Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

Lily. He paced. He wanted to run, to
     Change and run. He could focus for a few minutes on something else, could start to
     plan, but then his brain hiccupped and he was thinking about Lily. About her in Robert
     Friar’s hands, and what he might be doing to her right this minute.
    Tony hadn’t set Lily up. Rule had. He’d oh-so-cleverly manipulated her into taking
     what he thought would be the safer path. Friar had Lily, and it was his fault.
    Cullen stepped in front of him. Rule jerked to a stop. “What?”
    “You aren’t Lily.”
    Rule’s fists clenched tight—and his shoulder sent a burst of pain to remind him he
     was not healed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “You’re hanging around the crime scene, trying to do the things she’d do. But those
     aren’t your things. That special agent with the great legs and lousy attitude is a
     pain in the ass, but she’s competent. Let her handle things here. You need to go do
     your thing.”
    For a long moment Rule said nothing. Finally, quietly, he said to Cullen what he couldn’t
     have said to anyone else, save Lily. “I don’t know what to do.”
    “Do something the others here can’t. You’re Rho. Do something Rho.”
    “I am doing something Rho. I’m exercising incredible control and not knocking you
     on your ass.”
    Cullen’s mouth smiled. His eyes didn’t. “Hold on to that control, because I’m about
     to really piss you off. You can’t figure out what to do because you’re too busy feeling
     guilty. Later, when you’ve got her back, you can wallow in guilt like a dog rolling
     around on a nice, stinky pile of dead fish. You can’t afford guilt now. Lily can’t
     afford it, so stop.” Cullen turned and walked away.
    For a long moment Rule stood there, not moving. Cullen was right. He was 100 percent
     right. And Rule still didn’t know what to do.
    Do something Rho? What did a Rho do? Stay in control, take care of his people, plan
     ahead, give orders…Rule’s control wasn’t what it should be, but he was holding on.
     He didn’t have a plan, and the only order he could think to give was to send his men
     searching the city block by block, looking for Lily. Which was about as useless an
     activity as the proverbial needle hunt, only this haystack covered roughly forty-six
     square miles, which just proved how poorly his brain was…
    No. No, they shouldn’t look for Lily. And it wasn’t a Rho he needed to be, but a Lu
     Nuncio. The Nokolai Lu Nuncio.
    He looked around, spotted the person he wanted. “Tony,” he called sharply. “I need
     you.”
    Several minutes later, Rule was telling Ruben what he needed while Tony was on his
     own phone, summoning his clan. The lupi portion of it, that is.
    Elves’ ability to cast illusions only affected those around them. They left scent
     trails like anyone else, and they smelled like nothing in this realm. The Laban lupi
     would go to Hammond Middle School—more elves had been there,and they’d thoughtfully lain on the floor, leaving plenty of scent behind. After Changing
     and getting a fix on the scent, each lupus would leave for his assigned area accompanied
     by a police officer, park ranger, or member of the military. People in uniform, that
     is, so humans wouldn’t be alarmed by the enormous wolves who were suddenly all over
     their city. Enlisting those authorities had required Ruben’s authority, but he’d agreed
     it was worth trying.
    It was still one damn huge haystack, but he was sending ninety-four Laban noses out
     to sniff it, and they would be looking for multiple needles, not just one.
    Tony had his head down with Special Agent Bergman over a map of the city, deciding
     how best to divvy up search areas. Rule wasn’t needed for that. They knew the territory.
     He didn’t. He looked around for his men and saw someone who wasn’t his.
    Or was he?
    Jasper sat slumped on the curb. Overlooked by the cops, forgotten by Rule and everyone
     else. Rule wasn’t the only person with a loved one in Robert Friar’s hands, was he?
     And Jasper didn’t have clan around him. He didn’t have Cullen to bitch-slap him with
     a few hard truths. He didn’t have a task, a function.
    Rule went to sit beside his brother.
    Jasper didn’t look up. For a long moment neither of them spoke. Rule was thinking
     again, and he was thinking about Hugo. Lily’s instinct about Jasper’s former agent
     had proved all too accurate. If Hugo was actively working with