Chapter 87

Logan

Jesse was gone.

I stared at the empty cell in stunned silence, my fists clenched so tightly my nails bit into my palms, claws lengthening in my fury.

The chains had been opened and lay on the dirt floor like dead snakes. They had been cleanly removed. There had to have been someone on the inside that had helped him and provided the key.

There had been no signs of a struggle or forced entry. It was like he had just stood up, taken off his manacles, and walked right out.

“Lock the entire palace down,” I barked at the nearest guard, my voice low and dangerous. “No one comes in or out without my knowledge. I want a full list of everyone on duty in every single corner of this palace. I want names, ranks, and rotations. All of it.”

The guard nodded and sprinted off. I turned back toward the cell, rage boiling my blood. He had escaped and evaded justice. Again.

Jesse. My own half-brother. I should’ve killed him in his tent back at the rogue camp. It certainly would have brought me some peace of mind knowing that he could never plague this world again.

But then Evelyn had chosen to spare him. And I would have done anything she asked. Anything at all, especially after what he had done to her.

My fury spilled over anew, thinking about what she had endured at his hand. I could have killed him five times over for how blinding my anger was just then. He had captured and held Evelyn against her will, threatening and drugging her. And now he was out there again, somewhere beyond the walls. Free.

My wolf paced furiously inside me. I could barely contain my fury, thinking about how Jesse was out walking the same world as her, that he was as free to do as he wished as she was now.

I smelled the air for more clues, seeking his scent on the stagnant air. There were so few clues to go off of, but I could still smell him, even though the scent was fading. He’d likely been gone for hours.

And I hadn’t known all this time.

“Damn it,” I growled, slamming my fist against the cold stone wall. The pain of splitting my knuckles back open did nothing to ease the guilt clawing at my gut. It was only a bright, violent distraction that clouded my brain for just a few heartbeats. But it wasn’t enough. I needed to tear the whole world apart. I needed to get rid of Jesse to make sure that Evelyn would always be safe.

With my knuckles split and bleeding once more, I took three heaving breaths to somewhat compose myself, and then I got to work.

I gathered my Gamma squad within minutes. They were loyal as ever, rushing to my call and falling in line.

We didn’t have time to waste. Jesse was smart and slippery, and if he had help like I’d suspected, he could disappear entirely. The more time we wasted, the more time we gave him to plan and strike again.

I was strapping a dagger to my hip when I saw her.

Evelyn.

She was walking briskly toward the palace gates, a thin line between her brows and urgency in her steps as the warhorns bellowed to fill the surrounding field. Her cheeks were flushed, likely from rushing from the city, and her coat was dusty from travel.

For a second, my breath caught in my throat.

She looked exhausted and disturbed. But there was fire in her eyes, as there always was. Even now, after everything, my instincts screamed to protect her. My wolf surged forward at the sight of her, desperate to close the distance and ensure that she was safe. It took significant restraint not to go over and smooth the line between her brows with my thumb as I tried to soothe her.

“Logan,” she said breathlessly as she reached me. “What is this all about?”

I gritted my teeth. It was difficult to meet her eyes. “Jesse escaped.”

She gasped, small and delicate. “And you’re going to search for him?”

“I’m going to capture him,” I said. “And then I’m going to lock him in a dark cell way below the earth that he can never get out of.”

Evelyn straightened, raising her chin. “I want to help.”

“No,” I said too quickly, too sharply.

She blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

I straightened, biting back the heat rising in my chest. “We can’t risk the princess getting hurt. You’re a target now, Evelyn. You always have been, but now we need to treat it with the significance it warrants.”

Her face fell.

God, I hated that look. Every inch of me recoiled at the thought of disappointing her and the way it cracked through her confidence like a hairline fracture in glass. She tried to hide it, but I saw it. I saw everything with her, every small reaction. And I felt it.

But I couldn’t risk losing her or having her get harmed in the midst of this search. She was too precious to me, especially now that I had come to terms with just how deep the feelings I felt for her ran.

“You don’t trust me,” she whispered.

I said nothing. Couldn’t. The words were there, but so was the wall I’d built between us. But damn it, seeing her flinch from me still twisted something awful in my chest. I had to look away. I couldn’t bear seeing her hurt.

She swallowed hard and nodded once. I hated myself in that moment more than I ever had.

Because even now, even with Jesse on the loose, all I wanted to do was pull Evelyn back into my arms. I wanted to tell her I didn’t mean it like that, that I actually just couldn’t stand the possibility of her being put in harm’s way. That I still dreamed about her and had dreamed about her for years and years without even knowing it was her. My girl in white. That part of me started loving her that day never stopped.

But I didn’t.

“Don’t you feel it, though?” she asked.

I knew what she meant, but my breath hitched, the words lodging in my throat. “What?”

“Our wolves,” she said. “They’re drawn to each other. They stir when the other is around. Logan, I know you can feel it too. And if you do, then it means we’re likely mates and—”

“Alpha!”

A shout from the far end of the courtyard snapped my attention away. One of the guards sprinted toward me, breathless and pale.

“What is it?” I demanded. Evelyn was tense beside me. Everything in me wanted to focus only on her and the suggestion she had just made. The conclusion I had come to recently as well.

But first, I needed to make the world safe for her.

The guard hesitated only a second before blurting out, “It’s Emma. She’s gone too.”

My stomach dropped.

“Gone?” I repeated.

“We can’t find her. She left no word. Her chambers have reportedly been empty since last night. There’s no trace.”

My jaw clenched. Evelyn gasped beside me. I turned to her, looking deeply into her eyes. Her two enemies were out there, missing and dangerous. I would burn the forests to cinders if it meant flushing them out and keeping Evelyn safe beside me.

Two disappearances. Two people with too many secrets.

I turned toward my Gamma unit, where they were finishing suiting up, the need for answers buzzing hot in my veins.

“Double the search perimeter,” I ordered. “We’re not just hunting Jesse anymore. We’re hunting them both.”