AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I glance away and pursue Ashton up the steps. He sets the tote down in the spacious, empty area. “What now?”
“I rappel,” I declare, walking over to the window on bare feet, a bundle of nerves churning in my stomach. An itchy sensation between my shoulder blades urges me to hurry. “Grace and Thea escaped the institute last night.”
“Impossible,” Ashton whispers, echoing my disbelief.
“Melody called this morning,” I continue, not fully convinced myself. “She said the patients were scared of the storm.” That doesn’t sit right with me. We’ve spent countless hours with those patients, and they’ve always loved storms, often begging to go out in them. Ashton’s expression tells me he shares my skepticism. “So Thea and Grace bunked together. When an admin checked on them this morning, they were gone.”
“Bullshit. Thea is up to something,” he snarls.
She definitely is, but what goes unsaid is how our society deals with the irreparably broken and criminal.
Death.
Max can cling to his control all he wants, but we all know Thea’s abduction of his sister won’t go unpunished.
“There’s more,” I say, adding fuel to the fire as I drag the tote to the window above Seraphina’s bathroom.
“What more could there be?” Ashton walks over, barefoot, and starts pulling out anchors from the tote.
“Melody mentioned they tested everyone last night with the sensors,” I say, watching his reaction closely. “Grace went green.”
His face drains of color. I can almost feel the turmoil inside him, the whirlwind of emotions and the disbelief at the impossibility of that statement.
We all knew Grace’s consciousness was locked behind a mental barrier, but the idea of Thea being the one to coax her out is unthinkable. We’ve been a steadfast presence in her life all these years. Maybe it’s selfish, but Grace is more than just our sister—she’s a part of us we can’t afford to lose.
Ashton pauses mid-thought, his frustration palpable. “We can’t just leave Grace behind.”
“Exactly. Whoever is orchestrating this chaos is deliberately scattering our focus,” I reply, feeling a surge of protectiveness. “They threw a body at Max, and made Thea and Grace vanish...It’s a calculated move. They know we share a bond with Grace that even Max, as her biological brother, can’t comprehend.”
Ashton’s face tightens with concern. “That leaves Devlin,” he murmurs, his expression clouding over with a realization that seems to come from somewhere deep. Our twin bond thrums with unspoken fears and suspicions.
“Out with it,” I press, needing to understand.
He hesitates, then shares the unsettling news. “Dev got a card from his mom yesterday. Amidst this storm.”
A wave of frustration hits me. Hastily, I grab the rope and harness, my movements sharp with agitation. “How does that even make sense? Are we supposed to believe this is just coincidence?”
“It’s legit,” Ashton insists, his voice tinged with gravity. “Devlin’s connections to his family are deeply rooted, especially when it comes to his siblings. He’d never leave them behind, no matter what, and his father...” He lets the sentence hang, but the unspoken implications are clear and dark. The history there casts long, ominous shadows we both understand all too well.
“Great, just what we need. More chaos, courtesy of his dear old dad,” I grumble, wrestling with the harness. My insides twist tighter with each passing second, a spring coiled to the brink. “Devlin needs a heads-up, pronto.”
Ashton gives me a solemn nod. “I’ll get a subtle message to him through the bond.”
A part of me wishes we hadn’t voiced these fears. The air feels saturated with worry now. “Alright, let’s do this. Seraphina’s waiting for us.”
He checks the rope one last time, ensuring my safety with a firm tug. “Be careful,” he says, his voice laced with concern.
I force the window open, the icy blast of air hitting me like a wall. The cold bites fiercely, but it’s nothing compared to theurgency blazing within me. I have to reach Seraphina, to slice through this tangled web of fear and confusion enveloping us.
“Avery,” Ashton calls out, his voice cutting through the whirl of snowflakes that dance chaotically into the room. “Bring our girl back.”
I nod, steeling myself against the storm. Stepping into the swirling snow, I’m greeted by a thousand icy pricks against my skin. It’s a minor discomfort, a triviality in the face of my resolve. I’m determined to reach Seraphina, to be her rock in this tempest.
CHAPTER 31
Seraphina
Strugglingagainst the haze of my heat, I try desperately to claw back to consciousness. Lex didn’t answer his phone. That’s not like him. Not at all. My fingers tremble as I dial his number again, only to be greeted by voicemail, over and over. Lex, the kind of alpha who’d never ignore his sister, is undoubtedly in trouble. I can feel it deep in my soul, and here I am, stuck in a bathtub, cold and alone.
