Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Theo I hadn’t heard from Briggs in four days, so when I saw his name on my phone screen, I was eager to answer.

“Briggs, did you find anything?”

“I found her car,” he replied, his tone serious and uneasy. “It’s at a junk yard in Sablemane territory. It looks like you were right about the accident.”

I hadn’t felt any pain from her since that first night. But I still felt the burning of our broken bond, so I knew she had to be alive somewhere. At least, I hoped that’s what it meant. I didn‘ t know what I’d feel if she was...

“So she has to be somewhere close by,” I said.

“She would have to be. I doubt she walked away from this on her own. Especially if your assessment of her injuries were correct.” He got quiet for a moment. “There’s a lot of blood here, Theo. If she can’t heal, she won’t be in great shape for a while.

I’m going to check the local hospital and see what I can find out. But they’ll sense that she’s a rogue any day now. I don’t know what they’ll do with that.”

“Did you find anything else?” I could tell he was holding back with me, and I wanted to know what he was thinking.

“I went by her house. You’re going to need to tell Kylee and Marie soon. They’ll want to go home.”

“Why?”

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Chapter 17: Theo 288 Vouchers “Honestly, Theo, I’m not inclined to tell you,” he snapped. “I’ll make sure she’s alive and safe. And that’s so you can give her family something other than she disappeared.”

“Briggs,” I growled. His response may have been fair, but I was his Alpha.

“How are things going with Kylee?” he said tightly.

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. They weren’t fine. At least not on my side. Kylee still didn’t seem to have a clue anything was going on. I knew that was a good thing, but it was also annoying the heck out of me.

“Good. So you’re not having any doubts or second thoughts?”

“No. Nothing has changed,” I replied, wondering where he was going with this.

“Okay. Just wanted to make sure you’re not planning on making me drag Ayla back.”

I sighed. “I just want to know that she’s alive, Briggs. That she‘ s safe.”

“Okay,” Briggs said calmly. “I’m just trying to look out for you, man. This is some serious shit you’re messing with.”

“I know,” I said. “But I don’t want to know just for Kylee. I told Dad Ayla severed her ties. He felt the loss but wasn’t able to identify who it was. It hit him pretty hard. I think it would help him if he knew she was okay.”

“Well, I’ll do my best,” Briggs said. “But I’m not going to guarantee what I find.”

“Understood.”

Chapter 17: Theo 288 Vouchers As I hung up the phone, the door to my office burst open. I growled and shot to my feet as Zeff charged through the door.

“What did you say to her?” he demanded. “Where is she?”

“She left you four days ago, and you’re just now looking for her?” I snarled, not about to put up with this jackass.

“I haven’t stopped searching for her,” he yelled. “I’ve looked everywhere. Her phone is off. Her car’s gone. She even took...”

He stopped himself before finishing his sentence, but my interest was piqued.

“What did she take?”

“Like I would tell you,” he spat. “All that matters is she would never take it unless she planned on never coming back. So what did you do to her?”

“She did it to herself.”

His face paled. “What did she do?”

I didn’t have to tell him anything. This asshole tried to take Ayla for himself.

The thought sobered me a little. He cared about her. That much was obvious. And in truth, he hadn’t done a damn thing wrong.

But I had. I had made enough mistakes in how I treated my people this week.

I sank into my chair with a sigh, bringing my hand to my forehead.

“She cut her ties,” I said. “She’s a rogue now.”

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Chapter 17: Theo “She would never do that.”

288 Vouchers “But she did,” I replied. “Beta Briggs is out looking for her to ensure she is safe. When I know something, I will let you know.”

“You’re a fool, you know,” Zeff told me. “I’ve known that family for a long time. Kylee doesn’t have half the strength Ayla does. At least now, when someone else is smart enough to see that, you have no power to keep them from her.”

I was about to tell him to watch his mouth, but he was already storming out of my office. Slamming the door behind him.

Kieran was stomping around in my head. He didn’t want anyone touching Ayla. Or Dasha. If she ever came back.

My mother had made a comment similar to Zeff’s in passing. She had said she hoped Ayla would find some peace and a life where she wouldn’t have to carry so much. I wanted to know what she meant by it, but I figured it was about her acting out when she was younger because she didn’t handle her father’s death well. In truth, part of me was scared to ask. I didn’t know why, and it wasn’t helping the nagging in my head, other than Kieran, that is, that there was more that I needed to know.

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