Chapter 32 Where is Sera?
Caden’s POV
I hadn't heard from Sera since our intimate moment in the car. I felt ignored, like maybe I had gone too far.
It pressed against my skull like a warning I couldn’t shake, I stood in the middle of my room, staring at the door she should have walked through hours ago, my chest tightened. She wouldn’t leave without telling me.
I couldn't feel the mate bond, I hadn't felt it in hours. This worried me greatly.
I dragged my hand through my hair and turned sharply. The pack house was not active with voices low, the kind of atmosphere that spread when something bad had happened but no one wanted to say it out loud yet.
I ran over to Sera's house, hoping I would see her there.
“Sera,” I called as I walked up to her room. But nothing, no response came after my call.
That scared me more than I could ever imagine.
I drove to school, hoping she was just avoiding me, not that she was missing. I stormed down the stairs and into the main hall, eyes scanning every face. Wolves looked away too quickly. Some stiffened when they saw me. And others whispered that I had gone insane. They didn't know half of it yet.
Someone knew something was evidently wrong.
“Where is she?” I demanded.
A younger pack member flinched. “Alpha, I—I haven’t seen her since yesterday.”
“Who has?” My voice came out sharper than I meant to, Alpha power bleeding through despite my effort to control it.
But no one answered, because no one knew anything about her whereabouts. I searched for Mia, Sera's best friend, surely she would know something. But when I saw her, she was pacing around the hall with a phone in her ear.
“Sera, where are you?” She muttered, that made me realize that she was oblivious too.
I turned and headed for the elders’ wing. Rowan’s door was closed. I knew he might have a hand in Sera's disappearance, if so, then I had to act fast.
I didn’t knock at the door. I shoved the door open hard enough that it slammed against the wall. It was empty.
My wolf snarled uncontrollably.
“Damn it.”
I spun, already storming back out when the breeze behind me shifted.
I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
“You’re looking for her too.”
Damien Blackthorn’s voice slid through the room.
I turned slowly.
He stood near the doorway, dressed in black as always, calm, infuriatingly composed. Alpha King power rolled off him unchecked, but this time it wasn’t directed at dominance.
“What do you want,” I growled.
His eyes flicked over my face, sharp and assessing. “Answers.”
“You can't get them from me.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Damien replied coolly. “Because you’re the last person she was seen with.”
My jaw tightened. “You think I took her?”
“I think,” he said evenly, “that she disappeared immediately after spending a hot time with you.”
Heat flared in my chest. “Watch your mouth.”
His eyes hardened. “Watch your temper. This isn’t about posturing.”
I stepped closer, my wolf pushing forward. “If you think I’d ever hurt her—”
“I don’t,” Damien cut in sharply.
That stopped me from speaking further.
He held my gaze, something dark flickering behind his eyes. “If you had her, I’d feel it.”
“You feel it too,” I said.
Damien didn’t deny it, but I was right. He also shared a mate bond with Sera.
“She’s blocked,” he said quietly. “Suppressed. Someone is interfering with the bond.”
Rage exploded through me, hot and violent. “Rowan.”
Damien’s jaw flexed. “I suspected as much.”
“You knew,” I snapped. “You’ve been watching him.”
“I’ve been watching her,” Damien corrected. “Rowan is a variable, not the main focus.”
I took another step forward. “You don’t get to talk about her like she’s a piece on your board.”
Damien’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Careful, Alpha Caden. You’re not the only one who cares what happens to her.”
The room crackled with tension as our powers flared, two Alphas colliding without touching.
“You show up asking questions like you’re not involved,” I snarled. “You knew who she was before anyone else. Don’t stand there pretending innocence.”
“And you think you’re blameless?” Damien shot back. “You kept her in your territory, exposed, unprotected, while your elders sharpened their knives.”
“She was under my protection,” I growled.
“And now she’s gone.”
The words hit hard.
I clenched my fists, breathing through the fury. Fighting him wouldn’t bring her back. I forced myself to step back.
“This isn’t helping,” I said tightly. “Arguing doesn’t find her.”
Damien studied me for a long moment.
Then, slowly, the pressure eased.
“Agreed,” he said. “Finding her comes first.”
The admission surprised me.
“You’re willing to work together,” I said.
“For now,” he replied. “Because if Rowan moved against her without council approval, he’s either desperate or hiding something worse.”
“He drugged her,” I said, voice low and lethal. “I can feel it through the bond. Whatever he used is still in her system.”
Damien’s eyes darkened. “Then time is not on our side.”
I turned toward the door. “I’ll tear this territory apart if I have to.”
“You won’t,” Damien said calmly. “That alerts the council and gives Rowan time to relocate her.”
I stopped. “Then what?”
Damien’s gaze sharpened. “We hunt quietly.”
Before I could respond, pain sliced through my skull.
The bond surged violently, no longer muted, no longer distant.
It had to be Sera.
I opened my eyes in confusion, as her presence flooded my mind.
“Caden,”
Her voice was faint, broken, like it was tearing through layers of resistance.
“Sera,” I breathed aloud.
Damien stiffened beside me, his eyes widening slightly.
“I’m here,” she whispered inside my head. “I don’t know how long,”
“Where are you?” I demanded silently.
Her response came in fragments. The pain spiked whenever she resisted.
“Please, help me,” she pleaded.
The connection faltered, her presence slipping like sand through my grasp.
“Sera!” I shouted.
The bond snapped back into silence.
I staggered, catching myself against the wall, chest heaving.
Damien was already moving.
“She reached out,” he said sh
arply. “She’s running out of strength.”
I met his gaze, fury and fear burning together.
“Then we should stop wasting time,” I said. “Because whoever did this just declared war.”