Chapter 314: Vanished Without a Trace

Chapter 314: Vanished Without a Trace

Cyrus's POV

Alan's voice came through the phone, and I pressed the flashing button.

"Hello?" I answered.

"It's me, Alan," he said breathlessly. "You need to come to Duskrose Pack right away."

My heart felt like lead. "What's wrong? Is it Maeve?"

"Yes," Alan replied without hesitation. "She's missing."

I didn't waste another second. I slammed the phone down and ran outside.

Mid-air, I transformed into my wolf, letting Dean take control. He was much faster than me, with only one mission: find our mate.

Dean shot through the forest at lightning speed. Everything blurred as he raced forward.

Our mate was in danger; we should have been with her. If anything happened to her, neither of us would forgive ourselves.

It took us about fifteen minutes to reach Duskrose Pack. Alan was waiting outside with a change of clothes.

The moment I stepped inside, I was hit by the strong smell of blood but couldn't detect Maeve's fresh scent—only faint traces of her remained, which made my heart sink.

On our way, Alan briefly explained what happened.

Maeve had gone upstairs to check on Elise, who was supposed to be at the hospital but had been brought to the party by her father Frederick.

Then there were screams from Frederick upstairs, and when everyone rushed up, they found Elise kneeling over her father, covered in blood. The worst part was that Maeve was gone.

With each detail, my anger grew. The killer had been right under our noses? In Maeve's dorm? How had I not seen it earlier?

Dean was already growling behind my eyes, ready to explode. Every nerve in my body screamed to find Maeve.

Alpha Rodolfo walked out from the living room, his suit stained with blood. After a brief exchange, he gestured upstairs, telling me Elise was being detained there.

As I turned toward the stairs, he warned me about the gruesome scene, but I couldn't care less. My only focus was finding Maeve.

My wolf roared inside me as each step brought me closer to the truth and deepened my fear. I followed the scent of blood up the stairs, with Rodolfo and Alan close behind.

When I pushed open the door, the bloody scene stopped me in my tracks.

Frederick's body lay with a gaping hole in his chest where his heart had been removed. In the corner of the room, Elise was curled up, hands and feet bound in shackles, surrounded by watchful Gammas.

Furious, I questioned Alan about failing to protect Maeve, only to learn he'd been distracted by finding his own mate. I swallowed my anger—now wasn't the time for blame.

I approached Elise, gritting my teeth as I asked where Maeve was.

She looked up with swollen eyes, her voice trembling as she said she didn't know, then added, "It took her..."

I growled, "What took her?!"

Elise's answer hit my heart like a hammer: "The darkness..."

I turned to Alpha Rodolfo, both of us confused by Elise's condition.

"Elise, we need to find where Maeve is. Is there anything you can tell us that would help?" I tried again.

She just shook her head and sobbed.

Suddenly, Elise looked up at me, her eyes eerily vacant.

"The... voice..." she mumbled.

I knelt to be at eye level with her. "What voice?"

Elise whispered, "It was in my head... it made me do terrible things..."

"Do you know who was controlling the voice?" I asked.

After a moment's thought, Elise shook her head rapidly. "No... no... no..." She buried her face and sobbed.

"Okay, it's alright, Elise. Do you know why it made you do those things?"

Elise was silent for a moment, then looked up. "The darkness needs to feed... if it doesn't feed, it can't live long."

I realized the people killed at the academy must have been sacrifices to the darkness, to maintain its existence and power. The thought of Maeve being the next target made me shudder. But strangely, she wasn't here—she'd been taken.

"Do you know why they wanted Maeve?" I asked.

Elise whispered, "Vessel..."

Alpha Joshua impatiently said, "She's clearly unstable. Take her to the dungeon."

As they dragged her past me, Elise's lips trembled as she said, "You can't stop it... no one can..."

Alpha Joshua shook his head in disgust. "I don't have time for this mess. I need my guests to leave now. The party is ruined."

"That's not the point," I growled.

Rodolfo agreed. "No, it's not. We need to find my daughter. She disappeared from your packhouse, Alpha. Do you have any leads?"

Alpha Joshua narrowed his eyes. "I was downstairs with all of you. How would I know?"

"You suddenly decided to throw a party, and now my mate is missing. That's suspicious!" I snarled.

"Maeve is your mate? Since when?" Alpha Joshua asked, surprised.

Damn it.

"That's irrelevant," I said vaguely.

"As sponsor of the academies, it is my business. Alpha, you could be fired for not reporting this."

"My job is the least of my concerns right now," I muttered.

Rodolfo shouted at Joshua's Gammas, "Why are you still standing here? Go find my daughter."

I also contacted Marcus through our mind link. "Get your men search for Maeve."

Luna Elizabeth choked out, "Rodolfo... please, tell me you have some lead..."

"We will soon." Rodolfo pulled her into his arms. "I don't think it's safe for you to stay."

Elizabeth firmly replied, "I'm not leaving until I know where Maeve is."

Rodolfo said, "We'll find her, but we need everyone else safe too. You should take her friends away."

"They can go to my packhouse. Not too far but not too close. They'll be safe," I offered.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I can't leave without my daughter."

Rodolfo said firmly, "Elizabeth, this once, listen to me. Darkness was here an hour ago. It took our daughter, and we don't know if Elise is still controlled. Those kids aren't safe."

"He's right. It makes sense to take everyone to my pack," I added.

Rodolfo insisted, "Cyrus, you should go too. Ensure they arrive safely."

I growled, "I'm not fucking leaving! I'm looking for my mate."

Rodolfo said calmly, "We have warriors searching. You can join us after, but I need everyone else safe."

I gritted my teeth. "I'm not leaving."

Elizabeth urgently said, "I'd feel better if you came. I have something important to discuss with you."

I was struggling to control my wolf, who refused to leave. But Elizabeth grabbed my arm and pulled me along despite my frustration.

In the living room, I spotted Alan standing with a woman. Probably his mate.

"I'm being forced to return to Kratos to ensure they get back safely. I'll take your mate back too. But I need you to stay here and search with everyone for Maeve. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Alan said, "I will."

Elizabeth announced, "We need to leave. Alpha Cyrus will take us back to his pack. It's not safe here..."

As everyone reluctantly boarded the vehicles to leave, Elizabeth turned to me, "You still have a prisoner in your dungeon, right? I need to speak with him."