6

“Ughhhhhhhhh, what the hell did you make me drink?” Drake groans, clutching his head in both hands and shielding his eyes from the light.

“Me!” Ben chirps proudly.

“Aghhhh—too loud, too loud!” Matt winces, cringing at the volume.

“Sorry, but I didn’t make anyone drink anything. I blame Reggie!” Ben defends himself, holding up his hands. He actually looks okay—surprisingly fine—but when Reggie wanders in from outside, he looks completely normal. Suspiciously normal.

“What the hell did you give these boneheads last night?” I ask, raising a brow.

Reggie frowns, glancing between the groaning mess of men. “Last night? What? I wasn’t even—ohhhhh… oh shit! YOU BASTARDS!”

He bolts past us, sprinting into the ballroom.

“AWCH, AWCH, AWCHHHH!” Drake roars dramatically, and I can’t help but laugh. They look like hell.

“YEP!” Reggie yells, re-emerging with an empty jar in hand. His face is sour. “I WAS RIGHT. THE MOTHERFUCKERS STOLE MY STASH!”

“Ohhh, I remember now!” Matt says, smacking his forehead and chewing his lip. “Yeah, you were smoking and left, then Ben suggested we smoke it to stop the pain.”

“Oh yeahhhhhh…”

“Oh yeahhhhhh…”

Ben and Drake chime in, nodding like it’s the greatest revelation in history.

“That was the last of it,” Reggie growls. “A month’s supply—if I was being greedy. How the hell did you even finish it all?”

Ben giggles, then immediately cringes and taps his forehead. “No—wait—I remember! Evelyn rolled it for us. She did it!”

My jaw drops. I turn to Evelyn, who’s grinning from ear to ear like a mischievous elf.

“You got them high?” I ask, laughing in disbelief.

“This is so good,” Evelyn giggles. “Too good. And they don’t even know they declared their love for each other either!”

Layla snorts, shaking her head. As soon as she says it, Drake frowns, glancing between me and the boys.

“What now?” he asks through our mindlink.

I growl at Layla. “Seriously, close the link!”

Her eyes widen as she realizes he’s still listening. “Oh—it’s nothing. Doesn’t matter.” She shoves him out of our head and slams the link closed.

“Sorry,” she mutters. “I’m so used to him being there, I forget sometimes.”

I nod, but I’m still annoyed. Drake growls out loud, frowning at me.

“Open the link.”

I shake my head. “No, thank you.”

“Lilly,” he warns, poking me, “I swear, I will not stop until you open the link.”

Before I can respond, Baylee comes racing in from outside, her little face streaked with tears, pale and panic-stricken. I can hear her heart pounding from across the room. Caden follows close behind, looking just as worried.

“Mummy! Daddy! One of the wolves is gone—he’s hurt! I can feel him! And the guards won’t let me go find him!” she sobs.

I’m on my feet before she finishes the sentence. If she’s this panicked, something is really wrong.

“Where is he, Baylee?” Drake asks, crouching down in front of her. His hangover vanishes instantly as the Alpha instinct kicks in.

“I don’t know!” she sobs harder, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve.

Caden kneels beside her, pulling her into a hug. “It’s okay. We’ll find him.”

“What if they kill him?” she cries. “I feel him. He’s not okay. Please—please can we go find him? He needs me.”

My heart shatters—and melts. She’s just a child, and this is tearing her apart.

I cup her tiny hand and press a kiss to her forehead. “Can you lead us to him?”

She nods furiously, so I take her hand and pull her toward the door. “Let’s go find him,” I whisper.

She sniffles, determined, and we head out the back door toward the training grounds and the forest.

“My legs are too short—we need to go faster!” she says, trying to run.

I scoop her up onto my hip and take off, racing toward the tree line.

“We’ll go this way,” Caden says, pulling Ryan in the opposite direction.

As soon as I step into the forest, I stop. It’s too quiet. No birds. No breeze. No rustle. Just silence.

All the animals are hiding—never a good sign.

We move deeper into the trees, the stillness pressing in on me. Suddenly, Drake’s phone beeps behind me.

“Holy fuck, dude!” I squeak, hand flying to my chest. I glare back at him.

He chews his lip, trying not to smile, but I see right through him.

Then he looks at his phone—and his face falls. His eyes meet mine.

I lift the mental veil between us.

“What is it?”

“The killer just sent me a photo of us. He’s here. Watching us.”

My stomach plummets. I glance around the silent woods, my heart racing.

Layla growls in my head and links Drake. “Go. Catch the bastard!”

“I’m not leaving you alone. Are you crazy?” he snaps.

“He’s right,” Layla says. “We don’t know how many people are watching us. We need backup.”

I glance down at Baylee. “Baby, we need to go back. The killer is watching. We’re not safe.”

She growls, twisting in my arms to break free. “No, no, no, no noooo!” she screams.

I hold her tighter. “He’s hurt, Daddy. Please. Let me find him. Please.”

More tears spill down her cheeks. Drake’s jaw clenches. He looks like he’s dying inside.

“Baylee, I’m sorry. I have everyone out looking—”

Suddenly, his body stiffens. His heartbeat slows… and then he drops like a tree.

Thud.

Baylee screams as a cold, high-pitched cackle fills the air, echoing through the forest.

⸻

I whip around, trying to pinpoint the sound—but it’s everywhere and nowhere all at once.

“THE ALPHA’S BEEN HIT! THE ALPHA’S BEEN HIT!” I scream through the mindlink. A chorus of howls follows. My knees hit the dirt.

“Where are you?” multiple voices call.

I throw my head back and howl, clutching Baylee to my chest.

My people are coming—I can feel it. I look at Drake and spot a dart in his neck. Tiny. Barely visible.

I pull it out and sniff.

My stomach lurches.

Dark magic.

Strong, effective, lethal dark magic.

Layla howls in my mind. Baylee sobs. I hug her tighter.

He could die. My panic blazes into fury.

Layla feels a pulse of unfamiliar life in the distance. Not pack.

She growls. “Hold the pup tight. I have a plan. I need her help. You trust me, right?”

I look from Baylee to Drake and nod. “With my life.”

We take off running, but the cackling returns. I skid to a halt, heart racing.

“Tut tut tut… Luna dear. I’m not even there, and you’re already jumping like a deer.”

“Cut the mind games, you fucking creep!” I snarl. “You wanted me alone—now you’ve got me. So face the music.”

He laughs—a scratchy, cold, serial-killer laugh.

“Two for one, eh?”

Baylee buries her face in my neck, sobbing.

“Not even you can pull the black magic from the Alpha. And now you want me to hit you with it too?”

My heart twists. I glance back at Drake, still lying there, lifeless.

“But what fun would that be? You play by my rules now. Maybe you’ll live. Maybe you’ll die. Either way—I’m in charge.”

I shake with rage. “What the fuck do you want?!”

Layla takes over, voice like steel. “You’ve underestimated me. Us.”

He laughs again.

Rustling sounds near Drake—Ben.

But I can’t focus on that now.

“Well, my goal is simple: to make you suffer. For your mate to never speak again. Never smile. For your kids to grow up without a father. I want your life to be hell.”

And then—silence.

The cackling cuts off.

The forest returns to life. Birds chirp. Leaves rustle.

“Lilly?” Ben calls.

I turn, tears streaming down my face. Our eyes meet—and I collapse, Baylee still in my arms.

I sob into her shoulder, shaking uncontrollably.

“Shit, Lilly—we need to get him to the hospital!” Ben says, lifting Baylee. Matt scoops me up, and I bury my face in his shoulder.

“Shhh… it’s going to be okay.”

“No, it’s not!” I sob. “I can’t save him this time!”

Matt goes stiff. Then he shakes his head. “I don’t accept that. And you can’t either. I believe in you, Lilly. You can do this.”

I cry harder, praying for a miracle.