The Madame shot Eric a grisly look. “What if he decides he wants to stay and keep Matheson?”
“He won’t,” Eric said instantly, a note of annoyance in his voice.
“Noro has been with us through everything,” Ramsay said. “He ain’t that type of guy.” With a grin he added, “He may be a little boring, but he’s no traitor to those he loves.”
The Madame’s brows raised slightly at the mention oflove, but she didn’t comment on it. Eric almost snorted, knowing Ramsay’s choice of words was purely intentional. He was never subtle.
“I believe in Noro,” Colton murmured, still with his head tilted towards the looming keep above. “I know he’s keeping Matheson safe right now.”
Ramsay nodded. “Yup. I know it, too. Damn, it feels pretty good to have a gryphon on our side when we’re about to storm their pride and demand our omega back, doesn’t it?”
Yes,Eric thought hesitantly.If only he would show up.
But as the minutes dragged on, there was no sign of him. Finally Eric grunted.
“Fine. We’ll meet up with him later,” he muttered. “He must be inside somewhere, doing something important if it’s keeping him from meeting us. But a band of wolves and humans won’t be hard to miss.”
Everyone nodded, standing on alert to follow Eric into the keep. He surveyed their little warband, the mix of humans and wolves about to walk right into enemy gryphon territory. Their bravery filled Eric with pride and determination.
But most of all, his heart burned for Matheson. His mate. The man he loved more than anything. And he knew Colton and Ramsay beside him felt exactly the same way.
Matheson,Eric thought, his chest clenching.We’re coming for you.
It was then that a thunderous shriek split the air. Eric went on high alert, ready to shift and fight off the intruder.
“Shit,” Ramsay spat. “Do they know we’re here?”
But there was no huge army taking to the skies. Just a single, golden gryphon. One they recognized.
“Noro?” Colton murmured, frowning.
“Hey, there he is,” Ramsay said. “Hey! Over here!”
“Wait,” Eric snapped, grabbing Ramsay’s wrist. “Something’s not right.”
“What’re you talking about? He showed up right on time.”
As they spoke, Noro folded his wings and sped towards them like a gilded bullet. But in the seconds of his approach, Eric realized something horrifying.
There was no glint of recognition in his eyes.
Chapter 19
The cell was empty.
Okay, Matheson,I told myself.Don’t fucking panic.
In my wolf form I scented the air. Blaze, Torin and Noro had been here recently, but now the entire dungeon was empty except for the overwhelming scent of dust. There was something else, too. A tinge of the sour scent of fear.
Noro’s fear.
“Shit. What happened here?” I asked, not expecting an answer from the brainwashed Neil. He stood stupidly beside me, which was honestly an improvement over his usual self.
In the cell there was no sign of a fight, no blood or shredded fur or feathers, which only confused me further. The door was unlocked and wide open, like Noro had simply walked out.
“Torin had the keys, right?” I asked, half to Neil and half to myself. “Maybe I can follow his scent. I think we passed it on the way here.”
He didn’t reply, obviously, but without any other input I took his silence as agreement. I turned tail and padded back towards the stairs. Every hair on my pelt itched with discomfort in this dark, musty dungeon.
