I’d forgiven him eventually, and Hunt had helped bridge the gap between us by playing buffer and mediator when things got tense. We were getting back to normal, slowly rebuilding what Mary had tried to destroy.
Now this shit.
The guards were propped against the wall outside the front door, both of them looking green and miserable. Young wolves who’d only recently been promoted to guard duty. I recognized Theo and Chris from training sessions, knew they were reliable in the field but apparently not experienced enough to handle Mary’s manipulation.
“What the fuck happened?” I asked.
The taller one, Theo, grimaced. “She drugged us, Alpha. We didn’t realize until it was too late.”
“Don’t you know you’re not supposed to drink or eat ANYTHING she offers you?” The growl in my voice made them both flinch. My wolf wanted to tear into them for their incompetence. “That was the first rule. The most important rule. Don’t accept anything from Mary Thorne.”
“She’s been behaving nicely to us lately,” Chris said quietly. “We thought motherhood really changed her. Made her softer.”
“You thought wrong,” Hunt said flatly. “You’re both fucking idiots.”
The guards looked miserable but I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for them. Not when Thomas was out there somewhere with a woman who’d proven herself capable of murder. Not when my best friend’s son was in the hands of a psychotic woman who’d do anything to get what she wanted.
“This stays between us,” I said. “No one outside this group finds out Mary escaped. Not yet. Not until we have a plan.”
Both guards nodded quickly.
“If anyone asks, you’re both sick with the flu. Contagious. That’s why you’re not at your post. Understood?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
We pushed past them into the house and the interior that greeted us was neat and clean, everything in its place because Mary had always been obsessive about order. The living room looked untouched, the kitchen spotless, and upstairs the nursery door stood open wide.
Cole made a strangled sound and pushed past me into the room. The crib was empty with blankets rumpled but no baby, no signs of struggle, just absence that felt louder than any scream.
“She planned this,” I said quietly. My wolf prowled under my skin, furious and frustrated.
Hunt nodded, already moving through the room with careful precision. “Nothing’s out of place. She didn’t pack in a hurry. This was calculated.”
Cole stood frozen in the middle of the nursery, staring at the empty crib. His shoulders shook. “Fuck. FUCK.” His voice cracked. “I should have been there more. Should have seen this coming. She’s been so compliant lately. That should have been the first red flag.”
Damn right it should have been. But I bit back the words because Cole was already falling apart and kicking him while he was down wouldn’t help find Thomas.
“We’ll find them,” I said instead.
“How? She could be anywhere by now.”
“She’s on foot with an infant. She can’t have gotten far.”
Hunt moved to the closet, pulling out clothes and tossing them on the floor. “She took supplies. Diapers, formula, baby clothes. But not much. Maybe a day’s worth.”
“She’s meeting someone,” I said. “She has to be. She wouldn’t run without a plan.”
“Who would help her?” Cole demanded. “Everyone knows what she did. No one in this pack would risk exile to help Mary Thorne.”
“Someone outside the pack then.”
The implications of that settled over all of us. If Mary had outside help, this was bigger than just an escape. This was coordinated. Planned. Which meant whoever was helping her had resources and connections we didn’t know about.
And that meant my mate and children were potentially in danger.
My wolf snarled at the thought.
I pulled out my phone and texted Noah.Need you to pull all records from before Mary’s arrest. Friends, associates, anyone close to Alderic. Any contact with other packs. Everything.
