Chapter 156
Tristan’s POV
There were signs of a struggle now that I was looking for them. A chair pushed back at an odd angle, a glass that had rolled under the cabinet, scratch marks on the linoleum that looked like someone had been dragged across the floor.
“No, no, no,” I whispered, my mind racing through possibilities, each one worse than the last.
I picked up her phone with trembling hands, checking the call log to see if there were any clues about what had happened.
Opening it wasn’t difficult, I just had to try our surnames together – Slayes. It was all our passwords.
The last call had been from Derek about an hour ago. Before that, nothing unusual.
Derek. He’d called her, and now she was gone.
But that didn’t make sense. Derek was my friend, had been for years. He wouldn’t hurt Athena. He cared about her too, had been helping train her,
protecting her at races.
My mind flashed back to the racing center, to the way Derek had protected her when those men were threatening her. To the way he’d positioned himself
protectively in front of her. To the authority in his voice when he’d warned them off.
He wouldn’t hurt her because he wanted her. Or would he?
Love could make people do incredibly stupid things. I should know.
Derek Stallion.
Stallion wasn’t just any werewolf name. It was royalty. Old blood, powerful bloodlines, the kind of family that had connections and influence that stretched
across multiple packs and territories.
But in all the years I’d known him, he’d never used his position to oppress anyone. He didn’t even act like someone who had that kind of bloodline, and he also didn’t want anything to do with his pack and family. That was part of why we’d become friends in the first place.
I pulled out my own phone and called Max, not caring that it was late or that I’d just left him at the hospital.
“Alpha?‘ he answered immediately, hearing the urgency in my voice through the pack bond.
I need you to check the last place Derek had been and send me his location immediately.”
‘Is everything okay? You sound…”
‘Athena’s missing,” I cut him off. “Her apartment shows signs of a struggle, and Derek was the last person to call her.”
There was a moment of silence as Max processed this information. Tll have everything you need within the hour,‘ he said grimly.
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“Make it thirty minutes, I replied, then hung up and immediately dialed another number.
‘Don’t you sleep? I have a wife and child…” Orion’s voice came through the phone, groggy but already alert. He could probably sense the panic in my voice
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Chapter 156
even before I spoke.
“Orion, I said, cutting him off. “We have a problem.”
“What’s wrong? Where’s Athena?” Of course he’d guess immediately. What other problem would make me call him in the middle of the night?
‘She’s been taken.”
I heard him shoot out of bed immediately, the sound of sheets rustling and feet hitting the floor.
“What?”
“Honey, what’s wrong?” I could hear Sarah’s voice in the background, concern evident even through the phone.
“I got a call that Seraphine had tried to commit suicide, so I left. When I got back, I couldn’t find Athena anywhere. Can’t even smell her scent in the
apartment.”
“You left my sister alone?” His voice was sharp with accusation and fear.
“I’m sorry, man…”
“I trusted you to protect her. I trusted you.” I could hear him moving around frantically, and I knew he was trying to get dressed while talking to me.
“You know I’d protect her with my life. I asked her to come along, but she insisted on staying back. I swear, I…”
“Fuck, man. I’m sorry.” I heard him say, his voice breaking slightly. “I shouldn’t have said what I said. I know you wouldn’t have allowed anything to happen
to her.
‘But I failed. I failed again. If anything happens to her…” My voice came out broken, the weight of my worst fears crushing down on my chest.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
