CHAPTER 447: MISSING PRINCESS

Marro ran through the trees like a shadow unchained. His heart beat fast—not out of fear, but from the pulsing urgency in his chest.

The early dawn was barely stretching itself over the sky, and the first lines of light sliced through the trees like thin blades of silver. His bare feet kicked up cold earth and leaves, and the wind whispered memories he’d been trying to silence for days.

He didn’t know the man’s name.

Not truly.

To him, he was just the strange-eyed wolf who’d been dragged into the clearing, bloody and broken, but still alive.

Still breathing.

Still fighting.

Marro didn’t know why he had helped him.

He had lost his family for him.

Everyone was out to get him

But he’d seen the look in that man’s eyes, the haunting glimmer of someone who had lost everything and yet refused to die.

He couldn’t let him die. Not then.

And because of that single choice... his world burned.

He had seen his father’s pieced body lying on the floor of their little cottage.

His mother and brother’s dead body on the floor at the back door.

They had been running away and yet they had still killed them.

He hasn’t even been given the chance to mourn.

He was only eleven years and yet the horrors he had witnessed, even alphas would be horrified.

His feet didn’t stop running.

His body didn’t stop moving.

Even as his ribs ached, even as his lungs burned, he kept running.

He thought about going to see the man again, the stranger who was no stranger. Somewhere in his bones, he knew the truth.

That man had to be someone important, someone dangerous.

Why else would the guards go so far?

But going back... that would be selfish.

If they followed his trail, if they sniffed him out, they’d find the injured wolf.

They’d kill him.

And then everything, everything Marro had lost, would mean nothing.

So he didn’t go back.

He just ran, mouth dry, eyes burning, the guilt like a second skin around his heart.

If he could find help, real help, someone with power, someone who would listen—maybe, just maybe, the man he’d saved would have a chance to survive.

The trees blurred past him. He didn’t look back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nanny Nia’s scream still echoed through the corridor as she burst through the east wing, skirts flying around her ankles, breath hitching from panic.

The pack’s guards looked up in alarm, but she ignored them all.

Her feet knew where to go.

"Erik!" she shouted, bursting into his quarters. "Erik—!"

She opened doors and screamed out his name frantically searching for him.

Erik was well asleep in his bedroom when he heard the screams.

He jumped up alert and before he knew it, his bedroom door was flung open and Nanny Nia came running in.

"What happened?" He asked bewildered

"She’s gone!" Nanny Nia cried, hand on her chest, eyes wide with dread.

"Who is gone?" He asked still confused.

"Jasmine! She’s gone!" She cried.

"What?"

"I... I thought she was sleeping. I mean I left her sleeping. There were pillows under the blanket. Kire is gone too!"

Erik’s face changed immediately color drained, jaw clenched, fury building in his chest like a rising tide.

That damn wolf!

How could Kire have done that?!

His own wolf was now disobeying him and rather obeying Jasmine.

Above all, Kire should have known better!

When he got his hands on him, he was merging his body back with him whether he liked it or not!

But even as he said it, his body was moving.

He crossed the room in long strides and threw open the drawer where he had hidden the blood, stained cloth from Xaden’s last known location.

It was folded just as he had left it, but smaller.

His heart dropped.

There was a straight cut through the fabric.

A missing piece.

She had it.

"Damn it, Jasmine!" he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Why would you do this?"

"Erik?" Nanny Nia’s voice cracked.

"She went after him," he said darkly. "She’s trying to find Xaden on her own."

Nanny Nia gasped. "She could be anywhere by now! She’s unshifted, she’s pregnant! What if something happens to her?"

"She took Kire," Erik said trying to convince himself. "That wolf won’t let anything harm her."

"Still..." Nanny Nia shook her head, near tears. "She’s out there, alone."

Erik moved swiftly now, yanking open his wardrobe to strap on his gear.

He threw on his chestplate, knives, and a cloak for speed. Then he turned to Nanny Nia. "Rally the scouts. I’m going after her."

"But the pack—"

"I’m not leaving it unguarded." He swept past her and down the hallway where several warriors had already gathered, drawn by the commotion.

At the corridor that led to the pack’s war hall, he found Uther waiting, arms folded, expression unreadable.

Erik’s face became grim in disgust.

Uther’s voice came smooth and curious. "Where are you rushing off to in such a storm, Gamma?"

Erik didn’t stop moving, only called over his shoulder. "Private pack matters. None of your concern."

"None of my concern?" Uther asked a scowl on his ugly face. "I am the uncle to the Alpha."

"I don’t give a fuck." Erik said not breaking his stride.

Uther followed. "You seem tense. If there’s danger, perhaps I should know."

Erik stopped then, just long enough to turn fully toward Uther. His eyes were steel.

"Don’t mistake my silence for ignorance, Uther. You may fool the others, but I see through you." His tone was low and firm. "This pack still follows my command. Don’t forget it."

Uther’s smile faltered. "I meant no offense."

Erik turned and walked toward the center of the hall where Damian stood beside two guards.

Without ceremony, Erik spoke clearly, "Damian, until I return, you’re in charge."

Uther’s face stiffened. "You’re handing over the pack to a mere wolf?"

Erik didn’t dignify it with a response. He nodded to Damian and added, "Keep eyes on Uther."

Damian gave a short, crisp nod. "Understood."

With that, Erik stormed past the gathered men, making for the stables.

The cold wind hit his face as he emerged into the open yard, but he didn’t feel it. All he saw was Jasmine, fragile and stubborn, out in the forest with danger lurking on every side.

"Erik!"

He turned.

Nanny Nia stood at the steps, face pale, hands clenched at her sides.

"Please," she begged, voice cracking. "Find her. Bring her home."

Erik met her eyes, the soft pain in them reflecting his own.

"I will."