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Rage and anguish surge within me at the memory of John's gruesome fate. If not for me, he would still be alive. I'll never fucking forgive myself for the tragedy my presence caused him. For now, consumed by fear and adrenaline, I can only clench my jaw in defiant silence.

Sneering, Marcus continues, "You won't be leaving this shithole anytime soon. Get comfy, bitch." He gestures mockingly around the cramped, windowless cellar before turning on his heel and departing, the door slamming with an echoing finality behind him.

Alone again, I take stock of my limited options. With my limbs bound and no clear avenue of escape, panic creeps in. What exactly do my captors have planned for me? Rhyland's absence leaves me untethered, set adrift in a violent sea with no anchor. He's my only hope, yet impossible to reach. I wrestle against the ropes anew until exhaustion takes over.

Curled on the freezing dirt, I slip into fitful unconsciousness, John's lifeless body haunting me even in my fucked-up dreams.

Rhyland

56

"Ifucking sensed her fear!" I roar, whirling to face Adrian and Erik.

I'm fucking agitated as I pace the hotel rooms like a caged animal. The moment sunset hit, I went straight to the bar, but Danica was already long gone. The overpowering stench of werewolf was impossible to ignore. My adrenaline spiked when I found her boss, John, crumpled lifeless on the grimy bathroom floor. I desperately scoured every inch of the bar and surrounding area for any sign of Danica, my mind spinning out on what could have possibly happened to her.

My thoughts immediately went to Marcus—the cold-blooded Alpha enforcer from Leavenworth. His devotion to Azrael? It's rock solid, not a crack in sight. The way he looked at her, with those frigid eyes... it's like he's already made up his mind to take Dani for his own in every goddamn way. Just thinking about it makes me wanna puke. And now, this sick fuck has his hands on her.

We were all on the same page about starting our search at Azrael's sick excuse for a human ranch—underground, hidden, a place right out of nightmares. When we get there, Lucian and Adrian are throwing everything they've got at those magic-infused runes blocking the entry, but even their power isn't cutting it. So it's down to Erik and me to storm through the area to check it out.

I'm reaching out, trying to catch any echo of Dani through our bond, but there's jackshit. She's not here—not her presence, not her scent, nothing. And the fury that's boiling up in me is a beast of its own, ready to rip and tear.

"She's not fucking here!" I bellowed in anguished frustration into the darkness.

Every frantic try I make to touch Dani's mind, to feel her through the bond we have — it's like hitting a wall. Every damn time, nothing. The link's cut off or blocked, and I'm left clawing at the void where she should be. Her phone is just as useless; might as well be a brick at this point. It's either trashed or turned off, leaving me with the sound of that endless ringing. It taunts me, a cruel soundtrack looping in my ear, each tone a hammer blow to my gut.

As the night dragged on, we expanded our search and desperately combed every inch of the surrounding area, but we still found no trail or trace of her scent.

Now, as the first glow of dawn begins to creep over the horizon, the crushing and gutting reality fully sets in. I'll be forced to helplessly wait out the entire day until night mercifully falls once more so I can resume my desperate search. The maddening knowledge that I'm now completely and utterly fucking useless to track down Danica or help her in any conceivable way hits me like a sledgehammer straight to the chest.

I scream out long and loud in mounting frustration and devastating pain before viciously punching my fist clear through a thick plaster wall, taking savage satisfaction in watching the solid surface instantly shatter and give way to hundreds of fragmented pieces under the force of my blow.

"Control yourself, Rhyland," Adrian implores, genuine fear and concern tinging his voice as he surveys the damage. "Losing your temper and lashing out like this won't help us locate Danica any faster."

His cautiously spoken words hit me like an unexpected gut punch, momentarily knocking the wind from my lungs. That brief spark of surprise immediately reignites the smoldering rage simmering inside me, the flames burning hotter and more out of control.

"Was it Azrael?" Adrian asks hesitantly, still clearly oblivious to the true precariousness of the situation at hand.

At the mere sound of that conniving bastard's name uttered aloud, what little remained of my restraint and composure instantly evaporated.

"It was Marcus, you ignorant fuck!" I spit with venomous fury. "He took her for himself!"

The entire room seems to vibrate and hum with the barely leashed force of my escalating rage. At this moment, I'm fully prepared to rip apart anything brutally and anyone unlucky enough to stand between me and getting Danica back safely.

Erik quickly interjects in a desperate bid to inject some semblance of calm and reason into this rapidly deteriorating situation. "Rhyland, listen to me. We are going to find her, no matter what it takes," he states.

As if he or anyone else could truly understand the black hole of gutting fear and despair currently threatening to consume me from the inside out. The sickening knowledge that at this very moment, Marcus and his depraved pack could be freely torturing and violating my Danica in horrific ways, and here I am trapped in this goddamned prison of daylight, completely and utterly fucking useless to protect or save her.

"Don't you think I already know that?" I snap, well past the point of reason or restraint. "I'll burn down and scorch the entire goddamn earth if that's what it takes to get her back safely!"

Erik inhales slowly, carefully keeping his voice calm and steady. "Okay, I understand this situation is dire, and emotions are running high right now. But we need to keep level heads if we're going to get Danica back. So why do you believe Marcus would want to take her?"

Sinking into the nearest chair, I run my hands through my hair, all wild and untamed, trying like hell to lasso my galloping thoughts into something I can work with. My mind's stuck on a loop, replaying Marcus's every word, every move from that knife-edge standoff at Dani's folks' place. It's like a damn brand on my brain.

The way he looked at her, the naked hunger in his eyes — it was like a slap in the face, and that was weeks back. What's driving him? The thirst for power, the need to climb up the ranks? Or is he aiming to scratch some sick itch, something primal and twisted? Or hell, maybe it's both, all tangled up in his screwed-up head.

I relay through tightly clenched teeth every detail and interaction I can recall of my dealings with Marcus, along with my steadfast belief in his unwavering lifelong loyalty and devotion to that conniving snake Azrael and his machinations.

After listening intently, Erik nods. "You're likely right. Given their association, Marcus must be holding Danica somewhere as a bargaining chip to gain more leverage over Azrael for something big he wants. We need to figure out his endgame."