Bile rises in my throat when I see the front door hanging open.
No. Please, no.
I rush inside the house as fast as I can move, but it’s already much too late. One of the chairs at the table is on its back. In the bedroom, the nest is out of sorts, and the bedside table is knocked over. Blankets are sprawled from the bed onto the floor.
“Selene!” I shout, knowing already that it’s useless. She’s gone. If she were in this house, she would be right here.
Someone has taken her.
But how? How did anyone know she was here?
And where the hell did they go?
Selene’s scent still lingers in the house, and my chest aches. How could I have let something happen to her?
I walk back out onto the path that leads to the lane, and the smell of orange blossoms follows me. Shutting my eyes, I beg for anyone to show me where she’s gone. To tell me how to find her and bring her home again.
Sucking in a breath of Selene, I focus, hoping to calm myself enough to think of a solution.
I felt her fear when she was taken, and all I can think about is the ever-present terror that still lingers. She’s alive, if the painful ache in my gut is to be believed. She is well enough tofeel, and that, at least, is a good sign.
Selene. I’ve been trying to keep my own emotions at bay, but thinking of her soft, innocent face, my hatred of whoever has hurt her grows. How could someone do this to her, when she has never done anything to anyone else but try to survive?
I want to scream her name. Fury builds inside me, boiling. I’ve never felt a seething anger such as this, as the one I feel for the nameless person who’s stolen her.
She ismine.
Her scent in the air hasn’t faded, and when that certainty settles on me—that Selene belongs with me—I know what to do.
I start off toward the lane, inhaling the air, breathing in my sweet omega. There it is. When I reach the intersection, it leads me to the left, so I follow it.
Down the lane toward the main road it goes, and even though I’m sweating and sore already, I move as fast as I can after it. Though the tender scent grows weaker, it’s still there, and if I focus on it, I’m sure it will lead me where I need to go.
It takes me around the edge of town, which is dark and would be easy to travel without being seen. Here, Selene’s smell fades even more, but I can easily pick it out from among the other smells around me. It’s as if everything has grown in intensity, from the scent of cooking onions in a distant home to the fresh smell of pine trees. My vision, too, is even better than before, and neither the night nor the shadows offer protection from my searching.
Iwillfind her. Whatever it takes, my escalating fury says, we will get her back.
The scent leads me down a forested road, then turns right at a fork. I haven’t been out this way since I changed rotations, but a few homes are scattered here among the trees. And Selene’s smell grows more powerful with every step I take, fueling me on despite the ache in my muscles. It’s as if I get a second wind, my lungs bringing in more air, my legs still strong and sure despite the miles I’ve already put behind me.
My pace quickens as I race down the path and around a massive tree, where I catch sight of a house. It’s older than mine, set back far in the woods and hidden from prying eyes, with timber walls and a steeply sloped roof. The scent of Selene is even stronger, and I know I’m at the right place.
Rage swells inside me. Whoever stole her, whoever has hurt her, is here.
That’s when I feel it: a sudden surge of panic. Panic of an overwhelming sort, that makes me nearly buckle over where I stand.
Selene is in trouble, and I can’t waste another moment. So I thunder up the stairs to the front door and yank on the knob—but it doesn’t give. It’s locked.
No. I refuse to let this stop me. I will not let this get in my way. My hatred and anger and fear rise together, and with another yank, I pull on the door as hard as I possibly can, putting all the strength I have behind it. My muscles swell…
And the door rips off the hinges with a metallic snap.
I throw it aside, not even registering that I’ve done it.The door is meaningless to me if Selene is in this house. I will tear it apart from the inside out to make sure she’s safe.
10
SELENE
Istopped screaming a while ago because it was pointless with the gag my captor stuck in my mouth. He tied another piece of fabric around my head once I was gagged to make sure it wouldn’t fall out, and then he bound my hands behind my back so I couldn’t rip it off. After howling into the fabric for a few minutes, I realized nothing was coming out, and he was simply laughing at me as he carried me over his shoulder.
