My fingers tighten around the phone 166

Ethan’s POV
David’s urgent tone sent ice through my veins. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
“What do you mean?” I demanded, my fingers tightening around the phone until my knuckles turned white. “She’s at the
training camp with Zoe. I just texted with her this morning.”
“She’s missing,” David replied, his voice clipped and professional despite the gravity of his words. “Zoe reported that Aria
disappeared after being escorted away by a guard. We’ve found the guard’s body in the detention area. His throat was
slashed.”
The world tilted beneath my feet. I staggered back, my shoulder hitting the wall of my grandmother’s porch with enough
force to rattle the windows. Blood roared in my ears, drowning out whatever my grandmother was saying as she rushed
to my side.
“Find her,” I growled into the phone, my voice barely recognizable even to my own ears. “Use every resource we have.
Lock down all pack borders immediately. No one enters or leaves without direct authorization from you or me.”
I ended the call and immediately dialed Aria’s number, my fingers fumbling with the screen. The call connected, but only
rang endlessly before going to voicemail. I tried again. And again. Each unanswered ring driving the knife deeper into my
chest.
“What’s happened?” My grandmother’s voice cut through my panic, her weathered hand gripping my arm with surprising
strength.
“Aria’s missing,” I managed, already moving toward my car. “Someone’s taken her—taken my pregnant mate. I’ll send
warriors to help with the search,” my grandmother called as I yanked open my car door.
“Thank you,” I replied automatically, my mind already racing ahead to what needed to be done. Lucas. I needed to get to
Lucas first. If they’d taken Aria, my son could be next.
The drive to Lucas’s school was a blur, every red light an eternity, every car in my way a personal affront. I instructed
David to mobilize search parties and question everyone who’d seen Aria at the training camp. No detail was too small, no
lead too insignificant.
By the time I reached the school, most of the children had already been picked up. Lucas sat alone on a bench near the
entrance, his small shoulders hunched as he clutched his backpack to his chest. The sight of him—so vulnerable, so
precious—nearly brought me to my knees.
When he spotted my car, his face brightened instantly. He leapt from the bench and ran toward me, his backpack
bouncing against his shoulders with each step. The smile on his face twisted the knife in my chest. He had no idea his
mother was missing, that our world was crumbling around us.
“Dad!” he called, flinging himself into my arms as I crouched to receive him. “You’re late! Where’s Mom? She usually picks
me up on Wednesdays.”
I held him tightly against my chest, breathing in his scent. How could I explain this to him? How could I tell my six-yearold son that his mother had been taken?
“Mom’s having dinner with Aunt Zoe,” I lied, forcing a smile that felt brittle enough to crack my face. “I’m sorry I’m late,
buddy. I got caught up with some pack business. Forgive me?”
Lucas pulled back, his green-gold eyes—so like my own—narrowing as he studied my face. The intensity of his gaze
reminded me so much of Aria that it physically hurt.
“You’re lying,” he declared, his small hands gripping the front of my shirt. “Something’s wrong with Mom, isn’t it? I can
feel it.” His voice dropped to a whisper, fear threading through his words. “Is she sick again? Like before?”
I couldn’t lie to him—not when he was looking at me like that, not when he’d already sensed the truth with that uncanny
intuition he’d inherited from both of us.
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“I don’t know exactly what’s happened,” I admitted, choosing my words carefully. “Mom went to the training camp this morning, but she… she’s not answering her phone now. I’m going to find her, Lucas. I promise you that.”
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His small jaw set in a determined line that was so familiar it made my chest ache. “I’m coming with you,” he declared, not
a request but a statement of fact. “Wherever you go, I go too.”
“Lucas, I need to go look for your mother. It could be danger—”
“I’m coming,” he repeated, his voice hardening with a stubbornness that was pure Aria. “She’s my mom. And if she’s in
trouble, I need to help find her.”
I hesitated, weighing my options. I couldn’t leave him alone—not when I had no idea what we were dealing with or who
might come after him next. I couldn’t spare anyone to guard him at home either; every able body needed to be searching
for Aria.
“Alright,” I conceded, lifting him into my arms. “But you stay where I tell you, understood? No arguments, no wandering
off.”
He nodded solemnly, his small arms tightening around my neck. “I promise.”
The drive to headquarters was tense, the silence broken only by my periodic attempts to reach Aria’s phone and Lucas’s
quiet sniffles from the back seat. I caught his eyes in the rearview mirror occasionally, noting how he’d blink back tears
before jutting out his chin in determination. So young, yet already trying to be strong.
When we arrived at the pack headquarters, the place was buzzing with activity. David stood at the entrance, his posture
even more rigid than usual as he barked orders into a radio. Leo paced nearby, his normally cheerful face drawn with worry. They both straightened when they spotted me.
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“Any news?” I demanded, setting Lucas down but keeping him close at my side.
“We’ve questioned everyone at the training camp,” David reported. “The last person to see Aria was a young guard who
escorted her to the detention area. Apparently, Sarah requested to speak with Aria directly, claiming to have information
about Emma that she would only share with her.”
“Sarah?” I frowned, connecting the pieces. “The one you arrested for collaborating with Emma?”
David nodded grimly. “That’s the concerning part. I never authorized any such meeting, nor did I send a guard to escort
Aria.”
A cold weight settled in my stomach. “It was a setup.”
“Yes, sir,” David confirmed. 、
Leo stepped forward, his usually jovial face taut with tension. “The warriors at the training camp said the fake guard told
Aria you and your father were at the hospital. That’s why she didn’t call to confirm.”
My jaw clenched so hard I could hear my teeth grinding. They’d used my father’s condition against us, knowing Aria wouldn’t question the story given the circumstances. I would make them regret that cunning when I found them.
“Alpha!” A breathless warrior burst through the doors, his eyes wide with urgency. “We’ve