LOGINDax’s POVBy the time Asher and I left Ella, I had stopped pretending Ciara’s disappearance might still have an innocent explanation.Ella remembered too much and that's was why Ayla had locked her away.The thought followed me through the estate as Asher disappeared toward the old archive wing to trace the black-and-silver crest. He could barely walk without hiding a stumble every few steps, but telling him to rest would have earned me another insult and probably a knife once he found one. So we divided the work instead. He would find everything connected to Transfer Corridor Seven while I went back through the house and rebuilt Ciara’s last morning from the people who had been there.At least, that was the plan but it became clear within twenty minutes that the house itself could not remember what happened.The first guard I questioned swore he had seen Ciara upstairs shortly before noon.“You’re certain?”“Yes, Alpha.” He looked nervous but not dishonest. “Lady Ciara passed the wes
Ella's povI nodded and began, “Madam Ciara went willingly,” I said immediately, because I did not want either of them thinking she had been dragged away. “She went with Miss Ayla and Miss Inara. She told me they were going to look for answers about what was happening to them, and Miss Ayla said it would not take up to forty-eight hours.”Alpha Dax’s face changed slightly at that. There was guilt there, maybe pain too, but he pushed it aside quickly.“When did they leave?”I told him roughly when, then explained how Miss Ayla had checked Madam Ciara’s pregnancy supplies herself before they left. She had gone through the medicines, water and food, even removed one snack because she did not like the salt content. I remembered thinking she looked more like an overly strict relative than someone taking them somewhere dangerous.Lord Asher gave a bitter laugh. “Of course she did.”Alpha Dax looked at him, but neither explained.I forced myself to continue.“The vehicle was not one of the
Ella’s POVThe room was too quiet, and I had started hating every inch of it.I sat on the floor beside the narrow bed with my back pressed against the wall, my knees drawn up and my fingers locked together so tightly they hurt. My eyes burned from crying, throat felt raw from shouting earlier, and I had long since stopped trying the door because nothing happened no matter how hard I pulled at the handle or how loudly I demanded someone let me out. Whoever had put me here had chosen the room carefully. The place was clean, warm and almost comfortable, which somehow made everything worse. There were no chains, visible guards or obvious signs of violence. Just one locked door and enough silence to leave me alone with every horrible thought in my head.Most of those thoughts were about Madam Ciara.If anything happened to her, I did not know how I would live with myself.Something had felt wrong before she left. I could not explain what exactly. Miss Ayla had behaved normally, maybe eve
Asher’s POVThe restraint around my right wrist gave another ugly metallic groan, and this time I felt something inside the mechanism shift.Good.I pulled harder.The entire bed shook beneath me while every monitor nearby started screaming at once. Red warning lights flashed across the room, and the three medical workers surrounding me immediately began talking over one another, one shouting that my current was breaking through while another reached for the suppressant controls. Their panic should have amused me under normal circumstances, it probably would have.Nothing about this felt funny anymore.Ciara.Ayla.The old territory.Those two women are not expected to come back.The words kept circling inside my head until they were louder than the alarms.“His levels are rising again!” the woman shouted. “Increase the stabilizer.”The man nearest my arm reached for the line connected to me, but before his fingers touched it, I forced my eyes open. The lights overhead stabbed into my
Asher's pov My current jumped before I could stop it, and the monitor immediately gave a sharp warning chirp.“What was that?” the woman asked.The man near my arm checked the screen. “His current moved.”“Is he waking?”“No. Probably a reflex. His system is already trying to burn through the suppressant again.” His fingers moved toward the line. “Increase the stabilizer slightly.”Fuck.I forced everything back down before he could add enough to bury me again. Fighting them physically was useless, but I was beginning to understand how the suppressant reacted to me. If I let my current sink instead of pushing against it, the machine calmed. My wolf followed the thought and withdrew with me, though I could feel his agitation growing beneath mine.The man waited several seconds, watching the monitor. “There. It’s settling.”The woman returned to whatever she had been doing. “Still, Ciara? I understand Miss Ayla being suspicious after all the strange things happening around her, but tak
Asher’s POVI was awake and that was the irritating part.If I had actually been unconscious, I could have forgiven the darkness, the heaviness and the strange empty feeling in my limbs. Instead, my mind had been awake for what felt like hours while the rest of my body behaved like it belonged to a corpse.I could hear, think and feel the cold metal beneath my back and the restraints around my wrists, ankles and chest. Somewhere to my right, a machine released a soft pulse every few seconds, followed by the faint burn of suppressant moving through the line attached to my arm.But opening my eyes?Impossible.Moving a finger?Also impossible.I tried anyway but nothing.“Fucking bitch.”The insult existed only inside my head because apparently Ayla had even taken my ability to swear out loud.That offended me more than the restraints.I reached for my wolf and found him buried beneath the same crushing weight. He was there, but weak, pacing somewhere far away with his head low and his







