Kris gestured for me to sit and I did. He took the sit opposite of me. He didn’t waste time. “You figured out that they’re not normal Ferals?”

“It was fairly obvious.”

“I suppose it is. Ferals aren’t organized—they rely solely on their instincts. This is a fact, not conjecture. I noticed a while back some strange things happening in my territory.”

“Strange things?”

“I suddenly couldn’t come into contact with peripheral pack members, nor could I contact other, lesser packs.” He leaned back and swept his hand through his hair. Something about what he was saying sounded familiar. But why? “Usually, before I lost contact, I was getting reports that the few she-wolves were going missing. Then human women started going missing. That isn’t all that abnormal, but the quantities were—are. Women are still going missing.”

And then I remembered. I had overhead Suho talking to Sumi. He had been worried because some of his peripheral pack members weren’t responding to him and the other, lesser pack he allowed in his territory had gone missing.

“It’s happening here too.”

Kris looked at me. “What?”

“I overheard Suho talking about the same situation in his territory. And . . .”

“And?”

“I think . . . I think women were starting to disappear too.” I remembered Jaejoong, how he said something precious of his had been attacked by our kind, how he said ‘she’. Absentmindedly, I started chewing my thumbnail. What did all this mean?

“I’m . . . not sure what to make of this. I haven’t experienced anything like this in my years.” He sighed. “Ferals not acting like Ferals, packs and people disappearing . . .”

“Someone is pulling the strings.”

Kris raised an eyebrow at me. “What makes you say that?”

I lowered the nail from my mouth and leaned forward in the chair. Before I spoke, a strange scent filled my nose. The moment I smelled it, I knew it was Kris’s scent. The smell of a foreign pack as heavy and burned my nose, but there was something else. What was that? I’d never smelled it before. . .

“Miss Song?”

I shook my head. “Miss . . .? Never mind. While I was in their custody, there was this man. He came to see me every day.” Just remembering it made my blood boil. I clenched my fists so tight I smelled blood as my nails cut through my skin. It was a pity I wasn’t the one to kill him. “He said he was going to use me as breeding material.”

Kris flinched and I wondered why. “You think he’s behind all of this?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. If he was, your troubles are over since he’s dead now. But . . . the way he acted . . . it was like he was following orders.”

Kris shook his head. “Then it’s not him. Girls are still going missing. Unless . . .” He tapped his nails against the desk. “You can identify him, right?”

“Yes, but I hardly see why that matters now.”

Kris’s grin was savage. “You’ll see.” He got up and so did I. He walked around the desk and grabbed two coats off the coat hanger, tossing one to me. “We’re going to go check and see if he’s really dead.”

I followed Kris out and down the hall until we came to a living room. There was three men in it, Lay, that one named Tao, and another one I’d yet to meet. He was . . . adorable though. Wait, did I just think that? He smiled at me and it was completely disarming. I faltered in my steps a moment, but I composed myself and scowled at him. His grin was smug as he turned his attention to Kris.

“Going somewhere, Duizhang?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. Lay, you’re in charge until I get back.” Kris was pulling on his shoes and handed me a pair. I took them and eyed them quizzically—they were massive.

Lay stood up, looking a little alarmed. Tao was glaring daggers at me and I glared right back, the Alpha in me begging me to make him submit. “Where are you going?”

“I need Miss Song to verify something for me.”

“She’s going with you too?” Tao demanded, standing, looking every bit like he was ready to attack me. Oh, bring it. I bared my teeth, daring him.

“Yes.” Kris seemed totally oblivious to the way his pack was acting. “Luhan, I need you to go out and gather information about girls going missing.”

The sweet-faced one threw up his hands. “What the hell, I just got back!”

Kris ignored him and grabbed some keys from the wall. “Take Chen or Tao with you. If you can, see if you can identify any more Ferals running around. Leave them be for now, but make sure you can track them later.” He turned his attention back to me as I finally finished tying my shoe laces. “Let’s go, Miss So—”

He grabbed my wrist and I freaked. I jerked my arm away and snarled at him. Everyone froze as I fought to control myself. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

The tension was broken by Kris. I could tell he was fighting back the instinct to establish his dominance, but he won out. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He gestured to the open door. “But we need to leave now.”

I nodded my head, my mouth set in a hard line. I walked out the door and . . . oh. Oh. I had forgotten what it felt like to be out in the open. I could hear the birds, feel the wind, and smell the earth. I had forgotten.

“Miss Song?” Kris said uncertainly.

Shocked, I realized I was crying. I quickly wiped my eyes. “Let’s go.”

The drive was relatively quiet. I kept my eyes focused outside, at the trees passing us. My wolf was itching to run to its heart content. I had forgotten what it felt like to shift, to grip the earth between my toes, and run until my body gave out. The last time I had enjoyed my wolf form was with Sehun . . .

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

I didn’t answer.

“Your wolf wants out, right?”

“She always wants out.”

He shifted the gears in the car, silent a moment. “Miss Song, I’m going to be frank with you.” That got my attention. I turned to look at him. He was staring intently at the road. “As soon as your mate—”

“He’s not my mate.” I cut in tonelessly.

“. . . friend. As soon as your friend is healed, I want both of you gone.”

Was that all? I turned to look out the window again. “I was planning on leaving anyway.”

So why does hearing it hurt?

“Good to hear. But I also want you to know, until then, my home is yours. You’ll be safe with us. I promise you this.”

Pretty words, but that’s all they are. I thought.

“Where are we going?”

“Back where we found you.”

So it was a bunker. I always wondered. And I finally understood what Kris had meant. None of the Feral bodies had been buried. They were lying about on the ground, torn apart, limbs, heads, and sometimes innards strewn about. I looked at Kris.

“They’re less than animals. They deserve to die like one.”

But still . . . I shook my head. Why was I feeling any sort of guilt about these monsters? “Why am I here?”

“I want you to verify that that man is dead.”

How simple and gruesome a task. I got started. Though the scent of death and decay was strong and had me gagging, I could still smell each Feral’s unique scent. I went through all the bodies, even some of the limbs missing a body. I checked again.

“He’s not . . . he’s not here.” Kris walked to my side. “I can’t find his body anywhere. I can’t smell him either. It’s like he was never here . . .”

A strange feeling was gripping my body. It was a mixture of emotions. Terror, knowing he was still out there and . . . relief. A sick, sweet kind of relief. He was alive and I could now kill him with my own hands. My wolf and I both relished the realization.

“. We need to find him then. Maybe then we can get some answers.”

Hunt. My wolf purred.

Yes, hunt.

Kris pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number. “It’s me. We’re fine. But we’re going to be gone longer than we expected.” He glanced at me and then rolled his eyes. “Yes, wifey.” Kris flinched and withdrew the phone from his ear. Lay was yelling so loud, I could hear him and he was spouting some very strong words at his Alpha. After Lay was done, he put the phone back to his ear. “Chill out. Who did Luhan take? Uh-huh. I need you and Xiumin to keep a close eye on the women there. I want Tao to patrol the property until I get back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you soon, wifey.”

He ended the call before Lay could yell again. He turned to me and grinned. “You know, it feels really good to get back at him every once and a while.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that spluttered from my lips. I froze. I had laughed. How long had it been since . . . ? And then I saw Kris’s expression. I bristled. “What?” I snapped.

He shrugged. “I . . . nothing. It’s nothing. Let’s go. We’re going to hunt that bastard down.”