Chapter Forty–Four
It really happened
Reorming the revuln Dd been hoping for the last couple of weeks, my excitement got away from me. Racing our of the bedroom I started towards hui office knowing that he’d wont to know the truth. I’d noticed the way Kadden had watched me the last couple of weeks, his repeated claims of confidence. I was so lout in the excitement that I became lost to the world around me, forgetting about the dangers plaguing our home
The reason why I failed to notice that Kadden wasn’t presently working inside of has office this morning. Nordid1 sense the interloper that came up from behind me, Urking me or the back of the head Availed with dizziness and blinding pain. I collapsed to the ground as I heard the echo of footeps I promoved a brief glimpse of strange leather boots, knowing I’d seen them before when the world went black
The next time I came to I found my body bouncing kesund, as I was dung over someone’s shoulder. Again Irned to make sense of what was happening hur my mind was cloudy, fogged as it never been. Where was I who was this stranger carrying me I tried to clear the fog from my mind to help center my thoughts, but then the darkness came again. I tried to fight against it, to push it back, but none of my attempts could keep the woud from cloung
Ik with attam. Pan shot through my body. Gmaning Irned to push up where my body had fallen, but couldn’t find the strength to move. To brech Tothink I didn’t know how long in d heen since I’d passed our, but the weakness assured me in ‘d been some time. Time spent lost in the devoud of darkness that d imprisoned me, with no food or water to poorish my body. Where was D Why wasn t Kadden near Again I tried to shake my head free of the cloud consuming it, but it only sent my world tumbling again.
“Dent bother tryinut,” a deep, varr I didn’t recognize entered my thoughts, clearly aware of my attempti to regain myself. Tve hopped you up on ennaugh Wolfbane and Hemlock to keep a whole herd of wolves sedated”
Wolfsbane–Hemlock!
I was being drugged. No wonder Ifer so damned weak and my mind was too frizzy to forms, this bastard was keeping me druzzed. Just as I knew that no matter how much I tried, if he kept me dosed up. I wasn’t getting our of this. Feeling the effects the drugs were having on me I had linle doubt the man was using the full extent. Determined that I wouldnt grow an immunity to it, as it was the one surefire way to keep a wolf docile.
Collapsing back on a hard surface I could only assume was the groan, Enursed the cruel fare handed to me. Would the cruelties ever stop? From the moment I was bom I’d suffered one tragedy after another, the world constantly shitting on me. When I had escaped Shadow Creek I had thought it was over, that finally I would be free of the hell. Yet, clearly, that wasn’t the case at all. Once again, I was the weakened cut nobody wanted, at the mercy of the haurand currently holding me captive. Worse off I didn’t even have the strength to open my eyes to see his face, let alone escape him.
The third time that I awoke I was alone. I couldn’t open my eyes to glance at my surroundings, but my senses told me that I was. Lying down on the sharp edges of the rocky surface Llaid on, I had no doubt I would die in this place. My throat was parched, my stomach hurt so much, it was obvious I hadn’t eaten or drank anything in days. Or was it longer. I didn’t know. A sickness built up in the pit of my stomach, from lack of nutrition, and the drugs kept injecting into me
T
sinade tear slipped out of the comer of my eyes as I faced the truth, I’d been trying to avoid these last days. I was going to die. Lost and alone in the world of darkness I’d come to know, I was going to che, and no one would ever find my body. 1 Von Silvervayne once knownas Rayven Carinde, was going to perch in this place and my family would never know. My parents wouldn’t know how much their daughter loved them and the woman I’d become. I ayla wouldn’t find out the tentative friendship with Von was the same one she’d known with Rayven Worst off, Kadden would never learn of what herrame of me, probably thinking I’d run away.
Nor the murale taking place in my body. More tears fell as I used what little strength I had left to place a hand on my still smooth flat stomach. Where only days ago I had received the news, the knowledge of the child I carried inside of me. I’d been so happy to find out that mine and Kadden’s time nogether had created a new life, the life of our cub. And like me I knew that he’d too be excited at the news that I’d uncovered that very momine Only he never knew the truth of his child’s existence, and now we were both going to die. Ton heart sick at the truth my life had become. this time I didnt fight the darkness as it tried to claim me. I welcomed its embrace,
Aljdu Kedden POV
dns the only question that bung heavily on my mind. The only thing I wanted to know. Where was Von! It was the same question that plagued my mund uner I’d come to the manor to find her gone. Id tried not to be worried when she couldn’t be found, confident she was just hiding out westnewhere. It wasntro de Sac hoan without an appearance of the woman I knew something was wrong, she’d never stayed gone for so long.
My men immediately searched every inch of the property, determined to find her current location. By nightfall, it was proven that Von wasn’t
where in the manor, nor in the surrounding property. The patrols were confulent she hadn’t gone into the woods, but still, Ed demanded they be thed Lastly, the warriors combed every section of the town, intent on finding out where she’d gone. There wasn’t a house that wasn’t turnes upside down bur forced to admit she wasn’t in Shadow Creek.
and at the thought of whard happened in my absence. Id immediately allowed Ravage free reign. My wolf had immediately gone from one of the tembury to the next, searching for his lost mate. Ir quickly became apparent the woman wasnt going to be found anywhere, not even her went to lead the way. That in itself was the most troulding lavage sees were unparalleled For Von to have gotten out of the manor, let alone
Chapter Fony Four
the territory without leaving a scent, it spoke volumes.
After two weeks of combing the kingdom, I stormed through the house and headed straight to my office. In the doorway I caught the faintest traces of her scent, evidence it was the last place she visited. Rhavage whimpered inside of my mind. My wolf was in quite a state. He missed Diamond and Von too. He hadn’t been the same since I’d come home to find her gane, often solemn and quiet. The only time the animal actually emerged from the shadows was while we were on the hunt for our mate.
Kicking the door closed to keep anyone from following me inside, I collapsed in the chair behind my desk How had she done it? Why! To leave like that. I’d trusted that she would keep to her promise, but it was obvious that I was wrong about her. Just when I trusted her, I thought the two of us were on the same page, only for her to run off. It didn’t make sense.
Khavage whimpered again. “Mate didn’t leave.”
“She left us.” I growled back. She left me. Like Sara
“She didn’t,” my wolf clawed my back.
Fucking bastard.
Rhavage wasn’t appeased, at which point he proceeded to claw the back of my mind, digging fangs in deep. I cursed at the pain he caused me “Diamond wouldn’t leave us and neither did Von. Someone took her. It could be the only explanation. Someone took our mate. Go find her!”
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t refute his claims. Something about her disappearance hadn’t set well with me since day one, warning me of danger Von wouldn’t have left considering how desperate she’d become for my presence, especially not pregnant. And she was pregnant, I was confident Then there was Angel to think about. Even if she hated me, she absolutely loved my daughter, fighting to give her a home, a family. She wouldn’t have left her.
Confident that Rhavage was right about what had happened, I logged into the security systems camera. Don’t ask me why I never did so before. Opening up the logs I went to the ones the day of her disappearance, playing video after video. Finally, I opened one outside of my office door, watching as Von came down the long corridor. She was smiling, a happiness glowed in her eyes, I had no doubt she’d uncovered the truth. She was pregnant. I wasn’t surprised when the security camera went black, proof someone had disabled the system. Again. Only they weren’t counting on the ones inside of my office, as the door was left wide open.
Switching over to the feed of that camera Limmediately opened the reoccurring file, allowing it to play. I was allowed to watch as the door opened. to meet her happy smiling face, melting at the look. Only to lurch forward in shock when her head snapped forward as if she’d been hit from behind. I watched in stunned disbelief as she collapsed to the floor, her head lulling off to the side. In the next shot, an unknown person could be seen on the edge, the pipe in their hand was obvious. My anger mounted as I watched the cloaked figure hefting her body up into their arms, disappearing from sight
“She was kidnapped,” my roar came.
“Siret” Alex’s panicked cry could be heard as he raced through the manor later that evening, tracking him down. “An hour after the footage was taken a white truck was seen leaving town, headed to the Dark Lands.”
