CHAPTER 9
Caylix
Dawn light filters through the trees as we trudge into the cabin after our long trek through the swamps.
Annoyance has me seething as I slam open the door, forgetting it’s barely hanging on by a thread after that fucking cured feral burst through it. It teeters off the hinges before making a loud bang against the floor.
I run a hand through my hair, making a mental note to have one of the betas run to town and get a new one I can install. This place needs to be more secure for Rue. Especially knowing that fanged fucker is still out there, probably biding his time until he can strike again and try to take her from us. Or worse.
My wolf peeks an eye open at that and gives me a growl as if to say, We’ll protect her.
That we will. At any cost.
Speaking of which, I can’t wait to see my little witch and bury my neck in her sweet scent. Or better yet, bury my face between her thighs and drench myself in it. Kathan’s bullshit took us away from her far longer than I like.
The big bastard is almost fully healed, but he’ll still be sore, which if you ask me, is a great penance for running off on her like that.
Now to get to the bottom of what really happened with Lance Lacroix. That sneaky bastard is a sore spot for Kathan. Knowing their history is the only reason I didn’t kick Kathan’s ass for the way he acted.
“Rue?” Rhys calls out.
His voice pulls me out of my thoughts. “Sorry about the noise, little witch. I promise I’ll get that fixed ASAP,” I shout, heading down the hallway to Kathan-turned-Rue’s room.
Silence fills the air, broken only by our footsteps as we shuffle around. Kathan mutters something about picking up the SUV later, but needing to pass the fuck out first. I don’t respond, pausing to listen.
Something isn’t right. It’s too quiet. That bang should’ve woken her up, and I can’t imagine her not coming to check out the noise. The covers don’t rustle, there aren’t any soft footsteps, or a yawn like when she normally wakes up.
An inkling of anxiety slithers its way up my spine, causing the hair on the back of my neck to rise. That’s when it hits me like a hammer to the chest. I wheel around. “Wait. Where’s the fucking fanged enforcer?” I demand. “He was supposed to guard her.”
Kathan and Rhys freeze, spinning on their heels to face me, their eyes wide with confusion. “He should be here,” Kathan begins, his voice threaded tight with tension. “His orders were strictly to stay with Rue and if anything happened to us, he was to bring her here.”
A chill runs down my back at the implication of what Rhys says next. “Fuck. I have a bad feeling,” he states in a hushed whisper, his voice almost lost in the thick silence that surrounds us all. Yeah, that makes two of us. Three if the rumbling from Kathan’s chest is any indication. The grumpy ass can pretend all he wants, but he’s in love with her.
We all are.
At the same time, we all rush toward Rue’s door, practically mowing each other down in our haste to get to her room. My heart stops when the door swings open and she’s not there. The bed is made exactly the way it was before we left for town, the shirt of Kathan’s she sleeps in draped across the end. Her honey scent is strong but stale. She hasn’t been here.
“Where is she?” I breathe, frantically checking the closet despite knowing I won’t find her in there. Something is off. The all-consuming worry in my chest takes over every one of my senses with the need to lay eyes on her. To know she’s okay.
Kathan steps forward, his face etched with concern as he picks up his shirt, inhaling her scent. “I don’t know,” he rumbles. “The enforcer was tailing us when I took off.” A vein in his forehead throbs as he turns to look at me, anguish in his eyes. “I should’ve stayed with her.”
I growl low in my throat, rage and fear churning in my gut. “Yes. You fucking should’ve. But regret won’t help. We need to find her. Now.”
Rhys nods, his own eyes blazing with determination. “I’ll call Arya and her mates and get them searching—“ He stops, a vicious snarl tearing from his throat as he seems to come to a realization. “I left my phone where I shredded my clothes when we took off after you.”
My snarl rivals his. “Damn it! So did I. I’ll use the pack link and let her know there’s an emergency.”
Despite how badly my heart pounds in my chest, my thoughts racing on the possibility of where Rue could be, I clear my mind and speak three simple words down my mental connection to the Cursed Moon Pack. Arya. Cabin. Now.
Okay, so maybe I could’ve given her more context than that, but I’m a little short on words at the moment. Rue is missing. Moon goddess, how could this have happened?
Rhys’ golden gaze finds mine, his wolf at the surface. I’m right there with him. “It has to have something to do with Lance, right? It can’t be a coincidence that he shows up the same day Rue goes missing.”
“Let’s find out,” I grit out through clenched teeth.
Kathan steps in front of me as I head for the door. His mouth is twisted, and he looks like shit. The little hair he has is disheveled and his five o’clock shadow has turned more into a ten o’clock shadow. “I—“ He breaks off, swallowing hard. “What if she ran?”
“This again?” Rhys roars. “She wouldn’t. She isn’t a fucking spy, Kathan!”
“No, what if it was because of me?” Kathan snaps back. “What if I did this and something happened to her because of me? Shit!” Gray hair floods down his arms as he half shifts in his despair over Rue missing.
“Stop,” I growl, stepping between them. “We don’t know anything for certain. She could be anywhere or with anyone. But the fact that the fanged fucker is also missing is suspicious. I have a feeling if we can find him, he’ll lead us to Rue. Or will know where she went, at least. Surely he wouldn’t disobey a direct order from us without a reason.”
Rhys reluctantly steps back, working his jaw a few times before he speaks. “Fine. What’s the plan?”
“Kathan and I will shift, head back to town, and retrace our steps. Rhys, you should stay until Arya gets here and fill her in.” He hesitates, opening his mouth to no doubt argue. “One of us should be here in case Rue shows up.”
“Okay,” he relents. I know his urge to find her is as strong as mine, but it’s not smart for all three of us to leave on the off chance she shows up here looking for us and, moons forbid, she’s hurt.
As Kathan and I step outside, the early morning light shines down on us, casting shadows across the ground. The air is thick with the scent of the bayou, a mixture of moss, mud, and wildflowers. There’s a thread of urgency in my chest as I shift into my wolf form, my muscles trembling as my bones contort. Kathan shifts beside me, shaking out his fur once the transformation is complete.
Like well-oiled machines, we automatically bound in the direction of town, having made the trek many times. As we run, my wolf is on high alert, his senses honing in on anything that could lead us to Rue. But there’s nothing out of the ordinary.
We move quickly through the winding trails of the swamps, dodging trees and leaping over streams. My heart is like a trapped bull threatening to beat right out of my chest. We almost lost her once. Not again.
Lights appear in the distance as we finally make our way into town. Heading to the art supply store first, we retrace our steps to the café and the hardware store. So many shifters have passed through on their daily routines, it’s hard to pick individual scents apart. But I know Rue’s to my core. It’s here, but very faint.
Kathan and I keep our heads down, noses working a mile a minute as we walk. Pick up on anything yet? I ask into his mind.
No, he replies, frustration evident in his tone.
We continue on, weaving through the streets, checking every nook and cranny for any signs of the enforcer or Rue. As we approach the end of the street, a familiar scent hits my nose. It’s faint, but unmistakably the enforcer’s. Rue is mixed in too, but something’s off about it. It’s sour, tinged with terror.
It’s not until Kathan nudges me that I realize I’m snarling at the ground, drawing the attention of passersby. If it weren’t for the cubs pawing at their mothers from the power emananting off me, I wouldn’t give a fuck, but I have to rein it in. Shit.
Pull it together, Caylix. We need a level head to find her, Kathan warns. I bite my tongue to keep from snapping that she wouldn’t have been in this situation if he hadn’t run off on her, but it’s not necessary. He knows.
I fucked up. I know that, he says as if reading my mind. I guess that’s what makes us so close. He can read me like a book. We all can. We’ve got to find her so I can make this right.
Damn right he does. But he’s not the only one.
As we follow the scent to the edge of the curb, all traces of them disappear, like they vanished into thin air. My heart drops as I realize we’ve hit a dead end, my mind racing with what our next move should be.
Let’s find our phones and regroup at the cabin. We’ll call Slade and see if he’s heard from that fucking enforcer.
If not, maybe his strange obsession with her will spur him into helping us.
Something tells me we’ll need all the assistance we can get.