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His familiarity was out of place here, surrounded by partygoers and security, but he was trying to calm me down in my mounting anxiety. It wasn’t working. I was getting increasingly frazzled, my well-honed instincts warning me that something was off.
Through the maze of the Ironhelm Place corridors, I did my best not to run, my body fighting the urge to morph into my wolf form for faster results as the portraits of my forbearers passed by me in a whir. I usually paused to take in their features, no matter how many times I’d seen their familiar etched features over the past quarter century, but not tonight. I noticed nothing but the increased pounding of my heart.
Up the intricate staircase, past the second floor, and up to the third floor I continued, Ryland on my heels, my breath only catching for the thought that something had happened to my queen. It had happened before, and the Royal Guards were none the wiser.
As per tradition, Zephy and I had separated for the night, our marriage ceremony scheduled for tomorrow. I had kept our joint suite on the second floor in the east wing, while Zephy had moved into a room next to her parents for the evening on the third floor. But even with the trek and the distance, she should have been at the party by now. She was a stickler for keeping schedules. This was not like her at all.
I rounded the corridor on the third floor, heading into the south wing, and the stench of chaos hit me before anything else.
My gait quickened as Ryland rushed forward simultaneously, his hands extended to keep me back. “Wait, Alpha,” he pleaded, his formality returning as more beings enshrouded us. “Let me see what the fuss is about.”
I ignored him and flew toward the room where Zephy was supposed to be, pushing my way through the ajar door, and stared blankly at Aradia in the otherwise empty space.
The guards stood at the threshold, pale and visibly shaken as a breeze wafted through the open windows, allowing the night air to permeate the small but quaint room, fluttering the sheer curtains. My head pivoted from one side of the room to the other, taking in the open laptop with the sleeping screen and ajar bathroom door.
“Where is she?” I demanded again, sick of asking the question. “Where is Zephyrine?”
For a long moment, there was no answer to my question, only a blanketed, pregnant silence which almost answered itself.
“ZEPHY?” I called out, craning toward the ensuite, but there was no response to my call.
Aradia ambled toward the desk and clicked on the mouse, revealing a document on the computer. She gestured toward it, but I didn’t acknowledge it, my head swiveling toward the ensuite again, legs moving to push open the door fully. “Zephy?”
“She isn’t here, Cade,” Aradia told me flatly. “She left this for you.”
I ignored her, a swell of panic unfolding inside me. Inherently, I understood what Aradia was saying, but my mind refused to believe it. It made less sense than Zephy not showing up for dinner. I moved toward the door, peering into the hallway as the guards withdrew like they were trying to blend in with the wall.
“Have you looked at the security footage?” I demanded.
“Yes, Alpha,” Jasper replied shakily. “She’s not on it. There’s no adjoining suite here that she could have left from, and she didn’t come out the front door. I was here the entire time.”
I snorted in disbelief. “Then look again. She’s around here somewhere.”
“Cade!” Aradia barked sharply. “She’s not here. Come here and see for yourself.”
Slowly, I retreated and forced myself to stare at the enchantress, her clear, blue eyes fixed on me. Again, she pointed at the computer, and I shook my head.
There was just no way.
We had spoken, agreed that all was as it was supposed to be. Zephy couldn’t be gone. She wouldn’t do this, not the night before the wedding.
“She didn’t leave, not willingly,” I muttered, my mind whirling, twisting as I sought an explanation. “Was she taken? Have you searched the grounds for her?”
“Cade…” Aradia tried again, but I brushed past her toward the halls again, unleashing my ire on the security once more. “Who has been in here?”
“No one, Alpha!” Jasper insisted. “I would never allow it.”
“Someone must have come here!”
“No, Alpha.”
“Then she must have said something to you when she left!” I roared, dizziness rushing through me. “What did she say?” My eyes bored into Wylie now. The guard withered under my gaze.
“N-nothing, Alpha!” Wylie breathed, bowing his head, his cheeks pale. “She didn’t come out, not once! Her maid was with her and said that she needed a few minutes—”
“Bring Maywin to me at once!” I interrupted.
“Cade!” Aradia snapped, striding toward me and pulling me back into the room, closing the door to ensure our privacy. “Get yourself together!”
