72 yton: Her Identity


    <i>CLAYTON</i>


    The hospital holds too many memories, and my wolf snarls and whines as it tries in desperation to sniff out any hint of Ava’s scent when we arrive.


    There’s nothing, of course. Just the smell of the injured, the sickly, and disinfectant.


    Ivy’s room is in our family wing on the top floor, and I head straight there, unable to even look at the button for floor 12.


    Ava’s floor.


    <i>Mate</i><i>, </i>my wolf whines, and I wonder how much worse this would be if we had a fated connection instead of a chosen one. Lucas‘ single–minded determination has never made more sense to me than now, as we’ve spent over a week searching for any hint of the men who took Ava.


    Someone had covered their tracks. Every airline, every taxipany, every rideshare, every car rental–their systems were hacked and wiped, so we can’t even


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    72 yton: Her Identity


    ascertain how she left.


    Air? Car? Even the trains were messed up for a while as they had to go through tickets by hand to verify


    passengers.


    There are no security cameras we can rely on. Everything in the city was wiped. <i>Everything</i>.


    I can’t imagine what level of influence is needed to take down all of these things in a major city. It’s beyond any single pack in the Northwestern Territories.


    Was she taken by someone outside of them? But who, and why?


    There are no answers to be found.


    I settle into a chair beside Ivy’s bedside. The natural healing abilities of every wolf are varied in strength, and Ivy’s are so low that she heals almost at the rate of


    a normal human.


    Thanks to the medication in her veins, she sleeps in peace. All of her tests areing back with positive signs of recovery.


    If I could find the bastards who did this to her, it


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    would be even better.


    I cradle Ava’s phone in my palm, running my thumb over the smooth surface. The screen remains dark and lifeless. My jaw clenches as I stare at the pitiful list of contacts–just my number and Ivy’s.


    As an alpha, I should have pushed harder, gotten the information I needed. It was obvious in Ava’s


    evasiveness and refusal to divulge personal details, the way she dodged questions about her family, that she was running from something. I let it slide because I was too focused on her heat, and then on keeping her here without scaring her off.


    Now, I don’t even know herst name, and she’s missing. Taken from beneath my nose in a ce she should have been safe–the very heart of my pack


    My wolf whines, sensing my turmoil, and I force myself to take a deep breath, reining in the torrent of


    emotions.


    The burner phone she’d left behind is our only lead, our sole connection to Ava’s past. She must have bought it when she was shopping with Rowan. Smart


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    girl. Too bad she was smart enough to lock it, too.


    We have no one capable of hacking into it or the high–level skills required to ovee everything the abductors had wrought in their wake. A mistake I won’t repeat.


    My grip tightens around the phone. The pack’s technology will rise. No more relying on outside resources when our security is at stake. I need to hire more experienced IT personnel, individuals with the skills to navigate the digitalndscape.


    Humans have them in droves, but few are willing to


    work with the shifters, even in our cautious alliance-


    as if thest remaining bastion of humanity’s


    supremacy will be enough to save them from the takeover they imagine.


    Meanwhile, very few packs think of dominating this world, knowing the humans existence betters all of our lives. Without their numbers, their talents, and their sheer work force, our societies would regress at an rming rate.


    There is no good thing toe from a world without


    humans.


    72 yton: Her Identity


    A soft knock on the door breaks me from my reverie, and I look up to see Rowan’s concerned gaze. My beta has been a steadfast pir of support throughout this ordeal, his calm demeanor a balm to my frayed nerves.


    “Any news?” he asks, stepping into the room.


    I shake my head, forcing the words past the lump in my throat. “Not yet. I’m still waiting for the results from the burner phone.”


    Rowan’s brow furrows. “You sent it outst week. Why


    don’t they know yet?”


    I shrug. I can’t admit that most of the technical jargon is over my head. I’m not even sure they’re making it the priority they said they would.


    “Westwood is attacking tonight. He’s forwarded all the evidence they’ve gathered against ckwood. They brought in an Unregisteredst night.”


    Shit. I’d forgotten all about that situation.


    “Send some of ours to Westwood in case they need


    reinforcements.”


    “It’ll be toote by the time they arrive,” Rowan


    cautions.


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    I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. Knowing Xavier, he’s already helping. ckwood doesn’t have a fighting chance at head–onbat, but Lucas will need


    manpower after they take over the territory, keeping the peace until the Council decides what to do with it.”


    “Understood.” Rowan types something on his phone, quickly sending out whatever orders will get the job done.


    I squeeze the bridge of my nose in frustration, feeling a headache settle behind my eyes. “Still nothing on the security cameras?”


    “Nothing,” he confirms, just as his phone beeps.


    Where are you,


    are you, Ava?


    Who were you running from?


    “Lucas? We have a lead…” The cautious note in


    Rowan’s words should have warned me.


    I vault out of my chair, snatching his phone, my gaze fixed on the image before me. There she is,


    unmistakable with her dark blonde hair and striking blue eyes. They’ve haunted my dreams since the day she disappeared. Ava, alive and well, captured on


    anmaro walking through an unfamiliar airnort


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    72 yton: Her Identity:


    terminal.


    The date stamp confirms my worst fears–the very day she vanished from the Aspen Packnds.


    My breath catches in my throat as I take in the details, my blood running cold when I recognize the man beside her. Phoenix Grey has his hand on the small of her back, guiding her through the crowds.


    Why?


    I force myself to study the image again,mitting every detail to memory.


    “Where was this taken?” I growl, my voice a low rumble as I struggle to contain the wolf wing at my insides, desperate to give chase. <i>Mate</i>! They have <i>our </i>mate<i>!</i>Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    <i>War</i><i>!</i>


    Rowan’s expression is grim. “White Peak International Airport. They must have flown her out immediately after taking her from the city.”


    They.


    The ckwood Pack.


    Again, why? Why target my mate?


    72 yton: Her Identity


    Pieces start falling into ce, each one more damning than thest. Ava’s reluctance to share details about


    herself, her refusal to contact anyone in her family or any friends.


    The memory of her scent the day I met her shes. through my mind once more–fear, distress, and something else. Something I couldn’t quite ce at the time, but now recognize as desperation.


    She was trying to run. Once she realized we were shifters, too, she felt panic instead of reassurance.


    A sudden, horrifying thought urs to me, and I feel as though the ground has fallen away beneath my feet. “Rowan,” I rasp, my voice barely above a whisper. “What was the name of Lucas‘ mate?”


    –“Ava Grey, sir.” He sounds strangled as he gives the


    words he knows I won’t want to hear.


    Ava Grey.


    Phoenix Grey’s younger sister.


    Phoenix, who’s standing next to my Ava.


    The world tilts on its axis as the implications sink in. Ava Grey, daughter of Alexander Grey, the beta of the


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    72 yton: Her Identity


    ckwood Pack. The same Ava that Lucas has been


    searching for, his fated mate torn from his grasp by


    unknown forces.


    My mate is Lucas Westwood’s fated mate.


    The realization is like a physical blow, stealing the breath from my lungs. How is this possible?


    Unbidden, memories of our time together sh through my mind–the searing heat of her touch, the softness of her lips, the way her body molded perfectly against mine. Moments I treasured, now tainted by the knowledge that she belongs to another.


    Lucas. My ally, my friend.


    Bile rises in my throat as guilt and shame war within me. I’ve betrayed him in the most fundamental way, even if it was unintentional. The bond I want with Ava, though chosen, is real….


    Yet she is not mine.


    Rowan’s voice cuts through the maelstrom of emotions swirling within me. “Sir, what are your orders? Do we


    still send our men to ckwood?”


    I force myself to take a steadying breath, tamping


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    down the turmoil raging inside me. Now is not the time for personal struggles–Ava’s safety is paramount.


    “Yes,” I say, and my voice is rougher than intended. “We must be there for our allies. I’ll go in person.”


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    yton, you <i>break </i><i>my </i>heart<i>.</i>


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