43. Ryan

The engine's rhythmic beat synced with the frantic pulse throbbing in my veins. My wolf was going crazy. To think that someone could have taken Mai from us… It drove him to the brink of madness. I could feel his emotions coursing through my veins, intertwined with mine. Rage surged, and the urge to shift was strong, so strong that the hair on my arms began to stand up as I fought the compulsion.

It felt like a wild beast inside me clawing to escape, ready to blow the city apart in search of Mai. Every muscle in my body was primed for action, and I could feel its power surging through me, yelling at me for release.

My wolf was capable of so much destruction that if I let him take over completely, our mission would be doomed before it even started.

Soon, I promised him. It will be your turn soon.

A glance at the dashboard confirmed what I already knew—I was pushing two hundred. Still, not fast enough. I had to get back to the Three Rivers Pack, had to find Mai. My foot bore down harder on the gas pedal, nudging the speedometer needle a notch higher.

My phone jittered on the seat next to me, Mason's name flashing across the screen. I grabbed it, keeping my gaze locked on the road ahead.

"Talk to me, Mason."

Mason's voice crackled through the speaker, strained with tension. "We're at Reynold's. Her scent ends here, but Seth's scent is everywhere. He had to have known exactly where Mai would be."

"Why was she even there? I told her to stay at the house."

"They hadn't heard from you or Jem. They were worried. Wanted to help."

"Fuck!"

"I can tell you this, bro," Mason cut in, "Seth was confident. He didn't bother to cover his tracks."

I was going to kill that motherfucker.

"What about Sofia, Jase, and Wally? They were supposed to be with Mai."

"They're all pretty banged up."

A curse slipped past my lips.

"Where are they now?" I asked, a spike of fear for Mai's friends slicing through the icy rage building within me.

"Thomas has them," Mason reassured me. "They're hurt, but they'll live."

Before I could respond, a beep indicated another incoming call. "Hold on," I said as I switched the line.

"We're five minutes behind you," Jem announced, his voice laden with an urgency that matched my own. "We've got Shya."

"I don't need looking after!" a voice in the background shouted.

"News from the Pack isn't good, Ryan," Jem continued.

The knot in my stomach grew tighter.

"Brock has taken advantage of us being out of the territory. He and his supporters are moving against us. I've managed to get in touch with some of our enforcers. They're under attack, and I can't get hold of Hayley," Jem said. I could hear the worry in his voice.

A growl ripped from my throat, the fury within me rising with each piece of bad news. Brock, Seth… they were all going to pay.

"Tell Mason and Sam to meet me at the northern gate," Jem said suddenly, an unmistakable command in his voice. "I need them. Your only job right now is to find Mai and bring her back safely."

"The trail ends at Reynold's," I told him. "Seth must've taken her in his own car. She could be anywhere by now."

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line. "Find her, Ryan," Jem said, the line going dead immediately after.

I stared at the phone for a moment before tossing it onto the passenger seat. Swallowing hard, I tried to reach out through the bond I shared with Mai. A weak pulse told me that she was still alive, but nothing else. No tug of a direction, no access to her feelings.

Damn it. If only Mai had embraced our bond, I could have felt more.

I turned the car around and pointed it at Cocrane. It was the most likely place that Seth had taken her. I would tear apart every Pack, every town, every street if that's what it took to find her. Mai was mine, and I was going to bring her back.