She was gone. She was gone and I wasn't there to stop them. She was gone and our kitchen was destroyed; burnt sugar and the smell of her hair still lingering

She was gone and I had no idea where she was; I couldn't link her, I could barely feel the bond. I felt like my whole world was falling apart–I think the worst feeling in the world was feeling this helpless.

I felt so damn helpless.

Powerless because there was no damn trail–I had no idea where to even start looking.

My wolf whined out for her, relentlessly pacing back and forth as he tried to find our mate over our bond. She was there but she was in pain and weak, we could feel that much.

"Ethan," Evan softly called out to me as he walked in the house. "Ethan, Levi's back."

I nodded and took one last look around. Ryder and Remi had the trackers earlier tear this place up and thought they had a few good leads, I prayed they had a good lead. The longer she was missing, the more dangerous it was.

"Ethan we'll find her," Evan said, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Jaxon's out looking, so are Ajax and Deryl. Levi's almost tore up everything his feet have walked on and those witches are here. We're going to find her."

I nodded silently then turn quickly to walk out of the house. Being in a place that smelled of her only made the guilt weighing on me that much more painful to bare. "What witches?"

"Caleb and some woman named Daphne? I think she's Caleb's light," Evan answered as he jogged to catch up with me.

"What about Bernard?"

Evan shook his head. "I'll let him explain because I still don't understand it all, but he's having a hard time tracking her."

"She could be anywhere," I breathed out, my heart chipping away slowly.

Quickly I tried to push the pain our of my mind and shifted to my fur; tearing off to the pack house and trying to let my mind focus on running rather than her. But it was impossible. It was like everything reminded me of her, like there were traces of her everywhere.

Haunting.

I made it to the packhouse to see Remi and Liam jog up. Liam tossed me some sweatpants while Remi pulled on a t-shirt. "Levi?" I asked.

"Inside," Remi breathed out.

I turned with Evan on my heel as I tried to hold it all together, hold all the anger and pain and fear in. I felt like a time bomb; a soda that had been shaken up too much with the cap on. My wolf and I knew we had to stay calm, lashing out wasn't going to help us find her faster, but when the bond would squeeze it was everything I had to not break out of my skin.

"Get the hell out my way!" Levi barked out.

I don't know why, but hearing his anger gave me some kind of hope. Hope that seemed to dwindle since the minute she had gone missing; I had been out looking for her with my own men, scouring every inch of this damn pack and came up with nothing.

Walking into the meeting room, we had turned it into the headquarters for the search. Pack wolves and warriors were running around like their hair was on fire while Evangeline tried to pull up someone on Skype that she had projected on the bedsheet we had hung over a white board.

She caught my eye and walked quickly to hug me. I sighed and hugged her back. "Hey, red."

"Anything?"

I shook my head. "Nothing yet–she and Amber could be anywhere."

"Ethan," she timidly said. "Are you sure Amber–"

I cut her off with a snarl. "Have you seen Aaron!?" Evangeline stiffened with wide eyes then shook her head. "You need to move past your shit with that wolf, the ones who were responsible are in a cell–the ones we both thought were our friends."

Evangeline let out a sharp breath then turned to walk back to the projector. I knew she didn't like–well hated, Amber, but after seeing Aaron I knew they weren't involved. Especially after Aaron and I found Nessa and Drew, both begging for their lives in what was left of my kitchen.

I was itching to skin them both, but thankfully Evan convinced me otherwise.

Levi turned to me, holding a rag to his head that seemed to be bleeding. His beast was howling out and in that moment he looked almost as scared as he did the day he found me ten years ago.

"What happened?" I asked as I jogged down the stairs with Evan behind me.

"Rogues," Levi bit out while Lander tossed him a pack of frozen peas. "Rogues and witches with this goddamn powder that makes them poof in and out of the damn place. We got a few and threw them down in your cells, but they took Blake and three of my best warriors with them, so what the fucking hell Caleb?"

An older male looked at me. He was dressed in a tailor charcoal suit, the jacket of which he had thrown over a chair, and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He adjusted his rectangular glasses, hip, with the words 'Prada' on the sides of them before he looked back at Levi. "You know we are doing everything we can."

Levi growled lowly before Lander pushed him back. The man looked to me and let out a tired breath. "I'm Caleb, sorry we have to meet under these terms."

"And I'm Daphne, his better half," a woman with white blonde hair cut into a bob said to me. Her sea blue eyes seemed to be smiling as she walked over in a long light blue shirt with dark navy flowers on it, a navy shirt, and red heels to stand next to Caleb.

"The good news is, I figured out how they did the transportation," Caleb said. "The bad news is, I can't recreate it."

"Why not," I asked, my voice struggling to stay calm as the witch pointed back to a series of very old books that were laying scattered over a table.

"The powder they are using is blood but fused with something else, like a compound you can find in certain stones. There are spells in here it looks like they have fused together to do this, but we would need to see the source of the powder to be sure," he answered. "I really am sorry mate."

"Leo thinks Camille may know something," Evangeline added.

"Probably does," Caleb grumbled. "My sister always dallied in places she should not."

"So that's how she disappeared in our home? This dust? To where? Do you know where? Can't you track it?"

"Not yet Ethan," Bernard replied next to Dagny from a few rows up. They were looking at books with a map and a few vials of various things scattered around.

"What's the damn hold up!" Lander bit out while Levi snarled at the witch, causing Dagny to shuffle quickly behind Bernard. "We're missing six wolves that don't have time for us to sit around here pissing out blanks!"

"They are smart and powerful witches, they have covered their tracks well. This isn't something I can just snap my fingers and do," Bernard replied, his voice tense as he eyed Lander.

I tugged at my hair and looked back to Caleb. "How long? How much longer do you need?"

"I don't know, maybe another day–" Daphne started to say but my snarl cut her off.

"She may not have another day goddammit!"

"You need to calm down Ethan, getting worked up will get the best of you," Bernard replied with his hands up in a faint surrender.

"What will get the best of me is if something happens to her, because I won't make it," I replied back, swallowing the truth down hard. I walked up to the whiteboard that we had taped a map up on and looked around to an area we hadn't searched yet. "I'm taking men here," I said while pointing at the region of land.

"I'll go," Remi said with a firm nod.

"Me too," Liam added.

I gave Daphne one last hard glare before I marched out with Liam and Remi in tow. "Get Evie and Barrett back here, I want them on those rogues!" I called over my shoulder, my wolf snarling out with a lust to rip into the witches throats.

Evan said a few words to Levi before he ran and caught up with me as I shifted. We looked around the area until Evan finally convinced me that it was empty. All there were was empty barns, a dilapidated cabin, and a creek that had to have fed into the river by Jaxon's pack. A creek that washed away any scent that could have been there, but there was nothing there.

Jaxon had linked me on my way back, both he and Ajax had come up with nothing but they were both going out again in the morning. Other alphas in the area reported the same, and with every link of news from them, the pit in my stomach grew wider and wider. I wouldn't make it without her, that I was sure of. It may be selfish as hell, but I was a selfish man when it came to her.

Levi was looking at the map with a glass of whiskey in his hand when I came back in. He looked back at me then gave me a sympathetic half smile. "You still feel her?" I nodded quietly. Levi sighed then took another drink of his whiskey. "Me too. She's out there."

"She could be anywhere Levi," I breathed out.

Levi nodded. "She could be, but she's strong and the only hope I have is that she's giving them hell."

I bit back a smile and looked over at him. "What do I do Levi?"

"Burn it all down until we find them," he replied, his voice somber and serious; in that moment I knew I would, I would burn down every inch of land if it meant that I would find her again. I almost shuddered to think of the person I could become if I lost her; I was starting to understand the craze that Levi had fallen into more and more–I didn't blame him at all.

Levi and talked over possible areas of where she could be. I tried to keep my mind moving, keep moving forward. Evan came in and started to help; we had a few areas that Levi felt like we should reinvestigate, but we couldn't be sure.

Those damn rocks were all around the house and they left without a damn trace. There was no damn scent, no damn trail, nothing.

She had disappeared into nothing.

"Ethan!" Ryder called out from the top of the stairs. "Derek is here!"

I turned to see Derek zip in the room and stop in front of me, breathless before he looked up with wide eyes. "Barrett's gone."

"What? What do you mean gone?" Evan rushed out.

Another presence zipped in. Evie stopped next to Derek, red eyes that reminded me of mine as she looked up at me. "I can't link him. I was supposed to meet him at the airport so we could fly to see Steven together but he never showed. He's never done that. He's never just not been somewhere. Dominic's gone too."

"What?!" I barked out. A vampire that powerful in the hands of someone else was not something that any of us needed.

"We haven't heard from him for days. Derek and I looked everywhere and decided to go to Dom's apartment. Barrett sometimes drinks too much when he's with Dominic–he's a horrible influence," she said, her voice cracking and eyes watering.

Derek pulled her to his side. "The place was completely turned up. Not a trace of them. Just rocks and that powder we found at your place Ethan."

"Could you interrogate the rogues right now?" I asked.

"You have captives?" she replied, her voice more optimistic as she wiped her eyes.

"Yes, they ran into Levi–"

"Take me," she rushed out. "Take me now."

"Let's go," I replied, my eyes meeting hers in a moment of understanding–that little vampire and I would tear this damn world apart if we hard to.

I walked quickly out of the pack house with Levi on my heel. He caught up to me and looked over at Evie then to me. "Ethan, you need to keep your head. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

I let out a hot breath and nodded as we approached the cinderblock building. "Yes, thank you."

Levi climbed down first then helped Evie down. She tied her hair up while she walked next to me towards the smell of stench that Jake was glaring at. He looked over at me from the end of the hall and shook his head. "These ones are more than sour Ethan."

"Let her take a crack," I replied. "How many?"

"Two," Martin answered as I walked past the cells we had put Drew and Nessa in.

My blood boiled more as I looked at the two of them, the people who claimed to be our friends–traitors.

Evan snarled at Drew, who was sullen in the corner. Apparently, the witches had decided not to take them, even though that was the agreement–at least that is what Nessa was blabbering out when she tried to ask for forgiveness.

Jake and Evan had to stop me from killing both of them right there; the only reason I didn't was because Evan convinced me that Evie and Barrett should talk to them. We compromised on it; I was ripping their fangs out and feeding them to the crows. They were no wolves of my pack.

I felt my stomach turn and my beast snap out at them before I looked over at Evie. "Them too."

"May I–with you? It's quicker?" she asked, her voice starting to turn more firm from shaky.

I nodded to her as her eyes met mine, dilating as she held my gaze; I felt something else in my mind, fluttering like a dragonfly until Evie blinked. She hissed loudly then looked back at the cells where Drew and Vanessa were.

Levi squeezed her shoulder gently. "Easy, let's take it one at a time. Alright?"

Evie let out a sharp breath then nodded as we stopped in front of a cell. There was a man in it, a rogue that smelled foul but he wasn't close to death–yet.

There was another behind him, but he was just in his cell on the ground rocking back and forth and muttering nonsense to himself; laughing every now and then. He rolled on his side and started to shake, drool falling out of his mouth before his sick yellow eyes met mine. Evie hissed out at him before I turned to look at the other rogue.

His head was leaning against the corner and his shoulders, covered by a tattered shirt at least three sizes too big, slumped almost like he was sleeping. Jake walked up and unlocked the cell, causing him to jump sightly before he turned to us.

Yellow eyes and a lazy smile looked back at me then at Evie as she cautiously walked forward. He licked his lips and leaned back against the wall. "So pretty–pretty, pretty, pretty. He likes pretty."

I looked at Jake who shook his head. "He's been rambling nonsense since we got him."

"Vampires, he likes vampires. He took two and won't give them back," the man practically giggled out.

Evie snarled then marched forward. She snatched his chin then pulled it down so she could look at him; the man just laughed as she stared at him like what was happening was the funniest thing in the world.

Evie snarled again as she backhanded him. "Lie to me rogue and I will rip your tongue out."

"Fiesty, feisty, feisty," he replied while licking his lips. "I like feisty."

She growled again and threw him against the wall. Levi nodded in approval while Jake stepped a little closer. Evie walked back up and snatched his chin again, staring at it before she released him. "His brains rotten, there's nothing but mush."

"What do you mean mush?" I rushed out, my beast snarling as he clawed at my mind in frustration.

"The sickness–it's like trying to find something solid in applesauce. It's not a place that will give us anything." I bit back a growl as she zipped out. "I'm going to look at the others."

"Alpha we need you now," Murphy rushed out.

"What is it?"

"There's a girl at the border. Sir, you need to come here now," he replied, his voice almost scared and shaky.

"What is it," Levi asked, his beast eying me in hope.

"Murphy said there's a girl at the border, I need to go."

"I'm coming," Jake replied. "Justin you hold this down."

"Roger that," Justin replied before he followed Evie.

"Let's go then," Levi breathed out.

We ran hard across my territory; the land turned rocky and more sharp as we maneuvered our way to the northern end of it; an area that I wasn't a fan of as it only brought memories from my last trip to the north–the mountains that I thought she could be in.

Evan and I had argued about it; it would be hard to find her and we already knew that rogues were there. Evan pushed back, though, Elliot had linked us and said there were signs of rogues in the ice caves, although they hadn't spotted them. I didn't care though–I wanted to burn all those mountains down.

I prayed that whoever this was knew something–maybe she had escaped from where they were and knew something. Maybe she saw Charlotte or Amber?

Maybe...

My beast growled out in frustration. We hated the 'maybes' and all these unanswered questions–it made the hole burning in my heart and across the bond ache more.

I shifted to my skin and pulled on some sweatpants that Evan tossed to me. Looking over to hand Jake a pair, all I could see was him hauling ass to the small circle where a female's voice was coming from.

"Jake!" I called out, but in that moment I realized what it was. "Shit, Ev–"

"Stop him!" Evan barked out.

She was his mate.

She was his mate and it took Levi, myself, and two warriors to calm Jake down. We finally got him to shift to his skin, where the look in his eyes was one of agony and desperation I told him to wait, we had no idea who she was and she could be dangerous.

Jake wasn't a fan, but I wasn't a fan of losing any more pack members. Looking back while he paced in front of Evan, I walked over to the group of warriors. Murphy stepped forward and looked back then at me. "Sir, she's–well she's–"

"They sent me down the mountain–down, down, down, down," a female sang out.

I stepped around Murphy to see this female with dusty blonde hair chopped off at her shoulders turn her hazel eyes to me with a lazy smile. She was butt ass naked but a necklace she wore around her neck, a necklace made of fangs.

She waved then pointed to a large fang on the necklace. "This is Billy," she said before she pointed to another. "And this is Terrance, and I think these are the Kani's," she finished, hissing the 's' at the end like a snake.

Kani–Tikanni warriors, I could smell it off the fangs even from here.

Levi froze and his eyes widened in horror as I felt my skin shake before she stood up. My stomach was about to revoke the contents of what was in it as my eyes were glued to the fangs. The fangs around her neck.

She cracked her neck and shook her head at me. "You went into the cave–naughty, naughty."

Then she lunged at me. She lunged at me and Jake about lost his damn mind. I tried to peel her off, but she was like a wildcat clawing at me; the last thing I wanted to do was hurt his mate, although he didn't really know that–I knew event then that the mate pull was probably sending his brain in frenzied semi-circles right now.

Evan and Levi pulled Jake back while Murphy and the other warriors contained her as I wiped some blood off my chest from the new wounds that looked like a cat had tore at my chest. "Take her to a room in the pack house, we'll meet you there."

"You got it," Murphy said with a firm nod. "What about the necklace?"

I grimaced. "Take it and send them back to who they belong to." Turning back to Jake, I let out a shaky breath as I watched Levi hold his shoulders while he quickly spoke to him.

"Jake," I said, my voice struggling to stay calm.

Jake snapped his eyes to me and broke away from Levi. Green eyes swirling dangerously as he marched to me. "Ethan–"

"I know Jake, but you saw her," I injected. "She obviously knows something, ok? She's dangerous and we need to keep an eye on her."

"Ethan—"

"Jake!" Levi growled out. Jake snapped his vision to Levi, who was not in the mood; his wolf snapped out at Jake before he let out a hot breath. "You will do as Ethan says or I will beat your ass myself."

Jake shut his mouth, holding Levi's gaze before he nodded. Levi looked back at me, silver eyes starting to glow in the dusk light. "Get that vamp and let's go."

"Evie meet us in the pack house."

"New toy for me?" she replied darkly.

I shifted then tore off through the night. "Yes, a female. She's Jake's mate so be gentle. How were the other two?"

She groaned. "Mildly helpful. They were feeding them information but they have no idea where they are, but they were working for The Snake."

I growled out in frustration then pushed harder, almost catching up to the group that the crazy ass female was running with. If I ever found 'The Snake,' I was going to skin them and make Charlotte a pair of boots.

Charlotte.

My heart ached and beast whined as we thought of our mate. We reached out to the bond and it was still there, but it was throbbing. It was a dull throb all day, but at least it wasn't gone.

"I'm going to get a quick drink and then I'll swing by, shouldn't be long," Evie said.

"Alright," I sighed out as I ran next to Evan.

I tried to link her–I tried so damn hard to link her, but there was nothing. Just air. My beast snapped out again as we approached the pack house with Levi on our tail; Evan had his eyes on Jake as I shifted back and jogged inside.

Lander was waiting for us; he tossed me some pants with a sympathetic smile. "Liam and Evangeline went out with Andrea. Should be back later. Lyanna's got her eye on those witches, they seem to be making more progress."

"Good, where's Aaron?" I rushed out, the poor guy was in just as bad shape as I was.

"Upstairs seeing that batshit wolf in–" Lander started to say when Jake cut him off with a harsh growl. Levi looked at Lander for a while before Lander sucked in a breath. "Shit man, I'm sorry."

"Get Sam, she needs to look over the girl now," I said, my voice rushed as I tore up the stairs.

Aaron was pacing in front of a guest bedroom door when I walked up. He snapped his eyes, red from a lack of sleep, to me. "They had to tie her up. She started to tear shit up and was scratching at herself. She's said things Ethan–bad things."

"Can you still feel Amber?"

Aaron let out a shaky breath and shook his head. "It's been gone since this afternoon."

"Could just be that they have them really doped up," Levi replied before he gave Aaron's shoulder a light squeeze. "A lot of that will dim any bond."

Aaron nodded then looked up at Jake who was staring longingly at the door. I tugged at my hair then looked over at him. "Jake, do you think you can be in there without losing it?"

He looked at me then nodded. "Please Ethan, I'll stand in the damn corner."

"Ok," I breathed out. "Aaron you too, you and Evan stay with him."

Evan gave me a long look before he nodded. Turning the doorknob, I walked in the room where Murphy was standing near a window seat with three warriors. The girl was sitting in a chair, tied up while she mumbled to herself.

"She say her name?" I asked.

Murphy shook his head. "She's said a lot of things, but not her name."

"Like?" Jake asked, his eyes hopeful as they flickered to Murphy.

Murphy sighed and shook his head with a pained look on his face. "Jake, brother, you don't want to know."

Jake started to walk towards her, but Evan and Aaron pulled him back. Levi followed me around to her, she was facing the opposite direction dressed in a large white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. The warriors had tied her with zip ties to the chair; arms behind her back and legs tied to the legs of the chair.

She sniffed the air and rolled her head around until we came into her view. Levi nodded at me while he sat on the edge of the bed as I kneeled in front of her. "What's your name?"

"Cora," she replied, her hazel eyes holding mine like she was amused.

"Cora, can you tell me how you got here?"

"The mountains, but you know that Ethan," she replied with a sly smile.

My eyes widened as I looked harder at her, at her eyes. Her hazel eyes with a thin film of yellow and red around them, like she hadn't slept in weeks. Sniffing the air, she didn't smell foul, but there was a weird sickness about her.

"Sam is?" I asked over my shoulder.

"On her way," Murphy answered.

"A friend?" Cora asked, trying to look back at Murphy with a childish excitement flashing in her eyes.

"How did you know my name, Cora?"

She rolled her eyes. "They told me before I came. Down the mountain to the alphas that took two of ours."

"You're from the north?" I asked, trying to stay patient but my beast was growing irritable. As was I.

"Poof! They went, Poof!"

"What went poof? Cora? What are–"

"Cages, I told them not too big, not too small, they'll like those cages. I liked those cages," she breathed out before she looked at me with a sick smile.

My heart almost stopped as she rolled her head around again before she looked at me. I tried to push my beast back, he was pushing me to push Cora harder, but I knew that wouldn't get us anywhere. "Do you know of anyone named Amber or Charlotte?"

She giggled a little, looking at me like she had some kind of dirty secret. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are gray," she started to sing. "You'll never know dear, how much I love you. So don't take my sunshine away–"

Evan was pushing me back while Murphy held Jake down. Thank God Lander showed up, he tackled Aaron down while I growled out–a mix of anger and painful whines filling the air.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe at all. Evan was saying something to me, but all I could do was stare at the she-wolf singing 'You Are My Sunshine," while my heart felt like it was going to tear open.

My beast was close, he was so close and I could feel the hair start to protrude out of my neck. Fangs started to descend while my fingers itched to turn into claws.

"Ethan!" Evan barked out. I snapped my eyes to his wide ones. "Look at me, you need to calm down." I let out a series of hot breaths. Evan shook me some more until my fangs disappeared into my gums. "You cannot let this get into your brain, that's what they want."

I nodded and looked at Levi who was frozen in place. I couldn't tell if he was going to lose it or tear the wolf apart or both.

He looked up at Jake, a cool fury pulsing under his skin. "Come here."

"Levi..." Lander said, his voice in question and almost a warning.

Levi flashed his teeth at Lander then looked at Jake. "Come here, Jake."

Jake let out a shaky breath and walked slowly over to Levi, who sat back down on the bed in front of Cora. "Do you know how you got here?" Levi asked, his voice so calm his sent a chill down my spine–that wasn't calm, that was a cold murderous rage brewing.

She looked at Jake, eyes dilating and nostrils flaring. "Down the mountain of course."

Levi looked over at Jake and then at her. "Do you know who this is?"

"Mate, mate, mate, mate," Cora rambled out.

Levi nodded. "Can you talk to him? Will you behave while he talks to you?"

"I'll be good," she replied with a sly smile.

Levi stood then nodded to Jake. "Get Evie here," he barked out in a harsh whisper across the room to Lander.

I looked over at Jake, sitting where Levi did and my heart twisted. Evan stepped away but stayed closely beside me. "He's her mate, let's just see, alright?" he whispered to me, his hand still on my shoulder probably more to keep me in place than to comfort me.

"Ok," I breathed back.

Jake let out a shaky breath and dipped his head to look at her. She was blushing with her eyes cast down, peaking at him every now and then. "Your name is Cora?" She nodded. "Short for anything?"

"Coraline," she replied, her voice barely a whisper.

"That's very pretty," Jake said with a warm smile. "Mine is Jake."

"Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake," she muttered before she looked over at him curiously.

"Where were you before?" Jake asked.

She rocked back in forth in her seat; her breath hitching before her eyes stared at the wall in front of her. "Bend over he said. Bend over, over, over, over–"

"What are you talking about?" Jake interrupted.

"The Snake," she said very matter-of-factly. "I wasn't good. I tried to be good," she hissed before she made a literal hissing sound like a snake.

Jake's jaw clenched and his hands started to slightly shake in anger; Aaron walked quickly across the room to stand next to Jake, whispering something to him that seemed to calm Jake down. "Do you know where Charlotte or Amber is?"

"They took me," she replied, her voice sad as her big hazel eyes met Jake's. "They took me from my father because of my blood, blood, blood, blood."

"Charlotte, or Amber? Do you know them?" Aaron asked in rushed desperation.

Aaron's voice broke her out of her trance. She looked at him and started laughing, a deep belly laugh before she started to mutter, " Luna, luna, luna, luna."

Evan held me back right as Evie zipped in. She looked at me then Cora before sighing sadly; the air rushed past my face as she zipped around and eyed Cora.

She looked back at me and then slowly walked over to stand next to me. "I want to get a feel for her first, can you get her to talk more?"

I nodded to Jake who looked back over at Cora; he was trying hard to stay calm but he beast was close–her tormenting words like a hot prod to his back. "Cora, how did you know Charlotte was a Luna?"

"They told me, they knew," she replied, her voice firm and almost offended that Jake would ask such a thing.

At her words though, my patience had worn too thin. I marched over and knelt in front of her before Evan could stop me. "Do you know where she is? Where is Charlotte?!"

She scoffed out a laugh and looked back at me. "With your Eli of course."

"Ethan!" Evan called out, but I couldn't hear him.

I felt vomit creep up my mouth before the she-wolf began to sing 'You Are My Sunshine,' again.

Chaos.

I have no idea how I got there, but Jake and I were wrestling on the floor while Cora screamed out in horror. Rage was pulsing through me; it wasn't until arms were pulling me, many sets of arms, that I was pulled off Jake. My beast wanted blood though, blood for his mate.

I fell backward and felt my throat tighten while my heart squeezed so hard that I wanted to rip it out of my chest. Evan ran to me and was shaking my shoulders, yelling at me and trying to calm me down but all I could feel was the horror and fear course through me.

"Ethan!" Levi barked out. He pushed Evan out of the way and grabbed my face so I could look at his eyes he looked almost as desperate as I felt. "Do you feel it? Do you feel her?"

I let out sharp breath mixed with a whine while Cora started to mutter the word, 'Eli,' over and over again. Levi growled out, loud and angry in a way that was almost crazed; it made Evan jump back and Lander's eyes widened as Levi shook me hard again. "You reach into that goddamn bond and tell me right now if you still feel her!"

A shaky breath poured out of my lips. Closing my eyes I searched for her, I searched hard.

I couldn't find her.

I couldn't find her at all. Panic started to pulse through me as every horrible scenario played through my brain.

I couldn't think straight. Not with Cora rambling out and not with my beast barking so loud that I thought he was going to rip my brain apart. "Shut that girl the hell up!" I barked out.

Levi eyed me while I looked back again. "You would have felt it, Ethan," Levi breathed out. "You would have felt it even if you didn't want to believe it."

I let out a shaky breath as the realization kicked in; I would have felt her die–Levi had felt them die. I remembered when they died, I remembered feeling it. I would have felt the bond break, I tried to reassure myself that I would have.

But back then even I remembered convincing myself that it wasn't true because the reality of it was too damn painful.

Unless they had her in the mountains or high on silver... I wondered if that would do it? If that would dim it? It could–silver dims everything about us.

I let out another shaky breath which seemed to startle Levi. His silver eyes started to swirl in a way that I recognized, a look that I had seen before. Looking inward again, I started to feel a presence; it felt almost like a ghost–like a single thread in a large quilt.

Tuning into it, my beast and I tried to reach out to it–listen to it. We were listening so hard that I thought my brain would eventually burst.

But then we felt it.

We felt it and we heard it.

The faint throb of a bond along with, "Ethan..."