Chapter 296
Third Person’s POV
Outside Ashmoor Academy, two sleek luxury cars gleamed under the morning sun, engines idling with impatient hums. Jace Hale snorted, shooting a glare at Duke. “You’re relentless, you know that? Carmen hates you, yet you keep shoving yourself in her way.”
Duke didn’t answer. Instead, his gaze shifted to Theo Hale. “So this is your brother? Clever as you are , he looks like a fire spirit wandering lost in the mist. Hard to believe you two share blood.”
Theo’s eyebrows rose, caught off guard. He had never imagined that the girl Jace liked–Carmen—would also be the object of Duke’s interest.
Jace’s face darkened at Duke’s teasing. “You’re the fire spirit, not him. Your whole family is full of them.”
“Jace,” Theo intervened gently, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder.
Jace waved him off, displeasure clear. “Brother, why are you defending him? Are you my brother or his? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have brought you along to meet Carmen.”
Their bickering stopped abruptly as Carmen emerged from the school gates.
Jace immediately waved. “Carmen! Over here!”
Carmen’s stomach sank at the sight of the two. Truthfully, she wanted to disappear rather than confront either one of them. She tried to ignore their presence when Duke’s phone rang.
He fished it out and glanced at the screen–Caelum Knox calling. The urgency in his voice made Duke answer immediately. “Caelum, how are the Alpha Lucien and Miss Riley?”
Carmen froze. The name Riley sparked a jolt of fear in her chest. She stepped closer, straining to catch every word.
Caelum’s voice came through, tense, sharp. “We encountered a landslide in the mountains. Alpha Lucien’s legs were crushed.”
“What?” Duke’s voice cracked with shock.
Carmen’s heart hammered. “Riley… what happened to Riley?”
“She underwent a kidney transplant successfully, but… she’s been kidnapped immediately after waking.” Caelum continued.
The words hit Carmen like ice water. Riley had just survived a major operation, her body weak and vulnerable. And now, she was gone–taken by unknown hands. Fear, anger, and helplessness roared through her, twin fires threatening to consume her.
Carmen grabbed Duke’s arm, voice trembling. “Take me to her, now!”
Duke wasted no time. He flung himself into his car, engine growling like a predator on the hunt . Carmen jumped in, gripping the seat as the car lurched forward.
11:21 Wed , 27 Aug DU
296
Jace’s face darkened as he watched them speed off. Realizing the severity of the situation, he quickly started his car, Theo beside him, and they followed Duke’s vehicle down the winding roads.
The cars tore through the streets like hunting wolves, leaving everything else in a blur. Carmen’s knuckles whitened as she clenched her fists, anger and fear mingling, eyes burning crimson with fury. Riley, hold on. I’m coming. Anyone who dares touch her will pay
Meanwhile, three others were mobilizing with the same grim intent. They were Scarlett’s father, mother. and younger brother–Dean Elira, Caden, and Otto. Without Ebonclaw Pack’s resources backing them. they had returned to Mooncrest and discovered the truth of Riley’s fate..
When they learned that Scarlett had been thrown into the mountains, left vulnerable to whoever prowled there, hatred flared. They had been waiting for their chance at revenge, and now, with Scarlett reported dead, that chance had arrived.
The trio’s movements were swift and silent, their wolf instincts honed over years of pack life guiding them. Each step was deliberate, predatory, as if stalking prey in the shadows. They had been given Riley’s location by Selene Ashford, who had coldly informed them of the girl’s capture.
Selene herself was in high spirits, her smile cruel and sharp. Maddox, by contrast, frowned deeply. “Why call them here?” he asked, unease tightening his chest.
Selene’s laugh was icy. “Why? To make Riley suffer, of course. They won’t kill her outright–not yet. But they will teach her the meaning of pain. I want her alive, trapped in torment, begging for a repriev will never come.”
Maddox’s jaw tightened. “You’re insane. They’ll kill her!”
“No,” Selene replied, voice low, venomous. “They’ll break her. Every scream, every tear–captured on camera. I want the world to watch Riley Vale writhe, to see her suffering etched across every inch of her. This isn’t just punishment–it’s a spectacle. And I will be the one to broadcast it.”
Her eyes glinted with predatory joy as she envisioned the scene. Maddox felt a cold chill creep along his spine, the familiar sting of helplessness. Selene’s wolf prowled just beneath her skin, senses heightened, hunting, reveling in the suffering she orchestrated.
2
In the mountains, Riley–already weakened, still recovering from her kidney transplant–was trapped in the hands of the most merciless predators she had ever faced. Her instincts screamed, her pack senses howled warnings she could barely heed. Every heartbeat, every step, every calculated cruelty brought her closer to despair.
Selene, triumphant, held up a small communication stone, her fingers brushing across it lightly. The device glowed ominously. Her smile widened as she prepared to call in the next wave of torment, her claws and fangs metaphorically sharpening for the hunt to come.
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