Chapter 59: Where did she go?
ELLIOTT
My heart raced.
My feet pounded hard against the ground as I sprinted toward the school building. I was certain Elyse was somewhere inside.
I had tried reaching out to her through the mindlink, her cellphone, but she hadn’t responded.
Not that I blamed her. In a high-level threat situation like this, the last thing anyone wanted to do was start making calls or links that could alert the monster.
"How long until we get there?!" Lance hollered from behind me.
"I never said you could follow me!" I growled through gritted teeth.
"I never said I was following you!" he shot back.
I groaned inwardly and skidded to a stop at the classroom entrance. I turned sharply, glaring at him.
Lance stared back at me, one brow raised in challenge.
"What?" he asked, stepping closer. "I don’t have all day. I need to—"
"Why do you keep butting into everything that has to do with me?" I asked, genuine frustration bleeding into my voice.
Lance furrowed his brows.
"First, when Elyse and I were together, you tried to get with her multiple times."
Lance opened his mouth, but I cut him off.
"Don’t even deny it," I glowered. "I saw all the nasty texts you sent her."
He shrugged one broad shoulder. "She’s loose and available. Not my fault I wanted to hit it like everyone else."
My fingers curled into tight fists at my sides. That wasn’t even everything. I could list far worse things he’d tried with her — things that made even Eric look tame in comparison.
But I’d only be wasting my time and breath.
"And now?" I pressed.
"Look, bro," Lance stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder.
I stared hard at his hand, then slowly lifted my gaze back to his face.
"Elyse is my mate. I really appreciate your concern about her, but I’m the last person you should be worried about right now."
Right. The monster.
"Although," Lance’s fingers dug into my blazer, a smirk spreading across his face. "I still want to hit. She’s my mate after all."
My throat tightened.
"I can use her as much as I desire," he added, then wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Now she won’t whore herself out to the whole school anymore. Just for me and my wonderful cock."
Annoyance twisted sharply in my chest.
Of course, Elyse had done many things I loathed — things I might never fully forgive or forget while we were together. But that didn’t mean I wanted to hear anyone call her a whore or a slut.
Lance clapped my shoulder. "Loosen up, bro." He chuckled. "Women are meant to be fucked. Nothing strange about that."
My eyes darkened. Heat pressed at the corners of them as my wolf stirred violently inside me. I breathed in and out, trying to rein in my anger, but it didn’t work.
All I could picture was driving my fist into his face, breaking his nose, and watching the blood ooze while he howled in pain.
But that would cause too much trouble. I didn’t want to explain my actions to anyone.
I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and turned away, stepping into the entrance and ignoring him completely.
But Lance was still Lance — an annoying, persistent fly buzzing around my life.
"Are you mad at me?" he called after me, our shoes echoing loudly in the empty hallway.
"Come on!" he continued. "I was joking. I’ll never talk down on my Luna."
Luna?
I sniggered. That was barely what Elyse was to him. Yes, mate bonds could form at the academy and outside, and they could take it further, but...
But that didn’t mean it often happened that way. Besides, the bond wasn’t even confirmed yet.
"What?" Lance murmured. "You think I’m lying?"
"Shut up, Lance," I grunted.
I paused in the middle of the hallway, ears twitching as I tried to pick up any sound.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing except Lance’s irritating voice.
"Still mad?" he asked.
I dipped my hand into my blazer pocket, pulled out a white handkerchief, and extended it to him.
Lance stared at it, a confused smile spreading across his face.
"A lucky charm?" He grinned. "I never knew you were that charming, Ashford."
He took it and brought it up to his face.
"Gag yourself with it," I said flatly.
Lance’s hand stopped midway. His smile only grew brighter. "That’s a good one." He gave a slight nod. "That’s really good, Ashford."
He pushed the handkerchief back toward me. "You’re handsome and all, but unfortunately I’m not into guys."
I shut my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. When I opened them again, I glared at him. "For fuck’s sake, Lance. I’m trying to concentrate and the last thing I want to listen to is your damned annoying voice!"
"I love you too," he puckered his lips and blew me a kiss.
I rolled my eyes and continued scanning the hallway. Luckily, Lance finally stayed quiet.
He wasn’t completely stupid after all. I was glad he understood the hint.
After a short beat of silence, he spoke again.
"Don’t you think we should split up and search the classrooms?" he suggested. "I mean, if we stay together, it might be harder to find her."
"Good suggestion," I said.
"Sure," Lance replied, sounding way too boastful. "I always bring amazing ideas."
"I’ll start here," I pointed to the drama classroom we were standing in front of. "You can take the other side."
I nodded toward the far end of the hallway where the rest of the classrooms stretched out.
"Hopefully I find her first," Lance mumbled as he walked past me. "See you in a few minutes."
I watched him disappear around the corner before beginning my search.
I opened the door to the first classroom. Empty. Not even the lingering scent of students remained. I moved on to the second, third, fourth, and fifth. Nothing.
The silence was unnerving — heavier and stranger than the lack of students itself.
By the sixth and final classroom on my side, I was starting to think I had chosen the wrong section of the building.
"Elyse," I called, loud enough for her to hear but not enough to draw unwanted attention.
"If you can hear my voice, say something," I added.
Please.
I wouldn’t forgive myself if something happened to her. As her House Alpha, it was my responsibility to protect her — an unspoken rule. Beyond that, our relationship had been slowly getting back on track. It wasn’t like before, but the bond between us was still there.
The same bond that had seemed to vanish the moment we broke up.
"Elyse," I called again, a little louder this time.
"Elliott?" a voice called back.
I stopped. "Elyse?"
"Elliott!" she answered.
I frowned. Her voice sounded strange, higher than usual, almost strained.
I started toward the direction of the voice, pressing my back against the wall. My hand slipped into my blazer pocket, fingers curling tightly around the pocket knife.
"Elyse?" I called again.
She didn’t respond right away. Footsteps drew closer. With every step, I slowly drew the knife out, ready to strike.
"If you can hear me, answer me right now, Elyse," I murmured.
"Elliott..."
The voice reached me before the scent did. I already knew. I stepped around the corner, knife stretched out in front of me.
"Whoa!" Lance laughed, raising both hands. "That’s some sharp-looking knife."
"Really?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
Lance continued laughing, completely ignoring the direness of the situation.
"You think this is funny?!" I snapped.
"I think it’s funny you can’t discern what’s real and what’s not," he replied. "You’re an Alpha. You should be able to."
"What did you find?" I asked, ignoring the jab.
Lance exhaled, his expression turning serious. "Nothing serious. Just a bunch of students huddled in one classroom waiting for the next announcement."
"And Elyse?"
He shook his head.
I shoved my fingers through my hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I couldn’t find her either."
"Where the hell did she go?" Lance asked the same question burning in my mind.
I thought of every possible place she could be, but nothing came to mind. Verah said she had gone to school, so she should be here.
"Maybe," Lance interrupted my thoughts, "we should try tracking her scent."
That was a good idea. Much better than searching blindly.
I opened my mouth to agree when a sharp crackle split the air, followed by a low rumble that shook the walls of the building.
Lance and I exchanged a quick glance. Without another word, we darted toward the entrance.
As if the sky itself knew what we were planning, it opened up. Heavy rain suddenly poured down in sheets, accompanied by a violent blast of wind.
"Shit!" Lance gritted his teeth as the door slammed shut behind us. "This is bad."
"Very," I muttered.
Now we couldn’t use her scent anymore. The rain would wash everything away.
