The Wolf Wars Saga Book 2
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Michelle Torlot
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37
Prologue
[POV: Gabriel]
She was gone. I woke up with a feeling of emptiness, a sense of something missing. Not someone, something.
I bolted into the living room, finding the front door wide open. I wasn’t the best at tracking, but I could still pick up her scent, though it was growing fainter.
Without wasting a moment, I mind-linked Emma.
Ellie’s missing. I need you here right now.
Emma was there in less than ten minutes.
“I need to know if she left on her own or if she was taken,” I said, urgency in my voice.
Emma nodded, following me into Ellie’s room.
She quickly scanned the room, not saying a word. Then she moved towards the front door, pausing for a moment with a frown on her face.
She continued outside, heading towards the back of the house and into the trees, sniffing the air as she went.
She stopped at a small clearing, her fingers brushing the ground. Then she turned to face me.
“It’s odd. I can pick up Ellie’s scent, but it’s not on the door handle, even though the door was open. Her scent is in the air, but it doesn’t hit the ground until here.
“It’s strong here, but there’s something else too.”
I frowned, “What else?”
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
“Rope, and a faint scent of... Wolfsbane, and something else. I can’t identify it.”
My eyes narrowed, “She was taken? By who?”
Emma nodded.
“She was definitely taken. Carried from the house. Then put on the ground. Likely tied up, and given Wolfsbane. Whoever took her must have masked their scent.”
Fear gripped my heart. Who could have taken her? Someone who knew about her wolf. Someone from the pack, or maybe the human commander.
“Can you find her?” I asked.
Emma sighed.
“I can try.”
Ellie
I was cold, my head was throbbing, and there was something around my neck.
I reached up to touch my throat, feeling the cold metal. Fear surged through me, and I snapped my eyes open as the memories of the previous night flooded back.
“It won’t come off.”
I looked around the room. A sliver of light was filtering through a tiny barred window, the only source of light in the dark room. It was a prison cell... no, more like a dungeon.
It reminded me of another place. I swallowed hard, pushing the memory away. Tears welled up in my eyes.
“Don’t cry, or he’ll beat you until you stop.”
I squinted into the darkness. I recognized that voice.
There was a shuffling sound, and then a figure moved into the light. Samuel.
I gasped. Not just because I was trapped in a dungeon with someone who despised me, but because he looked nothing like the Samuel I remembered.
His nose was caked with dried blood and his face was a map of bruises. He wore a collar around his neck, just like mine. Where it touched his skin, there were angry red blisters.
I closed my eyes, reaching out to Nix in my mind. But I couldn’t sense her. The last time she didn’t respond, I could still feel her sleeping. Now, she wasn’t there at all.
“You won’t find her,” Samuel mumbled, “Wolfsbane and silver.”
I ran my fingers under the collar. There were no blisters, it was just uncomfortable.
“Looks like silver doesn’t affect you,” he said, “lucky.”
I hugged my body, pulling my knees to my chest.
“You must hate me,” I whispered, resting my head on my knees.
Samuel shook his head.
“I don’t, but my wolf does... but then he hates anyone who doesn’t let him have his way. I used to be able to control him, but as he got stronger, he took over.”
I sighed. “My wolf helps me, she never tries to take control, but sometimes I let her.”
Samuel rolled his eyes. “Nice.”
I lifted my head. “Daddy will find us. He’ll come looking for me, and I’ll make sure he brings you back too.”
Samuel sighed.
“That’s a nice thought, but don’t count on it. The beta told me you were coming. He said Uncle Gabriel would never find you, and by the time he did, it would be too late.”
His voice was devoid of emotion. Had they broken him already?
My heart tightened, “Too late for what?” I asked, my voice trembling.
Samuel shrugged.
“Beta...Dante,” he whispered the name, “only tells you what he wants you to know. If you resist, he’ll just hurt you.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. Zagan had claimed he was my father. He couldn’t be, my father was dead. Daddy, even though he wasn’t my biological father, was still my daddy. He would find me.
Grandpa and Nana would help him. Until then, I had to stay strong. Be like I was before. Harden myself again. I pushed all my emotions deep down. I would survive this. I had before and I would again.
