My fist banged against the mahogany desk as Alex and Loz tried to come up with any little bits of information on who killed Aurora. It had only been a day now but I was growing impatient with every second. I had to ask Taylor what Eve's sister's name was, guilt swarmed my chest when I realized I knew less than I thought about Eve. I hadn't even known her siblings name.

I should be ashamed.

"We're getting closer Caleb." Alex expressed with reassurance. All I could do was growl, closer meant nothing if I didn't get my fingers wrapped around their neck soon. My wolf was about to go on a rampage with our mate far away and emotionally torn, not to mention that we failed and wanted nothing more than to prove to her we were worthy of her.

"I need them found, closer means jack shit." I reminded him hating how he could be so calm in this moment. Didn't they care about Eve as their Luna? Or was it all a facade?

My insecurities were now eating away at me the more I thought about everyone else and what they thought of this predicament. We're they as unsure as I was?

My wolf growled endlessly in the back of my head the more that I thought about what Eve was doing. The distance made my stomach knot with a foreboding feeling. Was she alright? Was she hurt?

Of course, she wasn't hurt, I reminded, I would have felt it by now. The physical pain was none existent but the emotional scars were very much there in my mind through the small bond that still connected us. My wolf scolded me over and over hating the fact that I had let her slip through our fingers so easily. I would have fought more but I couldn't. I couldn't look at her face and tell her that I was the safest and best option when I couldn't protect her.

"Naní said the scents at Eve's sister's house were familiar but she couldn't pin point where." Loz explained as I slouched in my chair in defeat.

"That's not like Naní not to be able to pin point a familiar scent. She was top of her team back in Blue Moon pack. If she was unable to read the scent I think we have a bigger probably here." Alex warned stepping closer to my desk flopping a stack of papers on my desk.

Picking up a form I recognized the name as one of the bounty hunters we had captured. His name was plastered in bold letters at the top and a list of dialogue filled the rest of the page.

Noticing my perplexed features as I skimmed through the random dialogue from Alex's interrogation he spoke up.

"They have a witch working with them."

"Explains the masked scent." Loz grumbled his frustration as clear as mine.

"Wait!" Alex shouted his eyes growing wide as he slowly locked eyes with mine. "How did they know where her sisters house was?"

There was dead silence in the room as we all looked at one another. Loz had sat up in his chair tense and alert as the wheels turned in his head, Alex's features formed harsh lines in his forehead as he knitted his eyebrows together in angry. We were all thinking the same thing and I couldn't help the growl that echoed in the room nearly deafening us all.

"Give me the list of people that went with us the first night I met Eve." I ordered standing up and moving to the office door, Loz and Alex were hot on my heels. I could sense the hunger for vengeance in their wolves as they crept in my head snarling with animosity.

One of our own had dared to back stab their own pack, their own alpha, and their own Luna. They had no right to be apart of this pack.

I just hoped I didn't kill the bastard first before obtaining the name of the fantom. I needed to know who this little bitch was and as the list narrowed I was beginning to feel disappointed as the one name I feared to be the culprit remained on the list.

I couldn't cross her name off. I so badly wanted to cross it off.

"Alex I want you to interrogate the hunters further and see if you can get a name to this witch. And Loz I want you to round up all of those that were with me the night of Eve's kidnapping. It at Aurora's house and they all knew where it was and one of them i know now must be working with this fantom." They both nodded separating from me and splitting up further down the hallway.

I had a different assignment to attend to, one of family, and as I came to her bedroom door I knocked. There was no answer though I could smell her scent fresh and potent, she was in her room and I wasn't leaving until I questioned her. I had to know.

Subliminally I hoped my assumptions were all wrong and she and I could laugh this off as a joke.

I knocked again this time harder and more impatient my wolf becoming harder to hold back from lashing out and knocking the door down. I had to be patient I had to assume her innocents first even if all the facts were beginning to make it harder to see her as innocent.

There was no replay on the other side. Without thinking twice I barged in finding the unlocked door as an open invitation. The room was a wreck with clothes sprawled out on the desk, bed, and floor. Her office desk was piled high with old text books and random herbs.

Since when did Nora become a botanist?

Walking further into the room to look at the open textbook the word banshee was bold at the top of the page. My heart sank as the unthinkable became probable.

I moved to pick up the book but instantly dropped it as the bathroom door opened. Nora clutched a towel to her head, there was random red splotches on the fabric and as she walked further into the room the scent hit me. It was blood.

"Caleb," Nora said breathless, no doubt finding me in her room a shock. Did she not hear me? I wasn't trying to be quiet. "What are you doing here?" She asked eyeing my out stretched hand that had dropped the book. Her elevated heart rate was another confirmation. Fuck. Why?

"I don't think you of all people are to be questioning me." I fumed narrowing my eyes as she dabbed the towel to the side of her head. Had she hit her head? I thought, but I was stunned to catch a glisten of blood drip from her ear as she dabbed.

"What did you say?" She asked genuinely struggling to hear me.

"I said you shouldn't be questioning me." I reiterated.

Nora squinted her eyes to focus on the movement of my lips, she was trying to read my lips. Could she really not hear me?

Finally piecing together my words she frowned putting on a face of confusion. For a moment I to say bewildered. What had happened to her ear? Why couldn't she hear me at all?

Then like the last domino placed before they all tumble in a cohesive line it all fell into place.

Eve said she was no ordinary banshee and as I started at Nora's bloody towel I recalled the strength of the scream. If it was powerful enough to shatter the windows of the car miles away what would have happened if you were mere feet away.

As realizing the connections I was making Nora tossed the towel aside grabbing a dagger that laid on the desk, it had been hidden beneath the heavy book. With streamline perfection she stabbed my hand as I reached to subdue her.

Retracting my arm back she didn't leave me with anytime to pull out the silver dagger as she kicked my chest sending me flat on my back. My head hit the corner of the bed post as I fell leaving stars to dance before my vision.

Taking advantage of my unfocused vision she grabbed a hold of my hair kneeing my in the face. A crack sounded and I felt my nose give under the impact of her knee, broken I told myself, groaning I rolled on to my side. I had to get up I couldn't let her get away.

I heard her quickly grab a few things from her desk haphazardly rushing out of the room in dire need of escape. I stumbled as I picked myself up holding on to the furniture for support as I regained my balance. My uncoordinated body slide items off the dresser and desk as I moved out of the room.

Finally regaining composure I blinked a few times before running after her quick footsteps.

How could she do this? She was my little sister and she betrayed me. My heart ached but a single growl from my wolf reminded me she had hurt our mate. She had tried to kill her and for what?

'Loz, it's Nora she's the fantom. She's making a break for it.' I could feel Loz go stiff as he took a brief glimpse into what I had seen. I felt his confusion and disbelief but as he say the events that just perspired he couldn't deny the obvious. He disappeared from my memories just as quickly.

'On it!'

Barreling down the hallway I followed her scent as she traveled down stairs and then further down? Confused I still followed her scent and as I approached the basement door Loz met up with me.

I threw open the door and we both rushed down the staircase our footsteps echoing off the damp and moldy concrete walls. Once at the bottom of the stairs I was confused when her trail just ended. There wasn't a way out from down here, their was no cellar door or another staircase up.

"She has to be down here." I told Loz looking around for any clue as to where she had vanished to.

Scanning the dark basement the sounds of dripping water hit my ears but just beyond the dripping water I heard the faint skid of a shoe. Nora was quick but with her terrible hearing at the moment she was making a lot of noise.

Loz and I gave each other a odd expression as we moved to an old filing cabinet. It had been years since I had even down here and it all looked the same to me. Nothing had changed, not even the mildew that grew in the darkest corners of the basement.

The scuff of the sole of her shoes skid across the rough concrete floor, it echoed through the basement but Nora wasn't visible in the basement. So where was she?

Moving the metal filing cabinet revealed a long etched corridor that led to, I don't know where. Nora's scent traveled through the hidden corridor. Loz filed in front of my jogging down the tunnel to catch up to my sister.

'I'm getting close to her. I can see-' Loz was not able to finish his sentence as a bright and loud exploration blinded me and sent me fly on my back.

My head bounced against the thick concrete floor. I groaned as I leaned on my elbows, rubbing my eyes in hopes it would focus my vision. The plumes of dust clouded the length of the corridor before me. Batting the dust in front of me I heard Loz groan in pain.

Coughing, I sat up pulling myself to my hands and knees and crawled over to my beta. He was groaning incoherent words and as my eyes fell on his face I saw why. He was buried underneath rubble.

His face was blooded and scratched with lacerations on his forehead and cheeks. The top part of his body was the only part that could be seen as the lower half was hidden underneath the thousands of pounds of rubble.

Looking around in desperation to find anything to dig him out I cursed in frustration when nothing appeared. I would have to dig him out myself.

Shaking my head and ridding myself of the headache that was begging to torment me I wiped the sweat that trailed down from my forehead. My hands moved quickly throwing rocks and chunks of concrete. Blood dripped endlessly from my stab wound on my hand but I ignored it needed to rescue Loz. Just as I would remove one slab of concrete it was like another one appeared. It was never ending and as I looked at the height of the rubble it was apparent that the goal of the explosion was to collapse the tunnel.

The floor to ceiling rubble was evident that they succeeded in their goal.

Loz groaned again and I moved with urgency as I tried to save me best friend. Picking up the last big slab of concrete I curled my arms under his armpits.

"Take a deep breath this is going to hurt." I forewarn him before I pulled with all my might freeing Loz.

He screamed as we tumbled on our backs his legs no doubt mangled and crushed. He'd be able to heal as long as someone aligned the bones first. Loz slumped finally falling unconscious from the pain.

I stood to my feet fanning the last of the dust to get a good view of the collapsed tunnel. Nora was gone and there was no way now to know where the tunnel ends up at or how long it goes. She could be out of my territory already, gone, Nora was smart she'd make herself scarce before I could find away to hunt her down.

She remained one step ahead at every moment. I hit the still structurally sound walls in frustration yelling my fury in the echoing tunnel.

As long as she remained ahead she would always be able to allude me.

I needed her to slip up, and badly.

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