Aidan.

I moved the instant the report reached me, my body reacting before my mind could even catch up. The urgency in the guard’s voice had been enough to send a jolt through me, sharp and immediate, pushing me forward with a speed that bordered on recklessness. My thoughts raced just as fast as my steps.

Who would dare?

Who would have the nerve to set my pack on fire?

The question burned hotter than the imagined flames themselves, anger and disbelief tangling inside me as I closed the distance. My chest tightened with every second that passed, anticipation clawing at me, preparing me for chaos... for destruction.

But when I got there—nothing.

Everything stood exactly as it should.

The buildings were intact. The air was still. No smoke. No fire. No panic.

Normal.

Too normal.

I slowed, my brows pulling together as my gaze swept across the area again, more carefully this time, as though the truth might reveal itself if I looked hard enough. But there was nothing out of place, nothing that justified the urgency I had just responded to.

A frown settled on my face as I turned sharply, ready to question the guard who had delivered the message.

But he was gone.

Gone... as if he had never been there.

My jaw tightened.

Why would he give a false alarm?

The thought sat uneasily in my chest, suspicion beginning to creep in where relief should have been. I wasn’t the only one who felt it.

I glanced at Damien, and the look on his face mirrored mine perfectly—confusion laced with irritation, both of us silently arriving at the same conclusion without needing to say a word.

"Can you imagine?" Damien finally said, his voice carrying the same disbelief I felt as his eyes met mine.

I shook my head slowly, exhaling under my breath. Even though everything was in order, even though there was no fire, no damage, no immediate threat... something still didn’t feel right.

"Where is Davian?" I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it.

Damien’s expression shifted instantly as he turned to look around, just as I did.

My heart skipped.

We had all come together.

So how did he fall behind?

A flicker of unease sparked inside me, small at first but growing quickly with every second that passed without an answer. The silence suddenly felt heavier, pressing in around us.

Without another word, Damien and I turned back at the same time, our steps quick and purposeful as we retraced our path. The tension in my chest tightened, each step feeding the growing sense that something was wrong—terribly wrong.

We hadn’t gone far.

Not far at all.

And then we saw them.

Adrein and Davian.

They were ahead of us, gripping Maria tightly—one on each side—as she fought against them with everything she had. Her movements were frantic, desperate, her body twisting as she struggled to break free from their grasp.

"What exactly is going on here?" I demanded, my voice cutting through the chaos as I stepped forward.

Maria’s head snapped in my direction immediately, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Tell them to get their hands off me!" she screamed at the top of her voice, her words sharp and filled with raw defiance as she continued to struggle against them.

"No, we won’t!" Davian and Adrein echoed at the same time, their voices firm, unyielding, leaving no room for argument.

Maria struggled harder at their refusal, her body twisting between them as if sheer force alone could break their grip. Panic radiated from her in waves, raw and uncontrollable, filling the space around us with a tension that was impossible to ignore.

"Can you calm down, Maria? We will sort it out!" Adrein said, his tone softer this time, almost pleading as he tried to steady her.

But nothing about her suggested calm.

If anything, his words only made it worse.

What exactly was going on?

"Calm?" Maria’s voice cracked as she repeated the word, her eyes widening in disbelief. "How exactly do you expect me to be calm?" she demanded, her breathing uneven, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Just let me go... please."

The last word came out broken.

Tears streamed down her face instantly, as though they had been waiting just beneath the surface, threatening to spill at the slightest push. They traced down her cheeks without restraint, her desperation laid bare for all of us to see.

"We need to think, Maria," Davian said, his voice quieter, steadier, yet no less firm.

His grip on her didn’t loosen, but his gaze softened as he looked at her, something almost tender flickering in his eyes.

"Acting on impulse would only lead to further danger."

But she wasn’t listening.

Or perhaps she couldn’t.

"Wait?" she shot back, her voice rising again, shaking with emotion. "You expect me to wait?" She let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh, though it was quickly swallowed by the weight of her fear. "Do you realize that every single minute we spend doing nothing, the more danger Noah is likely to face?"

Her words hit harder than anything else.

The name alone was enough to make something inside me shift.

"What?" I found myself asking, the confusion spilling out before I could stop it. My brows drew together as I stepped forward, my gaze moving rapidly between them. "How is Noah in danger? Wasn’t he with us just now?"

Everything had been normal.

And now this?

"He was..." Adrein began, but his voice faltered, trailing off as if the rest of his words refused to come out.

That alone was enough to tell me this wasn’t something small.

Not something simple.

The silence that followed his unfinished sentence spoke louder than any explanation could have. It pressed in around us, heavy and suffocating, filled with everything he wasn’t saying.

But why?

My thoughts began to spiral, connecting pieces that refused to stay still. Nothing about today had made sense,it all connects back— from the moment that arrow had been shot, to Maria’s sudden disappearance, to the false alarm that had dragged us away, and now...Noah being kidnapped.

Who exactly was behind all this?

The pattern was too deliberate. Too calculated. Every move felt planned, each step designed to distract, divide, and weaken us.

And then it clicked.

Patricia. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The name settled in my mind like a storm about to break, dark and unavoidable.

She got a lot of explaining to do.