It had been almost two days since Lucien had seen Ryenne and he missed her with his entire body. He physically hurt from her absence. Walking out on her had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done, but it had been necessary.

He knew what she was going through. The urges, the unfamiliarity, all the stimuli. And he’d tried to help her through it all. But he couldn’t watch her flirt with the cops a minute longer.

He had known leaving would be a risk. That he could lose her, either temporarily or permanently, but he couldn’t watch anymore. He’d needed to take the risk.

And he hoped they could get past it when her urges calmed down.

This silence from her, however, was uncharacteristic. He’d given her some space, knowing she was angry. But enough was enough.

As soon as he’d peeked in on Willow and assured himself of her safety, he would call Ryenne.

He finished his tour of the perimeter and headed up the stairs. This way, he could poke his head onto every floor and make sure everything felt right. But an unease filled him as soon as he entered the stairwell. It didn’t smell any different so he couldn’t say where the unease was coming from. But the feeling grew stronger as he climbed.

On the tenth floor, Willow’s floor, the unease turned to dread. He smelled lion and wolves.

He sprinted to Willow’s room, flying past orderlies and nurses, patients holding IV stands, visitors with annoyance, sadness, or confusion on their faces. Lucien ignored them all, his focus on one thing.

Willow’s safety.

He sensed the emptiness from the corridor outside her room. He burst in. Her bed was empty, the sheets rumpled and falling to the floor.

A groan stopped Lucien from sprinting into the hall to search for Willow. The shifter smell was still strong. They couldn’t have gotten far.

Gavin sat up from where he’d sprawled on the far side of the bed. He held his head and blinked several times.

“What happened?” Lucien asked.

Gavin seemed to notice him for the first time. “Go!” he yelled. “Go after her. Three rogues. Two men and a woman.”

Lucien hesitated. “But you’re...”

Gavin bored a hole through Lucien with his eyes. “Get her back.”

Lucien turned to leave as Nakamura entered the room.

“Thank goodness,” Lucien breathed. “Call Scotty and Nick!” And he dashed off, running in the opposite direction from which he’d come. He hadn’t encountered them on his way from the stairs on the west side of the building.

The staff elevator.

Lucien put on a burst of speed. He smelled them in front of the elevator which was still heading down. The indicator showed they weren’t yet to the first floor. He took the nearby east side stairs and flew down, barely touching each tread.

As he went, he thought about the rogues’ likely exit. They couldn’t just drag a patient in a hospital gown out through the front lobby. There was security there. Someone would stop them. They hadn’t had time to force her into street clothes, so he didn’t stop in the lobby.

He kept descending the stairs until he reached the parking garage. He wanted to burst through with speed and power, but they would hear him and he wanted the element of surprise.

His prudence paid off. On the far side of the garage, two men and a woman walked with Willow toward a dark van. He’d been wrong about the time they’d had. Willow wore sandals and some kind of long sundress. Although they were hurrying her along, they were being gentle with her.

A few steps from the car, Willow turned her head and locked eyes with Lucien. She immediately turned away.

“So, you’re going to take me to my daughter?” she asked.

“Yes,” one of the men said, a large man with dark skin. He was the source of the lion smell. His voice was gruff but he offered Willow a hand to help her into the back of the van. He wasn’t rough, he didn’t push. Such odd behavior for Fangs. It went beyond the fact that Willow was cooperating so she could see her daughter.

Her daughter.

Ryenne.

Did the Fangs have Ryenne, too? It would explain why no one had heard from her. They had thought she was just angry and needed time to cool off. He had hoped she wouldn’t find comfort in the arms of another. She had every right to, since he had walked away from her and wouldn’t listen to any of her apologies.

If they hurt Ryenne or Willow, he would tear them all to pieces. He wouldn’t stop hunting them until he’d killed every last one.

Lucien ducked down behind a car and waited until the van left the garage. He watched to see which way it turned before dashing out of the garage after it. He put on his bluetooth speakers and calmly walked in the same direction. At least, he looked calm on the outside, but inside, a million questions swirled around his brain.

First, he called Gavin. “Hey, how are you?”

“Fine. Did you find her?” Gavin’s voice was rushed and strained.

“Yeah. They told her they would bring her to Ryenne.”

“What?”

“Have you heard from Ryenne today?” Lucien asked. “Is it just a ruse or do they really have her?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her. Where’s Willow now?”

“They’ve got her in the back of a van heading down Eighth Avenue. I’m following on foot.”

“Let me try calling Ryenne and I’ll call you back,” Gavin suggested.

Lucien hung up and picked up his pace. He didn’t want to lose the van but he also didn’t want to give away his position or that he was a shifter to the pedestrians around him. If he were wearing exercise gear, he could’ve gotten away with jogging. As it was, he’d just have to keep as close an eye as possible on that van.

Gavin called back too quickly. “She isn’t picking up. Maybe she’s still mad at me but will answer for you.”

“All right, hang on, I’ll text her.” Without hanging up on Gavin, he sent Ryenne a quick text.

LUCIEN: Please tell us where you are

“All right, we’ll see if we hear back. And you, are you really okay?”

“They threw me into the wall and knocked the wind out of me so I couldn’t move,” Gavin said. “But I’m okay. Taylor has taken care of me.”

Lucien nodded even though he knew Gavin couldn’t see him. He was glad Gavin had Taylor in his life, even if Ryenne was suspicious. In her newly-turned state, it was natural for her to be overwhelmed by senses and to feel suspicion when there was no cause.

But Lucien was a seasoned shifter and he had no reason to suspect Taylor of being a Fang or a rogue.

“They’re turning down a side street,” Lucien told Gavin. “I need to jog to catch up so I don’t lose them. I’ll text you when I have a location.”

He turned the corner in time to see the van disappear into an underground garage at the other end of the block. Even at this distance he recognized the building made mostly of glass and steel. It was Lord Enterprise’s headquarters.

He was surprised. After the bodies found near the South Street Seaport, Lucien assumed the Fang side of Lord Enterprises would work out of some dilapidated warehouse downtown. He didn’t know what to make of this turn of events. At least they were treating Willow well and weren’t bringing her to some dirty hellhole.

Ryenne had tried to infiltrate this building a while ago and hadn’t found a way in. How was he going to get in?

He texted his location to Gavin.

LUCIEN: Bring the cavalry.