Chapter 260
Chapter 260
Gideon’s POV
I searched for hours.
There were no signs of Avery. No scent. No tracks. Nothing pointing to where she had gone or why.
All I had left was the ghost of that sensation I’d briefly felt-the moment when I’d sensed her making the decision to leave-and nothing more.
Still, I searched. Avery was my mate, even if she didn’t want to accept me yet. I wasn’t just going to let her leave. Or be taken. I wasn’t sure which one it had been, but I knew I wouldn’t let her slip away from my life so easily.
“Perhaps it’s time to head back, Alpha,” my Beta said. The sun had long since gone down, turning the sky into a dull shade of grayish blue. We had been at this for six hours now, maybe even more. I lost track. “We can search again in the morning p>
Morning? By morning, she could be dead.
I ignored Tegan, keeping my nose against the ground. There had to be a scent here somewhere. Avery couldn’t have just left without leaving something behind. She wasn’t the type.
Suddenly, I scented it. It was faint, but it was there. My wolf loped forward, nostrils flaring. There, amongst the underbrush along the side of the road, I spotted a burst of color-a scrap of something bright blue.
I shifted back and crouched, pushing aside the brambles even as the thorns cut my palms. I snatched the item up and studied it it was a scrap of fabric. Looked like it belonged to Avery’s shirt. I recognized the color from the blouse she’d been wearing earlier. It had been stained with dirt on one sleeve from gardening.
Indeed, it even smelled like her. Soil and sage and sweet perfume.
There was no blood on it, thankfully. But there was also nothing else in the area indicating what might have happened. This was Avery’s, though. My wolf was sure of it.
I stood, turning back to Tegan. “She was here at some point,” I said, handing him the fabric. “Give this to our scouts. I want them on her scent trail as soon as possible. No one rests until she’s found p>
“Yes, Sir.” He pocketed the fabric, shifted, and took off to carry out my orders.
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Chapter 260
+25 Bonus
There was still much to be done. My Luna was missing, and I had a feeling she hadn’t just left of her own accord. Something, or someone, had given her an impossible decision to make. She’d left because she felt she had to, not because she simply wanted to disappear.
Was she in danger? Had she been given no other choice but to go with her captors?
By the time I returned to Nightwolf, I was dead on my feet. But I had no intention of resting. I headed inside and straight for my room to change and prepare some things before heading out again. Zara and Ryan were first on my interrogation list. Reynaud was a close second.
Jessica ran into me in the hall.
“Alpha!” She took a step back, neck flushing. “I-I heard about the Luna. Such a shame p>
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I nodded curtly. “She’s gone. You didn’t happen to see or hear where she went p>
Jessica hesitated, then replied, “I did see her, actually. She was packing a bag. Said she was running away p>
My brows shot skyward. “Is that so p>
Jessica nodded. I stared at her, trying to decipher the look in her eyes. She was lying, wasn’t she?
“My daughter wouldn’t just run like that p>
I turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Avery’s mother stood at the end of a hall, leaning on her cane. She was still here, which meant that my hunch about Avery was likely correct; she hadn’t left of her own accord. She wouldn’t abandon her mother. Not willingly. Even her mother knew that.
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