"Yes, Aiden and I told them right away." Meryn nodded her head.

"I'm willing to bet that Magnus doesn't know. He would have discussed this with me and would have barred Noctem Fall's city gates to prevent me from coming here." She put down the map and picked up one of the many pictures of a happy couple.

"Sad isn't it? They were all expecting too," Meryn whispered.

"Let's scan the pictures in and save them," she suggested.

Meryn nodded and pulled a stack of jagged edged pages out of the scanner.

Elizabeth frowned. "Meryn, what is that?" she asked pointing to the pages.

Meryn turned and smiled. "My history book. The printed copy was so heavy I scanned the pages and made an ebook. Now I can read it on my phone." She pulled her phone out and showed her the reading app.

"I'm impressed. Can you send that to me? Can you do others?" Elizabeth asked, looking at the clear pages on Meryn's phone.

"Yeah, it's easy. The scanner does most of the work. We can create our own collection," she offered.

"This is a really great idea Meryn. Our most recent generations are better at technology than most of the paranormal world. This would be a great way to get them to read about the history of our people." Elizabeth handed Meryn back her phone.

"I'll put it on the To-Do list. I'm really liking this book, though. There's some very interesting stuff in here," she said with an evil grin.

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"Gods help us," Elizabeth muttered.

"Mu-wa-ha-ha." Meryn wagged her eyebrows.

"You goof! Scan those pictures and I'll create the database files."

"Okay." Meryn started her project, leaving Elizabeth to her own thoughts.

Why hadn't any of the other council members been informed? Or maybe it was just her uncle that had been left in the dark. She worked on creating the files needed so that when she contacted her uncle she would have all the facts.

Before she knew it an hour had flown by and in the foyer she could hear the sounds of the men coming in. They immediately headed upstairs to shower, meaning lunch would be in the next half an hour.

"I'm going to go jump in with Aiden. Even with the heat on I haven't been able to get warm from my adventure outside this morning," Meryn said standing and heading towards the door.

"Not a bad idea, I haven't been able to get warm either," she confessed.

"Better hurry, Gavriel always takes quick showers, though if you joined him, he may take longer," Meryn leered.

"Go on you nut." Elizabeth shooed her away.

When the door shut she pulled out her phone. She would have to be quick if Meryn was right, Gavriel would be looking for her soon.

"Beth! How have you been pumpkin?" Her uncle answered on the first ring.

"Fine, how are you?"

"Can't complain. How's your vampire?"

"Nearing his apex. I can't wait until it's over. I don't like seeing him vulnerable," she admitted.

"Don't you worry darling. Even at his weakest your mate is still a force to be reckoned with."

"I know but it still bothers me."

"Is that why you called?"

"No, it's not. I don't know how to put it so I'm just going to lay everything out," she started.

"This doesn't sound good Bethy." Her uncle's voice sounded serious.

"It's not, Uncle. Did you know that there have been kidnappings in and around Lycaonia?" she started.

"Yes, that was shared at a council level last month. It's very concerning."

"Did you know that more than twenty couples have disappeared, all concentrated around Lycaonia?" she asked.

"What! No one has reported that. Where did you get your information?" he demanded.

"Meryn, the woman I told you about, Unit Commander Aiden's new mate. She compiled a list of all suspicious disappearances in the area and then cross-referenced them with a list of paranormals living outside the city. Some have been classified as hiking accidents or animal attacks, but shifters don't have hiking accidents and they sure as hell don't experience animal attacks," she said vehemently.

"You're right they don't. Why in the hell hasn't René reported this?" he said his voice filled with anger.

"I don't know, but I also had an interesting conversation today with Sei Ryuu. Evidently he defended Meryn during her attack and somehow made the enemy visible. They haven't ventured in the house since then. He said this is indicative of a higher intelligence level. This new enemy is cunning and cautious. I've seen the warriors out here Uncle, they are training to fight blind. I know that Aiden would have cascaded this on to the other units around the country, but if the council members aren't aware of everything, I'm afraid that if there comes a time that the warriors need support that if the council doesn't have the full story, many lives could be lost." And that was her worst fear.

Her uncle's curses filled her ear. "Do you want your name mentioned? I can keep you and Meryn out of this," he offered.

Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. She didn't want to put Meryn at risk especially considering her condition, yet Meryn was one of the few who saw the bigger picture and could explain not only the report's results but also where the data had come from. She didn't care one way or the other about herself.

"I'll let you use your best judgment. I know that you wouldn't put Meryn or me in danger recklessly."




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