Chapter 313: Danger.
Adrein.
The news spread like wildfire, hitting every corner of our space faster than anyone could have prepared for. At first, there was a strange sense of relief that washed through me, a brief, almost foolish comfort that the bride was not Maria.
For a moment, it felt like the Moon Goddess might actually be on our side.
Like maybe, just maybe, things were finally aligning in a way that made sense.
But that relief didn’t last.
Because the moment that thought settled in, another one immediately followed—heavier, sharper, more suffocating.
If the bride wasn’t Maria...
Then where was she?
The question struck me like a physical blow.
My chest tightened instantly as panic began to creep in, slow at first, then all at once, swallowing every bit of calm I had tried to hold onto. My head snapped up as I turned sharply toward my brothers.
One look at their faces was enough.
They weren’t relieved.
They weren’t calm.
They were just as shaken as I was.
Worry sat heavily on each of their expressions, unspoken fear reflected in their eyes as if we were all silently coming to the same terrifying conclusion.
Something was very wrong.
"We need to look for Maria!" I said immediately, my voice sharper than intended, edged with urgency I could no longer hide.
There was no argument nor hesitation.
In an instant, we all moved at once, turning and heading quickly toward our rooms. The urgency in our steps matched the chaos building inside me. I needed something—anything—that could help us understand where she had gone or what had happened to her.
The silence between us was heavy as we searched.
Every second that passed without answers only deepened the unease tightening in my chest.
After a while, without needing to say it out loud, we all regrouped. There was a mutual understanding forming between us now—an unspoken agreement that the first place we needed to check was Maria’s room.
It was the most logical place.
If there was any clue, any trace, anything at all... it would be there.
"There’s no way we won’t find something in her room," I said firmly, more to convince myself than anything else.
We moved together again, faster this time, urgency guiding every step. When we reached her door, there was no delay, no knocking, no hesitation. The door was pushed open immediately as we stepped inside.
The room still carried her presence in a way that was almost unsettling.
We began searching everywhere.
Every drawer.
Every corner.
Every surface.
Looking for anything—anything at all—that could give us direction, something to explain where she had been taken or what had happened before she vanished.
My hands moved quickly, almost frantic now, as I checked through her belongings. Papers, fabric, small personal items—everything was being turned over carefully but urgently, as though time itself was working against us.
And then...Without truly meaning to, my attention landed in one place I hadn’t expected.
It was accidental.
A coincidence.
But once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.
Maria’s panties were there.
My movement froze instantly.
For a second, everything else around me seemed to fade into the background. The sound of my brothers searching, the tension in the room, even my own breathing—it all dulled as my focus locked onto that single detail.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to look away, but my mind lingered for a moment longer than it should have.
Desire clouded my mind, as I swallowed hard. I couldn’t resist forming images of her on just them in my head.
Heat spread all over my body instantly.
I sniffed it without hesitation and I wondered if she actually scents like this, then she would definitely taste better.
"What’s in there, Adrien?" Damien asked, his tone sharp with curiosity as he tried to step closer, his eyes narrowing like he already suspected I was hiding something.
I reacted instantly.
"Nothing, Damien!" I said too quickly, too firmly, cutting him off before he could take another step closer.
My voice came out louder than necessary, and I could feel the heat creeping up my neck immediately.
Because the truth was simple—I would have been far too embarrassed if he saw what had just made me stiffen like that.
And worse still...I didn’t want any of them seeing it either.
Damien paused for a moment, studying me with a doubtful look, as if weighing whether to push further or let it go. Then, with a shrug, he finally backed off.
"Okay," he said slowly, before turning away and continuing his search in another corner of the room.
I let out a quiet breath I didn’t realize I had been holding.
But even as I tried to focus, my mind lingered on what I had just seen.
Without thinking too much about it anymore, and almost as though something inside me had snapped into a reckless impulse, I reached down again. My fingers closed around one of the panties I had spotted earlier.
Carefully, quickly and shamelessly, before I could even question what I was doing, I slid it into my pocket, pressing it flat against my side as if hiding it could erase the fact that I had taken it.
A slow, almost dangerous smile crept onto my face as I straightened up again.
A devilish one.
And strangely enough, my earlier hesitation vanished completely.
In its place was something sharper, more focused. My determination to find Maria doubled instantly, burning hotter than before.
"Look!" Aidan’s voice cut through the room suddenly.
All of us turned at once.
Aidan was pointing toward something on the ground near the far end of the room, his expression serious now. Without wasting another second, we all moved toward him quickly, closing the distance in a few steps before crouching down together to inspect what he had found.
My eyes narrowed as I leaned in closer.
There, on the floor, was a faint white powdery substance scattered loosely across the surface.
I reached out immediately without thinking, my fingers brushing against it. I hesitated only for a second before lifting a bit of it closer to my nose, intending to identify the scent properly.
But before I could inhale fully...
Davian’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist tightly.
"Are you out of your mind?" he snapped, pulling my hand away from my face.
I frowned immediately, annoyed at the interruption.
"Can’t believe you’re still this dumb?" Davian added, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.
I rolled my eyes almost instantly, irritation flaring in me.
"What now, Mr. Cautious?" I asked dryly, pulling my hand back.
Davian didn’t even blink. "Well," he said calmly, "if you don’t mind sleeping for up to two days straight, then go ahead and inhale it."
That statement hit differently.
The meaning sank in slowly but clearly, like cold water spreading through my chest.
And just like that, my irritation vanished.
I quickly wiped my hand against my clothes, erasing any trace of the powder from my skin as understanding fully settled in.
Maria hadn’t left on her own...of course I know...but this means she had been drugged with sleeping medicine.
My entire body stiffened at the realization.
"Shit," I said sharply, pushing myself back up to my feet, as my expression darkened instantly. "Maria is in danger."
