"What the fuck did you just say?" I snarled, facing Jacqueline, looking at her and then at Lennox.

Their expressions revealed panic, and defeat. I shook my head and took a step closer towards them, searching their features, snarling in anger, disbelief,

"She's gone?"

"Alpha." Jacqueline, one of my best warriors, one who I had trusted to bring my mate to safety, who had fucking sworn she would ensure Leora was protected, spoke up, her voice careful but hesitant, her face still showing defeat,

"We were taking her to the jeep, but then I was shot. Lennox and I were ambushed by the Feldon warriors-"

My eyes moved to Lennox when he interjected, "I pushed Leora away from the crowd whilst Jac and I fought. And by the time it'd dispersed, she was gone."

With my eyes still locked on Lennox, and with ice beginning to fill my veins as I absorbed his words, I bit out, "Abner."

"On it." My Beta muttered from beside me, moving outside the room and no doubt leaving the house to begin to arrange for my warriors to search for Leora.

I swore under my breath, tearing my gaze away from Lennox, and marched to a broken window, taking in the destruction of the pack outside of it.

Countless bodies, some maimed, others simply lifeless, could be seen amongst the sidewalks and roads.

Those who had been killed were mainly the Feldon warriors, although a few pack members and humans had also died. Edith had, surprisingly, put up more of a fight than her mate.

I'd watched Abner fight her, and even after we had though she had succumbed to her injuries, she's surprised us both by speaking abruptly, her words garbled and nonsensical as she laid crumpled on the floor of Rothman's office, her arms twisted and one of her legs ripped from her body.

I'd ended her then, and killed her the same way I had her husband, through clawing her throat and ripping it open.

After the battle, as I had travelled to this house, one that I had instructed Jacqueline and Lennox to take Leora to because of its distance to all the chaos, I had assumed she would be safely waiting here.

Instead, when I arrived at the house, and entered the room which I thought Leora would be in, all I had seen were my distraught looking faces.

Feelings I had not experienced in years, all to do with panic and dread, had surged through me then and I'd demanded an answer about Leora's absence.

My eyes narrowed, and once again I looked over the pack outside. She had to be here. Maybe she had found somewhere safe to stay until the battle had ended, or-

"Alpha," Jacqueline said, her voice still careful, not holding the confidence I was used to hearing from her. "The jeep was also gone."

I jerked around to face her, rasping,

"What?"

Jacqueline flinched, but recovered quickly. She straightened her shoulders and met my gaze steadily. "The jeep was gone. I asked around and some warriors said that they can recall a few humans in it. The jeep was driven out of the pack."

"Did they give a description of those who were in that jeep?" The back of my neck tingled, and I could feel my fingers and knuckles, some of them mottled and blistering because I had put them into use just an hour ago, curl tight into fists.

Jacqueline glanced over her shoulder, looking towards Lennox before nodding once. Impatience skittered down my spine when she hesitated, and then, I growled, "What, Jac?"

"I told them what Leora looked like, and several warriors said that there was a woman who matched her description in the jeep."

The ice in my veins began to burn, and I began walking, leaving the room, knowing that both of my warriors would follow me. "How long ago did they say the jeep left the pack?"

"Two hours ago."

I lengthened my pace, and began to make my way towards Abner, who was facing and speaking to the warriors, all of them concentrated and focused.

I briefly clasped Abner's shoulder with my hand, letting him know that I intended to interrupt him, and then I called out, "Who was questioned by Jacqueline regarding the individuals who left the pack in a jeep?"

Warriors moved almost immediately, making way for others to pass so that they could speak to me.

And that they did, answering the questions I had swiftly, and within minutes afterwards, I watched as one of my own vehicles, driven by a warrior, came to a halt near me.

He got out swiftly, I entered, and my eyes met Abner's when I was seated.

He inclined his head even though no words, mentally or verbally, were exchanged between us. He said, "I'll round up the warriors and have some of them follow you."

I nodded, and my eyes moved from him.

"Get in, Jacqueline. You as well, Lennox." I told the silent lycans who stood near the vehicle, and Jacqueline too inclined her head, climbing up the jeep and settling into the passenger seat whilst Lennox moved to a seat in the back.

Jacqueline as a warrior has seldom disappointed me, and I understood now that she had little choice but to not focus on Leora because of the way she was ambushed.

I wanted her with me whilst we searched for my mate, and the skills I knew she had would be put into use. The warriors who were to join me in my search would follow me soon after.

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel, and I ground my teeth together, ignoring the tingling of my fangs as I turned the vehicle and drove it down the road.

The warriors who were to join me in looking for Leora would follow me soon after.

Where she could have gone, I was not sure.

But I would find her.

*************

The direction which the warriors claimed that they saw the jeep go to was towards one of the trails in the large forest which was near the Feldon pack.

And that was where we drove and searched, for hours, becoming soaked with the rain that fell heavily.

More than once the vehicles became stuck in the mud that formed throughout the time we drove in the unfamiliar forest, and some of that mud became coated on my pants after getting out to push the jeep out of the mud several times.

The times in which we chose to pause to shove and push the vehicles' wheels out of the mud were the only times we stopped throughout our search of Leora.

Leora.

I repeated her name in my mind, and said it under my breath, through clenched teeth as I drove and searched, looking for any signs of her and the jeep.

Restlessness stirred in me, and thoughts of what might have happened to her arose in my mind.

It was not safe for humans to travel in these areas, as there were lycans who, if they saw humans that had no means or abilities to defend themselves, would take that to their advantage and do what they pleased with them.

"Do what they pleased," consisted of many things, and most of the ones that came to mind made aggression rip through me at the thought of those things happening to Leora.

Eventually the forests and trees gave way to a wide, large field.

And immediately, I saw a lone jeep in the middle of it. I drove my own jeep faster, and heard Jacqueline curse softly from where she sat.

Apprehension clawed at my stomach as I looked at the vehicle, which I recognized as one of my own. There were no occupants inside of it.

I exited my jeep and moved close to the abandoned one. The doors of the jeep were already open, and I entered it. Pain sprung in my jaw when I clenched it; I scented Leora's smell amongst several others in the vehicle.

However, it was faint, and I had an inkling that she had left the vehicle hours ago.

The engine of the jeep was still running, a bag which had items falling out of it was on the floor, and blood was smeared against several of the seats.

My eyes narrowed as a spiral of emotions hit me, and I spat out a curse, and jerked my head towards Jacqueline who had moved to stand outside the backdoor of the vehicle.

Lennox stood a few feet behind her, frowning deeply, his head down, and appearing to be examining the ground.

He crouched, still looking at the ground, whilst I stepped out of the jeep.

"They were taken." Jacqueline said, confirming what I suspected. She stepped aside, heaved out a breath and gestured towards the grass.

I walked to her, feeling those emotions in my chest harden and penetrate themselves deeper when I saw tire tracks along the grass and mud, leading in the opposite direction towards where the unoccupied jeep was positioned.

I could hear the rumbling noises of the vehicles that were approaching us, and the voices of my warriors.

But I remained standing where I was, rigid, unable to tear my narrowed gaze away from those tracks.

The blood smeared on the seats filled my mind again and again, and eventually, I raised my head and looked at Lennox. "What is the nearest pack to this area?"

"The nearest one would be Withermarsh."

It was a pack I had heard of, and visited once several years ago. The Alpha was one I hardly knew about, but I would nonetheless pay him a visit, since there was a possibility that his warriors were the ones who might have taken Leora.

I nodded, trying to calm the wildness threatening to take over as the image of blood as well as Leora's scent resurfaced in my mind once more, and I turned, inhaling the crisp, early morning air, and faced my warriors.

Some remained seated in the vehicles, whilst others simply stood outside of them, waiting, alertness on all their faces. I forced my jaw to unlock, as I prepared to tell them where we would be travelling to.

*********

"Vakkar. It has been quite some time since I've seen you."

Alpha Matteo flashed a smile as he stood, flanked by female lycans on either side of him, all of them watching myself and my warriors with curiosity and interest.

There was a trace of satisfaction, as well as something that resembled smugness on his features, and one of his arms lifted and went around the neck of one of those female lycans, who immediately pushed herself closer to him.

"Yes, it has been," I forced politeness into my voice even though it was the last thing I cared about showing. I cut to the chase, "Has any of your warriors brought any humans to your pack, Matteo?"

Matteo blinked, losing the satisfaction on his face, but as he appeared to comprehend my question, I saw a flash, one that revealed that his warriors likely did bring humans to his pack, moving through his eyes.

He dropped his hand from around the female lycan's neck.

His eyebrows furrowed, and his head tilted. "They're yours?"

"Yes."

He hummed, but did not move. I felt my patience, what little was left of it, almost dissolve as he remained silent before me, appearing to be deep in thought.

I bit back the growl that threatened to rise from my throat and instead held his gaze, keeping my expression blank, watching and waiting.

But my impatience must have begun to slip into my face, because he straightened and cleared his throat, moving away from the female lycans.

"All right. I'll show you to them." His gaze traveled to the warriors who I had brought with me, and he appeared to size them up before looking away, his mouth tight and eyes hard, clearly displeased.

I could feel the eyes of those in his pack watching me whilst we walked along a road.

Matteo spoke as he walked beside me, ignoring the crowds of people who had begun to gather on the sidewalks and observe us, "I have to say, Vakkar...a warrior has reported to me that one of those humans is apparently the daughter of Rhyan East. You are aware of that, yes?"

I said nothing in response to him. Many lycans knew my past, and what Rhyan East had done to my family and myself.

Word travelled fast between packs, however, it was only recently that the topic of Rhyan East was being brought up so frequently towards me directly.

Just hearing that man's name sent a hot wave of anger throughout my entire being, and I knew that Matteo sensed the building violence that was beginning to form in me. It was perhaps why he chose to remain quiet.

"I'm nearing the pack, Vakkar."

Abner's voice came to my mind.

Throughout my drive here, I had told him that my warriors and myself would be going to this pack to search for Leora. I responded through mind-link,

"All right. You can wait for me outside of the pack. I don't believe I will be here for long."

"You put them in cells?" I ground out when I realized where Matteo was leading me to.

Several of his warriors were lined up against a very obvious prison building, and they straightened when they saw me and my warriors approaching. Matteo paused from walking, and looked back at me.

"Yes. And I would've kept them there until I found use of them," Matteo sent me a smile, one that bordered on mocking, and my eyes sharpened as I regarded him whilst he continued to speak, "You should have kept a tighter reign on them, though. It seems like they escaped you easily."

I allowed Matteo to think that those humans were slaves who had run away from my pack, and jerked my chin towards the door of the prison building we stood before, gesturing for him to unlock the doors.

The mocking smile died on his lips at my lack of reaction, and he cleared his throat, turning and stepping towards the doors, one of his hands going into the back pocket of his pants.

Keys jangled noisily as Matteo began to withdraw them, but then, one of his warriors who had been lined up against the building, wordlessly stepped forward and opened it for him.

Matteo muttered his thanks and began walking.

I entered, absently aware of the repeated sounds of water dripping somewhere.

The lights above on the ceiling were dim, casting a dark glow around the large area we entered. A puddle was on the dirty ground, and Matteo stepped through them, the sandals he wore doing little to shield his feet.

I could feel my lips tightening with each step I took in the prison, passing by many empty cells. There were no sounds except for the dripping of water, and the thuds of our boots.

Just as I began to think that Matteo was fucking with me, he came to a halt and gestured towards a cell.

I stepped towards the door, and looked over through the bars. Rapidly, although I recognized that the humans there were from Feldon, because most of them wore the white clothes I had seen them in at the dinner, I also saw that Leora was not amongst them.

I pressed closer to the bars of the cell, demanding, "Where is Leora?"

Silence met me, whilst some faces paled. Gnashing my teeth together, I began to turn, intending to confront Matteo, but one of the humans spoke up from where she sat.

"The guards made her stay in the shed."

Confusion joined my frustration, and I looked at Matteo for an explanation. He was silent for a moment, and I snarled, patience gone, "What shed did your guards take her to?"

Matteo shook his head, appearing bewildered, before realization dawned. His gaze jerked to me. "Follow me."

I did that, barely restraining my anger.

We exited the prison, and once more, we walked. I noticed, throughout the haze of my own emotions blanketing my mind, that Matteo appeared jerky with his steps as we neared a shed, one that was wooden and large.

When I inhaled, I scented nervousness from Matteo, and heavy dread slapped my stomach when I smelled blood. Fresh blood.

"What the fuck did your guards do?" I growled, red threatening to fill my vision, even as I pushed past him, planting a fist against the shed's door and forcing it open, hearing it slam against the wall of the shed harshly.

For a moment, all I saw was darkness. But as my vision adjusted to it, I saw two guards, standing in the corner of the shed.

I also noticed the blood on their shirts, the satisfied, almost pleasure filled expressions on their faces. And when I dipped my eyes low, moving to what rested by their feet, I saw a whip on the ground, with a small puddle of blood near it.

And then, I heard shallow, strained, almost barely audible breaths. When I turned towards those sounds, I saw Leora.

She was slumped against a wall, her eyes closed, blood falling from wounds and pooling around her naked body.

And the red that had once been threatening to take over my vision, now completely filled it as indescribably rage consumed me entirely.

***************

This is the end of the sample!

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