CHAPTER 97: PERHAPS

Magnus

My body moves faster than my thoughts can catch up, leg muscles drawn so tight I can feel the fibers straining, threatening to tear.

The first thing I do is reckless—pointless—but I can’t stop myself. As if part of me still refuses to believe she’s gone. I can’t accept it.

I slam open the door to Kaya’s room with such force that it rips from the hinges and crashes against the floorboards, the sound echoing like a gunshot through the hall. Her scent is everywhere, saturating the air, clinging to every surface. But it offers no comfort.

What good is her scent if she isn’t here?

"Alpha Magnus," Samantha’s voice breaks through my haze, trembling and thin. I turn, startled by how pale she is, her hair messy and damp as if she’s run all the way here.

"I’m sorry." She almost chokes on the words, her eyes brimming with tears. "If only I had gone to the Lunarium with her... this wouldn’t have—"

"Who else is missing?" I snap, my voice cutting through her guilt like a knife. I can’t let myself linger on what-ifs.

"The Kellan twins," Aksel answers grimly, stepping forward. His personal patrol squad stands at the ready behind him, awaiting my command.

I nod once—sharp, decisive—and head for the stairs, tearing off my jacket and tossing it to the floor without slowing.’All patrol squads out,’ I command through the mind link, my mental voice hard and cold. ’Oliver, your squad stays behind in case someone returns. Everyone else—shift and scatter. Cover every direction. Search everywhere, and report every detail. EVERYTHING.’

I hear a collective YES echo through my mind, the force of it slamming against my skull until I feel like my head might burst—along with every coiled muscle in my body.

The instant my feet hit the frozen ground outside the mansion, my wolf rips free from my skin. I’m so wound up, I barely notice the shift. I surge forward, paws pounding against the earth with the weight of a titan’s steps, and for a moment, it feels like the world beneath me could crack open.

But I don’t give a shit.

I need to run.

I need to find Kaya.

’Tell me everything while we run,’ I link to Aksel, my voice a snarl through the connection. He answers almost instantly, as if he’d been waiting for me to ask.

’The western magic barrier has been tampered with,’ he reports, his tone cold and clipped. ’Kaya and the Kellan twins were reportedly together when it happened. No one saw or heard anything—until they realized all three were gone.’

’Any evidence at the scene?’

’A needle. Laced with aconite. Only one, though.’

Only one? The words grind in my mind, my ears flattening in suspicion as I run. ’That makes no sense. If they took three people, there should’ve been three needles—why leave only one behind? Unless they somehow managed to subdue the other two physically.’

’Yeah,’ Aksel agrees grimly. ’The girls said there were no signs of a struggle at the scene. They were out collecting flowers for no more than thirty minutes—if there was a fight, it must have been a short one. A damn short one.’

Moonwort flowers.

I grind my teeth, my chest constricting so hard it feels like my lungs might collapse at any moment. Why did you have to do this, Moonlight? To make me jealous? Fuck. Just... fuck.

Fighting against the roiling hatred clawing at my own insides, I barely register the passing scenery—or time—until we reach the place where it all happened.

The air here is unnaturally still. The bright glow of the afternoon sun scatters across the snow-dusted pine branches, making the thin powder shimmer like a cruelly beautiful frost. Even the dead earth seems to glitter under its touch, as if mocking what was taken here.

I stop a few feet from where Kaya supposedly vanished, closing my eyes and sharpening every other sense.

Her scent is still here—faint, frayed, but undeniable. I can feel the moment her steps halted abruptly, the subtle shift in her fragrance when she faced something unexpected, and then the sharp, bitter fracture in her pheromones as aconite burned its way into her veins.

Only her scent. There is nothing else. Why?

’All three of them were taken here,’ I tell Aksel, my gaze fixed on the shimmering magic barrier marking the edge of our territory and the start of neutral lands. ’And the girls were right—there’s nothing here that suggests an actual fight. Strangely...’

I pause, my muzzle almost brushing the faintly gleaming barrier. Its steady wall reacts to my approach with a dozen tiny blue sparks dancing across the surface. ’I only sense a reaction to Kaya’s scent... It just... makes no sense.’

Aksel steps up beside me, inhaling deeply as his gaze sweeps over the treeline. ’Gamma Tillian’s squad will check the neutral lands for more clues. Do you think... they were taken by the same bastards who’ve been kidnapping females from other packs? Allegedly.’

’I don’t think so,’ I answer immediately, my claws raking the frozen earth where it meets the barrier. ’This is too organized, too deliberate. Somehow, they knew Blood Moon’s females would be here for the Lunarium. They knew exactly how to tamper with the barrier. And of all the females we have, they chose Kaya—a woman the rest of the world believes to be a wolfless omega. Some might still think she’s "mated" to her previous alpha.’

Aksel glances at me sharply. ’Are you saying...?’ His voice drops, disbelief edging his words.

I exhale slowly. ’Only one person crossed into the barrier, their scent masked... but four people left. There was a single needle, and no sign of a physical struggle. Kaya was taken against her will—but the twins... they followed her willingly.’

Silence hangs between us for what seems like an eternity. When my words finally sink in, Aksel’s tone tightens with unconcealed frustration. ’Is it possible they went after her to rescue her?’

’Perhaps,’ I say, though there’s no hesitation in my voice now. My conclusion is drawn. ’Or perhaps they left because their work here was already done.’

’What?!’ Aksel’s shock deepens, his eyes widening as if he’s struggling to process my conclusion. I simply nod, pivoting on my paws, my tail flicking with resolve—then I drop another blow.

’We’re paying Damien Windthorne a visit. Today.’