Chapter 204 ~Gone~

Chapter 204 ~Gone~
Aria's POV

I moved down the line of rogues slowly, forcing myself to look at every single face carefully, determined to not make another mistake. My heart was still drumming but it wasn't because of the run over anymore, my hands trembled slightly as I studied each person in turn, hoping that the next face I'd see would be hers.
As I weaved through each person, the hope that had lit up in my chest dimmed a little more as I came to the realization that none of them were her. None even looked closely alike to make me do a double take.
I moved past the last person in line and stood there for a long moment, staring at nothing in particular, the tight knot of guilt in my chest refusing to loosen even slightly.
I had seen her, caught a glimpse of those same green eyes staring at me from somewhere in the crowd back then, and I had done absolutely nothing about it. I'd told myself I was tired. I'd told myself I was seeing what I expected to see because I was already thinking about her. And now, she was gone.
How could I have been so stupid?
Nothing involving Camille was ever a coincidence. I had known that better than anyone, had lived through years of her manipulation and lies, had watched her twist entire situations to serve exactly what she wanted with terrifying precision. And yet the one time it actually mattered, the one time doing something could have made a real difference, I had talked myself out of trusting my own instincts.
I turned back toward Darius, who was watching me carefully from a few feet away, his expression unreadable. "She's not here," I said, my voice coming out flatter than I intended.
"Alright," he said, something in his tone gentler than I expected. "There are still rogues being held back at the pack house. Let's not lose hope just yet."
He turned to address the guards standing nearby, ordering them to return the rest of the line back to their holding cells until further notice, and a chorus of groans and irritated muttering passed through the group as they were herded back toward the buses. I barely registered any of it, my mind still circling the same relentless loop of self blame it had been stuck in since the moment Darius confirmed Camille had never actually left the territory.
I followed him and Dominic back toward the holding cell, my legs moving on autopilot. The remaining rogues had been arranged into row similar to the way they were lined up at the border.
Tony who had been busy inspecting them, stopped and came up to us. I could already tell what he had to say from the look of disappointment in his face.
He wasn't done inspecting everyone but he hadn't found anyone so far. The three of us joined in, moving down the rows of people, checking everyone faces left. Most of the prisoners barely glanced up at us, too exhausted or indifferent to care but she wasn't there either.
"That's the last of them," Darius said quietly once we reached the end of the row.
Camille was gone. Truly gone this time, not hidden somewhere close by waiting to be found, but actually beyond our reach now and there was no telling what she'd do with that freedom or how long it would take before she surfaced again with something worse planned.
My knees buckled slightly beneath me, the weight of the realization hitting all at once, and my hand shot out on instinct, reaching toward Darius before I'd fully registered the movement. My fingers were inches from his arm when I caught myself, pulling back sharply and forcing my spine straight instead, embarrassed at how quickly my body had betrayed me without my permission.
Darius noticed. Of course he noticed. His eyes softened slightly, though he didn't reach for me the way I half expected him to, didn't try to close the distance my instinct had almost closed for me.
"Aria," he said quietly instead. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," I said, though the words came out unsteady, betraying exactly how untrue that was.
I turned away from him and started walking, needing to put distance between myself and that cell block, between myself and the ache still sitting heavy in my chest. I made it only a few steps before his hand caught mine gently from behind.
"Hey," he said, his voice low. "We'll keep looking. We know which packs the rogues were sent to. We'll have those territories checked thoroughly as well."
I turned to face him. "You know as well as I do that she has probably already slipped away from wherever she landed by now. She's always several steps ahead of everyone."
He lowered his eyes briefly before meeting mine again, something honest and tired in his expression. "Maybe," he admitted. "But there's still a real possibility she's still stuck there under someone's custody.”
I pulled my hand fully away from his, unable to accept the reassurance even though some part of me wanted to. "If you say so. Tell me if you find her or discover any new leads." I said, and turned to leave before he could respond.
Dominic caught up with me a few seconds later, falling into step beside me without saying anything at first, giving me the space to breathe before he finally spoke. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he said. "I'm just going to walk with you for a while."
I nodded, grateful for that small mercy, and let him accompany me in silence the rest of the way back toward the pack house.