Chapter 24 Cade
TWENTY-FOUR
CADE
The silence that followed Mila’s departure felt like a vacuum, sucking all the air from Cade’s lungs. He stood frozen at the head of the council table, watching the chamber doors swing shut behind her retreating figure, his wolf howling in agony at letting his mate flee in pain.
What the hell is wrong with you? his inner voice snarled. She’s your mate, your queen, and you let doubt creep in to undermine your destiny.
The council chamber erupted around him, voices rising in heated debate about magical manipulation and human treachery, but Cade barely heard them. All he could focus on was the growing distance between him and Mila, and the way their bond stretched taut with her raw pain and his own crushing guilt.
He’d doubted her. For one terrible moment, when Lyra first spoke of Zarik’s accusations, he’d actually wondered if Mila’s ancestral powers could have influenced the Moonfire.
The thought made him sick now—his brilliant, compassionate mate who couldn’t hurt a fly, much less manipulate ancient magic for personal gain.
She loves you, you idiot, he told himself fiercely. And you love her. The mate bond is real. Everything between you is real.
Zarik had played him perfectly, weaponizing Cade’s deepest fears against the woman who’d become his anchor. The bastard knew exactly which buttons to push—the uncertainty about Mila’s heritage, the pressure of leadership, and the terror of failing his pack.
“Your Majesty,” Elder Grimm’s voice cut through his self-recrimination. “We need to address these serious allegations. If your mate has indeed corrupted the sacred trial—“
“Enough.” Cade’s alpha voice cracked like thunder, silencing the chamber instantly. His eyes blazed with fury as he swept his gaze across the assembled wolves. “There will be no further discussion of these baseless accusations until I’ve had time to investigate properly.”
“But surely you understand our concerns,” another elder protested. “The integrity of our most sacred traditions—“
“Is not up for debate by a council influenced by the lies of a defeated challenger,” Cade snapped. “This session is adjourned until further notice.”
The dismissal was clear, but several council elders lingered, their expressions ranging from confused to openly hostile. Cade bit back the urge to shift and physically remove them from his sight. Every second he wasted here was another second Mila spent believing he’d chosen duty over their love.
As the chamber slowly emptied, Cade noticed something that should have alarmed him immediately—Zarik was nowhere to be seen. The Shadow Moon wolf king had vanished during the chaos. But Cade’s mind was too consumed with reaching his mate.
The moment the last elder filed out, Cade bolted for the doors. His long strides ate up the distance to the building’s entrance, his sharp senses scanning the area outside for any sign of golden hair or Mila’s distinctive scent.
Nothing.
The royal car sat where he’d left it, but Mila was nowhere in sight.
He’d expected—hoped—to find her waiting by the vehicle, maybe collecting herself after the emotional ambush they’d just endured.
Instead, only the crisp mountain air and the distant sounds of council elders departing met his senses.
Maybe she went back to the castle, he reasoned, pulling out his communicator with slightly trembling fingers. Or called Lyra for a ride.
His sister’s face appeared on the screen within seconds, her green eyes still bright with anger from the morning’s events.
“Please tell me everything is fine,” Lyra said without preamble. “I’ve been pacing my chambers ever since you ended our call.”
“Is Mila with you?” Cade asked, his voice rising in panic.
“No, why? I thought you two would come back together after you sorted out Zarik’s ridiculous accusations.” Lyra’s expression shifted to concern. “Cade, where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Cade growled. “She ran out during the meeting, and I had to stay to manage the political fallout. I thought she’d be waiting outside, but...”
“But she wasn’t.” Lyra’s voice carried a note of accusation that made Cade wince. “You let her face that pack of wolves feeling alone, didn’t you? You let them smell your doubt.”
The truth of it hit him with brute force. Mila’s senses through their deepened bond would have picked up every flicker of uncertainty and every moment of hesitation. She’d felt him waver and felt him question the very foundation of their love.
“I’ll find her,” he said roughly, ending the call before Lyra could voice more of the recriminations already echoing in his head.
Cade climbed into the car, his hands gripping the wheel as he tried to think like his mate.
Where would a hurt, angry human go in an alien world?
She didn’t know the territory well enough to navigate far from the main roads, and her Earth sensibilities would keep her from venturing into truly dangerous areas.
Probably walking back toward the castle, he decided, turning the vehicle toward the winding mountain path. Taking time to clear her head before facing me again.
But as he drove, scanning the roadside for any sign of her, a creeping dread began to settle in his chest. The mate bond hummed with distance and distress, but something else lurked beneath those emotions. Something that made his wolf uneasy.
Twenty minutes into his search, that something crystallized into pure terror.
The sensation hit him like a physical assault—Mila’s fear slamming through their connection with enough force to make him swerve the car. His hands shook as waves of panic and desperation flooded his system, emotions too intense to be his own.
She’s in danger.
His communicator buzzed urgently, and Martin’s grim face filled the screen.
“Cade, we’ve got a situation,” his Beta said without preamble. “Pack scouts just reported spotting Zarik and several rogue wolves heading into the eastern forest. They had someone with them—someone with golden hair.”
“Son of a bitch.” The words came out as a growl, his wolf surging so close to the surface that his canines lengthened. “Where?”
“Old logging road, about fifteen minutes from your position. But Cade—“
“I’m on my way.”
Cade floored the accelerator, the royal car’s engine roaring as he tore down the mountain road. His mind raced with tactical possibilities, but underneath the strategy, pure alpha rage burned like molten steel.
That bastard took my mate when I was distracted by duty.
The drive felt endless, but Martin’s voice guided him through the communicator, relaying scout positions and terrain updates.
By the time Cade reached the rendezvous point, a small group of Ice Moon pack members had assembled, their faces pale with the knowledge that their future queen was in enemy hands.
“The trail leads to an old hunting cabin about half a mile through the trees,” Martin reported, his sandy hair mussed from the rapid response. “Scouts confirm Zarik’s scent, plus two others. Rogues, by the smell of them.”
Cade’s nostrils flared, picking up his mate’s familiar scent beneath the sharper musk of wolves. The trail was fresh—maybe an hour old—and led deeper into the dense pine forest where shadows and undergrowth would provide perfect cover for an ambush.
“How do you want to handle this?” Martin asked, checking his weapons with practiced efficiency.
Cade’s first instinct was to shift and tear through the forest like an avenging demon, ripping apart anyone who’d dared touch his mate. But tactical training overrode bloodlust—barely.
“Surround the cabin, but stay hidden,” he ordered. “I need to assess the situation before we act.”
The approach through the forest felt like the longest walk of Cade’s life.
Every step carried him closer to Mila’s scent, stronger now and tinged with fear and determination in equal measure.
His wolf clawed at his control, demanding immediate action, but something about the emotional cocktail filtering through their sacred bond gave him pause.
She’s scared, but not broken, he realized as they crept through the underbrush. She’s fighting him off.
The hunting cabin came into view through a gap in the pines—a rustic structure with a single large window facing their position. Cade motioned for the warriors to take positions around the perimeter while he moved closer, using the massive tree trunks as cover.
What he saw through that window made his vision blur red.
Mila sat on a narrow bed, her hands bound behind her back, while Zarik loomed over her with predatory interest. He had shed his formal attire for simple dark clothing that emphasized his imposing frame, and the way he looked at Mila made Cade’s wolf howl with homicidal fury.
But it was Mila’s behavior that stopped him from crashing through the window immediately.
Despite her bound hands and obvious fear, she was talking to Zarik—not pleading or cowering, but engaging him with what looked like calculated interest. Her blue eyes kept flicking to something at Zarik’s hip, and Cade followed her gaze to see a hunting knife strapped to the bastard’s belt.
She’s planning something, he realized with a mixture of pride and terror. My brilliant mate is trying to manipulate him into letting his guard down.
Through their true bond, Cade sent a pulse of warmth and presence—a silent signal that he was there, that help had arrived. He felt Mila’s response immediately, a flicker of relief and renewed determination that steadied his own racing heart.
Trust me, her emotions seemed to whisper.
Cade soon pressed himself against the rough logs of the cabin wall, his wolf senses straining to catch every word filtering through the thin wooden barrier. What he heard made his blood boil.