Chapter 25
*Ethan*
Something’s off. An inexplicable tightness wraps around my chest and my heart races as if I’m running a marathon.
I can’t shake the feeling that something’s about to go terribly wrong.
Kyle senses my unsettledness and puts down our itinerary. “Alpha, are you okay?”
I can’t explain it. Logic battles intuition, but the latter wins. “Cancel everything,” I tell Kyle, “We have to go back, as soon as possible!”
He looks confused and surprised, but as soon as he sees my face, he replies, “Yes, sir!”
This is why I like Kyle. No matter how unreasonable my orders are, he will still execute them without any delays. However, even with the car flying back towards the palace, I’m not feeling any better.
Kyle asks tentatively, “May I ask why? We spent over two months getting all these scheduled, I’m afraid canceling them at the last minute is going to put us behind schedule for at least three more months.”
“I don’t know.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I just-”
My phone erupts into a cacophony of rings and vibrations. An icy dread seeps into my veins even before I see the caller ID-it’s the guard I assigned to Ariella!
S**
“Your Majesty, Princess Ariella and Princess **a both went missing!”
F**K!!
Kyle gasps. He heard it too.
“Tell me what exactly happened!”
The guard over the phone explains in a panicked tone, “We watched them go inside the restaurant and we’ve been guarding the outside of the restaurant. We sent someone to check them every ten minutes, but…”
My head is hot, my my nails.
laws proces
‘Breathe,’ my wolf speaks to me. ‘We won’t find them if you can’t think with a leveled head. The anger is for when we find them and whoever took them.”
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“Send me the address of the cafe, tell the guard, “Secure the building. Let no one else in or out. No one moves. And no one taints the scents
Ax soon as I hang up the phone, Kyle says. “Someone planned this.”
We will find Ariella and C**a first,” I tell him. “And then we’ll find who’s behind this.”
There will be hell to pay.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, I immediately head inside. The distinct aroma where Ariella had been sitting is unmistakable, though her dishes and cups have already been removed. C**’s scent lingers as well, albeit
much weaker.
I zero in on Ariella’s scent, and it guides me towards a back door and subsequently to a fountain.
“They were here,” I inform the guards and Kyle. “They were abducted from this spot.”
I scan the surroundings, moving away from the fountain until I approach a bush. It’s then that the mix of different smells overwhelms me.
So wolves.
“F**k!” I roar. “Six f** rogues!”
By the time Kyle comes over, I’ve already shifted and darted out.
‘Memorize their scents and find those f**g b**ds!’ I order my men via mindlink. They’ll catch up eventually, but I can’t waste a single minute.
My lungs are on fire but I push on relentlessly.
I can’t believe how s**d I was letting her off my sight!
Faster.
I need to be faster!
Her sweet, flora scent gets stronger with my every stride. The Forest opens to a wide clearing, at the edge of which stands a mountain. The area is deserted, but her scent is unmistakable here.
My eyes narrow when I arrive outside of the cave.
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11:28 Tue, 23 Jul 44
Chapter 25
No doubt she’s inside. And her sweet scent is mixed with…blood!
“ARHOOO!” My roar shakes the cave.
The trail of blood leads me straight to them; Six men, ragged and filthy, attacking a blindfolded Ariella, covered in blood and beaten to a pulp!
My vision tunnels, colored only by seething anger. Rage courses through me and my blood is boiling with fury.
THEY MUST. DIE!
I roar and lunge at the kidnappers. They haven’t even realized I’m here until the blood from a now headless bodies. spurts like a fountain.
One of them begins to scream, but only for a mere moment before my jaws close in around his neck, crushing his flesh and brittle bone.
The rest of the four try to flee but they fall to my vengeance before they barely take a step.
One.
Two.
Three.
Their bodies collapse with broken limbs ripped off their bodies. Their blood pooling on the cave floor like a crimson lake.
I turn to the last one standing. The largest one. No doubt this is their leader.
I shift back into human form; my body is bathed in their blood from head to toe.
“Please!” The man pleads as he falls to his knees. “Please spare me. I…… I didn’t know who she was…”
I want to say something but words are lost to me in my feral state. I grab him by the throat and lift him off the ground, then my claws extend and pierce his flesh.
Igrowl with satisfaction as he begins to choke on his own blood. The **d chokes and gurgles until his now purple face stops gasping for air.
I let his lifeless body fall off my hand when some footsteps stop behind me.
“Your Majesty, I heard screa-” Kyle stops as he sees the gore I have left in my wake.
gas
“It’s…taken care of,” I growl, scowling as I begin to separate my wolf’s mind from mine.
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Kyle surveys me wearily as 1 hurry over to Ariella and pick her up with as much care as I can. Her broken body still fills me with limitless rage, but I have to contain it for there is no one else to receive it.
I sense Kyle wanting to say something but he knows me well enough to hold his tongue at this moment. Once we reach the outside, he sniffs the air.
“What is it?” I ask, my voice still bestial and raspy.
“C**a,” he replies, “She should be nearby.”
1 look down at Ariella. She needs urgent medical care. With numerous broken bones, though I can’t discern the exact count, and her body marred by bruises and wounds, she’s on the brink of death if not treated right away.
But C** is still not found yet….
“I need to bring Ariella back to the palace right away,” I pause, wrestling with my decision, but ultimately place my faith in my Beta to carry on the search for C**a. “You must bring C** back safely!”
“With my life!” He straightens his body and bolts from the cave.
Without any delay, I scoop Ariella up. She cradles in my arms and her eyes are shut.
“Hang on, Ariella!” I order, “You’re mine, and you’re not allowed to die without my permission. You hear me?”
But the only answer I get is her weakening heartbeat with each passing second.