Elroy POV:
"Gone?"
My roar shattered the crystal vase on the mantelpiece. The shards rained down onto the hardwood floor.
The head Warrior, a massive brute named Kael, bowed his head, exposing his neck in submission. The Alpha Command rolling off me was making him sweat.
"Yes, Alpha," Kael stammered. "We went to the pit. The... the body. It was gone. There were tire tracks. Heavy ones. Someone took her."
"Annis," I hissed. The name tasted like bile. "She was watching. She waited until I left and stole the corpse to spite me. She knew. She somehow knew I needed it."
My Inner Wolf paced in the back of my mind. He was agitated, scratching at the walls of my consciousness. He had been unsettled since the birth of my son, refusing to howl in celebration. Now, he was growling, a low, mournful sound.
Find her, my wolf urged. Find the mate.
I ignored him. Ivonne was my mate. My nose had been tricked once, but Ivonne was the one by my side.
"Get me the Tracker," I ordered. "The best one money can buy."
Two hours later, we were deep in the forest, miles from the Pack borders. The Tracker, a silent man with a scar running down his nose, had followed a scent trail that was over a year old.
We stopped in front of a dilapidated cabin. It was hidden by overgrown vines and moss.
"This is where she lived," the Tracker said. "Before..." He trailed off.
I kicked the door open.
The inside was small and dusty. There were children's drawings on the wall. Drawings of a wolf that looked like me. My chest tightened, but I pushed the feeling away.
"Annis!" I shouted. "Come out! Give me the body, and I will let you live!"
Silence answered me.
Then, a shadow moved in the doorway.
"You are loud for a man who is blind," a voice said.
I spun around. Standing there was Korey.
I remembered him. He was Annis's childhood friend. A weak, scrawny boy who used to follow her around. But the man standing before me was not weak. He was tall, his shoulders broad. He wore a leather jacket, and his eyes glowed with a power that rivaled my own.
He wasn't a Beta anymore. He was an Alpha. Maybe even a King of the Rogues.
"Korey," I growled. "Where is she? Where is my wife?"
"Wife?" Korey laughed, but there was no humor in it. It was a cold, sharp sound. "You haven't called her that in five years, Elroy. You called her a burden. A mistake."
"Give me the girl's body," I demanded, stepping forward. "My son needs a transplant."
Korey's face twisted in pure disgust. "You want to butcher your daughter to save that abomination Ivonne birthed? You truly have fallen."
"Watch your tongue!" I lunged, but Korey didn't flinch.
"She isn't here, Elroy," Korey said softly.
"Liar! The Tracker smelled her!"
"He smelled her memory," Korey said. He reached into his jacket pocket. "You want to know where Annis is? You want the truth?"
He pulled out a stack of photos and threw them at my chest.
They fluttered to the floor.
I looked down.
My breath stopped. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.
The photos were gruesome. They showed a body. A woman. Her skin was burned black in places-the unmistakable burn of Silver nitrate. Her clothes were torn. Her face... it was Annis. But her eyes were empty. Glassy.
"The police report is attached," Korey said, his voice void of mercy. "DNA confirmed. She died six months ago, Elroy. She was hunted down by Rogues. Shot with silver bullets. Tortured. I was out of the country on a mission. I only found her remains yesterday. I came back for the child, but I was too late."
"No," I whispered. I stepped back, shaking my head. "No. I saw her... I felt her... I get alerts from her credit cards in Paris every week."
"You felt nothing," Korey spat. "And those alerts? Digital ghosts. While you were playing house with that snake Ivonne, Annis was rotting in a shallow grave."
I stared at the photo of my wife's mangled hand. On her finger, visible through the blood, was the cheap silver band I had given her when we were teenagers.
My knees hit the floor.
