Chapter 196: Gone
Kaden’s POV
I sat at the head of the long wooden table in the council chamber, barely listening to the regional leaders drone on about border patrols and supply lines. My mind was miles away, trapped with Rebecca, whom I had left behind.
Every second away from her felt like torture. All I wanted was to finish this stupid summit, get in my car, and go back to her.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit my chest.
It felt like a heavy iron knife stabbing right into my heart. I gasped, bending forward in my seat, my hands holding the edge of the table so hard the wood cracked under my fingers. The air was knocked out of my lungs, and my wolf cried out in pure, sudden pain deep inside my mind.
The council members stopped talking, staring at me in sudden fear.
"Alpha King?" one of them asked nervously, rising from his chair.
Before I could speak, the double doors of the chamber slammed open with a loud bang. Logan sprinted into the room, his face completely pale, covered in a cold sweat.
"Sire!" Logan shouted, his voice shaking with terror. "Alpha Kane’s pack territory has been ambushed! His main packhouse is on fire!"
The world stopped. The blood in my veins turned to ice.
A loud, terrifying roar tore from my throat as I slammed both palms onto the table, shattering the wood into pieces as I surged to my feet.
"REBECCA!"
I didn’t care about the shocked council members. I didn’t care about the summit. Pure, wild fear exploded through my whole body.
Kane! I slammed into our private mind-link, my voice roaring into my twin brother’s head like thunder. Kane, answer me right fucking now! What is happening at your packhouse?!
Kane answered the mind-link, sounding breathless.
Kaden... Goddess, Kaden, I was betrayed... Kane choked out over the link, the sounds of swords clashing and howling wolves echoing behind his voice. My own Beta... he betrayed me. He snuck enemy fighters into the tunnels...
Where is Rebecca?! I screamed internally, my heart racing rapidly. Where is she, Kane?!
I sent my guards! Kane yelled back frantically. I sent my best, most armored warriors to escort her to the underground bunker the moment the alarms went off!
"Fuck you and your guards!" I screamed out loud, my eyes glowing a furious, terrifying gold as my Alpha aura flared wildly, knocking over the chairs around me. "You should have protected her yourself!"
I cut the mind-link off, turning around and running out of the room like a madman.
"Logan, order the private jet now!" I barked over my shoulder as I sprinted down the grand hallway. "Get it on the runway this second!"
Every step felt like a race against death. Going to Kane’s pack by car would take nearly two hours. Even with my fastest private jet, it would still take at least thirty minutes to fly there and land at the nearest border strip. Thirty minutes was an eternity. Too many things could go wrong in thirty minutes.
My mind was spinning wildly with fear. Goddess, please. Let her be safe in the bunker. Please.
I threw myself into the back of the waiting SUV, which sped off toward the airfield at dangerous speeds. Closing my eyes, I reached out through the mental network, locking onto a familiar Alpha aura. Alpha Sills’ pack was the closest neighbor to Kane’s border.
Sills! I roared through the mind-link, my mental voice booming with absolute power and desperation.
Alpha King! Sills responded instantly, his mind locking onto mine.
Kane’s pack is under attack! I commanded through the link. Send your best warriors—send a hundred of them to my brother’s estate right now to assist them! I am on my way!
Yes, Alpha King! Sills replied without hesitation. We are moving right now!
I severed the link, pressing my hands against my face as the SUV tore down the highway. Regret was eating me up inside, choking me until I could barely breathe.
I should have stayed with her. My instincts had begged me to stay in that room, to hold her, to protect her. But I had left her alone, fragile and weak, trapped in a silver collar that left her completely defenseless against a war.
If anything happens to her... if a single hair on her head is harmed... I will burn the entire realm to ash.
We reached the private airstrip in record time. The jet engines were already roaring as I leaped out of the car, practically bounding up the stairs three at a time. The moment the door sealed, the plane shot up into the sky.
I couldn’t sit still. I paced up and down the narrow aisle like a caged animal, my wolf scratching at the walls of my mind, desperate to burst out and tear through the distance. I wanted to teleport. I wanted to rip through space itself just to reach her side.
Fifteen minutes into the flight, I mind-linked Alpha Sills again.
Sills! Are your men there?!
Yes, Alpha! Sills reported back over the link. We arrived ten minutes ago and caught the enemy from behind. The fight is turning in our favor! The fires are being put out!
Where is my woman?! Is she in the bunker?!
We are clearing the inner halls now, Sire! I have no information about your woman!
I cut the link, squeezing my eyes shut in the dark cabin of the plane.
After thirty agonizing, grueling minutes, the jet touched down on the border strip. Before the stairs were even fully lowered, I jumped out, shifting into my massive black wolf mid-air, and sprinted toward the packhouse with terrifying, supernatural speed.
Trees blurred past me. The air smelled of heavy smoke, ash, and blood.
When I burst into the estate grounds, the battle was finally over. Enemy bodies—wolves and tiger shifters—lay scattered across the ruined stone paths. Surviving warriors, covered in soot and blood, scrambled out of my way as I shifted back into my human form, naked, my eyes glowing lethal gold.
"REBECCA!" I roared, my voice echoing off the scorched walls of the building.
Kane stood near the main steps, his shoulder bleeding, his face covered in soot. He looked battered and exhausted.
I rushed at him, grabbing him roughly by his blood-stained shirt collar and slamming him hard against a stone pillar.
"Where is she?!" I snarled into his face. "Where is Rebecca?!"
"Kaden... calm down..." Kane gasped out, coughing from the smoke.
I ignored him, shoving him away violently. I didn’t care about his injuries. I didn’t care about his ruined packhouse. I didn’t care that I was naked. I turned and ran straight through the broken entrance, jumping over fallen rocks and broken furniture.
I knew where the main underground bunker was. I sprinted down the dark, narrow steps leading beneath the estate, my heart hammering in my ears.
"Rebecca!" I called out, my voice cracking with fear.
I reached the bottom of the stairs. The heavy iron door of the bunker was thrown wide open.
I rushed inside—and froze.
The bunker was completely empty.
No Rebecca. No one.
"No... no, no, no..." I whispered, my knees trembling as I stumbled into the dark, cold room. I dropped to my knees, running my hands over the cold concrete floor, searching frantically for any sign of her scent.
Footsteps rushed down the stairs behind me. Kane appeared in the doorway, clutching his bleeding side, his brown eyes filled with deep, heavy guilt.
"Brother..." Kane whispered, his voice trembling as he looked down at me.
I slowly turned my head, looking up at him from the floor, my eyes hollow and completely wild with panic.
"Where is she, Kane?" I rasped, my voice barely a whisper.
Kane swallowed hard, his throat working as tears cut clean tracks through the black soot on his face.
"She was taken," Kane whispered softly. "The tiger shifters... they broke into the side hallways before my men could reach the bunker. She was captured along with a few of my people."
The world went dead silent.
The air left my lungs. My heart stopped beating in my chest.
In that single moment, every nightmare I had ever imagined became reality.