Pritcher P.O.V

We had combed and even, in Cian's case, literally tore walls apart in search of the smallest hint of where they had gone and how they had left. Their car was still there in the drive, and the twenty-four seven recordings taken, that I had no idea about, mind you, were pored over. We couldn't even pinpoint the moment when they left and had switched a whole other family to replace them. The event was ridiculous and laughable if it hadn't actually occurred.

A quick look over of the family, and it was obvious to see that they had been exceedingly drugged, brainwashed and enthralled over a long period of time before and during their stay. There was no possible way to gain any type of intelligence, seeing as a large cocktail of drugs were still running the course through their system and I was quite positive that even after, Benzos and drugs like ketamine, GHB, or Rohypnol had been used, most likely wiping whatever it was they had even witnessed during their stay before being transported here. And I was pretty sure that, aside from those, psychoactive drugs and probably something like flurazepam was swimming around in their systems to make them compliantly follow their 'programming'.

"An ambulance should be here any minute for a pickup," I told no one in particular as Cian prowled around, claws out as he hissed and sniffed for anything. But there was nothing there. It had been cleaned so well... I sniffed several times myself, racing over to several people while they gave me weird looks before I opened the front door, then slammed it, causing a gust to pierce through the room ahead.

"Hey! You could contaminate the scene!" Someone sharply stated while I resisted snorting.

"Anyone wonder why we can't smell anything?" My words broke the sounds within the room as they turned to me. I looked around the room as people began questioning before kicking in a small metal air duct and ripping it from its confines. I then gloved my hands before pulling out a tainted screen filled with some substance, most likely what had snuffed all the smells from the house, "Everyone that doesn't have a mask on now, better get it on. We're most likely not going to get any scents from the scene, and breathing in large amounts of this chemical can't be good for our senses."

Having lost my usefulness now that the family was being moved to the hospital and out of my depth the moment I first made the phone call, I told Cian where I was going, then went to meet the family, if they even were, at the hospital.

I walked into the worst possible event that could have happened. All members of the family had quickly had their stomach pumped after bouts of seizures began. Grand Mals. Those that were in between seizures were quickly placed in recovery positions, nasogastric tubes filled with charcoal administered to clear their systems, an IV drip deftly taped and each eventually safely strapped so as not to injure themselves or jar any of the equipment during another seizure. As this was occurring, as asked, several vials of blood had been drawn, enough to be tested and enough for me to hold onto personally as backups. Their vomitus was also collected for testing while people quickly went from one patient to another, trying to keep them alive.

Eventually, we had to intubate all of them, making me think that perhaps there were also opiates in their systems, but also making me wonder when they had been last dosed. If possible, I would have given them Gabapentin for the seizures, but I had no idea what else was in their system, so all we could do right now was flood it with fluids and possibly give blood transfusions.

An epiphany struck, "Who all came with the ambulance I called for?" Those there shook their heads, so I raced back to the station and snatched up the clipboard and demanded the paperwork that should have been filed by those in the ambulance that were no longer here. I was only given a head shake, and when I pulled up the recordings from security footage, there was no possible way to identify. I wanted to pull my hair out, if it would do any good. I made a note about the footage, also ordering the guys there to copy and deliver footage of the past year, just to be on the safe side.

"Liekar, the blood test results have come out," one of the nurses supplied, handing me a sheaf of documents.

"Good, how long until the vomitus results come out?"

"Another hour, Liekar."

I nodded, dismissing her as I went through the papers, seated near the row of intubated people. I didn't trust something not to happen to them should I leave, just yet. I figured I would have to find a few people I trusted to watch them until they woke and were able to tell us something, anything, if possible. Refocusing on the papers, the whole family had much the same amounts of drugs in their systems, and I was quite surprised that it hadn't killed them, let alone survive for so long in that house. I was unsurprised by the opioids, benzos, and slew of other drugs I mostly had expected, but it was one in particular that left me reeling.

Scopolamine.

Also known as 'Devil's breath'. In the wrong hands, the smallest amount too much could simply kill. But in the right pair of wrong hands, it removed the free will of its victims, turning them into puppets that would kill their own family, remove their own eyes or commit the most horrendous of acts without hesitation. With the simplest of commands or cues.

The drug is frightening in how easily it can be administered. Odorless and tasteless, it can easily be added to food or drink, but what is the most frightening is the fact that one could simply have it blown in their face, falling victim within minutes. Even after the drug has fully worn off, the victim is left with no memory of what had transpired. The drug blocks the neurotransmitters related to memory from keeping even the smallest sliver of what happened.

The likelihood of gaining any form of information from them drastically sunk below the ocean of my emotions. The only thing I could do now was keep these people alive and acquire any kind of information possible for Cian and those he enlists.

Jay P.O.V

I looked down at the text once more of David telling me to meet him in his room after supper. His birthday had come and gone, and we had barely made much more than clashing eye contact in that time. I was fed up by his attitude, even if he was the alpha-in-training. I decided to visit his room, but not on his terms.

I was pretty sure he was in there, but even if not, I figured he would want a shower before supper and would have no choice but to hit his room beforehand. Either way, I knocked swiftly twice, before opening the door to giggles and groans. David hardly ever locked his door, but this was one of the times I wished he had.

We hadn't gone all the way. Yeah, we jerked each other off, rubbed against each other until completion, or gave blow jobs, but never once had we gone past fingering. My eyes widened at the scene before me. David, his back glistening with sweat as he thrust into one of the fraternal twins- Jamie, the boy, while he fondled Addie, the girl.

I watched for several more seconds while they continued, oblivious to me, until I stepped back and began to close the door. Just before it fully closed, my eyes clashed with David's and I knew, knew that he knew the moment I walked in. He had probably been anticipating it. His one glance was enough to feel the complete blow off better than most words could. I knew he felt a bit emasculated and humiliated by those guys, but he shouldn't be blaming me. He was the one that wanted me to come and assist him. He was the one that just wanted to dig his own hole and possibly ruin this pack's future.

And I was just the guy who did what he could to help him, thinking there was more than superficial feelings and lust involved; that maybe he had deeper feelings attached to our... Could I even truly call it a relationship? I thought we had been going in that direction, at least. I shook my head, my emotions making it hard to keep from changing right here and running off, or bashing down the door and maiming all three.

I ducked out, deciding to skip a supper seated with a portion of the rest of my pack and hunt for my meal instead. The steps were a blur, the go-pack numb in my hand. It held very thin tightly bundled shirt and shorts, the whole item not much different from the size and heaviness of a collar.

It wasn't until I had filled my belly and began licking the blood from my mouth and paws that the howls started up. My ears pricked, worry settling heavy in my veins as I heard the sad and angry call that seemed to drown out the thud of my paws and the very breath within my respiring chest.

It must have been over within fifteen minutes. It took me about twenty minutes to race back from a trip almost a forty to fifty-minute run at a normal pace. And the moment I exited those woods, chest on fire, my eyes darted around at the utter cacophony and discord. Howls of death and regret laced the air that my nose couldn't place. There was no scent of blood or death out here, no smells of enemies...