Zeke steps closer, inspecting the ground around us.There are too many scents to fully pick up.
They didn’t just find her, I say, voice low.They planned it.
We all grow tense, glancing around as we try to put the pieces together. Everything we gather starts resembling the very thing I was afraid of.
What now?Dominic asks.
I don’t answer right away while every part of me is screaming with rage and fear. More so, something in me wants to tear this entire forest apart until I find her. I want to rip every wolf apart who even looked at her wrong.
But I force it down, and I urge myself to think. Losing control now won’t get her back, regardless of how tempting it is.
Rising to my full height slowly, I glance between them.We track them and find her. It’s all we can do.
What if it’s a trap? Zeke asks, looking a bit hesitant with the way he lowers his head.
It doesn’t matter. If they have her, then we’re settling this.
At that, Zeke gives a brief nod in understanding, and Hunter adds,We’ll spread out to cover more land.
I take one last look at the clearing…the place she stood to try and hold her ground. The spot where everything went wrong without me there to help.
My heart squeezes again before we continue, rushing through the trees as we lock onto the cluster of scents.
Hold on, Naia. Even if she can’t hear it, the thoughts burn through me and into our private link anyway.I’m coming, and I’m not stopping until I find you.
Chapter 26 - Naia
Pain drags me back first with a heaviness in my limbs like my entire body has been dropped somewhere it doesn’t belong.
I groan under my breath as my eyes slowly adjust, trying to shift in an attempt to regain some control, but something tightens around my wrists before I can move.
Glancing down, I find restraints around my wrists, but they’re not ordinary ones. Instead, these flicker with an icy-blue light as they circle each wrist, glowing faintly against my skin.
More magic…that paired with the vaguely oppressive air around me brings those memories rushing back again.
She’s suppressing me again and stopping me from using my own powers. I can’t even reach my wolf.
The world comes back in pieces of blurred shapes, flickering light, and the scent of damp earth. Soon, it’s overtaken by the smell of too many wolves packed into one space.
My pulse spikes instantly when I register them there, knowing exactly what they are. The rogue pack.
I jerk against the semi-transparent bindings, but they hold firm, and the more I struggle, the more they bite into my skin, making me wince.
“Easy.”
That softer voice cuts through the noise, and I look up.
The woman from before stands a few feet away, watching me with that same neutral expression, and something twists in my chest.
“You,” I breathe.
“Me,” she says, quieter than I expect her to.
Not knowing what else to do, I stare at her, catching a different gleam in her eyes now. In a way, she seems less intimidating and more out of place than anything. From the way she looks back at me, it feels like there’s something she isn’t saying, or maybe can’t.
At least five others are lingering around us, potentially with more just outside my line of sight. Their attention shifts between her and me, both restless and expectant like they’re waiting for something, or someone.
“What do you want?” I snap, feeling my anger rise all over again.
