Chapter 50 Tracking the Enemy

Chapter 50 Tracking the Enemy
Marc's Point of View

The day and a half since Lucienne’s abduction had been the longest of my life. Every moment stretched like an eternity, the bond Cole and I shared with her still present but muted. Every attempt to reach her through the mind-link was met with silence. It was maddening. Cassius, my Lycan, prowled restlessly within me, his frustration mirroring my own. We were helpless, and it was tearing us apart.

King Daemon and Queen Adriana had been our anchors through the chaos. King Daemon, in particular, had taken us aside, his voice heavy with a mixture of pain and understanding. “I know what you’re going through,” he said. “When Adriana was taken years ago, I thought I’d lose my mind. But rushing in blind only makes it worse. You have to trust the process. You have to trust her.”

Trust. The word felt hollow when my mate was out there, suffering. But his experience was hard to ignore. Adriana had been sitting beside him, her gaze fierce yet compassionate as she nodded in agreement. “Lucienne is strong,” she said, her tone steady. “Even stronger than I was at her age. She will hold on. We just have to find her.”

Jeremy, our tech genius, had been working tirelessly since we returned. Screens surrounded him, glowing with endless lines of code and camera feeds from cities and petrol stations. Every few minutes, he muttered to himself or let out a frustrated sigh, but progress was slow. He was piecing together a route, but it wasn’t fast enough for my liking—or Cole’s.

I caught my brother pacing the length of the room for what felt like the hundredth time, his heavy footsteps echoing against the polished wooden floor. His jaw was clenched tight, and his hands kept clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Blaine, his Lycan, was a storm of restless energy, practically radiating impatience with every tense movement Cole made. His amber eyes glowed faintly, a clear sign that Blaine was pushing to take control, desperate to act, to do something—anything—to find Lucienne. I could feel their combined frustration like a tangible weight in the room, pressing down on all of us.

“You need to sit down before you wear a hole in the floor,” I said, my tone calm but firm as I leaned back in my chair, doing my best to mask my own anxiety. Cassius stirred within me, his growl of agreement rumbling low in my mind. It was taking all my willpower to keep him in check, but someone had to maintain composure.

Cole shot me a sharp glare. “How can you stay so calm? She’s our mate, Marc. She’s hurt, and we don’t even know how badly.”

His words hit like a punch to the gut, and I had to clench my fists to steady myself. Cassius growled low in my mind, his own frustration bubbling dangerously close to the surface. “You think I don’t feel it?” I snapped. “You think Cassius doesn’t want to tear through every rogue in this territory to find her? But storming in blind won’t help her.”

Cole exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I know. I just hate waiting.”

The air in the room was suffocating with the weight of uncertainty and the oppressive tension that seemed to cling to every surface. We were all on edge, unable to escape the gnawing feeling that time was slipping through our fingers. Each breath felt laboured, as though the very air itself was heavy with the anticipation of what was to come.

The seconds stretched out, each one slower than the last. Every quiet movement, every rustle of clothing, seemed amplified in the silence. Our minds raced with thoughts of Lucienne—where she was, what she was enduring—and our bodies burned with a restless energy we couldn’t release.

Cole’s pacing had become almost rhythmic, each step a subtle reminder of the urgency gnawing at him. His frustration mirrored my own, and I could feel it simmering just beneath the surface, threatening to break free. But we stayed still, as still as we could manage, waiting for any shred of news.

The sound of Jeremy’s fingers on the keyboard ceased abruptly, cutting through the stillness like a sudden gust of wind. He leaned in, his brow furrowed in concentration as his eyes scanned the screen, the glow of his laptop illuminating his face. A breath of hope seemed to pass through the room, a spark of life in the otherwise heavy atmosphere.

With a slow, deliberate movement, Jeremy’s fingers pressed one final key, and a triumphant grin spread across his face. It was a smile that was both relieved and victorious, but there was no mistaking the depth of exhaustion behind it.

“I’ve got something,” he said, his voice breaking the silence, sharp and clear. His tone held the confidence of someone who had been digging through layers of data, inching closer to the truth with every passing moment. His eyes flickered up to meet ours, and the tension that had bound us all together loosened just enough to let the smallest sliver of hope shine through.

Before he could elaborate, my phone buzzed. I snatched it up, my heart skipping a beat when I saw the number. Beatrice’s phone.

A voice, shaky but familiar, came through the line. “Alpha Marc, it’s Michaela.”

My grip tightened on the phone as Cassius surged forward. “Where is she?” I demanded, my voice a growl.

Michaela’s words spilt out quickly, her tone desperate. “She’s alive. They’re keeping her in Charleston, near the docks. There are a lot of abandoned warehouses, but I don’t know which one.

“They want you to reject Lucienne and take Beatrice as your chosen mate. Beatrice and Elizabeth… they’re unhinged. Dwayne’s here, too, along with a rogue leader named Rodney. And there’s someone else… a woman. She’s terrifying, Marc. I don’t know who or what she is, but she’s not normal.”

My blood boiled at her words, but I forced myself to stay calm. “Why are you telling me this?”

She hesitated. “Because I know what we’re doing is wrong. I see it now. I’ll delete this call from the phone’s memory, but I can’t call again. Beatrice uses this phone to surf the internet, and if she finds out…” Michaela took a breath. “If she finds out, they’ll kill me and most likely Lucienne. She doesn’t deserve this.”

I interrupted. “Fine. Just tell Lucienne we’re coming. Tell her to hold on.”

“I will,” Michaela whispered before the line went dead.

I turned to Cole, who was already watching me expectantly. “Charleston. Near the docks. Jeremy, focus on that city’s cameras. We’ve got a lead.”

Jeremy nodded, his fingers flying over the keyboard. “On it.”

Cole mind-linked the trackers immediately. “Charleston docks. Spread out and stay alert. We’re closing in.”

Jeremy’s voice cut through the tension. “Good news: her phone’s still on.”

Both of us whipped our heads toward him. He leaned closer to his screen, his fingers flying over the keyboard with renewed urgency.

“She’s not on Wi-Fi,” he explained, “but I can track the cell towers her phone’s been connecting to. Give me a minute to narrow it down.”

Cole stepped closer, his tone sharp. “How close can you get us?”

Jeremy didn’t look up; he focused entirely on his work. “Close enough. If she’s stationary, I can pinpoint her exact location. If she’s moving, it’ll take a little longer, but I’ll still give you a radius to work with.”

Cassius growled in my head, pushing me to demand faster results, but I held firm. “Do it right,” I said, my voice steady. “We can’t afford mistakes.”

Cole wasn’t as patient. “We don’t have time for a radius, Jeremy. We need an exact location.”

Jeremy glanced up briefly, his usual smirk replaced with a rare look of seriousness. “You want me to do this right or fast? Because I can’t guarantee both.”

“Fine.” I sniped. “We are going to get the vehicles ready.” Turning to King Daemon. “If Delilah is correct and there is a Blood Witch involved, we will need as much backup as possible.”

“We will definitely need some magical backup to counteract the Blood Witch. 

Adriana, can you ask Thorn, Alise and Avril if they would join us? I’ll ask Delilah, and we can add as many as we need from there.”

In the end, our team consisted of Marc and me, King Daemon and Adriana, King Asher, Delilah and Reneé, Prince Thorn, Princess Avril, Prince Alastair, Princess Alise, Beta Prince Tyler, Captain Charlotte, Gamma Adam, Annabelle, Prince Mason and Prince Kaelib who were also Lycans, and strangely enough, Gamma Ellis.

I was surprised he was going, but his reasoning was that Lucienne was his Luna, and Dwayne was one of his warriors and needed to fix things. In other words, Ellis was going to kill Dwayne for being a traitor. I had no problem with that. I had no intention of bringing Elizabeth or Beatrice back to the pack. Michaela was another kettle of fish, which we would deal with later.

As the pieces fell into place, Cassius growled in anticipation. Lucienne was close, and we were coming for her. Whoever had taken her would soon learn the price of crossing a Lycan’s mate.