Kael’s POV~

I slammed the door to my room, making sure the sound echoed down the hallway. I knew Aeron was already working on Marek, getting under that bastard’s skin to keep him distracted. My brother was buying me the time I needed.

I didn’t waste a single second. My mate, she was the only thing that mattered now. I quickly stripped off my noble clothes and changed into a dark, hooded outfit. I needed to become a shadow in the night.

I focused on my breathing, masking my scent and my presence. My technique was perfect; I had practiced this countless times. Even under the watchful eyes of the former Lycan King’s guards, I used to sneak out undetected.

I slipped through a hidden panel in the floor, moving into the cold, damp tunnels. I moved silently... without gaining any attention at all. I finally emerged outside, deep within the palace grounds, far beneath the noses of the surrounding wolves.

A small smile touched my lips for a second, but it died instantly. As I moved through the outer courtyards, the scene was a nightmare.

The ground was littered with bodies. The rebels had butchered everyone like they were mere cattle.

I saw the corpses of maids I knew and Lycan warriors who had died fighting. My expression turned stony and twisted with silent rage. I didn’t stop to mourn. I ran toward the palace wing where Selene’s quarters were located.

My heart was pounding against my ribs, a frantic rhythm of fear. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that she was alright. Maybe she was just hiding. Maybe she was waiting for me to come and rescue her from this hell.

I barged into her palace wing, my body tense and ready for a fight. To my surprise, the hallway was eerily silent. There were no bodies here and no signs of a struggle. For a heartbeat, hope flared in my chest.

I thought that perhaps the attackers had overlooked this small corner of the estate. I ran down the long hallway toward her bedroom. When I reached her door, I found it standing wide open. My stomach dropped into my shoes.

"Selene?" I whispered, my voice trembling. I stepped inside, but the bed was empty and cold. I searched every corner, checking the bathroom and even the closets. I called her name again, softer this time, hoping for a reply.

No one responded. The silence was deafening. My expression became dark as the hope in my eyes began to dim.

I searched frantically, but there were no signs of her. It was as if she had simply vanished into thin air.

I tried to catch her scent, but something was wrong. Her sweet, flowery scent was missing, masked by something chemical and foul. I couldn’t tell if she had escaped on her own or if someone had snatched her away.

Both thoughts were equally disturbing. How could she escape through thousands of bloodthirsty wolves? I didn’t believe in miracles. I rushed back outside, my eyes scanning the ground for any clue of where she went.

As I circled the building, I caught a faint trail. It wasn’t Selene’s scent, but it belonged to the elder prince, Uncle Maximus. My eyes widened. Maybe he had reached her in time. I dashed in the direction the scent led. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The trail led me toward a dark, secluded part of the garden. The scent grew stronger, but I still couldn’t smell Selene. I was worried sick. Until I saw her with my own eyes, I wouldn’t be able to breathe.

I turned a corner and froze. The ground was covered in blood. My heart stopped when I recognized a specific, familiar scent in the red puddles. It was Selene’s blood. She had been bleeding heavily right here on the stone.

The blood was mixed with a foul scent of something he couldn’t recognize at all. I felt like I was losing my mind.

The blood had actually come when a wolf had torn into her arm and injected her with poison.

I looked at the dead wolves nearby.

I wanted to bring those dead wolves back to life just so I could kill them again. I recognized more blood nearby; it belonged to Uncle Maximum. I didn’t know if they had escaped together or been captured.

I was spinning into a pit of despair when I heard a slight movement. I snapped my head toward a corner and found a wounded wolf lying there. He was one of Marek’s men, barely clinging to consciousness.

He looked up at me, thinking I was one of his allies. "Help me," he wheezed. "The bitch was taken away. We couldn’t kill her like we were ordered to. Someone stopped us at the last second."

I lunged at him, grabbing him by the throat. "Which bitch? Who are you talking about?" I roared. My grip was tight enough to crush his windpipe, my eyes glowing with a murderous, golden light.

The wolf coughed, not realizing who I was. "The new Lycan princess. We had her cornered, but a man intervened. He killed everyone in my pack and carried her away. He was a monster."

I felt a surge of pure fury. "Who was he?

Where did he take her?" I demanded. The wolf just laughed weakly, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. He looked at me with mocking eyes.

"We don’t know. He wore a mask," the wolf spat, already realizing that I am not his ally but his worst death.

"But it doesn’t matter. The girl was already poisoned. She won’t even survive a day. She’s as good as dead anyway. You’ve all lost."

I lost all control. I punched the wolf with enough force to shatter his skull. He went limp instantly, likely dead before he hit the ground. I stood over him, my chest heaving, as the world turned red.

I could hear my wolf howling inside me, wanting to take out and find out about our mate.