‘Sabi! Where are you?”
Caelan’s voice echoed from somewhere nearby.
My heart leaped. Relief flooded through me so suddenly it made me dizzy.
For just a moment, my attention shifted toward the sound of his voice.
Something cold and sharp sliced across my left forearm. Pain exploded through the muscle as blood immediately soaked through my sleeve.
I gasped and jerked backward, my grip on him releasing.
The man rolled away and sprang to his feet. A thin blade glinted in his hand before he tucked it back into his sleeve.
By the time I pressed my right hand against the bleeding wound, he was already running toward the far end of the alley.
His footsteps faded into the night.
I sat on the cobblestones, breathing hard and clutching my injured arm. Blood seeped between my fingers, warm and sticky.
“Sabi!”
Caelan’s POV
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
Then the automated message that made my blood turn to ice: “The number you have dialed is currently unavailable.”
I stared at the screen, my finger hovering over the call button. Must be a network issue. I tried again.
Same message.
What the hell?
I’d been buried in work for hours. Territory reports, trade agreements, pack disputes that had piled up during my trip to Moonridge. The desk in front of me was covered with documents requiring immediate attention.
But now the only thing that mattered was the silence from Sable’s phone.
Storm stirred restlessly in my consciousness. “Something’s wrong.”
I pressed redial. The automated voice repeated its mechanical response.
‘Fuck. The word exploded from my throat as I shot up from the desk.
My chair crashed backward into the bookshelf behind me. Several leather-bound volumes tumbled to the floor with dull thuds.
I paced the length of my office, my hand working the black ring on my finger in tight circles. The serpent band felt cold against my skin.
Maybe the battery died. Maybe she’s sleeping.
But my gut knew better. The mate bond thrummed with unease, like static electricity before a storm.
I tried calling again. And again.
Each unanswered ring sent fresh panic through my system.
My fist connected with the wall before I realized I’d moved. Plaster cracked under the impact, sending a spider web of fractures across the surface.
Storm roared in my mind. “Find her! Now!”
I was already grabbing my keys.
The car’s engine roared to life. I peeled out of the manor’s circular driveway fast enough to spray gravel across the manicured lawn.
My phone was pressed to my ear before I’d even reached the main road.
“Scarlett? It’s Carlan.”
“Your Majesty?’ Her voice carried surprise. “Is everything okay?”
“Where’s Sable?”
A pause. ‘Sable? What’s wrong? She… we went out for drinks tonight. At the Crimson Rose.”
‘Is she still there?”
“No, she left about an hour ago. Said she was walking home to her new apartment. Concern crept into Scarlett’s tone. “Why? What’s wrong?”
Her new apartment? And walking alone at night?
The steering wheel creaked under my grip.
“Caelan? You’re scaring me. What happened?”
‘Her phone’s off. She’s not answering.”
“That’s… that’s not like her.” Scarlett’s voice went tight with worry. She always keeps her phone on.
My foot pressed harder on the accelerator. The speedometer climbed past eighty. Ninety. One hundred.
If something happened to her…
“Which direction was she walking?”
“Toward Mason Street. Her apartment’s about several blocks from the bar.”
I was already changing course, tires squealing as I took the corner at dangerous speed.
A red light blazed ahead. I gunned it through the intersection, missing an oncoming truck by inches. More horns. More angry shouts from pedestrians.
I didn’t give a fuck about traffic laws.
My eyes swept the sidewalks frantically as I drove. Every shadow could be her. But none of them were.
Another red light. I blasted through it without slowing down. A taxi had to swerve to avoid me, driver leaning on his horn.
‘Caelan, call me when you fin-“
I hung up without waiting for her to finish.
I abandoned the car two blocks from the Crimson Rose, leaving it parked sideways across two spaces. My legs carried me toward her last known location while my senses stretched out, searching.
Find her scent. Follow the trail.
The night air carried dozens of different smells. Exhaust fumes. Garbage from nearby dumpsters. The lingering aroma of fried food from late-night restaurants.
But underneath it all, faint as a whisper, I caught what I was looking for.
Strawberries and roses.
3/4
The trail led away from the bar, down Mason Street toward the residential district. I followed it.
Her scent grew stronger as I moved. She’d definitely come this way.
But then it changed.
Fear, Sharp and acrid, cutting through the sweetness like acid.
Something had terrified her.
My pace quickened to a run.
“Faster! Storm demanded. ‘She needs us!”
‘Sabi! Where are you.” I called out.
That’s when I saw it.
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