Chapter 46

Elara

Alaric’s voice cut through the quiet hotel lobby like a whip.

“How could you lose them, James?” His tone was low and sharp, trembling with the kind of

righteous Alpha anger that made even me shrink back. “You had one job, and you failed.”

James stood there, pale and visibly shaking, his eyes darting between us. “I-I… I didn’t mean to,

Alpha. They were playing in the lounge. Everything was fine! And then Ella just… bolted.” He

gulped audibly, his hands twisting together. “Zoe ran after her, and before I could get them both

to stop…” His voice cracked. “I lost them in the chaos from the raid.”

Panic clawed its way into my chest. “They ran off?” I choked out. “James, how could you let

them out of your sight?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but Alaric’s furious growl silenced him.

“Do you have any idea what could happen to them?” Alaric’s fists were clenched so tightly that I

swore I heard his knuckles crack. “This hotel was just crawling with criminals, and you let two

children disappear?”

“I—” James tried again, but I couldn’t stand still any longer. My pulse was thundering in my ears

as I turned on my heel and bolted toward the nearest hallway.

“We need to find them!” I shouted, not caring if any lingering hotel staff heard me. “Alaric, we

don’t have time to waste.”

Behind me, I heard his heavy footsteps follow, James stumbling after us and muttering

apologies that neither of us cared to hear. The air felt suffocating, every corner of the hotel

suddenly too dark, too vast, too full of places where two little girls could disappear.

My heart pounded relentlessly as we began our frantic search, checking every room, every

hallway, knocking on every door, calling their names until my throat was raw. Ella. Zoe. Over

and over, their names became my mantra, a prayer I hoped would be answered.

“Ella!” I cried, my voice breaking. “Zoe!”

“Ella! Zoe! Come out! It’s not safe!” Alaric’s voice boomed behind me.

The minutes dragged into what felt like hours. Every empty corridor, every locked door felt like

another failure, another step closer to the worst-case scenario that I refused to let myself

imagine.

During our search, I completely forgot about the fresh mating mark still throbbing on my neck.

Alaric’s heartbeat was in perfect sync with mine, frantic and uneven. All that mattered to either

of us was finding the girls.

Finally, after splitting up at one point to cover more ground, we regrouped near the stairwell. I

was gasping for breath, my chest heaving as I leaned against the wall. Alaric’s face was pale,

his usual stoic composure cracked by lines of worry. Even James, who normally kept a level

head, looked like he was on the verge of collapsing.

“We might need to call the police,” Alaric gasped. “Issue an Amber Alert.”

The words sent a jolt of panic through me. Police? Amber Alert? The image of Ella and Zoe—

scared, alone, possibly in danger—flashed in my mind, and I shook my head violently.

“No. No, we can’t. Not yet. We… we just need to keep looking. They’re here somewhere. They

have to be.”

“Elara,” Alaric started, his voice softening slightly, but I didn’t let him finish.

“We’re not calling the police,” I snapped, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. “Not until we’ve

searched everywhere.”

He hesitated, staring at me incredulously, but I refused to back down. An Amber Alert felt too

real, too final, too much of a confirmation of my worst fears. I didn’t want to believe that the girls

had been lost, or taken, or… worse.

Not yet. Not until we searched everywhere, even if it meant breaking down the walls of this

place.

Finally seeming to understand my implications, Alaric gave a curt nod. “Fine. But if we don’t find

them soon…”

I didn’t let him finish. I turned and headed for the basement, where the illegal auction had been

held earlier. The idea of going back to that place made my skin crawl, but we had to check

everywhere. I wasn’t sure how Ella and Zoe could have wandered down there since it was an

active crime scene, but it was worth trying.

Together, we pushed aside the yellow police tape and descended into the dimly lit hallways of

the basement, the air growing colder and heavier. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself.

But to my surprise, Alaric was suddenly at my side, and without a word, he placed his arm

around my shoulders and tugged me close.

My throat tightened as I felt another pulse through the bond. He was just being protective, that

much I knew. But it felt like so much more now with that mark igniting between us.

Still, I shook my head to dispel the thoughts and focused on finding the girls.

Then, just as I was about to call their names again, I heard it.

A soft sniffle followed by a sob. A small voice muttering something.

“Ella!” I shouted, yanking myself away from Alaric and racing forward, ignoring his calls for me

to wait. “Zoe!”

I skidded around the corner, and there they were. They were huddled together in a secluded

hallway, shivering and sobbing. Relief crashed over me, and I stumbled toward them.

“Oh, thank the Goddess,” I breathed, falling to my knees and gathering both of the girls into my

arms. Zoe immediately melted into me, and Ella went stiff, her eyes wide and full of shock.

I leaned back just enough to look them over, gripping their shoulders and turning them this way

and that to check for injury. “Why did you two run off? Are you hurt? Are you okay?” I was so

frantic that I hardly even gave them a chance to answer each question.

Ella didn’t answer, just stared at her feet, but Zoe let out a wail that broke my heart all over

again. “We… we couldn’t find our way out of here,” she sobbed. “Ella said she smelled

something and… and then she ran, and I didn’t want to leave her alone, but then we got lost…”

“It’s okay,” I whispered, stroking their hair and holding them close. “You’re safe now. It’s okay.”

Alaric was there just a moment later. He dropped down beside us, his strong arms wrapping

around all three of us. “Don’t ever run off like that again. Do you hear me? Ever,” he ground out.

His voice was low and rough, and filled with more emotion than I’d ever heard it.

Zoe nodded, her sobs quieting slightly, but it was Ella who caught my attention. She was

deathly pale, one of her small hands clenched into a tight fist.

Instantly, my stomach dropped. The basement was empty now, yellow police tape covering the

walls and doors. No one was here, but the worst case scenario still flitted through my mind.

“Ella?” I said gently, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “Sweetheart, are you okay? Did

something else happen that you’re not telling us?”

She didn’t answer right away, her gaze dropping to her clenched hand. But then, slowly,

hesitantly, she opened it and revealed the object she had been clutching: an earring. A delicate,

silver earring speckled with traces of red powder.

Alaric’s expression darkened immediately, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the small piece of

jewelry. “Where did you find that?” he demanded.

Ella’s voice was so low I almost couldn’t hear her as she whispered, “I smelled something

familiar. I thought it was…” She hesitated, glancing nervously between me and Alaric. “I

followed the scent, but I couldn’t find anyone. Just this.”

I frowned, looking up at Alaric. His face was set hard, but I could see something stormy

flickering behind his eyes. Something dark and confused.

“What is it?” I asked, concerned. It was just an earring; lots of women had been in this place

tonight. It couldn’t be that significant… could it?

But when Ella said those next words, I felt my heart come screeching to a halt in my chest.

“It’s… It’s my mom’s earring.”