Page 45 of The Wolf King's Demand

“And I am with my sister every step of the way.”

“Ladies, we don’t know if this is the real thing or a trap. Let me survey it first.”

Addison crossed her arms and flashed a disdainful glare. “Tyler, we are wasting time debating something that is not debatable. Are you coming or not? Because I’m going in.”

Addison and Madison walked toward the building. Tyler stopped them in their tracks.

“Fine. Okay. But listen carefully now. I need you two to stay close by my side. My enforcers, Fletcher, and I will surround you the entire way in, but you keep your eyes on me at all times. Do you understand?”

The women nodded.

With weapons at the ready and a bag full of spare clothes in case they had to shift, the group entered a side door that sat ajar. Tyler feared it was left that way on purpose. The closer they came to the entrance, the more certain he feared the setup was a trap. But he knew his queen. If there was even the remotest of chances Cassia was inside, there was no stopping the little girl’s mom.

A guard pried open the rusted door. Tyler entered first, along with his front-line guards. Then the women stepped over the threshold with a rear contingent of men.

It took a while for their eyesight to adjust to the dark and dank surroundings of empty and warped shelving, steel girder catwalks, and water dripping from the leaking tiled roof.

Every footfall echoed throughout the structure. There was no way to move stealthily. In the darkness, one guard tripped over an oddly placed pile of wooden pallets. He slammed up against a massive shelving unit, which tipped and came tumbling down.

Everyone in the entourage ducked for cover. Once the dust had cleared, Tyler jumped up and searched for the women. He quickly found Madison, held in her mate’s arms. But no Addison. His queen was nowhere to be seen.

“Addison! Addison! Call out! Where are you?”

Tyler’s shouts ricocheted off the metal and concrete walls.

Yet no reply came.

The group fanned out, searching high and low, digging through the fallen shelving rubble. No sign of her at all, not even a torn piece of her dress. Nothing. She had simply vanished.

“Addison! Addison!” Tyler kept calling her name until Louis ran up, put a hand over his mouth, and whispered in the king’s ear.

“Sire, she’s gone. Whether by chance or by plan, she’s gone. Let us regroup and rethink. Yelling only gives our location away.”

Tyler ignored his beta’s plea. He ran left and right, racing down each aisle, calling her name. When there was still no reply, the king stood in the center of the vast space and hollered Addison’s name so loudly that rust fell from the catwalks, and nesting birds shot into the air.

The alpha’s wail for his lost mate ended up being the most sonorous, guttural sound to ever fill the realm.

TWENTY-SEVEN

ADDISON

Addison woke up alone, her head pounding. She smelled an odor coming from her face. She rubbed her fingers against her lips. Chloroform?

She sat up and looked herself over. Nothing broken. No cuts. She was chilled by the icy cold floor, but she was okay and free to move. With some effort to steady herself, she got to her feet and, in the darkness, searched for a way out of whatever spot she had gotten herself in and back to Tyler and the group.

Within seconds, she bumped into bars. She felt left, then right, then behind her. She was surrounded by cast iron bars. Oh, my God, the rogues caught me. This was a trap. I’m caged.

Soon, her eyes acclimated to the surroundings. A shaft of light streamed into the foreign place from a small window opposite her. And there on a woven rug sat Cassia. The little girl looked unharmed, but her hair was disheveled and her dress dirty. She sat in the middle of the floor playing with a ratty old doll, its hair, and dress in the same condition.

Addison thought to call out to the little girl but realized the girl was far away and behind thick glass. Cassia would not hear her cries, and such calls would only bring the rogues down to investigate her. God only knows what that would mean for the pair of them.

Instead, Addison swiveled her head, looking for a way to escape. But the cage was all-encompassing, and its door was held closed with a gigantic padlock. Addison tried to slink through the bars, but no matter how much she sucked in her body, she could not fit. And there was no bending the solid bars, regardless of their rust-covered facade.

Addison had undoubtedly made enough noise that footsteps sounded from above. A single bare bulb lit up at a flight of rickety stairs, and soon, small feet made their way down to the damp and dour space.

The queen cupped her hands around her mouth, ready to call out for help, only to recognize the sight. Her hands fell to her sides, balled up into fists. Her face flashed fiery red with rage.

“Well, well, look who is finally awake. Our little miss queen for a day. How are you feeling, my pet?” crooned Letitia. The wretched woman had abandoned her modest nanny outfit for an ostentatious robe in a deep indigo hue.

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