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I should have had his back.

Torrel could have the pack. I just wanted Danny.

I turned to go back, but Phoenix snagged my arm. "Just help me coordinate the search. Em's with him."

Twenty minutes later, when I couldn't stand it anymore, I grabbed Phoenix's arm and just shook my head, and he met my gaze. "I want Ben safe, and I would happily give my life for his, but no one else is looking out for Danny. Ben has all of you."

Phoenix nodded once, and I turned and ran back.

The porch was empty, and when I checked our room, he wasn't there either. "Danny?" I called out, walking back into the living room.

Emery walked down the stairs carrying Tia. "Isn't he in your room?"

Something cold settled in my chest. I checked the kitchen, the study, even the mudroom. No Danny. The door opened and I whirled around, but it was only Phoenix. “I wanted to check on them.”

"Danny’s missing. His scent trail goes to the front door and stops," I reported, my voice tight with growing panic.

Phoenix frowned. "Maybe he's sitting in one of the cars?" We all rushed outside, but the yard was empty. That's when I noticed it—one of the backup trucks was missing.

"Fuck," I breathed, the word coming out like a prayer. "He's gone."

Emery went pale. "He wouldn't. Not with Ben missing." But even as he said it, I could see in his expression that he knew better. Danny absolutely would, especially if he thought his mom was in danger.

"I'm going after him," I announced, already moving toward my truck.

"Wait," Phoenix called. "We need to think this through. If this is connected to Ben's disappearance—"

"Then Danny's walking into a trap," I finished grimly. "Which is why I need to get to him now. Call the gammas watching his mom's house."

Before I could reach my truck, headlights swept across the driveway. Matthew's truck pulled up, and my heart stopped when I recognized the three figures that emerged.

Isla stepped out first, her face grim, followed by Simeon and a man I'd hoped never to see again—Ivan, the silver-skin who'd been conspicuously absent during all our recent troubles. He wasn’t bound, which surprised me, even though he followed directions as if he were.

"He was sniffing around the barrier. We told him Rhys wanted a conversation," Isla announced coldly. So that was why he was obeying. Rhys was the ultimate threat or ultimate draw, whichever way you looked at it.

Rhys materialized beside me as if he’d been summoned, his silver eyes blazing with fury.

Where's Ben?" he demanded, stalking toward Ivan.

Ivan trembled, and I could smell his fear. "Sire, I haven’t seen him."

Rhys moved so quickly I barely saw it. One moment he was beside me, the next he had Ivan pinned against the truck, one hand around his throat.

"Try again," Rhys hissed, his eyes glowing like molten metal. "Where's my brother?"I'd never seen Rhys lose control before. The air around him seemed to shimmer with power, and Ivan's eyes widened in genuine fear. For an incredulous second, I had to remind myself again Rhys was only fifteen.

"I don't—" Ivan began, but Rhys tightened his grip.

"Lie to me again and I'll chain you until you starve," Rhys said, his voice eerily calm despite the rage pouring off him. "Talk. Now."

Ivan's eyes darted frantically between us. "I don't know where the boy is!"

"But you know who took him," I growled, stepping closer. My bear was clawing at my insides, demanding blood. "It was you working with Rafael."

Ivan paused, complete puzzlement crossing his features. "But the revenant is dead. I…you know about him. I had nothing—"

Rhys tightened his grip. In the back of my mind, I knew silver-skins didn't need oxygen, but Rhys's threat wasn't about that.

"What did you do?" Phoenix demanded.