Chapter 215: The Search
Third Person POV
"Welcome back, Your Majesty," the guards and staff chorused in unison, bowing their heads low as Alpha King Kaden stepped through the massive front doors of the Full Moon packhouse.
Kaden gave a short, curt nod of acknowledgment, but he didn’t stop walking. His sharp eyes scanned the familiar grand foyer, a subtle frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.
He felt a strange, empty feeling in his chest. He felt like someone was missing. Someone vital was supposed to be standing right there, or lurking in the shadows, or waiting for him. But no matter how hard he stared at the lined-up servants and guards, he couldn’t pinpoint who or what it was.
He brushed past them and walked into the grand living room, his heavy boots echoing off the polished marble floors.
Logan followed closely behind, his eyes darting to Kaden’s tense posture. "Alpha? Is something wrong?"
Kaden stopped in the middle of the room, looking around at the vaulted ceilings and expensive furniture. "I can’t explain it," he murmured, his voice low and tight. "Everything looks normal... but I just feel odd."
He shook his head, pushing the bizarre sensation aside, and made his way toward the grand staircase.
"Alpha," Logan called out, stepping up to the base of the stairs. "I was going to cancel your afternoon schedule, but the pack council insists it’s urgent. You have a meeting with them in thirty minutes."
Kaden paused on the third step, letting out a breath. "No need to cancel. I’ll take the meeting."
He continued upstairs, making his way down the quiet corridor until he reached the door of his private master suite. He pushed it open, stepped inside, and froze right on the threshold.
The silence inside his room felt heavy. Suffocating.
Something is missing, his mind screamed.
Do you feel what I feel? Kaden asked, reaching out to his wolf through their shared mental link.
His wolf, who had been strangely quiet and distant ever since Kaden woke up, finally let out a low rumble in his mind. Yes. I feel it too. It’s like... we are missing a critical piece of a puzzle.
What could it be? Kaden thought, running a hand over his face.
He walked further into the room, his eyes scanning every corner. Everything was exactly where he had left it. Photos of him and his late mate, Helen, hung neatly in dark wooden frames along the walls. His desk was orderly. His clothes were neatly folded. Yet, the air felt wrong. Alien.
Groaning, Kaden sat down on the edge of his king-sized bed and closed his eyes, digging deep into his mind, searching his memories. Did that damn rogue antidote mess up my brain? He thought angrily, his hands clenching into fists. When I find the bastards who planned that attack, they will regret ever crossing my path.
A quick knock on the door broke his thoughts.
Logan stepped into the doorway. "The council elders have arrived in the main hall, Alpha."
Kaden stood up, nodding. "Let’s get this over with."
They walked down to the council room together. As Kaden took his seat at the head of the massive table, Logan leaned in slightly. "Excuse me for a moment, Alpha. I need to oversee the perimeter guards."
Kaden gave a dismissive nod. "Go."
The moment the doors closed behind him, Logan broke into a fast, silent sprint. Time was ticking. He had already pulled one of the trusted council members aside earlier, instructing him to keep Kaden bogged down with endless pack reports, budget reviews, and territory disputes. Kaden would be trapped in that meeting for at least three hours.
Logan reached Kaden’s master bedroom, slipped inside, and locked the door behind him.
He went straight to the large walk-in closet, shoving aside the rows of expensive suits until he revealed the heavy steel safe built into the back wall. Logan knew the passcode. He punched in the numbers, heard the heavy click, and pulled the door open.
His eyes scanned the contents desperately. Stacks of cash, legal deeds, dark magic scrolls, emergency weapons, and expensive gold watches lined the velvet shelves. But no key.
Logan swallowed hard, shutting the safe and wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. "Think, Logan, think."
He began a fast, thorough search of the entire bedroom.
He dropped to his knees and checked under the bed, running his hands along the bed frame. He pulled out the heavy drawers of the nightstands, reaching all the way behind them to feel for taped objects. He lifted the corners of the heavy Persian rugs, checked inside the decorative vases on the mantel, felt beneath the cushions of the velvet armchairs, and even patted down every single pocket of Kaden’s coats hanging in the closet.
Nothing.
Frustration boiling in his chest, Logan carefully reset everything so it looked untouched, stepped out, and hurried down the hall to Kaden’s private study.
He locked the door and tore into the office. He checked behind the massive oil paintings on the walls, pressed along the bookshelves searching for hidden compartments, unscrewed the brass desk lamps, searched through every locked drawer, and checked inside hollowed-out books. He lifted the heavy desk blotter and searched the air vents near the floor.
He searched with growing desperation, refusing to leave even the smallest corner unchecked. In places where no sane person would ever put a key, Logan looked anyway, desperate for any glint of silver.
Two hours passed, but he found absolutely nothing.
Logan slumped against the wall, breathless and dripping with sweat, staring at the spotless room. A horrifying realization settled cold and heavy in his gut.
The key wasn’t in the packhouse.
Shit... shit, shit! Logan thought, panic squeezing his heart. What if Kaden had buried it deep in the territory woods? What if he had thrown it into the river, or locked it away in a bank vault halfway across the country? Only Kaden knew where he had hidden that dark object, and that secret was now buried under a spell.
Hands shaking, Logan pulled out his phone, stepped into a dark corner of the hallway, and speed-dialed Kane.
Kane picked up on the very first ring, his voice raw with tension. "Logan? Tell me you found it. Is there any progress?"
Logan let out a shaky, miserable sigh, resting his forehead against the cold wall.
"Kane..." Logan whispered, his voice sounding defeated. "I searched every inch of his quarters... every inch of his study." Logan’s voice broke. "The key isn’t here, Kane... and I don’t think we’re ever going to find it."