Calvin’s POV
The chaos began the moment I received my mother’s mind link, a frantic plea for help. Her voice had been laced with desperation, something I wasn’t used to hearing from her.
“Calvin!” My mother’s voice echoed in my head, urgent and strained. “Come to my chambers immediately. It’s an emergency!”
I had been moments away from dealing with that worthless whore, Kamrynn, but when my mother called, there was no hesitation. I had to go. The situation in her chambers was nothing short of a disaster. The servants were running around in a frenzy, shouting orders and trying to control the smoke billowing out from the corridor.
“Something seems to have gone wrong with the heating system,” one of the guards reported, his face pale with worry. “It overloaded and caused a fire in the Dowager Luna’s room. We’re still trying to get it under control.”
I stormed inside, the smoke stinging my eyes and burning my throat. My mother was coughing, held up by two servants, while the flames flickered dangerously close to the edges of her bed. The smell of burning wood filled the air, mixed with the pungent scent of scorched fabrics. I didn’t think; I just acted. I shoved the servants aside and pulled my mother to her feet, half-dragging her out of the room and away from the danger.
“Get her to safety,” I barked at the guards, who rushed forward to help her. “And put out that fire now!”
As the chaos raged around me, a sudden, sharp pain struck my chest, like a string snapping. The sensation was unmistakable. It was the severing of a bond-Kamrynn’s bond with the Pack. She had broken ties.
No. It can’t be.
I turned and bolted down the corridor, ignoring the shouts of the servants and the crackling of the flames. My pulse pounded in my ears as I raced up the stairs to the room where Kamrynn was supposed to be chained. When I threw the door open, what I saw made my blood run cold.
The room was empty.
The bed was bare, the key lying there as if taunting me. The cuffs were still attached to the frame, hanging loose and useless. The reality crashed down on me in an instant-Kamrynn had escaped.
“How?!” I roared, the sound reverberating off the walls. My wolf, Fenrir, snarled in my mind, his anger blazing even hotter than mine. We were both furious, both seething with rage.
“She’s gone!” Fenrir’s voice was a guttural growl, filled with loathing. “The bitch escaped. The one who murdered our mate-gone!”
I felt the heat of my fury consume me as I trashed the room, ripping the sheets off the bed and tearing apart anything within reach. The dresser, the table, even the wooden chair-I smashed them all to splinters, unable to contain the explosive wrath that tore through me. I wasn’t just angry. I was enraged. That filthy whore had the audacity to break ties with the Pack, to run away and think she could be free.
“Warriors!” I mindlinked, my voice a venomous command. “Kamrynn has escaped. I want every available man out there searching for her. I don’t care what it takes-find her and bring her back!”
Even as I gave the order, I knew it was likely a wasted effort. If she had the nerve to sever her bond with the Pack, then she must already be at a safe distance. The pain that had ripped through my chest told me she’d cut ties cleanly, making it impossible to trace her location. Still, I wouldn’t accept that she was gone for good. Someone had to pay for this.
“Find her,” I repeated, my mental voice almost a snarl. “Bring her back. No matter the cost.”
Fenrir growled lowly in my mind. “She didn’t do this on her own. She had help. She was too weak, too broken to escape without assistance.”
His words struck a chord of realization in me. He was right. Kamrynn couldn’t have managed this by herself, not with the condition she was in. No, someone must have aided her escape-someone within the Pack. And the timing of her disappearance wasn’t coincidental. It had happened right when my mother’s room was sabotaged.
“Someone caused that fire,” I said aloud, gritting my teeth. “And that same someone helped Kamrynn escape.”
I took a deep breath, then sent a message to the entire Pack through the mind link, my voice echoing in the heads of all adult members.
“Urgent Pack meeting,” I commanded, my tone brooking no argument. “Everyone gather at the central hall now. There’s a traitor among us, and I intend to find out who.”
The response was immediate. People began arriving at the hall, their faces marked with curiosity and concern. As the crowd gathered, I stood at the front, my expression cold and unyielding, Fenrir’s rage burning just beneath the surface.
Once the hall was full, I spoke, my voice cutting through the murmurs. “Kamrynn has escaped. Someone here helped her. Someone in this Pack is a traitor, and I will not tolerate it.” I let the words hang in the air, watching as the expressions around the room shifted from confusion to shock.
“The Dowager Luna’s room was sabotaged,” I continued, my eyes narrowing as I scanned the faces before me. “A fire broke out, causing chaos at the Pack house. While I was dealing with that situation, Kamrynn managed to break free from her chains and sever her bond with the Pack.”
Gasps filled the room, and several wolves exchanged nervous glances. I could smell the fear, the anxiety thickening in the air like a fog. Good. Let them feel afraid. Let them tremble.
“I want the traitor found,” I growled, my voice low and threatening. “And when I find out who it was… I will make an example of them. There will be no mercy. Whoever helped that whore escape will suffer a punishment so severe that it will be remembered for generations.”
I could feel Fenrir’s anger coursing through me, his need for retribution fueling my own rage. Whoever helped Kamrynn escape had sealed their fate. They would pay dearly for their betrayal. And as for Kamrynn… wherever she was hiding, I would find her. She would pay for her crimes. She would suffer for what she had done to Sherelle.
The Pack would not rest until she was brought back and punished, no matter how far she had gone.