Chapter 12

"She might not be," Calhoun said. "I never said that she's gone for good."

Celine thought that she finally saw the light. She grabbed Calhoun's hands tightly, as she didn't want to let go of her only source of light. 

She stared at Calhoun with hope and desperation in her teary eyes, "Is she still alive?! Where is she? How can I find her?!"

Calhoun looked down at their intertwined hands for a second. His lips thinned, then he replied, "I don't know about what happened to her, but she's not dead."

"Then tell me where can I find her?!" 

"Go to my room, and I will tell you," Calhoun repeated.

This time, Celine nodded, quickly making her way to Calhoun's room, where she had slept the previous night.

She entered the room, eagerly waiting for Calhoun to come so they could talk about her sister.

Marc and Andrew approached their Alpha as he was still standing at the door.

Andrew whispered to his Boss, "Calhoun, are you sure you want to tell her everything?"

"Yeah, Boss. If you tell her the truth about Monica…" Marc added.

Calhoun's eyes darkened as he felt responsible for what happened to Monica. So he shook his head lightly, "I won't tell her everything. But I need to give her some peace of mind. Though it's temporary, we're still connected by our marks. I can't let her walk into danger blindly."

Calhoun entered his room and closed the door, leaving Andrew and Marc wondering what their Alpha would say to his mate about Monica.

Calhoun stood in front of Celine, whose beautiful blue eyes seemed to have regained some of their luster, and this uncomfortable feeling in his heart began to dissipate a bit. 

"Please tell me about my sister. What happened to her? How can we save her?"

Calhoun didn't answer immediately. He was thinking about how to twist the truth here and there to give Celine peace of mind without ruining her image of Monica or compromising his role as an Alpha.

"Monica and I met in the bar in town. She was lively and caught the attention of every man there," Calhoun said truthfully. 

"Then, you approached her there?" she probed.

"No, I was just driving around the town when I spotted her being followed by a man after she finished work at the bar," Calhoun recalled. "I intervened before anything could happen and saved her. We became friends after that."

"Friends…" Celine mused, recalling all her calls and texts with Monica a month before she disappeared. Monica seemed infatuated with Calhoun, yet, he spoke of her as merely a friend.

Unfortunately, Celine understood how her sister's brain functioned.

Monica was way too eager to start a relationship. So if she found the man she liked, she would willingly pursue him. Given Calhoun's undeniable attractiveness, it was no wonder she got obsessed with him. 

"Then, what happened? What happened before she disappeared? Did she know about your identity as a werewolf?" Celine pressed further. 

Calhoun dodged Celine's eyes slightly as he replied, "I usually patrol regularly, but sometimes, I get busy since I'm still studying. At that time, I was swamped with uni projects. I missed patrol for a few days."

"And in those few days, Monica vanished," Calhoun added. "I tried to ask the bar owner, and he said she left two days ago with a pale man from another town, and no one heard from her after that."

"And that man is… a vampire?"

"Correct," Calhoun nodded. "I couldn't have known the identity of the vampire because everyone in my pack was busy at that time, but I presumed that he had murdered her."

The luster in Celine's eyes dimmed once more. Just when she thought she could bring her sister out of this accursed town alive.

"Don't give me that look, Celine," Calhoun said. "I'm not finished yet."

"But you said—"

"I said, I presumed," Calhoun clicked his tongue. "After my fight with that vampire, Thomas, from last night. I smelled a faint scent of Monica sticking to his body, the scent of a living human."

"Then, do you think she is currently in the vampire coven?" Celine asked.

Calhoun nodded, "I can't confirm it, but she definitely still has blood running through her veins."

Celine could finally take a relieved breath. This wasn't exactly the news she wanted to hear, but it was much better than finding out that her sister was dead.

"Thank you for telling me. Please tell me where that vampire coven is."

"And what would you do if I told you about it?"

"What else? I'll call the police and raid that vampire coven, of course!"