Argent Eye IV

61

I noticed that the living room lights were on in my house, which was a good sign. Nothing felt particularly wrong, but then again, I didn't have the darkness to alert me of Haydn's presence anymore. Before we did anything drastic and unnecessary, however, I decided to knock on Anika's door. She would know what was going on if it was her wolf pack keeping an eye on my family, or whether anything out of the ordinary had happened. I wondered how much information Stark had given her, if it was her pack. If it wasn't her pack, she may have at least heard rumours. At least this way, I wouldn't have to risk my parents seeing me here, and I could let Anika know that there was a possibility that Haydn might show up.

When nobody answered the door, I started to get a little worried. The lights were on. Both cars were on the driveway. I rang the doorbell again, just to be sure, but still there was no answer. As one final solution, I dialled Anika's mobile number.

Straight to answer phone.

I looked at Ronan, and at the others who were waiting patiently.

"What do we do?" I asked quietly.

Ronan tried the porch door, and of course, it was unlocked. "I guess we could just go in and see?" He suggested.

I nodded. "Okay." I said, and stepped into the porch. I then quickly accessed the metal element to unlock the front door, and carefully opened it to reveal the hallway. It was empty, and so Ronan and I stepped inside.

"I'll go upstairs." I whispered. "You search down here."

Ronan nodded, before I crept up the stairs.

There were no lights on up here, so I charged a little bit of lightning through my system to help me see. If anything was wrong, or Anika had to leave the children with their dad, then there was a chance that they'd be hiding somewhere. I decided to charge just a little bit more electricity through me, and stood perfectly still, listening.

And there it was. It wasn't a lot to go by, but I heard a slight rustle in the bedroom to my left. I walked in, and headed straight for the built in wardrobe, before sliding the doors open.

Something sprung out at me, causing me to lose my balance and fall backwards with whatever it was on top of me. I cried out, wondering what it was in the bad lighting, before realising that it was, in fact, a small wolf, baring its teeth and growling at me.

"Dina?" I asked, just as the little cub stopped growling. She got off me, and then shifted back into her human form. Behind her was her little sister, Kara, and her father, Jin, looking terrified, before they realised who it was. I went and switched the light on, and saw that they'd all been huddled in the wardrobe.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked, looking them over to see if they were hurt in any way.

"We're okay." Jin said, getting out.

"Where's Anika?" I asked, just as Ronan came into the room, having heard the commotion. He relaxed when he saw that there was nothing to worry about.

Jin looked extremely worried. "She got called out." He said. "A pack emergency. She said... she said it was to do with your parents."

My heart caught in my throat, but I kept it together. "Did she say what it was?" I asked. "Where it was?"

Jin shook his head. Both Dina and Kara were scared. Scared of what might happen to their mother.

"You guys stay here." I said. "I don't think you'll be in any danger, but call me if anything happens. You have my number, right?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Okay." I said, and looked at both Dina and Kara, before placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "You'll protect each other, and your dad, won't you?"

Dina was scared, but she nodded confidently, as did Kara. I knew Kara couldn't shift yet- she wasn't old enough. But, apparently Dina had managed to since I'd seen her last, which was earlier than Anika had said.

I then looked at Ronan. "We have to go to my house." I said. "Right now."

Ronan didn't say anything, but instead took me straight to my kitchen. We were at a point where we didn't care if anyone saw anything- this was urgent. I ran around my house like a mad woman, searching high and low for my parents. Usually, they'd be in the living room watching TV at this time, but they weren't. The TV was on, though, and their mugs of tea were still warm.

"Mum!" I shouted. "Dad!"

I ran upstairs, and checked every bedroom twice, and then every cupboard and wardrobe, before Ronan and I met back in the kitchen again. I was very close to tears, as panic set in.

"They're not here." I said. "Where are they? Where did he take them?"

My phone buzzed in my pocket then, and I answered quickly, putting it on loud speaker so Ronan could hear.

"Millie, we've just had word from the wolf pack protecting your parents." Stark said on the other end.

Anxiety flooded me. I didn't know what Stark was going to say next.

"Do you know where they are?" I asked. "Are they with my parents?"

Stark paused for a second. "Haydn went to your house, and of course, the wolf pack did what they could to protect them." He began. "But Haydn demanded that if he were to let the pack live, the alpha had to go with him and your parents. She went willingly, and Haydn took all three of them to a warehouse near Kent Road."

Everything Stark said sent my heart sinking further and further down. So my parents were with Anika, which was good in terms of protection and company, but it also meant that Anika's life was on the line, too.

"Millie, we think Haydn is waiting." Stark said.

"Does he know I'm alive?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so." Stark said. "I think he knows that your friends will end up going after your parents to try and save them and defeat him. He's luring everyone you ever cared about into one place, and I'm certain that he intends to kill them."

I looked at Ronan. I knew of the warehouse he was talking about, and knew we had to get there as soon as possible.

"We are gathering the team here." Stark continued. "You must wait for us, Millie. It's too dangerous to go in without a plan."

"Stark, there's no time." I said.

"That's an order, Millie." He said, but I didn't care. This wasn't just some mission- this was my parents. My friends. They needed help right now.

"Sorry, Stark." I said, and hung up before he could say anything more.

I then looked at Ronan. "We get the others, and we go." I said.

"Got it." Ronan said, before our feet left the floor.

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