“I’ll stay here,” he told me. “If anything looks off, come back down here immediately. Don’t go looking for trouble Zee. You may be a werewolf, but you aren’t invincible.” I leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips before opening the truck door.
I sniffed the air as I walked toward the apartment. I picked up Jarren’s scent and I looked toward the back of the complex where I knew he must be. I moved slowly up the dark stairway and stopped at my door. It was shut, I tried the knob, and it was locked. I couldn’t hear any noise inside. I unlocked the door and pushed it open carefully. What I saw made me backpedal with a gasp.
The room was destroyed. The TV lay shattered on the floor among the glass from the coffee table. The couch was flipped over. Delilah’s schoolbooks were scattered, and her computer laid open with the screen twisted at an odd angle. I took a deep breath to contain a sob and smelled the blood.
Cold terror gripped me as I started forward, but a hand grasped my arm. I stifled a scream as I looked up into Alex’s face. His eyes were darting around the room. I saw his nostrils flare and he flinched. He smelled the blood, too. I tried to jerk from his grip to get into the apartment.
“Wait,” he breathed as he yanked his phone from his pocket and texted someone. Seconds later Jarren came running up the stairs. He held a gun in his hand as he inched into my home. Alex and I followed behind him. I pulled away from Alex to find the source of the blood. I followed the scent to the kitchen.
A bloody knife lay on the table. Towels covered in blood were on the floor. It looked like so much blood. I didn’t know how anyone could have lived through it. One of the kitchen chairs was pulled out as if it had been sat in. I saw something black on the floor and moved closer to see that it was cut zip ties. Splatters of blood were on the floor and the table beside the chair. The blood trailed out of the kitchen. There were small puddles throughout the living room. More blood was among the glass of the coffee table.
Jarren moved out of the hallway and stood looking in the kitchen. He walked in and squatted by the chair. I watched him pick up on of the zip ties. He closed the gap to connect the cut ends and looked at the back of the chair. His head dropped for a moment. Then he stood and turned to look at Alex and me.
“She was surprised,” Jarren started. He went to look over the door once more before continuing. “I would say whoever did this had a key. Delilah was in the kitchen when she heard them come in. Either she didn’t know them, or they threatened her, because she got the knife and managed to stab whoever it was. That is most of the blood.
“She ran into the living room, I assume to get her phone, although I can’t be sure because it’s missing. The intruder followed and there was a struggle. It looks like Delilah was thrown through the coffee table. The blood there is hers. It must have knocked her out or hurt her badly enough that she didn’t fight back. She was zip tied to the chair. The intruder cleaned themselves up. Then I’d say they hurt her. There is blood spatter that indicates someone was hit several times in that chair.”
I was shaking my head as he spoke. I could feel the heat from the tears streaming down my face. I couldn’t think of any reason for someone to hurt Delilah. If it was the Hunter shouldn’t we smell him? He knew where we were, why didn’t he just come for us?
“Where is she?” I asked. Alex came and tried to pull me into his arms, but I moved away. “Is she alive? Who took her Jarren? I thought you were watching her!”
“I was, but this happened when I was trying to follow Silas,” Jarren sounded defeated. “The blood is several hours old. She is alive, Zee. They took her with them. They wouldn’t have bothered if she weren’t alive.”
With that I collapse onto the floor. I knew I had to keep it together and find Delilah, but for a moment I let my world shatter around me. I let the sobs come and I cried harder than I ever had before. This time when Alex wrapped his arms around me, I let him. I turned my head into his chest and just held onto him while I cried.
Jarren made another trip through the apartment. I turned my head to follow his progress. He spent a long time in Delilah’s room before returning. He was shaken, which was enough to shock me from my crying. Jarren’s normally blue eyes were glowing brown as he took in the scene of the living room once more. Then his eyes fell on the kitchen and the chair Delilah had been in. I watched a frightening change come over him. His face hardened, his muscles tensed, and his eyes turned cold and murderous. He turned back to face us.
“I’ll find her,” and with those words, Jarren walked out the door. I hoped he was right. I didn’t think I could live without Delilah. Alex pulled me to my feet and helped me lock up the apartment. The idea of leaving it in such a mess without having any answers was hard for me.
“I’ll call my father,” Alex said as we moved
