Sometime around midnight, he caught a scent that caused him to pause. It couldn't be... they wouldn't have dared to come into the event, would they? He'd anticipated having problems outside, or once they'd gotten home. He'd never expected the pack themselves might infiltrate the Starlight itself. Apparently, they were more brazen than he'd thought.
He didn't want to leave Adele's side, but he couldn't adequately protect her without knowing where the threat was coming from. Pulling her aside, he explained quickly that he'd thought he'd seen something suspicious and to stay visible and near the rest of the board members, before he slipped away. Turning back, he was pleased to see that she'd moved over towards the rest of her coworkers, worried face glancing his way. For once, the woman had listened. Thank fuck.
With any luck, he'd be able to quickly get a few visuals of the shifters he was searching for. Maybe he'd recognize some of them. Shifters were a rare breed. Most humans were unaware that they lived and worked alongside people that could shift into animals. It was safer that way, kept them protected. The few times humans had been aware of 'others' in their midst, it hadn't gone well for the 'others'. Due to that, most shifters were somewhat aware of each other, if they didn't outright know each other from run-ins they'd had.
Scouting along the edge of the crowds, he traced the overlapping scents of humans and animals. He found several of the shifters he'd tracked at the house, so he knew he was on the right path. Somehow, some way, the Mayor had gotten tangled up in whatever the shifters were doing with the missing women.
Knox had confirmed the dates last night by text. The payments in the ledger Thian had found had come every morning after one of the women had gone missing. He was being paid off to either allow it, or to look the other way and ignore it. Now? The shifters were here, and Thian didn't think it was to celebrate Adele's sponsorship.
At least four shifters that he could scent had been in the main ballroom at one time just a little bit ago. Two had branched off towards a smaller room off of the larger ballroom. The other two headed deeper into the maze of hallways that made up the Square.
Since the two inside the Square weren't headed back towards the ballroom where Adele was, he ignored them for now, instead heading towards the smaller room. Hearing hushed voices, he froze just outside of it, recognizing the Mayor's as one of them.
“Look ... it's gone too far now. They're threatening my daughter. I didn't realize when I agreed to this that she'd be in danger. I don't know what you are up to, and I don't want to know, but if I'm putting Adele in danger, then I want to know the benefits are worth it.”
Another voice answered, lower, edged with amusement. “Are you truly attempting to blackmail us, Mayor? Do you understand the perilous position you find yourself in? You've already passed ordinances that benefit us. We've paid you handsomely for that. You knew getting into this we weren't the type of men you make deals with.”
Thian's hackles rose. The Mayor seemed to be insinuating that if Adele's life was at risk, he wanted paid more. Not that he wanted to call off whatever deal they'd made together, just that he wanted more money. More money... for the potential cost of his daughter's life.
As if she meant nothing to him but a bigger payday. If Thian didn't need to keep a low fucking profile, he'd slaughter the asshole himself. Clenching his hands into fists at his side, it took everything he had not to push the door open and stride in, announcing his presence by curling those hands around the Mayor's throat and tightening until his eyes bulged.
The Mayor stuttered slightly, attempting to walk back what he'd said, before it seemed like his resolve stiffened. “If you can't find a way to make a further relationship worth my while, then I will take my business elsewhere, and stop hindering investigations into the disappearances. Surely your bosses don't want that to happen.”
Fuck. Thian had a moment to realize shit was going to go down, and then it did. You don't threaten a pack. You definitely don't threaten a rogue pack that has nothing to lose. It happened in an instant, too fast for Thian to have been able to do anything to prevent it, even if he wanted to.
He heard the sound of a blade flicking open, a shout for help that was quickly drowned out by the music and sounds of laughter from the ballroom. Within moments, the gurgle of dying breaths filled the air as the Mayor took his last. No one had heard him. No one knew what had gone on in the room except him. Shit. Attention drawn to the men still in the room, Thian's lips firmed once he realized they'd already formed a new plan, or this had been the plan all along.
“Find the daughter. We can't have any loose ends. He claimed she knew nothing, but I don't trust him. We'll put her with the rest. She'll earn us a good price, even as a human.”
Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Two
As the other in the room agreed, Thian was already moving. He had no idea where the other two were stationed, but he assumed at least one would be outside somewhere. He'd deal with that when they came to it. If the one had doubled back around and was in the ballroom, this could go fucking sideways quick. He just needed to focus on getting to
