“Well the trap didn’t exactly go as planned did it now James? We were outnumbered and even though we beat them we only caught his little lackeys, not to mention that Lily disappeared. I didn’t see the other werewolf, the one like you, anywhere, but he’s always been in the middle,” Tony argued and James did have to admit he had a point.
“As to why the search party? Why not, it’s a great way to keep us away from where she really is! I admit it does seem farfetched, but I believe Greg. He is a lot of things James, but he is a good guy and loyal as they come. I know it’s not enough to openly accuse the doctor, but it’s reason for you to keep an eye on him while you’re searching for my sister.” Tony finished and James looked to the forest where the search party had gone.
Could it be that Xavier not only be the traitor but the mastermind behind it all? “Alright Tony, I’ll keep an eye on him and see if he does anything suspicious,” James told him after a few moments of thought.
“Thank you, James,” Tony stated, looking relieved. “I wish I could come and help you find my sister, but I’ve got to protect Mrs. Malcolm and Greg’s mate as I promised,” Tony told him.
“It’s cool, you’ve got to keep your promises,” James told his friend, turning to run so he’d catch up with the others.
It didn’t take much to catch up to the search party. He watched the beta and pack doctor carefully. Doctor Thompson didn’t seem to act suspicious at all; actually the pack doctor looked rather upset that Lily was kidnapped. When two hours passed and they were obviously not getting anywhere, Xavier split the group up into small groups of twos and organized the area they were to search.
“I’m leaving to report to the alpha and let him know how we’re progressing. I’ll be back shortly,” he announced. James watched as he disappeared off into the dense forest in the direction of the alpha’s house. He just couldn’t see the pack doctor as the maker. Doctor Thompson was a good man and had always been there for James during the hard times when he’d first changed.
He debated whether he should follow Xavier or not, before deciding against following the beta. Instead, he decided to go on his own to look for Lily. He was sure the search party wasn’t going to find anything; they didn’t even go in the direction where her trail had stopped. James ran to where he had lost her scent after the battle. Tony’s words echoed in his head and he wondered if it was true, but what would make Xavier turn on his best friend and his pack?
James reached the spot where Lily’s trail ended. His sensitive nose was unable to detect anything. He examined the area and found some footprints in the dusty ground. He walked around them carefully, making sure not to destroy them with his own. There were two pairs, one smaller, obviously human, and another much larger, more like a wolf print. The footprints became chaotic near a tree as if there was a fight, and he looked around the tree to see if there was anything that could reveal what had happened. He was about to give up when he noticed something about five feet from the tree.
He walked over carefully and slowly bent down to touch the ground. There was a puddle of some transparent liquid. Whatever it was it was incredibly sticky. James suddenly remembered his search for Greg and the sticky sap he’d accidentally put his hand in. He dipped his fingers in the liquid and brought it to his nose. He sniffed the substance carefully, but he couldn’t get a scent from it.
“Well, well what do we have here,” he said out loud. Was this the explanation to how the “maker” and the blonde werewolf managed to mask their scent and that of others? He searched the area hoping there would be a trail of the liquid, but it was only in that one spot. He sighed loudly then turned his attention to his fingers that were still covered in the stuff.
He refused to be beaten by that lunatic again so he paced back and forth trying to come up with a new plan of attack. James closed his eyes and forced himself to ignore all the information coming from any other sense that wasn’t his nose. After several minutes of intense concentration, he attempted to capture the scent of the substance. His eyes snapped opened and he grinned ear to ear. He had it; he had its scent!
James raced through the forest easily following the scent. He wasn’t too surprised when he realized he was heading in the exact opposite direction of the search party. It made his doubt about Xavier Thompson grow. Could Greg really be telling the truth about the beta? This part of the forest wasn’t often traveled by anyone human or werewolf. After nearly a half an hour, he came to a small clearing. A cabin sat perfectly in the middle and the scent of the liquid went straight to it.
He eyed the house cautiously for a few minutes, trying to detect any signs of life. When nothing happened he finally started a slow walk to the cabin. He glanced into one of the dusty windows and saw someone lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. His heart crash against his chest and his breath stopped, this psycho wouldn’t have killed her would he? In the end, his goal was to change her to be like James.
James rushed around to the front door and kicked it down. He entered the little house and looked down at the body. He let out a long slow breath when he realized that it wasn’t Lily on the floor but frowned as he recognized the body, it was the imposter. This didn’t look good, James thought, kneeling down to take a closer look. He placed his hand on the imposter’s bloodied chest and noticed it was fairly warm.
He then looked at the wound the imposter had in his chest, it was a long thin cut that showed no signs of healing. That could only mean one thing; the wound was inflicted with a silver object. He looked around the room and saw a bloodied knife lying on the floor under a small table. James wondered who had killed the imposter. Was it Lily in self-defense or did the imposter have a falling out with his “maker.”
James stood up and started sorting out the scents of the room. There was the scent of the imposter, the sticky liquid and James was sure he caught traces of Lily’s scent as well, but he also caught another scent, one very familiar. Doctor Thompson had been in that very cabin and he’d been there recently. With a loud growl of anger, James attempted to calm his anger. There could a reasonable explanation for Xavier’s presence within the cabin.
He could’ve found her and taken her home, James reasoned. With one final deep calming breath, he ran back towards the alpha’s house as quick as he could. “Alpha we have to talk,” James demanded as soon as he saw Andrew. The alpha gave him a worried look.
“What is it?” Tony asked, having overheard James. Before he could answer Chris came out of the woods and walked towards them.
“Alpha, we have searched everywhere the doctor told us too and still no sign of Lily or anything out of the ordinary. What do you want us to do now?” He asked and Andrew looked at him confused.
“Why aren’t you asking Xavier? I left him in charge,” the alpha told the younger werewolf.
“I haven’t seen the doc since he left to report to you and never came back.” Chris replied, looking confused, and scratched the back of his head.
“Well, I haven’t seen him since the search party got started,” Andrew stated with a frown and James realized that Tony was right. Xavier was their traitor and the mastermind of all this. He growled with a blinding rage and nearly shifted into the beast right there, but he forced the raging beast back. If he shifted now the beast would probably attack anything that moved, friend or foe.
“That God damn…” James growled, the doctor played every single one of them for fools and most importantly he played James for a fool. All those days he pretended to help James control himself when he’d returned to the pack, but he was only testing his lab rat!
“What did you find James?” Tony asked again.
“Greg was telling the truth! Alpha the maker is Xavier,” he started then explained everything Tony had told him. He told them about the sticky liquid, the cabin, and Xavier’s scent.
“This can’t be! He is my beta and most trusted friend. I’d place my life in his hands without hesitation,” Andrew exclaimed to no one in particular.