Chapter Five

(Ronald's POV)

The sun had barely risen by the time the troops set out.

Search parties spread through every inch of the forest surrounding my territory. Warriors moved in pairs, tracking scents, examining footprints, and searching for blood. An injured, wolfless woman couldn't have gone far.

She was out there.

And I intended to find her before anyone else did.

Cassius's group was ahead. We followed the direction she'd run, tracing a trail of broken branches.

"Master Ronald!" Cassius called as his group stopped. I walked up to them. "What did you find?"

"Blood, on the branches."

I took a look. "Check around." I ordered. The troops examined the other branches on the path and there was truly a trail.

"That woman just made our job easier," Oliver chuckled a laugh.

"We'll find her, dead or alive."

We followed the blood trail deeper into the forest. The stains grew farther apart, as though she'd been struggling to stay on her feet. Broken twigs and torn leaves marked her desperate path.

Without warning, it stopped.

"Spread out, she can't just disappear," I commanded.

The troops did as I instructed.

Even without a wolf, an arrow wound, silver in her system, a night spent in the forest... the odds of survival were almost nonexistent.

Yet there was no body.

My gaze swept across the trees.

Either she'd somehow kept moving...

Or someone had reached her first.

"No. No one would risk themselves for a wolfless woman." I told Oliver.

"Could she be dead?"

"If she was dead, there'd be a body."

Cassius walked up to me. "No sign, maybe something in the forest—"

"There'd be traces of flesh if that was the case."

I stared into the forest one last time. Someone had been here. Whether they'd carried her away alive or taken her body, I couldn't tell. Either way, the trail had gone cold.

"Call everyone back," I ordered.

Cassius frowned. "Master Ronald?"

"We'll lose more men wandering blindly. At first light tomorrow, we'll sweep the northern perimeter."

He lowered his head. "Yes, Master Ronald."

I turned toward the path leading back to the pack. Whoever had interfered had only delayed the inevitable. Tyra couldn't stay hidden forever.

Next time, I'd be ready.

(Kanyon's POV)

I took my usual seat at the dining table, but the food in front of me barely held my attention.

"How are the new recruits?" I asked Athena. She looked up, her gaze meeting Niko's before mine. She swallowed the food before answering.

"Good. Some could use a little more training."

"Did you have a maid deliver food to the rogue?" I shifted my attention to Niko. "Yes."

We hadn't been back since this morning. Finding out someone you cared about was gone wasn't something anyone recovered from in a few hours. Even so, we'd have to question him again tomorrow.

"I had something important to tell you today, at noon," Athena started, dropping her fork. Eric and I locked eyes for a split second before he looked away. "What was it?" I sighed.

"You weren't in your office. Where were you?" She frowned.

"I had things to attend to."

"You haven't been to your office since last night."

"And?" I raised a brow.

Athena stared at me for a long moment before leaning back in her chair.

"You weren't at training. You skipped the council reports. You didn't even stop by your office." Her gaze narrowed. "Eric disappeared with you yesterday, then came back alone."

Eric suddenly became very interested in the food on his plate.

"Then this morning, you left straight after interrogating the rogue." She folded her arms. "So I'll ask again. Where were you?"

Niko quietly kept eating because he'd learned that getting between siblings was a terrible survival strategy.

I picked up my glass, taking a slow sip before setting it back down.

"I said I was busy."

"Nikolia."

Niko slowly looked up from his plate, chewing the last bite of food with the expression of a man who'd just been drafted into a war he wanted no part in.

"I was hoping you'd forget I was here."

"Where was your Alpha last night?"

Using my title instead of my name meant she'd already lost patience. I'd better end this quickly.

I cleared my throat, drawing her attention back to me. "Someone was badly injured last night. I had to take her to the hospital."

"Her? One of ours?"

"No."

"Then whose?"

"That, I have no clue."

Athena wasn't satisfied with what she got but she didn't push further.

After dinner, I headed back to my room.

"I need to know why those rogues attacked our pack." Jace's voice finally drifted through my thoughts.

"Now you remember I exist. You were silent when Athena was throwing questions at me." I grumbled.

"You know your sister will find out sooner or later." Jace scoffed.

He was right. Out of everything Athena was, she wasn't stupid.

"We'll deal with that later." I shut Jace out.

I took a shower, hoping sleep would quiet my thoughts. It didn't.

By morning, the pack house had returned to its usual rhythm. Warriors crossed the courtyard, maids hurried through the halls, and voices echoed from every floor.

I skipped breakfast, going straight to Eric's room in the east wing.

"You're not eating?" Eric raised a brow as he stepped out of his room.

"Later. Let's check on the prisoner."

We made our way downstairs. The farther we descended, the stronger the scent of the rogue became.

As we turned into the hallway leading to the holding cells, a maid came sprinting toward us.She crashed into Eric, trembling so violently he had to steady her.

"What's wrong?" Eric demanded.

She struggled to speak, pointing toward the basement.

"The... the prisoner..."

My chest tightened.

"He's dead."

"Dead?" I stepped forward.

She nodded shakily. "I went to give him his food but..."

Eric and I exchanged looks.

"It's okay, take the day off." He dismissed her. We immediately headed down.

The tray of food the maid was carrying was on the floor in front of his cell. She probably dropped it out of shock. Inside the cell, the rogue's body lay on the floor. There was a fork in his throat. I frowned.

Eric tightened his jaw. "He took his own life."

"Our only chance of getting information just killed himself. How convenient." Jace sighed.

I didn't reply. As much as I hated being stuck, looking at the rogue made me understand his decision. I turned to Eric. "Give him a burial." Eric nodded, opening his cell.

I walked out of the basement.

"You should've just questioned him when you had the chance." Jace groaned. "Not now, Jace." I pushed him to the back of my mind.

I got into my car, heading to the hospital.

I made my way to her room. I opened the door. I walked up to her bedside. She was still the same as before.

"Alpha Kanyon, you're here." Doctor Tim walked in. I gave him a small smile as he approached me.

"She's responding well to treatments. The swelling in her brain has reduced. The arrow wound is healing but it's unusually slow. Maybe her wolf is still weak."

"Thank you, Doctor Tim."

"No worries. But I do have one question—"

My attention quickly shifted back to her as she moved her head to the other side. "She's waking up?"

Doctor Tim was beside her in an instant. I felt Jace's excitement as I watched Tim check her. "No, but this is a good sign. She'll wake in a day or less."

I felt Jace groan.

I nodded, my eyes lingering on her face after Doctor Tim stepped back.

Strands of hair had fallen across her cheek. Without thinking, I reached over and brushed them aside.

My hand froze.

A silver mark rested against the side of her neck.

The same one the rogues had.