Later that evening, Sirius was finishing feeding Lachlan when a sharp knock echoed through the apartment. The sound pulled his attention away from the boy, whose dinner had left a mess of sticky smudges on his tray, face, and hands. Setting the spoon down, Sirius stood and lifted the tray away with a click.
"Eh! Eh!" Lachlan reached out eagerly to be picked up. It amazed Sirius that he could already sit upright at 5 months and express himself so much. Werewolves must be quick developers he figured. It would make sense since regular wolves matured fast too.
Knock. knock.
"I'm coming!" He called out, quickly unbuckling the boy, who squealed in delight and held him away at arms length as a pair of sticky fingers attempted to grab his shirt.
He crossed the room and placed Lachlan on his hip as he opened the door.
A young man nearly identical to the teenager from earlier stood there. Only this boy had his hair neatly combed and wore an expensively tailored suit.
"Hello?" Sirius asked in surprise. He hadn't expected anyone.
"I am the beta's eldest son." The teenager said smoothly. I am here to inform you that we are ready to leave at sundown. We will be waiting at the north gate." His words were clipped, businesslike, and before Sirius could answer, he spun on his heel and walked away.
"Thank you!" He called down the hallway as the teenager left.
He could have mistaken him for his unruly counterpart if he hadn't seemed so much more mature and haughty. He walked just as confident, but where the other might win an argument with his fists, this one would win most certainly with words and money. Linus must have been paying their family wel.
He went to shut the door and turned around to go wash Lachlan's hands and suddenly behind him was a little girl no more than nine. She was watching him with a sly smile as she waited expectantly for him to notice her standing there.
"Ah!!!!!!" Sirius cried out in terror. "Where did you come from little girl!!!!!!!?
She simply clasped her hands behind her back and stared at him with her purple eyes as she swayed her black dress a bit.
She had sleek jet black hair that was braided and fell over her shoulders.
"Hello." She said with a smile that was a bit too wide and toothy. Not like Sirius', it was more like the grin of a creature. "Why are you in the dead Alpha's house?" She said with an unnerving curious tone.
"Where did you come from? Who are you?" Sirius exclaimed as he opened the door again to see if she was accompanied by anyone. He turned around and she was gone. Huh.
He went to shut the door and her voice broke the silence. She was once again behind him, only now in the hallway.
"Ah! How did you get behind me again!" Sirius yelled, clutching Lachlan tighter.
The girl smiled, amused by his reaction declared the obvious."My daddy wants to kill you. He's going to be glad when you're gone and he can be in charge."
Sirius frowned.
"Let me guess. You're the beta's daughter?"
The girl giggled. "I like you. Don't drink the blood." Then she giggled again and skipped away.
He shut the door and shook his head. Then he looked all around him and made sure the unnerving child wouldn't pop out at him again. She had indeed left. "Don't drink blood, haha." He laughed, "She's telling me not to be a vampire, ok then."
As he spoke he smiled at Lachlan, who responded by smiling as well and letting out an enthusiastic "yip!" His tail, which he now kept out all the time wagged with excitement even though he didn't know what Sirius was talking about.
"Alright then, let's go wash off those hands and then we can go find mommy."
Carrying Lachlan to the bathroom, Sirius's gaze drifted to the corner of the room where Saoirse's clothes had been left in a heap earlier. He paused, frowning. Something was off. The pile was smaller now. Her blanket, which he distinctly remembered lying on the floor, was draped across the bed instead. His brow furrowed as he tried to recall—had he moved it?
The disturbance in the apartment had gone unnoticed until now, but he was sure that Saoirse had dropped the blanket on the floor when she vanished. Looking at the blanket on the bed, he struggled to remember how it had gotten there. Had he picked it up without remembering? He was so distressed earlier that he probably could have.
A chill crept up his spine as he crouched down to pick up the remaining items on the floor. Her undergarments were missing. The realization hit him like a blow: 'had someone been here while he was gone?' He clutched the fabric tightly, lifting it to his nose, making a hesitant attempt to catch a foreign scent, but only Saoirse's familiar, comforting fragrance filled his senses. Had she vanished with them then? It didn't make sense to him that she wouldn't be wearing any.
He clutched her clothing in his grasp a bit longer and let a wave of grief wash over him as he wished he understood Lachlan's teleportation ability better. What if it had been Lachlan who had disappeared? His heart wrenched in his chest.
"Let's go Lachlan. We've got to find Saoirse."