Chapter 315
Chapter 315
Gideon’s POV
Tegan found me at the dock three hours later.
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I was still kneeling there, staring at the water. I hadn’t moved a muscle. Hadn’t torn my eyes away from the shore, as if Avery would wash up at any moment, alive and gasping for breath and reaching for me.
“Alpha.” The Beta placed his hand on my shoulder. “We need to go back to the estate. It’s getting late, and the evidence needs to be analyzed before it sits for too long p>
“She’s out there somewhere,” I said, not answering him. I clenched my fists, scraping my nails against the rough wood of the dock. “I can feel it p>
Tegan sighed quietly. “Sir, we’ve searched the forest for miles all around. There is no trace of her beyond this point. The current is too strong for someone in her condition to swim. If she got in the water, then she might have p>
“Don’t.” I stood and walked away. “Don’t say it p>
The journey back to the pack was silent. I shifted and ran alongside Tegan and the others, but my mind was elsewhere. I kept replaying everything we’d found in my head. The greenhouse. The blood. The finger.
Avery’s finger.
Goddess, I really hoped she had survived. But the chances seemed slim to none right
now.
When we reached the estate, Tegan immediately assembled a team to investigate the abandoned greenhouse, I watched from the doorway as they combed through the greenhouse, collecting evidence,
They measured the blood spatter. Gathered the bloody clothes, Placed my mate’s little finger in a plastic baggy like it was nothing.
It took hours for them to fully analyze the scene, I paced outside, unable to sit still for a moment. Each second that passed felt like another second that Avery could be out there somewhere, bleeding, afraid, and in need of help, But Tegan was right; the evidence needed to be analyzed. That was the only way now to find Avery.
D
Finally, Tegan emerged from the greenhouse. His face was pale as he peeled off the plastic gloves he’d been wearing.
THE S
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“What did you find?” I demanded, storming up to him.
He hesitated. “Perhaps we should discuss this in private p>
“No. Tell me. Now p>
Tegan glanced at the others, then back at me. “It appears that Avery may have removed Deirdre from her cell at some point last night. We believe that she drugged her with this.” He held up an evidence bag containing a small, round purple berry.
“There was a strange purplish residue on Deirdre’s teeth, along with a cut on her gums. It’s likely that Avery forced the berry into Deirdre’s mouth to make her more compliant. We’ll have to analyze the sample of course p>
“Go on,” I ordered.
The Beta nodded curtly. “Based on the blood patterns and the state of the room, there was a violent altercation. Deirdre escaped her bonds and fought back despite the drugging, injuring Avery severely. At some point, Avery struck her in the head with a rock, killing her p>
“She must have thought she would get in trouble for killing Deirdre,” I muttered, furrowing my brow. “So she ran despite her injuries p>
It hurt just to think about. As if I would hold such a thing against Avery. After everything Deirdre had done… I didn’t want her to die, but I understood why Avery would have wanted to hurt her.
I doubted Avery intended to kill her. That part had to be an accident.
Right?
Tegan looked down at his feet and went on, Given where her trail led, it’s likely she drowned. But there have also been reports of mountain lion activity in that area. If she was injured and bleeding, then the scent would have attracted the animal, and p>
His voice trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish for me to know what he was
implying.
P
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