Everyone who was celebrating the return of Livvy had gravitated back to the pure fire behind the pack house. This was a historic Samhain indeed. They had their Alpha and Luna and the most incredible feeling of unity like none they had previously known, and now they had the surprise of the returned Livvy.

Selah stood back, watching the family and the pack members welcome the pup back into the pack. She had done her job, and after being gone for weeks on her own private mission to retrieve the young female, she finally let herself breathe a sigh of relief. She had succeeded somehow.

What she did was a huge risk, but with Graeme and August taking over the pack leadership and even conceiving the next heir, she knew it was her chance to reveal what had been going on in this pack for so long. None of the regular pack members knew of the deal the elders had made with the ancient vampire Zagan, but Selah was well aware. And it wasn't only because she was a member of Zoe's secret team. Her and Sage had a history as strays that no one in this pack had knowledge of, not even the elders. Not even Zoe. No one knew where they had come from, but it was time to reveal all of it if it meant helping bring justice to those who were oppressing the alyko.

Selah scanned the crowd for Graeme and his mate. When she and Livvy were crossing the Grimm, they both felt the connection to their pack flame bright with hope like their Alpha and Luna had reached out to welcome them personally even from such a long distance. It was incredible. At that moment, Selah knew her timing was perfect. The return of Livvy on this night was meant to be.

But now she couldn't find them anywhere. She hoped to be quickly ushered into a private room so they could learn of what had happened. She had planned out what to tell them—the scheming of the elders, the real mission of Zoe's team, the faked alyko tales, the vampire… everything. But they were absent.

While everyone continued celebrating, Livvy's parents took her up to the medical wing to have her looked over and evaluated. Her sisters followed, reluctantly pausing on the steps when their parents told them to wait down below.

"You can see her more in a little bit. Let's give Livvy some space right now,

" their mother told them, donning a gentle but firm tone that attempted to bring order to the giddiness of joy and relief that they all felt. She and her mate needed to make sure their pup was okay, and that was difficult to do when so many hands and eyes and voices were all coming at her at once.

After seeing Livvy disappear upstairs with her parents, Selah went in search for Graeme and August who were still unaccounted for. Something wasn't right. Her forehead feathered with concern. Something definitely wasn't right. Under normal circumstances, the Alpha and Luna would have been at the front of the crowd welcoming the pup back. What was happening?

Now that she thought about it, of all the pups who had rushed Livvy when they heard of her return, she had not seen Sage. Where was her brother? Surely news would have reached him by now that she was back and that she had succeeded. A knot of nerves that she thought had finally been relieved once she crossed the border into pack land started twisting again in her stomach. Where was Sage?

She spotted a pup her brother's age and grabbed him as he was running past her.

"Plum, have you seen Sage?

"

The girl squinted in thought.

"Yes! When we were in the haunted forest,

" she giggled.

"Haunted forest?

" Selah repeated, unfamiliar with that part of the Samhain tradition.

"It's new this year. It's so fun!

" Plum exclaimed.

"Did you see him after that?

" Selah asked, but Plum shook her head, unable to recall seeing the black hair and piercing green eyes of her friend since they were hiding behind trees waiting to scare the Luna.

"Okay, thank you,

" Selah sighed and watched as the pup skipped away.

——————————

"Where the ** is Graeme?

" Greta asked, wringing her hands in front of herself as she stood in blocking the path to the so-called haunted forest, making sure no one wandered too far away from the pack house. Her and Sam were working on keeping everyone together without creating panic just yet. Panic would be bad.

Too much time had gone by and neither Graeme or August were back. She didn't know how this new connection with their Alpha and Luna worked, but she hoped it would be apparent if something had happened to them. She hoped and simultaneously feared it as well.

"I'm going to look for them,

" Sam told her, feeling the same level of anxiety as she did, though he was able to hide it better.

Greta turned her worried gaze upon him, torn as to whether that was actually a good idea. But her mate was the Beta. He was technically the second in command. She had to trust him.

"I want to come with you,

" she confessed when she realized he was waiting for her approval. He was a strong male, but he respected her opinions and instincts as much as his own.

"I know. But they need you here,

" he told her.

It was true, but he also didn't want her putting herself directly in harm's way since she was pregnant. The pregnancy didn't affect her strength by any means—in fact, lycan females often became more formidable when they had pups to protect, even in utero. But they also had more to lose, and this was a significant threat they were facing. A vampire? No way was his mate going up against a vampire.

Greta sighed and nodded, agreeing that he should go find out what he could about their location. It had just been way too long not to hear anything at all. Why hadn't Graeme returned? Graeme should have at least returned, but she could see her brother following his mate out into the sunset if that was what was required of him.

Sam leaned forward, kissing the top of her head before racing out into the darkness to follow Graeme's scent.