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Maybe it had been him.

But Cade’s eyes were gold. Not red.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cade

With a couple of pieces of banana bread in my hands, I walked through the woods toward home after the urgent meeting at Braveclaw. Yet the forest sounded quieter than usual. More than often, I’d see a lone wolf or wild rogue wandering in the woods, making some bit of noise.

Except today? There was nothing.

I followed the silence to check out what was going on. Superiors in Braveclaw had mentioned the spotting of several members of the Crimson Order, red-eyed wolves with a thirst for power. At least, that was what most wolves thought they were.

But they were stronger than the average wolf, faster than the average wolf, and had powers greater than the average wolf. Not many wolves had seen one from the Crimson Order in real life. Though it was theorized that even a low-ranking red-eyed wolf could take on an alpha from a wolf pack.

The longer I followed the silence, the more the air began to … stink of …

Blood …

Why does it smell like blood?

My foot landed in a puddle of blood, and I peered ahead to see more than just this puddle. No, it was almost a sea of blood, inches thick, about forty feet ahead. I furrowed my brows and headed in that direction.

When I reached the blood, I spotted the limbs of a dead wolf scattered about the ground. My eyes widened, and I picked it up, sniffing it to see if I could pick up who had done this and how they had done it.

Why was there so much blood for only one dead wolf? Who had killed it? And why?

The wolf … it smelled faintly, very, very, very faintly of … Ember.

Bile rose in my throat, and I dropped the limb into the puddle, letting it splash up against me. I shifted into my wolf and headed into the direction of home.

Why did it smell like Ember? Where was she? Had whoever killed this rogue taken her?

Legs pumping as quickly as I could force them to go, I ignored the jagged rocks and sticks stabbing into my paws on the forest floor. Wind whipped through my fur, and I made it back to the house in record time.

I shifted into my human form once more because Ember didn’t know about wolves yet and I had planned on keeping it that way for as long as I could.

“Ember!” I shouted, bursting into the house. “Where are you?”

After running upstairs and checking every single one of the rooms twice and still not finding her, I sprinted back downstairs and headed out the back door. She had gotten my custom order, and her art supplies weren’t in her room, so she had to be painting, right?

When I reached the backyard, I spotted her easel stand propped up in front of the forest. I tightened my fists and headed over to it. Where was she? Why had she left? I’d told her to stay put, and she’d just left?!

The background had been painted with greens and browns, and the image of a wolf had been started on the left side of the canvas. I dropped my gaze to the paints set down on the ground neatly.

If she had been taken, I was sure she would’ve put up a fight.

I sniffed the area for any distinct scents, the slight aura of the Bronzetail Pack drifting through the air. A growl erupted from my throat, and scurrying followed from up ahead. Someone was watching me.

Once I transformed into my wolf, I sprinted through the forest toward the retreating figure. No, figures. It wasn’t just one animal, but two at least. And they were heading in the direction of Bronzetail.

Fucking Davix.

I should’ve taken him seriously when he mentioned Ember’s name, but I thought he was just being a dick, like he usually was. I’d thought he had heard her name mentioned somewhere and decided that it’d be a great day to fuck with me.

Now, he had taken her?!

He didn’t know the war he had just started. No, I’d kill every last one of his packmates.