Because she cares for us, my wolf says.
No . . . Does she?
“Yes. I am so sorry I haven’t been there for you. I know how hard it must be for you. I’m so proud of you for handling it all. From now on, I’ll be better. I promise.”
Did Jay just give me my mom back?
“I’ve gotta go.” I kiss my mom on her forehead and rush out of the bedroom to find Jay.
Jay’s scent lingers in the hallway. I follow a honey scent, and my heart drops into my stomach when I see where it leads.
The back door. And it’s currently ajar.
By the smell, the royal council didn’t exit this way but rather through the front entrance. The back door leads to endless woods. I’ve explored them all, but there are some spots even I wouldn’t dare wander twice.
Jay knows not to leave my home without permission. She’s had plenty of opportunities to run before now. Although I made a rather convincing argument as to why she couldn’t. I try not to panic and gather more information.
I mindlink Tyler to come to me. He reaches me in seconds. Always close, never far. As much as he irks me at times, I could never say he doesn’t do his job. Maybe it’s time I started letting him do it, then. He should’ve been part of that meeting. People won’t respect him if I don’t extend it to him first.
“Yes, boss?”
“Have you seen Jay?”
“No. Haven’t seen her.”
“Hmm . . .”
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
I’m truly not. Jay wouldn’t just leave, but something isn’t adding up.
I sniff once more, searching for more info. A single hair on the floor stops me. I pick it up, inspecting the black specimen. And when I sniff it, my wolf rattles its cage.
I squat again. Their footprints are faint, but they’re there. No stagger in her walk pattern to suggest she’s been dragged out. It looks like she followed someone willingly. And why does that enrage me even more?
Tyler senses my tension rolling off me in waves. It causes him to bare his neck in submission. He whimpers. “What’d you find?”
Having caught their scents, I walk farther, crossing the threshold. Deep in the woods, there are a million directions to go, but only one of those paths leads to her. It happens to be the worst of them—the one that leads to the darkest of covens.
And they hate surprise visitors.
Chapter THIRTY-FOUR
Jay
Do you ever get the feeling that something isn’t right? But you ignore the growing unease and miss your window to turn back?
Yeah, that’s me.
Caleb said they’re harmless, but something in my gut is just not sitting the way it should.
We’ve been walking for some time. As we sauntered deeper in, the forest gradually changed. At first, the trees behind us were fluffy with bright leaves, but now the foliage around us is bare. The only thing blanketing their branches is fog.
A poster of a teenage boy is nailed to trees at eye level. At the top, in big red letters, is the wordmissing. The boy has a baby face and an adorably awkward smile. A dimple punctuates one cheek from his toothless smile. My heart aches for the child, and his family. I can’t imagine what the parents must be feeling.
A low hum of power has the hair on the back of my neck standing up. For it being springtime, it’s chilly, like fall.
