Chapter 316: Ashes.
Noah.
I was expecting news from Odion and the others who had gone in search of Maria, but nothing had come yet, and with every passing second, my patience was wearing thinner.
The silence was beginning to irritate me.
Odion had exceptional tracking skills. If anyone could follow a trail without fail, it was him. That alone should have made finding Maria easier, faster even. So why was this suddenly becoming difficult?
Why did it feel like she had completely vanished?
The thought unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.
I remained still for a moment, trying to think clearly despite the growing frustration building inside me. My mind kept replaying possibilities one after another, each darker than the last.
Then suddenly, something clicked.
My expression hardened instantly as realization crept in.
I hadn’t seen Daniel during the wedding.
Not once.
At first, I had been too distracted by everything happening around us to truly notice his absence, but now that I thought about it properly, it felt wrong. Too wrong.
And then another memory surfaced immediately afterward.
Back at Moon Bridge Pack, Daniel had tried so hard to pin the blame on Adrien for hurting Maria. At the time, it had seemed suspicious enough already, but now...now it felt deliberate like a distraction.
Like someone trying to shift attention away from himself while secretly planning something else entirely.
Could he have taken her away?
The thought struck me so suddenly that my jaw tightened at once.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath.
Without wasting another second, I immediately signaled toward the guards nearby. The moment they noticed me, they stepped forward quickly and bowed their heads slightly in acknowledgment, waiting for instructions.
"Find Daniel now," I ordered firmly.
My tone left no room for delay.
The guards immediately sprang into action without hesitation, scattering in different directions almost instantly.
I turned away and headed straight toward Daniel’s room.
There was no way someone like Daniel wouldn’t leave something behind. Careless people always did, especially when they were in a hurry.
And if my suspicion was correct, then somewhere in that room would be proof.
I arrived moments later and pushed the door open without hesitation.
The first thing that hit me was the scent.
Ashes.
Strong and unmistakable.
My eyes narrowed immediately as I stepped further inside, my gaze sweeping carefully across the room until it landed near the fireplace.
I walked closer slowly.
That was when I realized Daniel must have burned a large number of letters recently. The remains were scattered messily, the ash still fresh enough to suggest it had not happened long ago.
But just as I expected, Daniel had been careless.
Part of one letter had survived the flames.
He must have been in too much of a hurry to notice it.
I bent down and picked it up carefully, my eyes scanning over the damaged words. Most of it had been destroyed beyond recognition, leaving only fragmented sentences behind.
> *********** report back to the Lycan prince ****************** are in his te******
My brows furrowed deeply as I stared at it.
"Shit," I muttered inwardly again, my fists clenching tightly around the partially burned paper.
I didn’t fully understand what the message meant, not completely exactly but one thing became certain almost immediately.
The Lycan prince was somehow connected to this.
And if there was even the slightest chance Maria had been taken to him...then I would have to pay the Lycan prince a visit myself.
He needed to do a lot of explaining.
A lot.
The more I thought about everything, the more the irritation inside me deepened into something darker, sharper, harder to control. None of it made sense anymore, and that alone was enough to fuel my anger further.
Firstly, why would the Lycan prince specifically ask for Maria?
And on top of that, why would he promise Sonia a wedding with me as though I had no say in the matter?
The memory alone made my jaw tighten.
It had all seemed strange from the beginning, but now that Daniel’s involvement had surfaced, everything felt far more suspicious than before.
Secondly...why would he send Daniel to spy on me?
Or worse—on my pack?
The thought irritated me instantly. Daniel had been moving around too carefully for it to be a coincidence. His actions, his sudden disappearance, the burnt letters... all of it pointed toward something deliberate.
Something planned.
And Maria had somehow become trapped in the middle of it.
I was so annoyed that I immediately turned and rushed toward my room, my pace quick and forceful as anger continued boiling beneath my skin. My thoughts moved too fast for me to properly organize them, but one thing remained clear above everything else.
I needed to get to Maria.
Immediately.
The moment I entered my room, I mind-linked my beta without hesitation.
> Handle all pack affairs. I will be taking a short trip.
My voice through the link was firm and direct, leaving absolutely no room for questions or arguments.
And before he could even respond, I cut the connection off instantly.
I didn’t have the patience to explain anything right now.
"Maria needs me more than ever," I thought to myself as I hastened my pace once again, already heading out before the silence around me could slow me down.
Every instinct inside me screamed that she was in danger.
That she needed me.
I reached the stables quickly and immediately chose the fastest horse available. The animal shifted restlessly beneath my touch, powerful and eager, but I wasted no time. I mounted swiftly and tightened my grip before urging it forward.
The horse bolted almost instantly, running at full speed as though it could sense the urgency radiating from me.
Cold air struck against my face as we rode, but I barely noticed it.
My thoughts remained fixed entirely on Maria.
"Wait for me, Maria," I muttered under my breath, my voice low yet filled with determination as I pushed the horse to move even faster. "I am coming to save you."
****
Unknown to Noah, someone from the Moonfall Pack, made sure the news of his sudden departure did not go unnoticed.
Within moments, a message was discreetly sent to the Lycan prince, informing him of Noah’s impromptu journey and the direction he had taken, ensuring that nothing remained hidden for long.
