Losing Her Mate (Book 2 of The Red Dawn Trilogy )

Chapter THIRTY

OVER THE COURSE of the next half hour I tell them about everything the breach, the missing women, the white wolf's involvement, the pictures. They sit in stunned silence for the most part with only the occasion gasp of horror or strangled wail of sympathy. I wrap up my deliverance with an update on the mates we have in medically induced comas in the clinic and our current search for clues near the river.

I hold my breath waiting for their reaction. A few beats of quiet pass and all I receive are creepy vacant stares. Everyone appears to be in shock no one seems to even be breathing at this point. I open my mouth to continue but halt when the hairs on my arm ominously rise in warning. The air starts to crackle with tension and their faces morph into various countenance of outrage. Within the next breath complete chaos erupts.

All at once they begin yelling out. Their voices rising to a fevered pitch weaving together and overlapping to create a almighty roar.

Members jump to their feet some point at me accusingly their faces twisted in rage while others look at me in fright and betrayal. The scared ones shout out what I believe are questions but the noise is so loud now I can't differentiate between the voices and weed out any one word. My sensitive ears quiver and I recoil in pain. I grip the podium and raise my voice to speak over them.

"One at a time please. I can't understand you. I will answer any questions you have but you have to calm down. There's no need to panic!"

My words are muffled and drowned out. I don't think anyone heard a thing. My skin begins to itch as my wolf prepares to break free the more rowdy the crowd gets. I feel her anxiously waiting as their fear and anger mix together in the atmosphere creating a very dangerous environment for us werewolves.

I see James and Dallas have moved away from the stage and are making their way down the aisles attempting to quiet down the crowd. They sneer at Dallas blatantly ignoring his requests but for James it's a complete contrast you can tell his authority has more weight and many of the members actually listen to him submitting to the more dominant wolf but there's just too many to handle and James eventually gives up and rushes back to the stage.

He waves his arms to get my attention then points at me repeatedly. No, not at me I realize but the podium. I tap it just to be sure. He nods then points downward.

Confused I bend down and peer into the stand. On the inner shelf I see a familiar megaphone. We use to use it at different events years ago before I had microphones and a premium surround sound system installed. James must have found it backstage somewhere and placed it here as an contingency. I pick it up and inspect it. It seems functioning although it hasn't been used in a while, but I don't even think this thing will be loud enough to be heard over the mayhem.

I look back at James shaking my head denoting it's uselessness.

He points at it again specifically the top of it. I glance down and see a bright red button. I look back up and he's now pointing at the small mic on the podium.

I know exactly what that button does. I've accidentally pressed it once or twice, I blanch in remembrance. Technically, it's an emergency siren that's used to alert people to your whereabouts if you're ever in any danger. When pressed it releases a loud shrill scream ten times worse than nails on a chalk board. It can be heard from up to a mile away. Of course it's more common use is to gain attention from a distracted crowd. I quickly understand his meaning and smile gratefully.

I flip the power switch to the on position, luckily it still has juice. I crank the volume all the way up, aiming the opening towards my mic. I wince in preparation hoping my baby will be fine and press the button.

Immediately, a horrid piercing screech fills the air enough to make the back of your teeth uncomfortably ache and your eardrums threaten to burst and bleed. The loud shouts cease and the whimpers begins as everyone hurries to cover their hypersensitive ears in hopes of warding out the offending sound.