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“The darkness took them,” Ledger answered, moving his fingers in the lingering shadows. “The Shadow Wolf left this as a calling card. Somehow, he snatched the girls without leaving anything to trace.”
“Where would he take them?” My question was a growl full of unfiltered fury.
“My guess is to her.” His shoulders drooped in defeat.
“What could she possibly want with them?” Deacon growled; his tone was dangerous. If there was any doubt before, there wasn’t any now. Estella was Deacon’s mate, and the fact that she’d been taken was making him see red. Much like I was.
“Estella shouldn’t have survived. The fact that she did probably made mother curious, and Pearl… I think she took her to get to you.” Ledger looked me in the eye when he said the last part.
This was a direct attack on me. Somehow, she knew that Pearl and I had completed the mate bond. She also knew that her sister wasn’t dead, as she had once believed. This was Tamra’s second attack in a matter of days, which meant she was confident we weren’t a threat.
That wasn’t true though. I was an alpha now, and I would not roll over or abandon any of my pack members. Tamra was banking on that.
She was drawing me out and using the Shadow Wolf and my mate to do it, which was low, even for her. I wouldn’t let her get away with it. If she wanted a fight so badly, then I’d give her just that.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Pearl
I coughed, trying to dispel the thick cloying darkness that had surrounded Estella, her wolf, and me. The ground fell away, and I panicked for a split second before our feet slammed into the hard ground. My knees buckled, and I fell forward, teeth gritted against the pain. Estella was on the ground beside me, a similar look of panic and pain written on her face. Her wolf growled deep and menacing.
Glancing around, I tried to figure out where we were while simultaneously reaching for my mate bond. Emptiness greeted me. Anger and fear coursed through my veins, making me pray for my mate’s safety to the Moon Spirit. Whatever this was, I needed Rylan to be all right. I could handle whatever came my way, but if he was hurt or something worse, my wolf and I would tear this place down.
“Where are we?” Estella asked, her voice shaky but quiet.
“I’m not sure,” I replied, but after my perusal, I had the nagging feeling that I’d been here before.
‘We have. This is Faela’s cell.’
I suppressed my gasp of recognition, not wanting to give anything away. Our captors were no doubt watching us. Better not to reveal that I knew where we were. Not yet at least.
“Well, well, well,” a condescending female voice echoed around the room.
I glanced around, but saw no one but us, which made me frown. Where was the voice coming from?
Estella’s white wolf lifted her jowls in a snarl, placing herself between the threat and her human half. I followed the wolf’s line of sight, forgetting that Faela’s cell was in the Cage and the opening was in the ceiling.
“I can honestly say that I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” Tamra chortled, her gaze roaming over her sister. “The Moon Spirit must have been looking out for you all along.”
Estella didn’t say anything, just lifted her chin, glaring at her sister who had done her best to kill her. Her wolf bared her teeth, an obvious challenge that Tamra ignored.
“I’ll be sure to do it right next time,” Tamra promised, the evil gleam in her eye pointing to the dark power she’d killed for. “Killing you again will be the cherry on top, after I finish with your friend.”
Her gaze moved to me, and like a switch had been flipped, my left arm started to burn, and light emanated from my markings.
“The light show is new,” she mused, watching me with a sort of hunger in her eyes that gave me the creeps.
What was the bitch planning?
“I’m sure your mate knows you’ve been taken by now.” She seemed excited about the prospect.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from commenting. She didn’t deserve any type of response from me, plus I didn’t want to give anything away. I checked the bond and found that nothing had changed. I could only imagine the state Rylan was in right now knowing I’d been taken. I wished I could reassure him that I was all right; doing so would probably help him not do something stupid.
“Get comfortable, pets. It’s nearly time.”
“Time for what?” Estella asked me quietly once Tamra had disappeared from the opening in the ceiling.
“I have no idea.” I reached through the bond again, hoping that something had changed.
