Chapter 272 Scary Land

Chapter 272 Scary Land

ARDEN

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I was pulled out of sleep by something shaking me. My eyes fluttered open to find Ca hovering over me, her hands gripping my arm and her face pinched with worry.

“Mommy, Mommy.”

Her whisper was urgent, but not loud enough to disturb Rowan, whoy beside me in the bed. He’d had such a long day, and I didn’t want to wake him if it wasn’t necessary. I rubbed my eyes and propped myself up on one elbow.

“Quiet, honey,” I murmured, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Your dad is sleeping.”

She nodded but didn’t rx. Instead, she looked at me with wide, serious eyes.

“Aunt Arden,” she said, merely two words, but I heard the urgency in her tone.

I frowned, tilting my head. “Do you miss your Aunt Arden?” I asked gently, thinking maybe this was one of those dreams that clung to children, something she wantedfort from.

“Yes,” she answered honestly. I thought it would end with that. I was prepared tofort her, but she spoke once more.

“She’s in trouble.”

My brows furrowed. Ca wasn’t one to confabte about such things, even if she was young.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I saw it,” she whispered.

My heart skipped. “Saw… what?”

Ca shook her head quickly. “She’s in a scarynd, Mommy. We have to go.”

I froze at the seriousness of her voice. What was she saying? Was it just a dream? Her imagination running wild? Children said strange things, but Ca’s eyes didn’t look like she was imagining. They looked like she was certain.

“What did you

see?b” /bbI /basked.

Chapter 272 Scary Land

Ca’s hands tightened on mine. “She’s calling. I heard her calling. She’s hurting, too.”

45 Free Gos

Before I could press her further, Rowan’s phone buzzed violently against the nightstand. We both turned toward the sound, and Rowan stirred, groaning. He reached blindly for the device, his hair falling messily into his eyes.

“Who would call at this hour?” he muttered groggily.

Rowan pressed the phone to his ear, his voice low. “Hello?”

Cade’s frantic voice spilled through the line, loud enough for me ito /icatch every word. “Is Arden there?”

My chest tightened. I turned to Ca, whose nervous little face hadn’t changed, and my pulse started to thunder.

“What do you mean?” Rowan asked, suddenly awake, sitting upright.

“Why would she be here?” he demanded, looking around the room to confirm that Arden truly hadn’t snuck out in the middle of the night toe here–as crazy as that sounded.

“She has been saying how she missed Tessa thesest couple of days. She snuck out once, so maybe she went there,” Cade said. Then, he whispered, “She’s not here.”

There was a pause, and then Cade’s breathing turned harsh, curses spilling from his mouth.

“Fuck,” he hissed, the sound ripping through the line. “Where could she be? She’s not here. I don’t know where to-‘

99

I couldn’t move. My throat dried up as Rowan’s face paled in the faint light of the room.

“She’s not with us,” Rowan said slowly.

My heart mmed against my ribs, and I turned back to Ca. She was still staring at me with those knowing eyes.

“We have to go,” I whispered.

Ca nodded fiercely, appearing like she had been waiting for me to say the words.

I gripped Rowan’s arm, my nails digging into his skin. “We have to go,” I repeated louder.

Rowan’s gaze went from me to Ca, then back to his phone, where Cade’s ragged breaths still echoed. His expression darkened with resolve, and in that instant.

Chapter 272 Scary Land

Arden was in trouble.

***

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“Stay with them, my dear,” I whispered to Ca, my palm brushing over her soft hair. Her eyes kept darting around shadows in the corners of the room.

“Is everything going to be okay, Mommy?” Ca’s voice cracked.

I hesitated. “I don’t know.”

Her bottom lip quivered, but she didn’t cry. Instead, she leaned forward, her hand gripping mine with surprising strength. “You need to hurry,” she whispered urgently. “They’re going to hurt her.”

A chill raced down my spine. “How do you know that?” I asked, unable to stop the tremor in my voice.

“I told you. I saw it,” she said, her brows knitting in earnest desperation. “Mommy, you have to go.”

I studied her face. I didn’t understand it, but at that moment, I trusted her. Ca wasn’t pr to wild stories. If she said Arden was in trouble, then something inside me screamed to b olliit. /li/ol

“Okay,” I breathed, bending down to press a kiss against her cheek. She smelled likevender soap, and I let thefort linger for a heartbeat. “Okay, sweetheart. I’ll go.”

The door opened then, and Rowan stepped inside. His hair was disheveled, and his jaw was set tight. He’d already shifted into Alpha mode.

“They’re ready,” he said curtly, his gaze scanning the room before settling on me. “I’ve alerted the others. Some of our best warriors wille with us.” He crossed to my side, his voice lowering. “We’re meeting at the clearing with the other Alphas. We’ll need toe up with a n before we make any move.”

I nodded, rising ito /imy feet. My heart was pounding too hard, racing at the thought of Arden somewhere out there–alone, scared, or worse.

Rowan crouched beside Ca, softening his expression. “Stay here with them, okay? Don’t go anywhere,” he said gently, brushing a hand over her hair just as I had. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and for a brief moment, the hardened Alpha disappeared, leaving only the father who adored his daughter. “We’ll bring Aunt Arden home.”

Noelle rose itoo/i, finally breaking her silence. “Be safe,” she said.

b11:40 /bbFri/bb, /bbSep /bb26 /b

Chapter 272 Scary Land

“I truly love Ca,” she added, “but I’m not ready to be a single parent if you two don’t stay safe.b” /b

Despite everything, augh escaped me. “Gosh, are you ever seriousb?/bb” /bI asked.

“Only when it counts,” she quipped, though her voice was softer than usual. Beneath the sarcasm, she was scared too.

Still, her lightness gave me the sliver of strength I needed. I squeezed Rowan’s hand, nced back at my daughters onest time, and forced my feet forward. “Let’s go,” I said firmly.

We stepped outside. Rowan’s presence beside me was a constant, but my thoughts kept pulling back to Ca. Her words echoed louder than the night around us.

“Mommy, go to scarynd!”

Her voice carried across the clearing. My heart lurched, freezing me in ce for the briefest

moment.

Scarynd.

What did she mean?