Twenty-four hours had passed, and there was still no trace of Ruby.
Kaden had thrown almost everything he had into the search. His best trackers had searched the road where the attack happened and moved outward for miles. Warriors had searched the forests, abandoned buildings, warehouses, hotels, border roads, and nearby towns. Every vehicle that had crossed the territory around the time of the attack had been investigated. Yet, they found nothing.
It was no surprise the search came up empty. Kane and Logan had planned the escape down to the smallest detail. They knew every tactic Kaden’s trackers would use, every route they would check, and every protocol the pack would follow. To make matters worse, Logan was already healed enough by the pack’s top healers to oversee the search operations himself. The very man Kaden trusted to lead the search was the one making sure Ruby’s true path remained hidden.
Inside his study, Kaden stood by the window, the phone pressed tightly against his ear. His voice was raw, laced with desperation and authority.
"I’ll give you anything," Kaden said into the receiver, speaking to the Vampire Lord on the other end. "Gold, land, open access through my borders—anything you want. Just find her if she’s been brought into your territory."
"Alpha Kaden, calm down," the Vampire Lord replied over the line. "Send me her picture. I will have my men check every vampire city and hideout immediately."
Kaden froze. The realization hit him like a physical blow.
He didn’t have a single picture of her.
"I... I will get one and send it to you," Kaden muttered, his voice dropping into a hollow whisper.
He ended the call and set the phone heavily on the desk. Grabbing an unglassed bottle of whiskey, he tipped it back and took a massive gulp, the dark liquid burning his throat. But it did nothing to dull the agony in his chest.
Hot tears gathered in his eyes and finally spilled over. He was terrified. He couldn’t stop thinking about what she was going through. Who had taken her? Was it rogue wolves? Slayers? Dark beasts? Was she cold? Was she hurt?
He blamed himself entirely. If only I had gone to that dinner, he thought, gripping the edges of the desk. If only I had been there, those people would have had to kill me before I ever let them take Ruby away.
"Moon Goddess, please help me," he whispered desperately. He sank onto the couch, covering his face with his hands as tears slipped down his cheeks.
The study door opened quietly, and Logan walked in. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his head and his left arm, hiding the minor injuries he had sustained. Looking at Kaden broken on the couch, a heavy wave of guilt washed over Logan. He was supposed to be Kaden’s most trusted officer, yet here he was, pulling off the ultimate betrayal.
Hiding his guilt behind a solemn expression, Logan stepped forward. "Alpha... the trackers still haven’t found a single scent trail. The elders and head trackers believe whoever took her used a teleportation portal to leave the area."
Kaden didn’t say a word. He just stared blankly at the floor. He knew that was a real possibility. There were powerful sorcerers and beings gifted with spatial abilities who could open portals. If that was how they took her, finding her using normal tracking methods would be almost impossible.
"I believe whoever took her will call soon for a ransom," Logan added, trying to offer a logical explanation to keep Kaden waiting by the phone.
Kaden looked up, his eyes bloodshot and terrifyingly dark. "What if they don’t want a ransom, Logan? What if they want something else?"
He stood up from the couch, wiping the moisture from his face with the back of his hand. "I won’t rest, Logan. I will find her, even if I have to search every inch of the earth."
Logan swallowed hard, bowing his head. "I am sorry, Alpha. I am so sorry I failed to protect her."
Kaden ignored the apology completely, his mind turning to the operational details. "Has the CCTV footage from the street where the attack happened arrived yet?"
"I checked the footage myself, Alpha," Logan lied smoothly. "The street cameras were completely off. Whoever planned this cut the power lines to the area before the crash. Nothing was captured."
Kaden’s eyes narrowed instantly. "How is that possible? That street is on the main pack grid. The backup generators should have kicked in automatically." He took a step toward Logan, a dark suspicion flickering in his gaze. "Something isn’t right about this."
He turned his back to Logan, rubbing his temples as a headache pounded behind his eyes. "Just get out. I’ll handle this myself."
"Yes, Alpha," Logan said quietly. He turned and left the room, his heart pounding. The look in Kaden’s eyes told him everything—Kaden was starting to sense that the pieces didn’t fit.
Unease settled deep in Logan’s stomach as he walked down the quiet hallway toward Kane’s quarters. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. Kane was sitting on the edge of the bed, a fresh bandage wrapped around his torso.
"Kane, we have a problem," Logan said, closing the door firmly behind him. "Kaden is never going to stop searching for her. He’s already suspecting the camera footage. We have to do something to stop him before he figures this out."
Kane looked up, feeling exhausted. "I know. And I have a plan."
Kane pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a long-distance number. He placed the phone to his ear, listening as it rang a few times before someone finally picked up.
"Alpha Darius," Kane said directly into the mic. "I need to speak with Zoey."
"Hold on," Alpha Darius’s deep voice responded from the other end. "She just arrived and is settling into her room. I’ll take the phone to her."
Kane waited in tense silence for a couple of minutes, hearing faint footsteps over the line. Finally, a familiar, soft voice came through the speaker.
"Hello?"
"Rebecca, it’s Kane," he said urgently. "You have to do something. Kaden is losing his mind, and he won’t stop until he tears the world apart looking for you. You need to make him stop."
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