Chapter 157
Julian
I watched Ian’s back as he slowly straightened. There was no one else in here but us. But I could hear the hubbub of voices outside. He hadn’t come alone. But he was treating this like it was a crime scene. And didn’t want dozens of people milling around.
He turned to me, but I didn’t meet his eyes. I couldn’t tear them away from the tiny blood drops. It was nothing. I told myself over and over again. They were so small , that she couldn’t be badly hurt but they were hers and she was gone.
All the clues added up to her being gone. Taken by one of our enemies but how had they managed to get into Scarlett’s land without anyone seeing them?
How had they managed to take her from right under my nose without me even waking up. She wouldn’t have gone with anyone, not willingly.
Not unless. My brow creased into a frown and I finally looked at him. He was wearing an identical frown on his face.
The fact that Ian was worried as well didn’t fill me with hope. If he was worried then it meant I had something to be worried about.
“There no other scent here.” He said softly. And I blinked at him in surprise.
“What do you mean?” My voice shook.
“I mean I can smell her and that’s her blood. There’s no question about that.” He shook his head. His dark hair falling into his eyes. It was much longer now than what I was used to seeing him with.
“But no one took her that I can sense.”
I did a double take at his words. “Then where the hell is she? Why isn’t she here?” My voice rose to a shout. A growl booming out in the end. Outside the voices quietened as they listened in intently.
Ian scowled at me. He took my elbow and led me back up the stairs. And I let him which was strange because I was the ruler here and not him.
“Get some clothes on. You are going to have to make a statement to the pack. And you can’t do that naked.”
Bending he gathered up my dirty clothes and thrust them into my hands. For a second I stared at them like I didn’t know what to do with them.
“Get dressed Julian and tell me what happened.”
I did what he asked , moving on autopilot but stopped with only one leg in my jeans. “What do you mean what happened?” I snapped. “I told you what happened. I woke up and she was gone. Her side of the bed was cold.”
Ian stared at my forgotten jeans and I hurriedly pulled them up my thighs.
“What happened last night, after we left you.” His eyeborw shot up as I opened my mouth to tell him. “I don’t need to gory details Julian. But did anything strange happen?”
“No.” I said quickly.
“No? Nothing at all?”
“No.” I said again with a shake of my head. “It was almost a perfect night, after training,” I cleared my throat, throwing him a glance out of the corner of my eye. “We came back here. Ate together.” I didn’t mention how we had made love again in the kitchen. “Had a normal night. Like we were a normal couple and then we came to bed and fell asleep exhausted after-“
“Yeah.” He threw up a hand to silence me.
“Sorry. It was perfect.” My frown deepened.
“What just made you frown?” Ian asked sharply. As always he was really perceptive.
“It was perfect. We were like a normal couple.” I muttered and that’s why I was frowning because me and Cassie had never been a normal couple. Not ever. We didn’t have perfect nights.
“Something is wrong.”
Ian nodded slowly and my heart lurched and then sank completely when he spoke softly. “That’s what the others have said as well. That everything was normal. It was an almost perfect night and-“
“What do you mean others? What others?”
His eyes skirted away guiltily before he finally met mine. “Almost thirty people have disappeared overnight.”
My heart slammed into my rib cage and then sank into my stomach. “How many?”
“Twenty eight that we know of. Maybe more. Maybe less. There’s search parties out looking but there’s no sign of anyone. Most have just vanished into thin air.”
“Like Cassie.” It felt like I was being choked. Like some invisible hands had closed around my throat and were squeezing the life out of me.
“No.” Ian interjected quickly. “There’s signs with Cassie. Signs that we can follow. The others,” he shook his head. “It’s weird. Like-“
I shot him a look. “You think magic is involved?”
“I don’t want to jump to conclusions but one of the missing is the little orphan Scarlett has taken on. He disappeared from the bed right next to the alpha and she didn’t wake up. He is too small to just wander off.”
“Just like Cassie. But if no one else was here to take them then Duncan must have employed witches to -“
A scream rent the air. A wail of pure terror and headache from far away in the woods.
“Cassie.” Spinning on my heel I took off at a run, Ian close behind me. He didn’t even bother to tell me not to run off. That it might be a trap. We both knew it was probably a trap and neither of us cared.
By the time I had hit the front door I had already shifted. The pure size and force of my wolf smashing it straight off its hinges. I plunged into the yard, scattering the people waiting there and was thrust into the darkness of the forest before anyone could blink.
“Please.” I sent out a silent prayer. “Please be ok. I’ll do anything.”
Stretching out my neck I forced myself to run faster. But I didn’t have far to run. I had barely got a hundred yards from the house and was on the edge of a small circular clearing when I saw her through the heavy tree trunks.
Cassie was naked, her white skin splattered with brown and red. Mud and blood. Her dark hair was a matted mess around her shoulders.
And she was screaming. Just standing there and screaming.
I shifted back quickly. Rushing to approach her with my arms out. “Cassie where have you been? You must be freezing.” She looked like she was. And if she had been then I would need to get her inside into the warm as quickly as possible before she caught her death. “Come on baby, it’s just me. It’s Julian.” I took another step towards her and a twig snapped under my weight.
She turned to me slowly and I felt the breath leave my lungs in a rush. She was still my Cassie, still beautiful in every way.
But her eyes were sightless. Vacant as she looked straight through me and continued to scream.
Then she crumpled to the floor in a heap and the forest went silent.
And that silence was the loudest thing I had ever heard.
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