“We’ll find them,” Ryan assured me, his hand on my shoulder. My beta had been my rock through this nightmare, but even his steady presence couldn’t calm the rage of my wolf Alaric.
“I need to check on Caroline,” I finally said. “She was devastated earlier.”
Ryan nodded. “She’s stronger than she looks, but this would break any mother.”
We headed back inside the pack house. Pack members were busy working with local police to coordinate the search. I went to the room where Caroline had been staying with her mother and Eleanor, but when I opened the door, I only found Lena and Eleanor’s mother inside.
“Where’s Caroline?” I asked, confused.
Eleanor looked up from her phone, frowning. “What do you mean? She told us she was going to spend time with you.”
A cold dread settled in my stomach. “She’s not with me, and she wasn’t in my office or at command central. Where is she?” I growled, my eyes flashing as Alaric pushed forward.
“Calm down, Draven, she might have just gone to get some air,” Eleanor suggested, though the worry in her eyes showed through her calm tone. Everyone immediately spread out, searching the pack house for any sign of her.
“Leo, have you seen Caroline?” I asked when I reached the security desk.
“Sorry, Alpha, but I haven’t. It’s been chaos here with all the authorities coming in and out,” he replied, looking concerned. “Is something wrong?”
“I can’t find her.” The words felt like acid on my tongue. Ryan appeared behind me, his expression grim.
“The emergency exit door on the east side is unlocked.”
“No, no, no.” My blood ran cold. “If she left through there, this isn’t good.” I strode rapidly toward the security room. “Leo, pull up the security footage from the emergency exit now!”
The footage showed Caroline entering the stairwell, looking tense as she went down. Leo knew what I wanted to see and quickly switched between cameras. When she got into the elevator, we saw she was on her phone. She got off on the first floor and left the building. The outside camera showed her walking until she disappeared from view.
Damn it, Caroline! What were you thinking? My calm vanished, and rage took its place. Alaric howled inside me, desperate to break free and hunt. Ryan took charge when he saw I was on the edge of losing control.
“Caroline left the pack house. She was on her phone with someone,” Ryan informed the others who had gathered behind us. “We’ll track her location, Alpha. I’m already having the team trace her cell phone signal.”
Half an hour later, Caroline’s cell phone was found smashed in a trash can five hundred meters from the pack house. One of the police officers got into an argument with Leo, who wanted to take the phone back to our tech team.
“I don’t care about your evidence protocols. We can find her faster if we discover who she talked to, so I’m taking this phone to our tech lab to recover the data,” Leo spoke to the officer with such authority that even the human law enforcement stepped back, understanding how serious the situation was.
While Leo worked on getting Caroline’s phone data, time moved painfully slowly, and my desperation grew with each passing minute. The command center was filled with tension. Lena was crying quietly in the corner, with Robert trying to comfort her. Eleanor sat staring at the wall while her boyfriend Nate rubbed her back. I approached her, knowing I needed to get her to snap out of it.
“Eleanor, look at me,” I said, crouching down in front of her. “This isn’t like you. Where’s that fierce woman who doesn’t take crap from anyone?”
“It’s my fault, Draven,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I let her walk out alone.”
“No, Elle, you gave her the space you thought she needed. It’s not your fault.” I took her hands in mine. “You’re Caroline and Liam’s protector. You always do what’s best for them. Right now, I need your help because I’m losing my mind here.”
“What do you want me to do?” Eleanor asked, wiping her eyes and sitting up straighter.
“I want you to be that fierce woman everyone’s terrified of. I want you to stand up and take charge of this room for me, be that tyrant who goes around giving orders and keeps control when I can’t. Can you do that?”
Eleanor took a deep breath and stood up, her posture transforming before my eyes. “Leave it to me, I’ll whip these idiots into shape.”
“Go show them who’s boss,” I said with a smile.
Eleanor walked to the center of the command room with Nate and me following behind. She clapped her hands loudly to get everyone’s attention.”Listen up, everyone! I’m in charge of coordination now, and things are about to get serious. I don’t want anyone standing around doing nothing. If you don’t have a task, come see me, and I’ll give you one!” Her voice carried across the room, and within minutes, everyone was focused and working with renewed purpose.
Alpha Gerald, Nate, and Robert stopped beside me, watching the transformation.
“My daughter is a force of nature,” Gerald said with a hint of pride that momentarily lightened the heavy atmosphere.
“I think I’m a little scared of her,” Robert admitted.
Just then, Alpha Arthur walked in with another man beside him. “Draven, I’m sorry, but there’s something you need to know, and it has to be said now, but it’s not about Caroline.”
“Oh great, things just keep getting worse!” I sighed and walked over to my desk, calling for Ryan.
“Alpha Arthur, go ahead.”
Draven’s POV
Arthur looked grave, his expression telling me the news wasn’t good. He introduced the man accompanying him before taking a seat.
“This is Investigator Magnus from the Alpha Council. He’s been heading the investigation into your parents’ accident,” Arthur explained solemnly.
The investigator nodded respectfully. “Alpha Draven, I regret to inform you that we have reason to believe your parents’ deaths were not accidental. When they were returning to pack territory, their vehicle was ambushed by what appeared to be rogue wolves. The car went off the cliff, but our forensic team found evidence that both the brakes and engine had been tampered with before the attack even occurred.”
My blood ran cold. Alaric snarled viciously inside me.
“You’re telling me my parents were murdered? Deliberately and cruelly murdered?” I could no longer contain the mix of grief and rage that washed over me. My eyes flashed violet as Alaric fought for control.
“With your authorization, the Alpha Council would like to formally reopen the investigation,” Magnus continued.”We think whoever planned this kidnapping might also be connected to your parents’ deaths. The evidence shows this was a carefully planned, long-term attack against your family and pack.”
“You have my full authorization,” I growled.”I want everyone involved hunted down.”
Ryan immediately stepped in, seeing I was on the verge of losing control. “Investigator Magnus, the Storm Valley Pack will provide whatever resources you need. We want everyone involved to face pack justice.”
“And you are?” the investigator asked, his tone remained respectful.
“Ryan Cole. Beta to Alpha Draven.” Ryan stated with authority.
“Very well, Beta Ryan. To start, I’d like full access to all information regarding this murder investigation. I believe working directly with you would be more efficient. Alpha Draven has enough to handle right now,” Magnus suggested tactfully.
“Absolutely. Come, let’s get you set up with everything we know,” Ryan agreed.
“Brother, thank you,” I said sincerely.
Clara approached me – she had been standing behind Arthur, listening to everything. I noticed her wiping tears from her eyes. She embraced me, and I let my guard down, releasing the emotions I’d been holding back.It felt like my entire world was crumbling around me.
Just as I was about to pull myself together, one of my warriors burst into the room.
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