My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

Sam and Jack were still at least a mile from the log house that served as the pack's outpost when they scented Graeme. It was the unmistakable scent of the Alpha male that they were all familiar with.

Sam picked up speed, racing ahead now that his nose had finally caught the scent trail it had been seeking. Graeme was here all right, but his scent was strangely… peaceful. There was no level of fear or anger that could be detected, which actually worried Sam more. Was he under the vampire's control? That thought caused a host of all kinds of horrifying, dystopian scenarios to erupt into Sam's mind. Their Alpha under a vampire's control would be the end of them all. Was Graeme simply unconscious?

Once he got close enough that Graeme's body finally came into view, he shifted mid-stride into his human form and slid next to the Alpha wolf. Graeme seemed to be sleeping. He ran his hands over the length of Graeme's body, feeling for any wounds or other physical issues that might be able to explain why Graeme was just lying here with August nowhere in sight.

Jack ran up next to him and stood watching apprehensively as his cousin evaluated the Alpha.

"Make sure no one is in the house or the surrounding woods. I am going to call Greta and have her come check him over if it's safe," he told Jack without turning to look at the male.

Graeme appeared fine, if not for the unusually deep slumber he was in. Sam lifted the Alpha's head, canine tongue flopping to the side when Sam opened his mouth to check the refill time on his gums. The gums were a nice healthy pink and quickly returned to that color after Sam pressed on them.

"You are not in shock," Sam mumbled to himself.

How the hell had this happened? Did the vampire compel him to sleep rather than kill him?

"No one is around the perimeter or inside of the house," Jack reported after a few minutes.

"Good. Help me get him in the house," Sam replied, moving to lift Graeme under the arms and hoist him up.

It took both of them to eventually lift Graeme's massive bear-size wolf and carry him through the front door. As soon as they got him to the couch, Sam called Greta to let her know where her brother had been found and his current condition.

"And August?" she asked, biting her lip.

"There is no sign of her," he sighed.

"That means he got her. That's the only explanation," she groaned. "Should I let everyone know they can stop searching?"

"No, if there is a chance any of them are still here or that August is still here maybe hiding somewhere, then it will be good that they all finish searching their areas. That's the only way we will know for sure," he replied.

"All right. I'm on my way," she told him before hanging up and giving Charlotte and Sylvia an update on what was happening.

They agreed to stay with the pack for the time being in case anything unexpected occurred at the pack house. They were better at keeping a calm and reassuring exterior right now than Greta anyway. How did they do it? Greta's nerves were a mess.

Greta did not appreciate the eerily familiar set of circumstances when she rushed through the front door of the outpost to find Graeme unconscious on the couch. She had been called here when her brother found August in the Grimm that first night. August had been unconscious on the couch just as Graeme was now.

Now that she thought about it, that was also the day Livvy disappeared. And now the pup had reappeared, and Greta was back at this outpost. The symmetry was bizarre and made the hairs on her arms prickle.

"Graeme," Greta called, opening his eyelids and shining a light in each eye to see how his pupils would respond. They constricted just as expected. All of his vital signs were as they should be. He was in perfect health. He just didn't want to wake up.

"What do you think is happening?" Sam asked behind her, his arms folded across his chest.

"He seems to have gone sleeping beauty on us," she said, stumped as to what could be causing it. "I don't know."

"Do you think the vampire did something to… to make him this way?" Sam asked.

"I honestly don't know, but it reminds me of when he and August were out together in mom and dad's room. Remember? After August healed me and passed out, and then Graeme joined her and stayed in a deep sleep even after she came out of it," she recalled. "He looked peaceful like this, and I knew from August what had happened, so I didn't worry about it."

"Could something similar have happened? Maybe that would explain why August isn't here," he thought aloud. "If she passed out, the vampire would have no trouble taking her."

"That would explain this," Jack said, holding up the torn gold dress that he found in the upstairs bedroom. "She was definitely here."

"And she had time to change," Greta sighed. "I think she might be gone, guys. We need to get Graeme awake to find out what he can tell us."

Her heart throbbed in her chest. Not only was it their Luna who was taken, but it was her brother's mate and her dear friend. They had to find a way to get her back. If Livvy could return, then so could August.

"We need to find Selah," Greta raised her eyes to find Sam's. "She obviously knows a lot about where August may have been taken. She retrieved Livvy."

Sam turned to his cousin, communicating with one look that he expected him to find the female Greta was speaking of.

"On it," Jack said and ran out the door.

"Graeme, where are you?" Greta whispered, petting the soft fur of her brother's canine form.. "Come back to us, please."