“Alright, this <b>is </b>weird,” Nina said. “<b>It’s </b>your wedding night and yet he… why the heck would he leave you alone after all that beautiful, romantic wedding?<b>” </b>


    Emery shook her head. She stared at the empty yet beautifully decorated king–size bed a few feet away from them. <b>“</b><b>It </b>was an emergency.”


    “What could be more important than spending his time with his wife after his damn wedding? And what kind of business people would actually disturb him knowing he was having a wedding?” she asked.


    Emery shook her head again, but this time, she said nothing. It was because she really didn’t know what kind of emergency it was. All she knew was that he seemed to be in a hurry.


    Nina dropped onto the edge of the bed and crossed her arms. “This is why I don’t trust rich people. They always prioritize business. Even on their wedding night.”


    Emery didn’t respond. She just sat there, still staring at the space where Logan should have been.


    “I’m serious,” Nina went on. “You better remind him that he married you. Not some damn board of directors or mystery job. Youe first now. Not some emergency. Besides, you are pregnant. How could he leave you alone just like that?”


    Emery still said nothing.


    Nina scoffed. “Let me guess–you’re going to defend him again?”


    Emery didn’t look at her. She thought about the howling she heard near theke. Logan had said it wasn’t normal. That shouldn’t be happening. But she didn’t know what to make of it. She hadn’t heard anything since, and part of her wondered if she’d imagined it. Still, it didn’t feel right. But that wasn’t proof. Just a feeling. She didn’t even know if the emergency had anything to do with it.


    Nina stood up and began to pace. “We’re leaving tomorrow, you know that, right? Your family got the early flight. And I just–I don’t like the idea <b>of </b>you stuck here alone. In this big castle. With a man who disappears just like that.”


    “Logan’s not going to do that,” Emery said. She wasn’t sure why she was defending him. It wasn’t like she felt anything beyond mild irritation that he left. She wasn’t upset. Or sad. Why would she be? Their agreement had been clear from the beginning. They would y the part of husband and wife–but that didn’t mean they had to care about each other. Not really,


    Nina turned. “How do you know that?”


    Emery opened her mouth but couldn’t find an answer.


    Nina raised an eyebrow, “Exactly.”


    Emery looked away.


    <b>12:33 </b>Thu<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>11 </b>B


    <b>42 </b>


    55 vouchers


    Logan moved fast through the forest, <b>his </b>paws cutting across damp earth and underbrush. The others nked him on both sides, their forms shifting between the trees like shadows. The night air was cold, filled with the scent of pine and wet moss<b>. </b>Branches snapped beneath their weight as they kept pace, the pack moving as


    one.


    He didn’t think about the wedding. Not now. His mind was locked on the call that dragged him out here. A second kill, Calisto had said. Another rogue was found dead.


    When they reached the ridge, Logan slowed. The others followed his lead and stopped near the treeline. One by one, they shifted back to human form. Logan was thest. His body twisted and reformed, fur giving way to skin. Within moments, he stood upright, his breathing steady.


    They were far miles from the castle. The vineyard was nowhere in sight. Only cliffs<b>, </b>sharp drops, and endless


    trees<b>. </b>


    The body was on the edge of the cliff, copsed near the roots of a nted pine. Logan walked forward, the ground beneath him damp and uneven. He stopped a few feet from the boy.


    Young. Barely sixteen, by the look of him. His skin was pale, lips blue. The human form, not wolf. No blood on the ground. No torn clothes. No signs of a fight.


    Fresh.


    Calisto stepped closer and crouched beside the body. “Second one this week.”


    Logan didn’t answer. His eyes stayed on the boy.


    “New rogue,” Calisto added. “Not marked. No scent of a pack. Just transformed recently, based on the healing lines on his wrists and forearms<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    Behind them<b>, </b>someone scoffed. “Rogues die every week.”


    Logan turned slightly. It was Dalen–one of the trackers.


    “That’s what happens,” Dalen went on. “No pack means no protection. Out here, that’s a death sentence. It’s not our job to babysit every mutt that refuses to follow rules.”


    Calisto stood and looked over his shoulder. “I didn’t bring him here because of the death.”


    He moved closer to the body and rolled it carefully onto its stomach. The skin along the boy’s back had been carved. No blood, but the message was clear.


    Logan took a step forward.


    Carved into the skin: Congrattions, Your Highness.


    It wasn’t deep. Just enough to mark. The edges had dried. It was done after death.


    “We checked the area, Calisto said. “No other scent. No trace of another wolf. No blood trail. No sign of struggle. Nothing”


    <b>12:33 </b>Thu, Sep 11 B


    :


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    “That’s not possible,” Dalen said, frowning as he scanned the treeline again. “Even if they brought the body here, there should be something. A scent. A trail. Broken branches. Footprints. Anything.”


    “I’m telling you what we found,” Calisto said. “There’s nothing. No trace. No sign of another wolf. It’s like the kid dropped from the sky.”


    “Like a damn helicopter?” another muttered from behind.


    Calisto didn’t respond right away. He looked up at the open sky. Clear. Quiet. “No aircraft reported. We checked. No sound, no visual. And with the security lockdown for the wedding?” He shook his head. “Nothing gets in without being gged. Air or ground.”


    Logan moved closer to the edge, eyes still on the carved words. Congrattions, Your Highness. His <b>jaw </b>locked.


    “He wasn’t killed here,” said Therin, crouching beside the body now. “No struggle. No defensive wounds. No blood anywhere.”


    Calisto nodded once. “Exactly. He was killed elsewhere. And dumped here.”


    “But how?” Dalen asked. “This area’s crawling with security. Patrols. Scanners. Even the outer perimeter’s on lockdown tonight. We would’ve caught movement. Something.”


    Calisto crouched again, pointing to the body’s position. “There’s no drag marks. No footsteps in or out. The ground hasn’t been disturbed around him. No scent of anyone else. It’s like they just dropped him here–and vanished.”


    Silence fell over them.


    “It doesn’t make sense,” Dalen muttered.


    “That’s the point,” Calisto said. “It’s not supposed to make sense. They wanted it like this. Clean. Precise. We weren’t meant to find a lead. Just a message.”


    Logan stood still, eyes fixed on the boy’s back. His knuckles whitened.


    “Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing,” Calisto continued. “They knew where the patrols were. Knew when the shifts changed. Knew we’d find the body eventually–and who would see it first.”


    “They knew about the wedding,” Therin said quietly.


    “They timed it with the wedding,” Calisto replied. “When your focus would be elsewhere.”


    Logan didn’t answer. His gaze hadn’t moved. The message carved on the boy’s back was small, but it burned like it was etched in fire.


    “This wasn’t random,” Calisto said. “It was personal.”


    Logan turned atst. “Bring the body to Gregor. Ask him to find anything about the boy and his whereabouts before the wedding”


    12:33 Thu, Sep 11 <b>B </b>


    Calisto par a shon <b>nod </b>


    50 vouchers


    Ingan walked back toward the trees. He didn’t shift right away this time. He just kept moving, his back to the cliff, the cold wind behind him. The others followed in silence.