LOGINKael Voss PovRowan had been there. He was still alive when they took him farther. And we had a direction to follow.I stood over the map in the command room as the first light reached the windows. The thin trail from the river mill now stretched farther northeast into the higher forest roads. Two search teams had moved through the night and sent back short updates. The tracks remained broken and carefully covered, but they had not vanished completely.Elias sat across from me, the small scrap of blanket still resting on the table between us. He had not let it leave his sight since Riven brought it in. The bond between the two of us was steady, but the missing third presence remained a constant silence.“They’re still moving him,” Elias said. “If they had reached a final hiding place, the trail would have stopped.”“Yes,” I answered. “They’re using the forest roads to buy time and distance. We stay on them.”Riven entered with the overnight report. His clothes carried the smell o
Elias Vale PovWe would not accept the silence. We would not accept the lie. And we would keep hunting until we found the path that led to our son.I sat in the command room as the first search reports of the day came in. The team sent to the old logging road had found more traces—three additional empty vials and a set of disturbed leaves where a covered vehicle had waited. The trail moved east for another two miles and then disappeared again on hard ground. It was still thin, but it was more than we had the day before.Kael stood over the map, marking the new points. His face was set and tired. Neither of us had slept more than an hour at a time since Rowan was taken.“They’re moving him in short stages,” Kael said. “Different vehicles. Strong blockers. They know we will follow any clear scent.”I watched the marks on the map. “East is toward the neutral trading routes. If they reach open roads, the trail will be harder to hold.”“Then we reach them before they get that far.”Ri
Kael Voss PovWe did not believe the lie. And we would not stop hunting until the silence in the bond was broken by our son’s return.I stood in the command room as the sun rose fully over the estate. The maps on the table were covered in new marks—search grids, failed trails, and the last known movement of the group that took Rowan. The bond remained silent. Every time I reached for the third presence, I found only emptiness.Elias sat across from me, his hands wrapped around a cold cup of tea he had not touched. He had not slept. Neither of I had. The empty place where Rowan should have been sat between us like a physical weight.Riven entered with the morning report. His face was tired but focused.“The northern trail is still cold,” he said. “We expanded the search another five miles into the forest and along the old service roads. No new tracks. No scent. They used strong blockers and changed transport more than once.”“Keep expanding,” I said. “They had a plan for the exit. T
Elias Vale PovSomewhere beyond our reach, the people who had taken our son were already moving to make the prepared story become the only story the world would hear.I sat on the edge of the damaged bed in the secure suite, the empty sling still folded in my hands. The room smelled of smoke and dust. The bond that had once held three of us now held only two. The silence where Rowan should have been was constant and cold.Kael stood near the broken door, speaking quietly into the radio. Search teams were still moving through the northern tree line and the outer grounds. No new tracks had been found since the first hours after the attack. The group that took Rowan had prepared their exit well.I stared at the empty crib. Every time I reached for the bond, I found nothing. The absence made it hard to breathe.Kael ended the call and came to me. He sat beside me and took the sling from my hands, setting it aside.“Riven’s teams found the handoff point,” he said. “Northern tree line, jus
Kael Voss PovOur son was gone. And the prepared story was ready to be told.I stayed on the floor of the ruined suite with Elias, the empty sling still in his hands. The air smelled of smoke, dust, and blood. The bond that had always held the three of us was now only two. The place where Rowan had been felt hollow and silent.Riven’s voice cut through the noise from the corridor. “The attackers are secured. Four dead. Three alive. The rest fled into the outer grounds. We’re hunting them now.”I forced myself to stand. Elias remained on the floor, staring at the empty cloth. I crouched in front of him and took his face in my hands.“Look at me,” I said. “We are going to find him.”Elias’s eyes were wide and empty. “The bond is gone. It just… faded.”“I know.” My voice was rough. “That does not mean he is dead. It means they took him far enough, or blocked it somehow. We search. Now.”I pulled him to his feet. Seraphina entered with a full medical and security team. She took one loo
Elias Vale Pov The final window to take our son was now open.I stood in the safe room with Rowan against my chest. The bond between me, Kael, and our son felt strong, but the new message left no doubt. The final window was open. Vesper was coming for our child now.Kael’s voice came from the doorway, calm but tight. “We hold this room. One of us stays with him no matter what. The inner teams stop everything at the door.”I nodded and held Rowan closer. “I stay with him. You stop them outside. We do not open.”The bond carried the same decision from both of us. We had no time for a long meeting. The attack started almost at once.Heavy impacts hit the door hard and fast. The noise was louder than before. The whole room shook. Smoke poured under the frame. Dust fell from the ceiling. This was not another test. This was the real attempt to break in.Kael moved to the door side of the room, speaking fast into the radio. Riven’s team was already fighting in the corridor. The sounds of t
Elias Vale PovThe trunk smelled like gas and old blood. My wrists burned where the zip ties cut deep. Every bump slammed my shoulder into the spare tire. I kept my eyes closed tight in the dark. Breathing through my mouth helped with the fumes, but nothing eased the fear twisting in my gut.The g
Kael Voss PovDawn light crept through the windows, gray and quiet. The room was still too warm from the long night. Elias stayed curled tight against my chest, his skin damp with sweat, breathing uneven. I had held him through the worst of it, but now my own body was turning on me. A heavy ache b
Kael Voss Pov The medical alert blared through the estate like a warning siren. Elias’s heat had spiked hard and fast. Too early. My body reacted before my mind fully caught up. I was already out of my chair and moving down the hallway, boots hitting the floor hard.Riven tried to keep up. “Boss,
Elias Vale Pov I followed Riven down the long hallway, my legs still shaky from everything that had happened in the contract room. Kael’s words kept repeating in my head. “We’ll talk about that when the time comes.” He couldn’t even give me a straight answer about what would happen to me after th







