The forest should not have been this quiet.
Seraiya stood at the edge of the northern ridge, the wind tugging at her hair as she stared into the dense stretch of trees below. Her pack was scattered across the territory, their howls echoing through the mountains as they searched. Every few minutes, another voice chimed in over the mind-link — Nothing here. No scent. No trace.
Every report tightened the knot in her chest.
Maddie had been missing for six hours.
Six hours too long.
Zack approached from behind, his footsteps soft but unmistakable. "Still nothing?"
Seraiya didn't turn. "Nothing. Not even a whisper of her scent."
Kyra joined them, her expression grim. "We've checked the riverbanks, the old tunnels, the abandoned farms. If she were anywhere on pack land, we'd know."
Seraiya closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. She could feel the magic humming beneath her skin, restless and agitated. She had tried every tracking spell she knew — even the ones she swore she'd never use again — but each attempt fizzled out, dissolving into static.
It made no sense.
Maddie wasn't powerful enough to hide herself. Someone else had to be masking her.
Someone skilled.
Someone dangerous.
Behind them, a twig snapped. Daemon — her father — stepped out from the trees, brushing leaves from his coat like he'd merely been out for a stroll instead of participating in a frantic search for a missing child.
"Well," he said, voice annoyingly casual, "she's not in the west woods."
Seraiya glared at him. "I know. I checked there myself."
Daemon shrugged. "Then why ask me to look?"
"Because you're supposed to be helping," she snapped.
"I am helping," he replied, though his tone suggested he wasn't particularly invested in the outcome. "Just not very effectively."
Zack shot him a look. "You think?"
Daemon ignored him.
Seraiya turned away, her hands trembling. She pressed her palms together, whispering another spell under her breath. A faint golden thread of magic flickered between her fingers — then sputtered out like a dying ember.
Kyra stepped closer. "Seraiya… you're exhausting yourself."
"I don't care," she said, voice cracking. "She's twelve. She's terrified. And she's out there with—"
She stopped herself. She didn't know who Maddie was with. That was the problem.
Zack placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find her."
Seraiya shook her head. "I should have sensed something. I should have felt it when she left the territory."
"Your an alpha of one of the largest packs in Europe, even if you were busy doing something else and not talking with your father there is no way you could have known," Kyra reminded her gently. "You can't be everywhere at once."
"But I'm her protector," Seraiya whispered. "I promised her she'd be safe here."
The guilt pressed down on her like a physical weight.
A sudden rustle of leaves signaled another wolf approaching. Kyle shifted back into human form, breathless and mud-streaked.
"Alpha," he said, bowing his head. "We found footprints near the southern border. Small ones. Could be Maddie's."
Seraiya's heart lurched. "Show me."
They followed Kyle through the trees until they reached a patch of disturbed earth near the old stone wall. The prints were faint but unmistakable — small, hurried, and accompanied by larger ones.
Zack crouched beside them. "Two sets. One adult, one child."
Kyra frowned. "But the adult prints… they're too clean. Too deliberate."
Seraiya knelt, brushing her fingers over the soil. The moment she touched it, a jolt of magic shot up her arm — foreign, sharp, and unmistakably intentional.
A masking spell.
Someone had covered their tracks.
Her stomach twisted.
"Whoever took her knew exactly what they were doing," she murmured.
Daemon leaned against a tree, arms crossed. "Plenty of witches could do that."
"Not like this," Seraiya said. "This spell is layered. Complex. It's not just hiding Maddie's trail — it's hiding the caster's identity."
Zack stood. "So what now?"
Seraiya rose slowly, her eyes scanning the forest. "If I can't track Maddie… maybe I can track the person who took her."
She closed her eyes again, reaching deep into her magic. She pictured Maddie's face — her bright eyes, her nervous smile, the way she clung to Seraiya's arm when she felt unsafe. She pushed her magic outward, searching for any thread that connected them.
Nothing.
She tried again, this time focusing on the kidnapper. Whoever they were, they touched Maddie.she didn't know if they Held her. Dragged her away, or even if she went willingly but she knew Maddie wasn't safe.
Still nothing.
Her magic hit a wall — a barrier so strong it felt like slamming into stone.
Seraiya's eyes snapped open. "This isn't just a masking spell. Someone is actively blocking me."
Kyra's expression darkened. "Who would even be strong enough? there aren't many who can out power a hybrid there are far less who can out power a tribrid"
Daemon snorted. "Plenty of people."
Seraiya ignored him. She tried again, this time reaching for a different connection — one she hadn't wanted to consider.
Her brother.
Damien.
She whispered his name under her breath, letting her magic stretch toward him like a thread seeking its anchor.
But the moment she reached for him, the same barrier slammed into her magic, harder this time. It knocked the breath from her lungs, forcing her to take a step back.
Zack caught her arm. "Seraiya!"
She steadied herself, heart pounding. "I can't find him."
Kyra's eyes widened. "You mean—"
"I can't find Damien," Seraiya repeated, voice hollow. "He's blocking me too."
Daemon finally straightened, his expression shifting from bored to alert. "That's… concerning."
Seraiya's pulse thundered in her ears. She tried again, pushing harder, reaching deeper — but the barrier only grew stronger, colder, more deliberate.
Damien didn't want to be found.
And if he didn't want to be found…
Her breath caught.
"Seraiya?" Zack asked quietly. "What is it?"
She looked at the footprints again. The masking spell. The deliberate trail. The silence in the territory.
It all clicked into place.
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
"Damien took her."
The forest seemed to exhale around them — a shift in the air, a ripple of dread.
Kyra stepped closer. "Are you sure?"
Seraiya nodded slowly, her throat tight. "He's the only one I can think of who could possibly block me like that. one of the few who knows how to hide from me. The only one reckless enough to take Maddie."
Zack cursed under his breath. "Why would he take a child?"
Seraiya swallowed hard. "Because he thinks she's the key to becoming the tribrid."
Daemon's expression darkened. "If that's true… then Maddie is in more danger than we thought."
Seraiya clenched her fists, her magic sparking at her fingertips. "I'm going after him."
Zack stepped in front of her. "Seraiya, wait—"
"No," she said, her voice low and fierce. "He took a child under my protection. He crossed a line he can't come back from."
Kyra placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll go with you."
Seraiya shook her head. "No. I need you here. Keep searching. Keep the pack alert. If Damien has allies, they might try something else."
Zack frowned. "And what are you going to do?"
Seraiya looked toward the mountains — toward the direction she knew Damien would run.
"I'm going to find my brother," she said. "And I'm going to bring Maddie home."
The wind picked up, carrying her words through the trees like a promise — or a warning.
Either way, Seraiya meant every syllable.
TO BE CONTINUED