Chapter 41 The Bond Breaks in Silence
Chapter 41 The Bond Breaks in Silence
The pain hit without warning, and Zack staggered. His hand shot to his chest as something twisted violently inside him—sharp, suffocating, wrong. “Zoe…” The bond pulsed. Not broken, but… distant, faint, like it was being smothered. His breathing turned uneven. “Alpha?” one of the warriors nearby asked. Zack ignored him. His mind snapped into action. “Jessica,” he called through the mindlink, his voice tight with urgency. “Are you with Zoe?”
There was a brief pause, panic from Jessica’s mindlink “No, but I am in her room, and she isn’t here?” Zack’s stomach dropped. A cold, sinking dread filled him. “Yes,” he muttered under his breath. Footsteps thundered down the hallway “Alpha!” James rushed toward him, slightly out of breath, holding something in his hand “I found this.” Zack turned sharply “What is it?” James handed him a folded piece of paper. Zack’s fingers tightened as he took it. Something about it felt wrong.
He opened it and read. Your mate will die.
You will feel the pain of losing her.
I hope you suffer. The words burned into him, and his jaw clenched, “Shit.” James’s eyes widened “What does it say?” Zack looked up “She’s been kidnapped.” The words feel heavy between them. James went still, “Who—?” Zack’s mind raced. “Could it be Laura?” James asked quickly. Zack shook his head. “No. I sent her to The Full Eclipse Pack.” But even as he said it, doubt crept in.
“Call Alpha Micha,” Zack ordered immediately. “Make sure she’s still there.” James nodded and moved fast. Zack turned to the warriors nearby. “Everyone moves!” he barked. “Search the entire territory. No one leaves the packlands without being checked.” Mindlink fired out instantly. Patrol units scattered, warriors shifted. The pack moved like a living organism, fast, precise and desperate.
Zack stood in the middle of it—Trying to hold himself together, trying not to feel the growing emptiness in the bond. Zoe… No response, and that terrified him more than anything “Alpha.” Angela’s voice cut through his thoughts. He turned slightly “Yes?”
“I need to speak with you,” she said through the mindlink. “Joel is with me. It’s important.” Zack clenched his fists “Make it quick,” he replied. “I need to coordinate the search.” “Please,” Angela insisted. “It can’t wait.” Zack exhaled sharply. “Fine.”
Moments later, he pushed open the door to the clinic office. Angela and Joel stood inside, both looked… tense. Zack didn’t waste time “Talk.” Angela exchanged a glance with Joel before stepping forward. “Alpha… we think we know who took Zoe.” Zack’s eyes darkened “Who?” Angela hesitated, then said, “It’s Kelly.” Silence. Zack blinked once “Are you sure?” Angela nodded slowly, “Yes.” Joel stepped in.
“She’s been acting strange since she returned,” he added. “Obsessed. Talking to herself. Saying she should be Luna… not Zoe.” Zack’s chest tightened. “She’s been unstable,” Angela continued. “One of the nurses reported seeing her in the clinic storage earlier today.” Zack’s attention sharpened. “And?”
“She was taking something,” Angela said. “When the nurse tried to confront her, Kelly ran.”
Joel moved to the desk and pulled out a clipboard. “We checked the inventory.” Zack already knew, but he needed to hear it. “Four vials of wolfsbane are missing.” The words hit like a punch. Zack’s stomach dropped. “That’s why…” he muttered. Angela nodded. “That’s why you can’t feel her properly through the bond.” Zack’s fists clenched hard “She injected Zoe.”
“Most likely,” Angela confirmed. “That’s why she hasn’t responded,” Zack whispered.
The realisation hit him fully, Zoe wasn’t ignoring him, she couldn’t answer, she was weakened and drugged. His wolf surged inside him. Find her. “I will,” Zack growled under his breath. He looked back at Angela and Joel. “Thank you.” Angela hesitated. “Alpha… you understand what this means.” Zack’s gaze turned cold. “I do,” Joel spoke quietly. “An attack on the Luna of a pack…”
Zack finished it for him. “Is punishable by death.” No hesitation. Angela swallowed. “We’re just… letting you know.” Zack nodded once. “Noted.” He turned to leave but stopped. “Where would she take her?” he asked. Angela frowned. “I’m not sure.” Zack’s mind raced. Kelly wasn’t a warrior. She wouldn’t go far. She’d go somewhere hidden. Somewhere, familiar, his eyes widened slightly. “No…” Joel looked at him, “What?” Zack didn’t answer; he was already moving. “Alpha!”
James ran toward him again “I spoke to Alpha Micha.” Zack didn’t slow “And?” James’s expression was grim. “Laura left yesterday.” Zack stopped dead. “And hasn’t returned.” Silence, everything clicked into place. Kelly and Laura, using wolfsbane to sedate Zoe, to trap him, this was their plan, but his chest tightened painfully. “They’re working together,” Zack said. James nodded slowly, “Looks like it.”
Zack’s eyes darkened. “Find every possible location they could be hiding,” he ordered. “Now.” James nodded and rushed off again. Zack stood there for a moment. The bond flickered faintly, but it was still there “Hold on, Zoe…” he whispered, his voice low and desperate, “I’m coming, and this time, he wasn’t going to be too late.