Chapter 32 Find Sara
Derek stormed down the hospital corridors, his footsteps echoing sharply off the polished floors. Every step tightened his resolve, the tension in his jaw like coiled steel. He had only just returned, barely setting foot inside the hospital, and already his worst fears had been confirmed—Ella was missing. The guards he’d stationed were either unconscious or in critical condition, and her ward was ominously empty. Each heartbeat drove home a fresh surge of rage as he struggled to keep his emotions under control.
Derek’s footsteps thundered through the hospital corridors, each step radiating the fury coursing through him. The air around him crackled with barely contained rage as he stormed into the security room, barking orders at the bewildered hospital staff.
“Who’s in charge here?” His voice, deadly calm, sent a shiver through the room. “Get me the CCTV footage of the past 24 hours.”
The head of hospital security paled as he scrambled to check the camera footage. Derek's mind raced with questions, each one adding fuel to the fire burning inside him. How had this happened under his watch? He'd left to ensure her safety from those targeting her—yet somehow, they had slipped right under his nose. 'What could the vampires want with Ella?’ This question kept tugging at his mind, yet there was no answer he could think of
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the security footage loaded on the screen. Derek’s sharp gaze took in every detail: the two guards posted at Ella’s door, the quiet stillness of the night—and then Nurse Sara appeared on the screen, carrying a tray with coffee cups. Derek’s eyes narrowed as he watched her approach the guards with a friendly smile, chatting with them casually.
“Pause it,” Derek ordered, his voice a low growl.
The footage stilled, showing Nurse Sara handing over the coffee, her smile too innocent, her eyes too calm. Then the video played on, showing her entering Ella’s room.
Blackout
“What the hell!” Derek thundered, “where's the rest of the footage?” He demanded.
“I…I..I don't know,it seems the footage got corrupted” The security guard stammered
Derek’s fists clenched as he leaned closer. “Rewind,” he ordered, his eyes fixed on the screen as the footage played in reverse, showing Sara’s every move. She was the last person to enter Ella’s room—the last person to see her. The realization sent a fresh surge of anger through him.
He turned to his beta, Alex, standing nearby. “Find her,” Derek spat, each word like ice. “Find that nurse and bring her to me. I want every inch of this hospital searched. I want every person questioned. No one leaves until we find out where she went.”
Alex nodded, recognizing the look in Derek’s eyes and knowing this was not a request, but a command. “Yes, Alpha. I’ll deploy our men to comb the entire hospital.”
Derek turned his gaze back to the footage, feeling a deep sense of betrayal settling in his chest. Nurse Sara had been trusted, someone they relied on. But she had drugged his guards, effortlessly deceiving them with a smile and a cup of spiked coffee. She had helped the vampires take Ella.
He couldn’t ignore the dread settling in his stomach. Ella was in the hands of their enemies, and every second that ticked by could mean she was further out of reach.
Hours passed as the hospital staff and Derek’s warriors searched every corner of the building, but Nurse Sara seemed to have vanished without a trace. Reports came back empty, fueling Derek’s frustration. He paced Ella’s empty room, the silence unbearable, a reminder of his failure to keep her safe. The scent she’d left behind, faint but unmistakable, only made him feel the sting of her absence more keenly.
“Alpha,” Alex entered the room, looking grave. “We’ve checked every exit and spoken to everyone who was here tonight, but no one saw Nurse Sara leave. It’s as if she disappeared.”
Derek’s jaw tightened, his hands clenching into fists. The thought that Sara had likely planned every step gnawed at him. She knew how to avoid detection, knew to time her actions to avoid suspicion. And worst of all, she’d succeeded. Derek’s mind raced, filled with visions of Ella, of what she might be enduring, of the enemies surrounding her.
He turned to his beta, Alex, who had been watching from the side with steely determination. “Find every record we have on Sara. Background checks, addresses, known contacts. I don’t care how buried it is or how long it takes—get me everything.” His voice dropped, more menacing. “This woman doesn’t just disappear on my watch.”
“Send word out to the pack,” Derek ordered, his voice hard. “Let every wolf know that Sara is a wanted traitor. I want her found. She’s our only lead to finding Ella, and if we don’t get to her soon…” He let the words hang in the air, the unspoken threat filling the silence.
Alex nodded swiftly, already reaching for his phone to contact their intel team, the urgency clear in his movements. “Understood, Alpha.We’ll start digging immediately.”
Derek’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing. He had never considered that someone he’d allowed into Ella’s care could be the very person to betray her, to deliver her into enemy hands. The thought burned through him like fire. Whoever had orchestrated this was no ordinary opponent. And if Sara had been willing to do this—drugging his men, making Ella an easy target for the vampires—then she was no ordinary pawn.
Alex nodded, his gaze steady. “Understood, Alpha. We’ll widen the search radius and put word out in every pack around us.”
Derek nodded, though a bitter frustration still churned inside him. It wasn’t enough. Every second that passed felt like a lifetime, every minute a reminder that Ella was somewhere out there, alone and vulnerable.He couldn’t suppress the growl rising in his throat, the sheer intensity of his anger evident. He could feel Leo, his wolf, straining at the edges of his control, eager to tear through anyone who stood in the way of finding her.
Whoever had taken Ella knew exactly what they were doing; they had planned this meticulously, taking care to erase any evidence once they’d left the hospital grounds. Finding Sara is the fastest way to recover Ella.
Alex reappeared, his expression somber. “Alpha, there’s no sign of her. She’s vanished without a trace.”
Derek’s gaze darkened. “Then we keep searching. I want every available resource, every ally, anyone who owes us a favor. Make it clear—Sara is wanted, and anyone who harbors her will face the full weight of my wrath.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Alex’s voice held a note of determination.
Derek exhaled slowly, his mind already whirring with plans, strategies, anything that might help him close the widening gap between him and Ella. But he knew deep down that time was against him, and each passing second allowed his enemies to take her further from his reach. He had to be prepared for anything.
Hours turned to dawn, and still, no news of Sara surfaced. Derek stood by the window in Ella’s room, the first light of morning casting long shadows across the empty bed. He barely recognized himself in the reflection—the dark circles under his eyes, the grim set of his jaw, the raw determination that had replaced his usual calm demeanor.
But just as he was about to order a second round of searches, one of his warriors rushed in, looking breathless and tense.
“Alpha,” the warrior said, his voice urgent. “We might have something—a tip from a nearby pack. A woman matching Nurse Sara’s description was seen heading towards the mountains. They say she was moving fast, as if she was running.”
Derek’s heart leapt, his instincts sparking to life. The mountains were vast, difficult to navigate, and dangerous even for a trained wolf. If Sara who's merely a human was headed there, she was likely planning to disappear for good.
“Gather a tracking team,” Derek commanded, his voice sharp and resolute. “We leave immediately.”
The warrior nodded and disappeared to gather the team. Derek’s mind was racing, already piecing together his next moves. He would scour every inch of those mountains if he had to. He would find Sara, and through her, he would find Ella.
A sudden realization settled over him like a dark shadow—his enemy had been one step ahead all along, and finding Sara would only be the beginning of a far more dangerous game.
As he stepped out of the hospital and felt the first rays of dawn on his face, he knew he wouldn’t rest until Ella was safely back in his arms. He had failed her before, and he wasn’t about to fail her again. She was his responsibility, his promise—and he would stop at nothing to fulfill it.