My fingers trembled. Hanging up to redial was already too difficult. All I could do was keep pressing the remaining numbers.
Ring… ring…
Ring… ring… ring…
The dial tone stretched on and on. My heart raced with desperation. Over and over, I prayed to the Moon Goddess to let Elias answer.
Maybe she heard me. The ringing suddenly stopped. The call connected!
The other end sounded noisy, like some kind of party. But my consciousness was fading, and I couldn't afford to care. I grabbed the receiver and cried out for help. "Elias, it's me, Serenity! I need help?—"
Before I could finish, the person on the other end snorted with laughter.
That familiar female voice made my heart plummet. Every word jammed in my throat. The one who answered wasn't Elias.
It was Liv.
"Why is it you?" My voice shook. "Where's Elias?"
"Elias gave me his phone to hold. Because I'm the person closest to him." Liv's tone was light and cheerful. "But you, Serenity, you really don't know when to quit. Elias has nothing to do with you anymore, and you're still calling."
"No, that's not?—"
Cold sweat rolled down my face. I could barely stand. Survival instinct made me swallow my pride and beg. "Liv, please let Elias take the phone? I'm dying… Please, I need help…"
"What? Is this your new trick to get Elias's attention?" Liv's voice dripped with venom. "Give it up. Elias would be happy to see you dead."
I lost all strength and crumpled to the floor. For a moment, I couldn't tell which wound hurt more, my body or my heart.
Just then, I heard Elias's voice in the background. "Liv, who are you talking to?"
Hope flared. I called his name into the receiver. But I was too weak. My voice was barely audible. On the other end, Liv deliberately raised her voice to drown me out.
She lied to Elias. "Nothing. Just a telemarketer."
She seemed to cover the mouthpiece. She and Elias were talking, but their voices were too muffled for me to make out.
Then suddenly the barrier lifted. I could hear clearly again.
I heard Liv laugh, as if asking on purpose, "I was about to reject her. Unless… Elias, did you want to take this call yourself?"
CHAPTER 11
ELIAS VERNAL
The Vernal Corporation's annual gala was always extravagant, not just because it celebrated the year's achievements and served as a networking event, but also because it was an important gathering where various packs shared intelligence on hunter movements and discussed defense strategies.
I stood in the exclusive VIP lounge on the second floor, looking down through the glass wall at the bustling crowd below. In twenty minutes, I would need to go downstairs to deliver the opening speech. I had done this countless times. It shouldn't have affected me at all. Yet I kept checking my watch, unable to shake the feeling that something was gripping my insides and pulling.
This wasn't my own emotion.
This churning unease and anxiety came from someone else. Someone whose soul was bound to mine through our mental link, my fated mate.
Had something happened to Serenity?
I analyzed her state through the emotions bleeding over. She seemed to be enduring something that caused her extreme distress.
It made me anxious, but I didn't even know where she was. After the Moon Ceremony, she had vanished like smoke. Forget finding her address. Even her phone was unreachable. She only responded to texts. Given how determined she'd been to escape that night, I had good reason to believe she was deliberately avoiding me.
