side in such a dire moment. Which was why I've been trying to convince Ginny to move back to home.

It was a miracle she had finally agreed.

"Sorry we're late," Ria apologized, meeting my eyes. She was the pack seer. My eyebrows creased as I studied her. Her gaze flickered away from mine and I instantly knew why they'd arrived late. Ria had been overworking herself lately. We've all been trying to convince her it wasn't her fault she couldn't foresee the deaths before they happened but she was having none of it.

She was constantly trying to pry into the future and we didn't want to admit it but it was becoming obvious it was beginning to take a toll on her. For one, whenever she forced herself to see into the future, she ended up falling unconscious afterwards. I had a good guess that it had happened again a few minutes ago and the rest of the council had been trying to revive her.

My jaws clenched.

I was going to have to talk to her. Again. Ginny met my eyes then and I knew she was having the same thought that I was. We all got seated around the table and I stared at them, trying to arrange my thoughts in my head. The werewolf council consisted of nine members now but it would be ten after I had found my mate. Asides my beta and gamma and their mates, there was also the pack healer, the pack seer, the pack lead warrior and the pack lead hunter.

"You said you were going to contact some human who could help," Jax reminded me once we had all sat down. He was the pack gamma. The tone of his voice was low and polite. He wasn't asking out of a place of anger or hostility. I released what seemed to be like the millionth breath since this morning and pinched the bridge of my nose. "How did that go?" He asked.

The rest of the council fixed their attention on me as expected of them. It was the entire purpose of the meeting in the first place. I met their eyes, hoping I could communicate to them that I was doing my absolute best in finding a solution to the problem we were facing. "Trevor has assured me that he's putting together a team he believes is sure to get to the bottom of the deaths," I informed them. "He'll contact me as soon as the task is completed for a proper introduction."

Nyx sighed in relief, resting her head against Jax's shoulder. I felt a slight stab of envy as I watched him run his thumb along the length of her arm. They didn't know how lucky they were. Almost all of them. At least they were mated. Everyone knew a werewolf was their strongest when they were mated. It was easy for them to find strength and comfort in each other. I pressed my lips together.

I didn't have that.

"We should probably start making arrangements for them then," Ria suggested. Everyone echoed their agreement. We had to make sure they were as comfortable as possible if they were going to sacrifice their time coming down here to help us sort out the mess we were in. I had already gotten their lab ready. Trevor had insisted that we make it available since they were probably going to be carrying out a lot of tests.

"They'll be staying here," I informed everyone, settling whatever issues they might have been having while trying to come up with a place for them to stay. Ginny's eyebrows creases and I knew she was already wondering if it wouldn't be too much having humans in my house. Invading my personal space. It was no news that I didn't trust them. I knew to be extremely cautious and with good reason.

They'd hurt more than their fair share of werewolves in the past. I'd been given a run down of all the crimes they committed. And only because they were too scared and too arrogant to get off their high horse and accept the fact that a species stronger than them could ever dream of being existed. The meeting moved to other topics and in a few hours we were ready to disperse. Ginny packed the few things she wanted to take back with her and left with Ryan.

I watched Ria stylishly slip out between the doors and fought the urge to go after her. She was a grown woman after all. Though unmated, I knew Ria was smart and responsible. I was going to give her a few days to get over this stage of guilt before I talked to her about it. I didn't mind if it meant ordering her not to use her gift for a long while. The pack was what mattered to me the most right now. I wouldn't have any if them getting into more danger than we were already in.

Not on my watch.