ULRIC KNIGHT
Three days after the rogues situation
The living room is thick with silence.
Victoria's sitting on the arm of the couch, her hands clasped so tightly the knuckles have gone pale. Tyler hasn't moved from the window in over an hour, watching the street as though she might suddenly appear there. Hector looks relaxed in the corner chair. Caleb and the twins sit across from me, all three wearing the same tight expression, a mask stretched over worry.
We've gone in circles all day. Ideas, theories, half-formed plans. None of them worth a damn.
"She's not just missing," I say, voice low but sharp enough to slice through their murmurs. "I heard her. Through the link."
Before anyone can respond, a sudden, thunderous bang rattles the front door against its frame. All of us freeze for half a second before Tyler pushes off the wall. Caleb's already moving, the two of them reaching the door at the same time.
It swings open with another jolt, and a man strides in like he owns the ground under his feet.
Dark hair, eyes that burn with an anger that feels almost familiar, shoulders set like a soldier ready for a fight.
Caleb steps into his path. "Hey–this isn't–"
"Where's my sister?" The demand slices through the room.
For a heartbeat, no one moves. No one speaks. The weight of those words drops into the space like a stone into still water.
Tyler glances at me, then back at the stranger. "Your–" "My sister," the man repeats, voice low, dangerous. "Where is she?"
It suddenly clicks. Elias.
I've never met him, but i know the name, Aelia speaks so fondly of, her brother.
Caleb and Tyler exchange a glance, then both try to steer him back toward the door. "Look, maybe you–"
"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me where Aelia is." He plants his feet, immovable. "And if any of you think you're stopping me, try me."
Victoria rises, smooth but quick, crossing the room. "Elias?"
His gaze snaps to her.
"I'm Victoria," she says. "Your sister's friend. One of her closest."
He studies her for a heartbeat, eyes narrowing just slightly before he gives a curt nod. "Then you can start talking."
No one moves. Then, one by one, the others' gazes shift to me.
Elias notices. His focus locks on me like a blade finding its mark.
I stand.
"I'm Alpha Ulric," I say, letting the title sit between us. "Your sister is my mate."
His expression doesn't change much, but I catch the way his jaw tightens.
"That doesn't tell me where she is," he says.
"She's been taken," I answer, my head dipping for a moment in shame as I feel I've failed as her mate. " By something unknown. But I know she's alive, I heard her voice through the bond. That's not something you can fake."
His fists curl at his sides. "I don't care if you're an Alpha, or the King. She's my sister and if anything happens to her, I will kill you with my bare hands."
I don't flinch. "If anything happens to her, I won't give you the chance. I'll be dead before you can touch me. She's my mate. My life. My world doesn't exist without her."
The room holds still around us, as though no one dares move until one of us does.
Elias breathes once, slow, through his nose.
Finally, I speak again. "I'm going to a neighboring town. There might be people there who've seen something, heard something. I intend to find out." I hold his gaze. "Come with me."
He stares at me for a long beat, the glare unbroken, then gives a single, sharp nod.
"Fine."
.
.
.
.
.
.
The streets of Redhollow were quiet by the time we returned to the market square.
Hayden kept a step behind me, scanning the alleys without a word. Elias moved ahead, every muscle in his back wound tight. We'd been combing this place since morning, and still, nothing. No scent. No slip of her presence. Just stone, strangers, and the gnawing pull of absence in my chest.
Where are you my Luna?
The Alpha of Redhollow was waiting by the well at the center of the square. A tall man, built like someone who'd held his ground in more than a few fights.
"Ulric," he greeted, his voice low. "I've heard the stories, but I didn't expect to see you in my territory."
"I'm not here for trouble," I said. "I'm here for someone who was taken."
His gaze sharpened, but he didn't ask who, he didn't need to. The tone in my voice told him enough.
"You've searched my town?"
"Every inch of it."
"And?"
"Empty." The word tasted like ash.
He was silent for a moment, studying me. "If you've already turned over the stones here, you might need to look… elsewhere."
I narrowed my eyes. "Be direct."
"There are some," he said carefully, "who can see what we cannot. Witches. Seers. Call them what you will, they have ways that don't rely on tracks and scent."
Elias made a low sound in his throat. "You trust witches?"
The other Alpha's mouth twitched. "I trust results." His eyes came back to me. "You're chasing someone who's being hidden from you. That's a game you don't win by playing it the way we do."
I didn't respond right away. My wolf bristled at the thought, but the truth was there in the words.
"Where would I find one worth the trouble?"
He leaned slightly closer, not in challenge, but like a man passing on something valuable. "The CrimsonHollow. A forest older than either of our lines. There's a witch at its heart, a powerful one. She doesn't waste her sight on those who can't survive the road to reach her."
Elias frowned. "How far?"
"Fifteen Hundred miles." The Redhollow Alpha's tone didn't change. "Between here and there, you'll have to cross the ground that will swallow you whole if you step wrong. The mist there isn't weather. It gets inside you. It makes you forget where you were going, who you are. Some never walk back out."
Hayden shifted his weight, but the Alpha went on.
"Past that lies the mountains that breathe fire at night, sulfur in the air, molten rivers that open and close without warning. The path is narrow, the drop unforgiving. And then there's the CrimsonHollow itself. The forest moves. Decides who it lets in. Decides who it lets out."
He wasn't warning me away. He was testing the weight of my resolve.
I held his gaze. "You've been there."
"Yes," he said. "And I left with my life. That's more than some."
The air between us went still. I could feel Elias watching me, could feel Hayden waiting for the decision I'd already made.
"We leave tomorrow," I said. "First light."
The Alpha gave a short nod. "Then I wish you a road that lets you through, Ulric."
❦︎ To Be Continued ❦︎