Behind me, Hunt snorted. I shot him a look and he tried to smother his grin.
“I’ll talk to the border patrol,” I said. “We’ll implement stricter guidelines for visitors. No photography of minors. No entering pack buildings without permission. Anyone who violates the rules gets escorted out and banned from returning.”
Patricia nodded, satisfied. “Thank you, Alpha.”
The concerns continued. Water pressure issues in the northern residences. A request to expand the school. Questions about winter preparations. I addressed each one with half my attention while the other half stayed fixated on Lina.
She’d been in Pine Valley yesterday, alone except for Mika and Vivi, and the drive back to Ravenshollow took two hours, which meant plenty of time for something to happen on the road. But she’d seemed fine when I’d found her, tired and uncomfortable the way seven months pregnant would make anyone, though not scared or hiding anything.
Except for that text message. And I’d let it go, like a fucking idiot.
The doors to the council chamber burst open with enough force to make everyone jump. Cole stumbled through, his face pale and his eyes wild. Every wolf in the room turned to stare at him while he crossed the space in long strides.
Fuck. I knew that look. Something was seriously wrong.
He stopped just in front of my chair, close enough that his next words would only reach me, Noah, and Hunt.
“He’s gone,” Cole panted. “Thomas, my son. He’s gone. So is the mother.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach.
“What?” I kept my voice low but my wolf was already pushing at my skin, demanding to be let out. Demanding blood.
“Mary. She’s gone. Took Thomas with her.”
Fuck.
FUCK.
I stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. Every eye in the chamber fixed on me but I didn’t give a shit. Looked back at Noah instead. My brother’s expression had gone carefully blank in that way he’d perfected over the years. The way that meant he was furious but keeping it together.
Noah stepped forward without me having to ask. “I’ll continue hearing and resolving your concerns while the Alpha investigates a pressing matter. Thank you all for your patience.”
I was already moving toward the door with Cole and Hunt right behind me. We didn’t speak until we were outside, the cool morning air doing nothing to cool the rage building in my chest.
“Tell me everything,” I said. “Now.”
Cole’s hands shook while he raked them through his hair. “I went to check on them this morning. Standard visit. The guards were unconscious. Door was open. They were both gone.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. Hours, maybe. The guards don’t remember anything after dinner last night.”
Son of a bitch.
We reached Mary’s house in record time. The two story structure sat on the edge of pack territory, isolated from the main residential areas. One of Alderic Thorne’s properties. He’d owned several around town, including the massive mansion in the center that we’d seized after his arrest. The mansion was being converted into an activity center for young pups. The other properties were going to be raffled off to young couples who needed housing. This one we’d kept for Mary until Cole finished the one he was building for them, far into the woods.
Mary had been the other woman. The woman who’d claimed to be pregnant with my child when really she’d been carrying Cole’s. The one who’d lied and schemed and tried to kill my mate. We’d caught her. Exposed her. Her father had been sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating the rogue attacks that had killed my brother Blake seven years ago.
Mary herself had been sentenced to exile once Thomas was weaned…Until Cole changed that when Thomas was born premature. He was small, fragile. The pack doctor had recommended keeping him with his mother for at least the first six months. Cole had pushed for more. He’d said he didn’t want to take Thomas away from her, that he’d live with them and help her raise Thomas until he was old enough to make a decision of his own about his mother. I admired the hell out of Cole for that, so we’d agreed, despite every instinct telling me it was a mistake.
Despite my wolf screaming that we should’ve dealt with her the second the baby was born.
Right now, in the meantime, she was under house arrest with guards on every entrance and food and supplies delivered daily.She wasn’t allowed to leave for any reason, wasn’t allowed visitors except Cole, and wasn’t allowed contact with anyone outside or inside the pack. Complete isolation.
It had worked. Mostly.
She’d tested the boundaries twice. Insulted the guards until they’d called Cole to deal with her. Both times he’d come back annoyed and tight-lipped about whatever they’d discussed. Things between us had been strained since the truth came out. Cole blamed himself for sleeping with Mary in the first place. For giving her ammunition to use against me. For being stupid enough to think with his dick instead of his brain.
