me behind him as we slowed our approach towards the last door on the left.
“Dammit,” a low voice muttered. “Shit, shit, shit. Where is it?”
Lulu rounded the corner, slipping silently through the slightly ajar door. We followed her inside to where a person was crouched in front of a filing cabinet. It had been ripped open, like the three drawers above it. Papers were everywhere.
“Stand up slowly,” Lulu told him.
He whirled around with a gasp, shoving his hands out in front of him. Whatever he tried to do never happened, and he frowned, looking at us.
“You’re like me?” he demanded, his pale blue eyes jerking around the room.
“I am,” Lulu replied. “How about you put your hands down and we chat about what you’ve been doing here?”
“They all left,” he said, shaking his head. “They’re gone, and they promised to let us go if I did what they wanted.”
“Us?” I echoed, easing around Nikolai.
“My family,” he replied, blinking at me. His gaze sharpened with interest. “You’re one of them. Are you next?”
“Next?” I paused and Nikolai pushed between us.
“Next for the treatment,” the boy snapped impatiently. “They haven’t brought me a new girl in days.”
“They left days ago?” Lulu asked.
“I don’t need your help!” he yelled, glaring at Lulu. He advanced towards me even as Nikolai started growling. His steps were stopped when he promptly ran into an invisible wall. He pressed his hands to it curiously.
“What is this?” he whispered, gently poking the wall. It rippled every time he made contact and then smoothed back into invisibility.
“A shield,” Lulu said slowly. “What’s your name?”
“Jack,” he replied after a second.
“Jack,” Lulu repeated. “How old are you, Jack?”
He glowered at her and folded his thin arms over his chest. “Sixteen.”
“Why are you here?” Lulu’s tone was soft and lilting, trying to calm him down.
His head tilted to the side. “Is this a trick?”
“No trick,” she assured him. “We’re not like the others.”
His eyes narrowed again. “No. You’re different. Your magic is like mine but not. What are you?”
“A friend,” Lulu said calmingly, brushing off his question. “What were you doing here, Jack?”
He stared mulishly at us, his dark hair falling in his eyes. He was tall, but thin and young. But there was something about him that just seemed … off.
“Elias sent us,” Nikolai said suddenly.
Jack relaxed instantly and even smiled. “The doc? Why didn’t you say so?”
“Must have slipped our minds,” Lulu murmured.
Jack looked at me again. “Are you sure she isn’t for me?”
“Quite sure,” I spoke up. “I’m not here for … what are you doing?”
“Making them better,” he said plainly, innocently even. “I help them. And if I help enough, I get my family back.”
“Your family?” Lulu looked at him curiously.
Jack waved a hand behind him at the filing cabinets. “They’ve been gone for days now, and the doc longer than that.”
“So, they took your family to make you help?” I hedged.
He nodded. “Yeah. I thought maybe I could find my family in the files.”
“Why didn’t you leave with them?” Nikolai asked with a frown.
Jack laughed. “Because I’m a boy. They only took the girls.”
My back stiffened. “Took the girls?”
“I saw them through the window,” Jack added. “They used the vans.”
“Shit,” I muttered, meeting my dad’s eyes. “Who else would have taken them if Damien didn’t order it?”
“Women are a valuable commodity,” he replied softly, regretfully. “Perhaps one of Damien’s less ardent followers saw an opportunity. Maybe his beta?”
“I thought he was in Tennessee,” Lulu hissed.
My shoulders sagged as I realized we were too late. “Yeah, but he knew Damien was going to Windale. He would’ve been able to arrange it.”
“Or some of them went rogue with the Alpha gone and decided not to wait for his pathetic auction,” he agreed bitterly. “You should go tell Remy.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “You guys okay here?”
“I think Jack is mostly harmless, but he’s definitely confused,” he replied, frowning. “We’ll meet you downstairs with the others.”
“Okay,” I said, turning to go. I made my way to the stairs and headed to the second floor where Remy said he was going. It was definitely more chaotic here, and scared girls were starting to line up along the wall. They gave me curious stares as I walked by.
“Rhodes!” I called, spotting him and Larkin coming out of a room. Larkin was carrying a little girl who looked no older than three. She had her thumb tucked into her mouth and tear stains on her pale round cheeks.