DARIUS' P.O.V.
The knowledge of our wedding had shocked everyone to their core. I knew that under different circumstances they would have been pissed but right now, the main focus was on finding Leindra. She had been gone for three days and we were nowhere closer to finding her. I made a promise to the goddess that when we found her, I would never let her out of my sight again. She had been put in danger too many times on account of my world.
After Jared died, we gave him a proper burial. I knew Leindra would have wanted to be there but we could not hold it off. It was against our traditions to delay a burial, people believed that it stopped the spirit from finding rest. I just hoped Leindra would be comfortable knowing that his last words were on how to find her.
"Have you found anything?" I asked as I made my way to the living room where Ian was trying to crack the codes on Jared's laptop. He must have been trying to protect it from the hunters but he unknowingly made it increasingly hard for us as well.
Ian shook his head and I could see the frustration etched on his brows. "The fucker was too good. I'm getting close though. Maybe in two days."
"We don't have two days, Ian. She has been missing for five. I don't even want to imagine what is happening to her."
He nodded and he continued tapping furiously against the keys. I left his side and made my way back into my office. The truth was that we were at a standstill and no one wanted to admit it. The day Leindra went missing, Brandon did too and no one had seen or heard from him again. We had searched his house but it was completely empty. We didn't know the other leaders because although Leindra described them to the best of her abilities, I had never seen them before and I had no idea who they
were.
Just the thought of her had my heart clenching. Normally, I could always feel her presence at the back of my mind but ever since she disappeared, the feeling went too. I knew they had to be giving her something to be numbing the mate bond and I didn't want to think about why. I knew she was alive, I would have felt otherwise but not being able to know if anything was happening to her was driving me crazy.
It had gotten so bad that no one related with me unless they absolutely needed to. I was like a ticking time bomb and I knew that unless I found Leindra safe and unharmed, it would be the same. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice anyone walking into my office until they were directly in front of my desk. I looked up at Amaris and she had a panicked look on her face.
"What is it?" I asked not missing a beat.
"Chris is here, and he said he needed to talk to you. He wouldn't tell any of us what is going on."
I rushed out of the office immediately and into the living room where Chris was pacing. He was running his hands through his hair and I could see unshed tears in his eyes. He looked like a crazed person and I knew only a deep tragedy could bring him to this point. I slowly made my way over to him and as soon as he saw me, he rushed over.
"You need to find her. I don't know what happened. She told me she was leaving and the next thing I knew, I got a strange text from her. She isn't responding anymore and I didn't know where else to go."
"Slow down," I instructed and he reluctantly exhaled deeply. "Tell me in detail what happened. Are you talking about Leindra?'
"No, it is Grandma," he explained. "She wanted to go for a bingo game with her friend Lizzy. I've never met Lizzy but I know she lives on Seaford Avenue. Then I got a text saying HEL and I don't know if she wanted to say help. I have been calling but she isn't answering and now her phone is off. Please help me find her."
I nodded and turned to Amaris. "Keep an eye on him and don't let him leave. If they took her then they might try to come for him too. Ian find out who Lizzy is now and get me her address."
"You know who took her," Chris' voice was soft and I reluctantly turned to him. "Where is Leindra?"
"She's gone but we will get her back soon."
I knew he had more questions but I was in no mood to answer any of them so I rushed out of the house before he could figure out what he wanted to say. As soon as I got into the car, Ian sent me a text with the address. I muttered a brief thanks under my breath to Jared for advising us to make sure every town member was accounted for and recorded online.
The drive to Lizzy's house did not take up to ten minutes. When we got there, the lights in her living room were on and I walked up to the front door to knock. She wasted no time in opening it and when she did, her eyes widened considerably. She was an older woman of maybe seventy like Leindra's grandmother and I knew without a doubt that she could not have kidnapped her by herself, she needed help.
"Can I come in?" I asked and she hesitated before nodding. Two guards came in with me while the others surrounded the house in case an emergency happened.
"I did not expect to see you here. Is there a problem?" I liked how she was feigning innocence. It was obvious she already knew why I was here. "Would you like some tea? I just made it a few minutes ago?"
She poured it into a mug and held it out to me. I took it from her and brought it to my nose. I took a discreet sniff and I immediately smelled the sedative in it. That must have been how she was able to capture her.
"Where is she?" I asked deciding not to waste any more time and her reaction gave her away briefly before she was able to school it back into perfection.
"I am afraid that I do not know what you are talking about. You haven't tried your tea, I promise you that it is good."
I placed the tea on the table and stood to my feet. She took a subconscious step backward and I stopped directly in front of her. "I don't want to hurt you because of your age and because you are a woman but I will give you one more chance to tell me what I want to hear. We both know that you're human, you will not survive under werewolf torture. Where is she?"
"I don't know," she said finally. "My job was to knock her out and wait for them to get her. All I know is that their headquarters are in Keene's land. It is underground so that people cannot find them. I don't know anything else. They said they just wanted to talk to her."
"Did you truly believe that?"
"I couldn't say no, my daughter," she trailed off with a sob.
"Did they take your daughter?" I asked and she shook her head.
"My daughter is one of the leaders."
As soon as she said that, I ordered the men to take her while I called Keene. I didn't want to give her the chance to call them and warn them that we were coming. Keene did not waste any time before answering and I couldn't tell him what was happening but I told him that we needed to meet in his pack urgently and I needed his land map. He was shocked by my request but he asked me to come. I took Ian with me. During the entire ride, he was typing away furiously. I tried not to pay him any heed and instead focused on getting to where I needed to be. Keene's land was the town next to us and it took half an hour to get in. As soon as we crossed the border, guards were waiting to take us to him.
"I have to say, you make the strangest requests, Darius," Keene said as soon as we walked into his office. "Why would I give you the blueprints to my land?"
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complete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! "My mate is here somewhere. I don't know where she is but I know that it is underground."
He raised a brow and I explained everything. By the time I was done, he was silent. "The hunters have been a problem to not just you but if I may, can I see the laptop? My Beta is good with electronics. I am sure he can crack it within minutes."
Ian looked to me for confirmation and I nodded. While they worked on it, Keene asked for us to take a walk. The last thing I wanted to do was walk but he was being very hospitable and it would have been disrespectful of me to refuse him so I obliged. We walked out of the office and into the busy street. I watched the different people moving around. A few of them glanced at Keene and I. The wolves would know at first glance who I was but the humans were filled with curiosity. They could feel the power radiating off me but they wouldn't be able to understand it.
"How long has she been missing?" he asked.
"Five days."
He sighed and turned to me. "I have one request Darius and I hope you can grant it to me."
"What is it?"
"There is a hunter that I want you to spare. Her name is Elle and she is everything to me. You may not know this but my mother could not bear children so she took me from a woman. The woman was too poor to feed me on her own. I found her a few years ago, along with Elle. I knew that Elle was a hunter and she is the reason I never tried to find them."
"I can't make that promise until I know what part Elle had to play in all of this."
"I know but it is my only request. She is my only family left. I will handle her punishment but please, do not kill her."
I didn't have the chance to respond to his plea because immediately, Ian rushed out holding the laptop in his hands.
"We found them." I could feel the excitement radiating off his tone as he showed me what looked like the layout of an underground building. He showed it to Keene who shook his head.
"I know where it is."