Chapter 48
Havali
Havali couldn’t retract his claws. He couldn’t stop bearing his fangs. He was shaking. Any minute, the tension in his muscles was going to start breaking bones.
Scarlet was gone.
Beside him, Tuvo hovered. Stern. Glaring. Watching. He was there in case Havali did something foolish. Which wasn’t unlikely. But if he kept breathing the wrong way, Havali would be sharpening his claws on him before he used them on those that had taken Scarlet.
She had been taken.
Right from the compound.
Havali had been on his way to the meeting room to speak with Haviss when the power suddenly cut out.
Apparently, it had surged, overloading the entire system with so much power that everything was burned out.
So, when the generator kicked on, the components were fried and there was nothing that it could do.
Havali had nearly turned back, but something stopped him. The need to see to his female first before he went to fix the power problem.
He had been too late.
When he got to the room, the earthy scent of ratchi blood filled the air. Haviss was laying cold and unmoving on the floor. The windows were busted. Tiny drops of red showed where the glass had cut into Scarlet.
Who was gone.
The employees of the compound repaired the overloaded components of the power grid in the time it had taken for Havali to drag Haviss’ body to Scarlet’s clinic.
His mate’s clinic.
His mate, who was gone.
The moment the lights were on, he set off the alarm.
It hadn’t even been half a mark since then, but already things had happened so fast.
Haviss wasn’t dead, but he was in a state of torpor that was as close as a ratchi could get without crossing over. He had already seized from the blood loss and his scales were ashen, but his heart was still beating. Sluggishly, weakly, but it continued.
But Scarlet was gone.
Atem was manning the scanner. He was medically trained as First Domini. The only thing that could have dragged him from his and his mate’s nest this soon after his pup’s birth was the loss of one of his clan.
The three domini males were all tense. Silent. Fuming.
The High Imperium had been informed. Fellaseen was on her way.
The High Imperium was using all of their not inconsiderable power to start a search for her.
She couldn’t have gone far. And though energy to the domini compound had been compromised, the rest of the district was still functional. It had been a very targeted attack.
The moment Havali triggered the alarm, he had sent a message to the Imperium who, in turn, ordered the closure of the exits from the district. The night shields were still overhead, meaning no ships could leave.
Whoever took Scarlet had to still be here.
Scarlet had to still be here.
And when Havali found them, he would rip out their necks with his fangs.
And he would find them.
If he had to personally dismantle the entire district, he would find Scarlet.
The only reason Havali was here, the only reason he hadn’t led a search with Atem and Tuvo following behind, was because he knew it would be foolish. It was frustrating, but the only thing he could do now was wait.
The domini compound had its power knocked out, but no one else had.
The neighboring compounds still had all of their security in place.
Their immediate neighbors had been ordered to scour their security feeds to see if they could find whoever entered and, if they caught them leaving, what direction they had gone.
The moment they had a direction, a vehicle, a description of the person, anything, they would be able to track them down.
Until then, Havali could only wait.
Watching as Haviss was restored. Resisting the urge to shred Tuvo for no crime other than being near him when his anger was riled so high.
Fellaseen arrived before news reached them or Haviss awakened.
She had come fast. She was still wearing her nightrobe telling him that she must have been disturbed from bed.
As the High Imperium’s plenipotentiary, she couldn’t leave until all delegations were gone.
The sight of her enraged face actually made Havali feel better.
Scarlet had friends among the others. The humans all had friends.
Peony and Alanna had been locked in Penny’s nest – the most secure room in the entire compound. It would not open until Peony allowed it and Atem had told her not to allow it until he was sure that the threat had been dealt with.
“Our entire pack is looking,” Fellaseen said by way of greeting, a snarl in her voice. “How dare they do this to such a sweet female?! We will rip them into seven pieces when we find them!”
“And burn them to ashes,” Tuvo agreed, snarling along with her. He might not be Scarlet’s mate, like Havali, or her brother, like Atem, but he was in charge of security and that she had been abducted when she was in his care was a mark against his honor. One he sought to fix by any means necessary.
If Havali had to tear apart the district, he would be in good company.
“We have contacted many others,” Fellaseen said, checking on Haviss.
“Tsok’s people are excellent hunters. He’s turned his entire security team out around your lands to track her scent.
He’s not the only one either. We will find her.
To have her taken on the very eve that their abduction is to be made a high crime is an insult of the highest order! ”
“It’s not just an insult,” Havali growled. “It was deliberate.”
“We will find them,” Atem said. In direct contrast to Havali and Tuvo’s growled tones, his voice was eerily calm. The lack of a response, just tight control, was as dangerous – if not more so – for those that dared harm his clan.
A groan from the table caught all their ears and a sense of relief rushed through the room as Haviss opened his eyes.
“Scar… let…” he hissed immediately.
“We know,” Tuvo said, trying to soften his growl. “We’ll find her.”
Havali stepped forward, forcing Haviss to focus on him. “Tell me what you saw. Anything can help. Any detail at all.”
“Two,” he whispered. “Smelled them…”
“Did you recognize the species?”
“Know them.” His gaze was hard. Eyes weak from the blood that hadn’t fully been forced to regenerate in his body, but focused and clear. “On the suits… faint… but traces…”
“Who?” Havali snarled. “Tell me!”