7: Peach Cobbler

**TORA**

The closer I get to this pack, the more anxious I feel.

A sense of urgency and need to be there right this second washes through me.

But something else, those damn eyes.. That creature. 10 feet tall. Easily. looked a little thin, but still huge. Red glowing eyes, almost soft. Eyes like that could burn down the world, yet it looked like they were scared. What has a creature that huge, scared..

Pulling into the driveway of the pack house, Jericho pulls me from my thoughts.

"I'll do most of the talking. Cree keep your sarcastic comments to yourself. And Tora.. Try not to lose your shit today. Okay? We have to vigilant to catch whoever is doing this to our pack. And we can't do that if Cree is pissing of the leaders, and you are trying to challenge everyone because you're frustrated. Got it?" He said with a half assed smile. I rolled my eyes and me and Cree, in unison, said, "Yes Alpha." with so much groan in both of our voices. Causing us to laugh altogether. But right before the doors to the vehicles are opened, are faces become void with emotions.

"Showtime." Cree said, with amusement in his voice. Which tells me he is going to be good hut to an extent.

Alpha Alastar is standing out front with two men who must be his Beta and Gamma. Stoicly in a line, waiting for our arrival. We walk up to our ranked counterparts, shaking hands. "Alpha Alastar. What a beautiful pack you have and thank you for having us on such short notice." Jericho said, which are just formalities. He hates coming to this pack.

"Alpha Jericho. It is a pleasure and thank you. We have a few rooms made up for you and your men. Anything you need don't hesitate to ask." He said with a smirk. "Please follow me. I'd like to go ahead and have this meeting. Your Beta said it was urgent." He said leading us inside.

Opening the door to the pack house I am hit with an alarming smell. Peach cobbler. I start sniffing the air profusely. Alastar notices. "We are having a feast prepared for you all. Smells wonderful, yes?" He asks.

"Smells like the best peach cobbler is being made in here." I smiled but I noticed his face drop and look in confusion. But he quickly recovers, leaving no room to question why it happened.

We get to the meeting room and there is a decent sized meeting table in the middle of the room, huge clear windows to the left of the room, a bar on the adjacent wall from us. 2 chaitlrs on each side of the table, and one on each ends of the table.

'This feels like a mob treaty meeting.' Cree laughed in the mind link. I choked on the laugh that threatened to come up.

'More like a 'You're here to die, but I gotta make it look like we are friends.' meeting.' It was my turn to laugh at Cree's face.

We take our seats, sitting across from our ranks, the Alpha's on both ends.

Jericho starts the meeting. "As I am sure you have heard, our pack is experiencing something tragic. We have had about 8 people go missing from our pack go missing. One was found dead just yesterday morning." The Beta and the Gamma bowed their head in respect for our passing pack member. "Which for such a big pack that we are at Silver Shadow, it might go unnoticed but my intuitive Beta, Tora, found the pattern. Everyone has gone missing in the middle of the night. No note to loved ones, no trace of them leaving. No foot prints, no scents and not only that but there are have been no breaking of the pack bond. Not even with our pack member passed away. So we know there is SOMETHING happening to our pack, but we just aren't sure why." He finished, letting everyone absorb what he just told them.

"I don't mean to be a brute Alpha Jericho, but what has that got to do with us and the Black Dawn Pack. And why couldn't this call be completed over the phone?" Alpha Alastar said, slight irritation in his voice. 

"You know how I am Alastar, when it is serious I only do in face meetings. Besides we wanted this meeting to see if any of your pack members have been reported missing. Your pack is easily close to the size of our, ours is just slightly bigger. I wanted to see if the same thing had been happening here too. Surely someone has beem reported missing?" Jericho asks and I watch the Beta, I believe he said his name is Xerxes, starts shifting in his seat. Like he has something to say but he can't.

'Do you see that guys?'  I asked Jericho and Cree in the link but didn't move a muscle away from my Alpha as to not show Alastar that we were mindlinking. 'Yeah, almost as if he is being forced to be quiet.'  Cree states. 'That is all you, Tora. Find him after, if he isn't allowed to speak about something maybe you can find a way to get him to spill what it is.' Jericho says. I agree.

"I assure you Alpha Jericho, no one has been reported missing from my pack. And,I would have noticed if someone were gone." He says, almost smugly. Jericho's eye begins to twitch and I start speaking. 

"We are not implying that you do not know your pack, Alpha. We are just wondering if anything weird has been going on around you or near your pack. We have looked high and low through every nook and cranny we could before we came here. No traces and no signs as to who took our members or where they went. We were just hoping you had some sort of lead that you might not even know is a lead." I say calmly. Hoping my Alpha doesn't launch across this table in a rage and rip his head of for his snide comment. 

Before Alastar can answer, there is a light knock on the door. The smell of peach cobbler wafts against my nose. And it seems strange to serve dessert at this time, especially in the middle of a meeting. 

Alastar instructs whoever is behind the door to come in. But who walks in sends an ache to my ankles. Something within me is telling me to go to them. But I cannot.

'You know who that is you jackass. You better go right now, or I am shifting..' Without listening to another word Argos says, I watch the woman who is setting a tray of sweet tea on the table and standing behind the Alpha. 

'Mate.' Argos cries. Whining like a day old pup, but I don't blame him. She is drop dead gorgeous. But there is something that is holding me back from going to her. Alastar sees how I am looking at the woman behind him and realization hits him in the face.

"I apologize for the intrusion, gentlemen. Estelle wanted to make sure we weren't thirsty. This is my chosen mate, Estelle Wyatt. Say hello dear." He says, pulling her by her hand, a little too firm for my liking. 

'Son of a fucking bitch. You are going to sit here and let that man tell you that your Goddess given mate is HIS chosen mate.. What the fuck is wrong with you, Tora?' I can't even answer it. All I can do is watch her, embed her features into my brain as to never forget. After a minute or so of silence. I barely pull away, looking at the table thinking of what to do or say next.

'Argos, I know she is our Goddess given mate. And I want nothing more than to scream that at this very moment. But there is something dangerous happening in our pack, and I can't claim her just to bring her home and something happen to her. I couldn't protect Julri.. How will I be able to protect her? It seems she is well taken care of here and most importantly. She's safe.. Once we find out who is doing this, I will come here and challenge him if I have to to claim her. But I can't do that right now. Not while there is a maniac kidnapping and now killing our pack members.'  He whines in my head but I can tell he agrees with me. If I didn't have a driving force to find out who did it before, I definitely do now..

'Estelle.. '