There was no answer. Once Dmitri was inside the manor, he called upon Cora and asked whether she had communication with Nate, but she shook her head.

"Alpha, I heard noises in the forest that is bordering the manor on the north."

​​

Dmitri turned his head to look at the servant who informed him. The elderly servant was standing at the entrance of the main hall. He was sweating and out of breath.

"What kind of noises?" asked Dmitri with narrowed eyes. He was irritated at this intrusion. He didn't want to be thrown off the trail of finding Nate.

The servant cowered at the fierceness with which Dmitri spoke. "There- There were bizarre no- noises at that end," he stuttered.

"Would you mind explaining?" yelled Dmitri unable to control his anger. The blood of the serpent had now caked beneath his fingernails and he was ready to attack the servant.

Everyone present in the room including Cora became quiet fearing his temper. The servant was tongue-tied and began quivering. Dmitri slowly walked to the servant, held his collar and in a lethally soft voice asked, "What kind of noises?"

The servant gulped. Finding his voice somehow he said weakly, "Screams of pain."

Dmitri's eyes became wide. "What were you doing there and why didn't you go to check it out?"

"I did go there, but I found lots of blood splattered on the ground. Scared, I ran back to the manor as fast as I could to give information to you regarding this incident."

Dmitri left his collar and shoved him away. He looked at his mother. "Keep a watch on him till I return."

Cora nodded. She instructed two other servants to hold him and imprison him until further notice.

Along with the wizards, Dmitri flew to the north end of the manor gardens.

---

Pierre reached the town to find his contacts. It had been a long time since he had remained out of touch. He wondered if anyone would even recognize him. When he entered the streets of the town along with a young werewolf that was his security, he realized that the town had changed to a great extent. There were modern buildings and though there weren't too many people on the streets, he noticed new flower shops, diners, a movie theater, and a small farmer's market. His eyes scanned the area and there it was – his favorite deli. The wind chime hung above the door rang as he opened the door and stepped inside.

The familiar smells of the spice mustard with cayenne, yeast from freshly baked bread and cured meats wafted through the air. His lips curved and he looked at the counter where the owner's head was buried in calculating the previous day's money in front of his computer.

Pierre's bodyguard went to take a seat while he went to stand at the edge of the counter. Pressing his chest on it while leaning in, he placed an order, "I would like a pastrami and roast beef."

"Sir, please take your seat. A waitress will come and take-" the owner stopped counting the money and looked up. His mouth fell open and his posture became stiff.

"Pierre!" he exclaimed. "Oh my sweet Jesus!" His eyes bulged as he recognized that voice and stared in those brown eyes of the handsome face, which was now slightly older. He pushed the cash register inside and rushed out of the counter.

"Pierre, my friend." His voice choked as he gave a bear hug to his old friend whom he thought had died long back. "Where have you been?"

Pierre responded by hugging him equally tight. "Gary."

Gary removed himself and placed his hands on Pierre's shoulders. "Where have you been my friend?" He guided Pierre to the nearest table and called the waitress. "Get two sandwiches with smoked chicken filling and hot peppers, two beer and coleslaw over here and give the same to that man over there." He pointed to Pierre's bodyguard. He was accustomed to Pierre's security from the past.

The waitress smiled and left to get the order.

Gary took a deep breath. "Tell me."

Pierre looked out at the empty street. "It's a long story Gary but to cut it short, I was imprisoned by my enemies when my son was only seven. It was my daughter-in-law who helped me get out of that hell hole."

"Dmitri is married now?" Gary chuckled remembering the sweet little child.

"Yes!" Pierre replied with excitement.

The food came and the two friends warmed up a little more. Over the course of the meal, Pierre said, "I need some important information."

"Sure, tell me about it," replied Gary relaxing back in the chair holding the beer can in his left hand.

"Is there any activity happening around here that might catch your eye?" Pierre paused. "Anything that doesn't normally happen here?"

Gary cocked his head. He twisted his mouth and looked at the ceiling. He nodded slowly. "I heard that some military people had come to meet Niiya and Dr. Tanaka."

Pierre's chest tightened. "What else?"

"My son informed me a day back that a small battalion of the army was camping at the edge of the town."

---

Dmitri was on the broom of the wizard who had informed him about Nate. They flew over the area as indicated by the servant. There was a lot of blood sprayed around the woods.

"Get down," he ordered the wizard. The broom came down and Dmitri alighted, as did the other wizards.

Anxiety gripped him. He blamed himself for putting Nate into a difficult situation. His insides quivered thinking of the worst-case scenario. He couldn't think what would happen to Ookashi.

Along with the wizards he followed the blood trail. The dark blood was sprayed on the ground, on the leaves and barks of the trees. It spoke about someone's struggle to an attack. After a few minutes, they reached ground covered with thick foliage and beneath that was a serpent. Coiled tightly, green like pond slime and scaly like a dragon, its flesh was ripped at few places. But to Dmitri's horror, it seemed to coil and coil.