Chapter 58: Ivy is Gone

Leo 

The afternoon air was thick with tension as I stormed back into the house. The scent of Ivy still lingered, mixed with the faint traces of something else—something I wanted gone. My heart pounded in my chest as I scanned the room, my wolf Theo restless beneath my skin.  

I need to understand exactly what happened so I can figure out the best way to handle this.

The moment I stepped into the living room and saw Isabella wearing my shirt, my blood boiled. My fists clenched at my sides, and a surge of possessive rage shot through me like wildfire. 

That was my shirt. On her. And the implications hit me like a punch to the gut. What must have gone through Ivy’s mind when she saw this? Did she assume the worst? The very thought made my stomach twist.

And then, as if she had been waiting for me, Isabella threw herself into my arms the moment her eyes landed on mine.  

“Leo bear,” she cooed, squeezing me tightly. “It’s been forever! Didn’t you get my message? I told you I was coming back! I was expecting a welcome home party, and—”  

I shoved her off me, my growl cutting through her rambling. My wolf was on edge, irritated by her touch, her scent, her mere presence.  

“What. Did. You. Say. To. Ivy?” My voice was sharp, laced with raw fury.  

Isabella blinked in surprise before she let out a soft chuckle, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Woah, chill, Alpha. What are you talking about?” She turned away, as if I had just asked her something trivial, something that didn’t matter.  

But it mattered. More than anything.  

I grabbed her wrist, yanking her to face me. My Alpha power surged through my veins, radiating off me in thick waves. Isabella’s eyes widened—not just in fear, but in recognition.  

Recognition of what Ivy meant to me.  

“I’m sorry…” she stammered, her voice quieter now. Her wolf whimpered as she dropped her gaze to the floor. “I didn’t know. I thought it was just a fling and you’d be happy I helped you get rid of her.”  

A fling? Did she just call my entire world a fling?

Theo snarled, clawing at my control, demanding retribution. My vampire side, Xander, was no better, whispering in my mind that she didn’t deserve to walk away unscathed. My grip tightened involuntarily, and she flinched. When I finally let go, red marks marred her skin—deep, but nothing she wouldn’t heal from.  

I should have felt guilty. She is my best friend and childhood friend.  

But right now? I felt nothing but rage.  

“What exactly did you tell her?” I demanded, my voice like ice.  

She hesitated, swallowing hard. “I… I told her that I was your mate.”  

A beat of silence.  

Then I lost control.  

Theo took over in a blink, my hand wrapping around Isabella’s throat before I could stop him. She gasped, feet kicking uselessly as I lifted her into the air. Her hands clawed at my wrist, but my grip was unwavering. Her face paled, eyes bulging as she choked out a plea for mercy.  

But I wasn’t hearing it.  

The image of Ivy—her pain, her betrayal—seared into my mind like a brand.  

And then, through the chaos of my rage, I felt it.  

Ivy.  

Danger.  

Theo released Isabella instantly, and she tumbled to the ground, coughing violently. But I wasn’t paying attention anymore.  

I turned, sprinting for my car.  

She had gone home, right? She had to be home. Please, Moon Goddess, let her be home.

My chest ached as I sped down the road, gripping the wheel so tightly I thought it might snap. I shouldn’t have wasted time. I should have gone straight to her. I should have been there.  

The tunnel loomed ahead, and my stomach twisted. Something was wrong.  

Then I saw them.  

Flashing police lights. A barricade. Officers moving frantically.  

I slammed on the brakes and jumped out before the car even fully stopped.  

No. No. No.  

Theo whimpered as the sharp, coppery scent of blood hit me like a punch to the gut.  

Her blood.  

I barely registered the officers yelling at me before I charged past them. A hand grabbed my arm, but I threw the man off me like a ragdoll. I didn’t have time for this.

And then I saw it.  

Her car. 

Crunched metal. Glass scattered across the pavement. Bloodstains smeared against the concrete.  

I staggered forward, breath coming in short, sharp gasps.  

A voice croaked my name.  

I spun around.  

“Joe.”  

The sight of him—bandaged, bruised, sitting on a stretcher—barely registered past the roaring in my head.  

“What the fuck happened?” My voice was raw, barely human. “Where’s Ivy?”  

Joe swallowed, his hands shaking. “I—I don’t know, sir.”  

Rage exploded in my chest. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”  

“We were hit from behind,” he rasped, voice thick with emotion. “I blacked out. When I came to… she was gone. The police didn’t find anyone else. It was just me.”  

The world tilted.  

Gone.  

She was gone.

A ringing noise filled my ears, drowning out everything else. My hands clenched into fists, shaking with the force of my fury. Isabella did this. This was her fault. If anything happened to Ivy—if as much as a single hair was harmed—I would end her.  

A sudden movement caught my eye.  

An officer walked past, holding a transparent evidence bag.

My blood ran cold.  

Inside the bag… was Ivy’s talisman.  

The one I had the sorceress specifically enchant to protect her.  

My entire body tensed, my muscles coiling with raw, unfiltered fear.  

Before I even realized what I was doing, I lunged.  

The officer barely had time to react before I had him pinned with one hand, slamming him against the nearest car. The force rattled the car, sending the occupants screaming. 

My other hand shot out, snatching the evidence bag from his grip. My fingers clenched around the plastic, my mind screaming in denial. This talisman was supposed to keep her safe. 

Did it fall off when the car crashed or did someone take them off her intentionally? Could it be Dina?

Shouts erupted around me, but my mind was too busy racing through possible explanations—none of them comforting.

“Get down on your knees!”  

“Hands behind your head, now!”  

Weapons clicked, the cold steel of gun barrels trained on me from all directions, but I couldn’t hear them. Their voices were muffled, distant—an echoed distortion in my ears. My pulse thundered, drowning out everything but the sharp, unbearable weight of reality.  

My breath came in ragged gasps.  

Not only was she missing…  

But she was exposed.

“FUCK!”

My scream echoed through the tunnel, raw and filled with something I couldn’t name—terror, rage, desperation.  

My mate was in danger. And I had no fucking clue where to find her.  

I turned on my heel, shoving past the police. I stormed back to my car as they all screamed for me to stop moving and get on my knees.  

I was going to find her.  

And whoever took her?

They were going to wish they had never been born.