William’s POV
I was pacing around the room, trying to find some fucking way to remain in focus. Dimitri hadn’t stopped whining or growling. I could tell that he was struggling and that he was in immense pain. I knew that he wouldn’t be able to do shit until he came out of the shock he was in.
But that was why he had me. I had to take over until he managed to focus back on what mattered the most.
“She was poisoned with wolfsbane,” the pack doctor said as he finished checking up on Ali. “The dose wasn’t big. She will be okay, Beta. The wolfsbane just needs to leave her body.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I almost lost it when I found her on the floor. But at least I found her. At least she was here.
Maddie was…
Gone. She was fucking gone.
“Thank you,” I mumbled as I opened my eyes and looked at my beautiful mate. “You can leave.”
The pack doctor nodded. He glanced at Dimitri before he picked up his bag and walked out of the room.
Mike and Ellie walked inside. Both of them looked like they were crying.
“Anything?” I asked and they shook their heads.
“Her scent disappears at the edge of the forest,” Ellie said, looking at Dimitri. “There is no way to tell where they took her.”
I tightened my jaw and ran my fingers through my hair.
“Our warriors are searching the territory,” Mike said, his voice laced with fear and worry. “We covered as much of the border as we could. They won’t be able to get her out of our pack if they are still here.”
I looked at Dimitri and took a deep breath. He was standing by the window and staring at the forest. He almost left to go find her, but I stopped him. I couldn’t let him go until he was completely focused. I couldn’t let anything happen to him. I was his Beta and I needed to protect him. I couldn’t let him get hurt. Maddie would kill me if I let him get hurt.
“Dimitri…,” I called him, but he interrupted me.
“Gather every fucking Alpha and bring them into the throne room,” Dimitri said, his voice void of any emotion. “I am keeping them hostage until we find her.”
I looked at Mike and gulped.
“You can’t…,” Mike started speaking, but Dimitri interrupted him again.
“One of them took her,” he said, turning around to look at us. “They will bring her back to me, or I will burn them all. They will fucking burn together with that throne they wanted so fucking bad.”
Dimitri looked like a shell of himself. Every emotion in his eyes was gone. He looked like he aged in the last half an hour. He looked like he was on the verge of breaking.
“If you accuse them…,” I tried to reason with him, but he interrupted me with an order.
“Gather them,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. “Right the fuck now.”
I had no other choice, but to listen to him. My body started moving on its own. I took a deep breath and released it slowly as I walked downstairs. Every packhouse worker and every single warrior I passed asked about Maddie. All of them had tears in their eyes. All of them looked so worried. I had to ignore them if I ever wanted to make my way to the throne room.
We will find her. I mind-linked them all, trying to sound confident. Just go do your jobs, okay? Your Alpha needs you to keep everything in order. That’s the best you can do to help him.
I walked inside the throne room and saw that every single one of our guests was already there.
“Will!” Alpha Theodore exclaimed. “Where is our Queen?”
They are all here, Dimitri. I mind-linked him, but he didn’t respond.
“Who took her?” Alpha Lucius asked. “How the hell did they get inside the pack?”
“We need to search the forest?” Alpha Alistair said. “Did you send anyone there yet?”
I raised my hands, motioning for them to stop. I couldn’t answer all of their questions at the same time.
“We sent our warriors to find her,” I said calmly. “We don’t know who…”
I was interrupted when the door burst open and a very angry Dimitri ran inside. He wasn’t void of any emotion anymore. He was filled with anger. Mike was behind him and he looked as angry as Dimitri.
Ali? I mind-linked Mike.
She is still asleep. He responded. Ellie stayed with her.
I gulped and forced myself to focus back on Dimitri.
“One of you took her and I want her back,” Dimitri growled loudly. “I swear to Goddess, I will fucking burn you alive if you don’t bring my mate back to me.”
He narrowed his eyes, looking around the room and growling. Some of our guests gasped. Everyone was shocked.
“I know that one of you is…,” he spoke, but he suddenly stopped talking.
I furrowed my brows and looked at him. He was looking around gritting his teeth and clenching his fists tightly.
“Where is Alpha Jack?” Dimitri asked and my heart stopped beating.
I looked at our guests, but I couldn’t find Alpha Jack. I couldn’t see his Beta or his Luna either.
“Where the fuck is Alpha Jack?!” Dimitri screamed, making everyone flinch and bow their heads.
His aura filled the room to the point where I started sweating. His anger was making it hard for all of us to breathe.
“They took her,” Mike mumbled. “That was why they opened the bedroom door. They trusted them.”
“I saw him on the battlefield,” Alpha Theodore mumbled quietly.
“He was there at the beginning, yes,” Alpha Lucius said. “But he wasn’t with us when we were coming back.”
“But why would they take her?” Luna Jennifer asked quietly. “What do they want to do with her?”
“They want my throne,” Dimitri said. “They want to use her as a way for me to give up my title and my Kingdom.”
Almost everyone in the room gasped.
“That is betrayal, my King!” Alpha Xavier exclaimed. “He is a traitor!”
“And he betrayed us all!” Alpha Lincoln added angrily. “If you betray our King, you betray every single one of us!”
“Yes!”
“Traitor!”
“He betrayed our King!”
“He betrayed our Kingdom!”
Everyone started shouting at the same time.
“We will find him, my King!” Alpha Lucius shouted. “He won’t get away with this!”
Dimitri tightened his jaw and looked at me.
Do you trust them? I asked. Do you think that one of them was working with him?
Dimitri didn’t get a chance to respond. The throne room door opened and Landon and Rayan ran inside.
“My King!” Landon exclaimed, his eyes wide. “Your Royal Secretary Kendrick is dead! He was killed!”
My eyes widened. The room was silent for a moment, but then everyone started shouting again.
“Betrayal!
“We will find him and kill him!”
“He has our Queen!”
“He killed a member of the council!”
I looked at Dimitri and saw him gritting his teeth. He took a deep breath and growled so loudly that I saw a couple of Betas and Lunas cover their ears.
“Your Queen is missing,” Dimitri said, his voice cold and filled with hatred. “I want you to use every single one of your resources to find her. I want you to help me bring her home. He didn’t take her to his pack. He isn’t that stupid. Do whatever you need to do to find her.”
He didn’t wait for anyone to respond. He turned around and rushed out of the throne room.
“Show me Kendrick’s body!” he shouted on his way out.
Landon, Rayan, Mike, and I ran after him.
My entire body was shaking with anger and fear. I couldn’t even imagine what Dimitri was feeling. He looked like he was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
We needed to find Maddie. We needed to find her as soon as possible.
