Chapter 52

Cirilla's Point Of View

I breathed in the scent of the coffee in my hands, loving the way the hotness seeped from the mug into my palms, working wonders in my body.

I heaved another umpteenth sigh like I've done in the last hour, rubbing a thumb on the small moon surrounded by ruby stones on my necklace, forcing myself to think about anything but Asher.

But it wasn't working.

I was worried. He should have gotten my letter by now. What the hell was going on?

I shut my eyes, weighing on my decision. At this point I didn't know which would be better, to push through with my journey to New Orleans, or to head back to Oregon. To be sure Asher was all alright.

I groaned, unable to decide. If the Council or Mason hadn't attacked Asher's pack yet, I could be placing the pack in danger if I suddenly showed up. At least not knowing the full truth yet.

That witch had told me the Alpha King would help. That I could trust him. And more importantly, he had answers to every question.

I felt something heavy weighing on my chest, forcing me from my statuesque position, and a hand dropped on the kitchen cabinet and eyes dropped from the clear morning view of the woods from inside the house.

I breathed out. My breathing was deep. Shuddering. Causing my heart to skip a double beat in a second.

I haven't been able to think straight since last night. A drunk Kali and I returned hours past the peak of midnight. I wasn't able to drill every answer out of her before she passed out, but the little insight she had shared mutilated every ounce of sleep I could have gotten. Not with my loud thoughts prodding for answers. Demanding them.

I couldn't get much from Kali, other than that he controlled the Crescent Moon Pack and the Crescent Coven of vampires in New Orleans.

I sucked in some air. He was a fucking hybrid. A powerful, terrifying one at that. Feared by all. And Dangerous enough to leave me second guessing if seeking him out was the smart choice, but I reminded myself I fucking had to.

"Morning," I swerved around at Kali's voice as she dragged her feet into the kitchen with a groan on her lips and both hands on her head as if wanting to quell the raging storm inside of her.

"Morning," I pulled out a mug, pouring in some coffee for her.

"I hate hangovers. I wish I could brew myself some of my wonder-working potions right now," She slumped on a chair.

"This should help. It isn't your wonder-working potion but it might help," I slid the mug over to her.

"I love you," As she sipped from her mug, I took the opportunity to plant myself in the chair before her. "From the look of your face, I'm betting you didn't sleep a wink,"

How could I? "Nope," I drank from my coffee. "I couldn't when I didn't know half of what you found out last night,"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I haven't always been able to handle my drinks," She leaned forward into serious mode. "From what I gathered, your Alpha King would most probably be in New Orleans. That's if he isn't hunting or killing anyone," She bit the last words in humor.

But it wasn't funny at all.

I quirked my brows. "What else?" I was eager to dive into the main subject. Something the witch last night had told me and Kali had mentioned it as well in her sleep. His daughter.

"I have a feeling you know what you are doing, but if there's a chance to turn back, it's now. Even if you get to New Orleans, and find his pack. It won't be easy getting in. It's not usually common for a witch to pop in seeking an audience with the King of Wolves. They are fucking royals, Cirilla. He's not just anyone and I doubt if he'll have time for you, especially with the madness going on. He'll be in the worst of moods, making you a potential next witch victim,"

"What madness is going on?" I had to know everything about him.

She leaned in, lowering her voice as if she was about to tell me the devil's secret. "Something big is happening. It's got everyone talking and scared," She started and I straightened up immediately. "There's word about some kind of prophecy spreading about and it has to do with your Alpha King,"

I ignored the way she kept saying 'your Alpha King' and focused on the throbbing in my chest.

I couldn't dare form a word, not if I didn't want the sudden emotion stalking my throat from betraying me.

Thankfully, Kali was kind enough to provide more insight. "I don't know much details about the prophecy but it has to do with the lost Crescent princess,"

I was unmoving. I couldn't even get air in my lungs, nor quieten my raging heartbeat as the main subject I was dying to hear about was almost laid before me.

"I bet you didn't know he had a daughter," She chuckled. "She has been missing for a long time. Another long story. But even when everyone thought she was dead, they never stopped searching for her and now it seems the entire supernatural realm is searching for her because of this prophecy," She paused to gulp down her coffee. "It's bad from how everyone I asked reacted. She's the devil that supposedly would come from hell to end us all," She released throaty chuckles that lasted for endless seconds.

"What else do you know about her?" I couldn't fight the cold that skittered down my bones as Kali peered up from the lip of her mug to catch a glance at my face.

"Uhm… Well, she's just like her parents. I meant that in every sense. She's a Tribrid,"

Her words made another round of cold march down my skin.

"She's been missing like forever. Stolen—" She corrected. "— By a scorned lover before she was born. If I remember correctly. It was a serious dark magic that broke them all. Including his mate,"

My heart tightened. Burned. I wanted to know more. I had to. It was bringing me closer and closer to something. Something that deep down I had begun to suspect the possibility. The fucking possibility.

"And," I prodded, mindlessly.

"Uhm… I heard of a brother," The burn in my heart flipped, setting the rest of my insides in flames in contrast to the cold, ravaging my spine. "I don't know much," Her deep dark eyes were on me. "So what is the plan? Still finding him, or fleeing?"

Fleeing was never an option. Not with what I know. What I think I know. But everything is just a suspicion if I don't find him. But deep down I couldn't deny the fear that pinched its way into my heart.

I was up from my chair, dropping my mug on the sink. "I'm going to New Orleans,"

"Great!" She half squealed, almost fooling me with her excitement, walking out the door into the morning breeze and whistling.

I watched her from the counter, as her eyes scanned the clouds. "The wind is blowing from the east," She stated, bringing her mug to her lips, and leaning against the door frame.

"Is something wrong?" I walked up to her.

"It means trouble whenever the wind blows in from the east," Her eyes were still stuck up in the clouds. "And I can just smell how unpleasant it will be,"

Okay. I'm definitely out. I walked back into the living room, plopping on one of the couches.

I felt exhausted. I needed rest but I couldn't afford the luxury. I shut my eyes, replaying everything that witch had told me and Kali's new information swirled in like a storm, unsettling me. And for the first time, I let the thought sink in. The possibility that that man who for the longest I had despised for abandoning me, could be the one person I was seeking out. The one person I was told I could trust and would help me.

I exhaled, sinking my head into the softness of the couch. "Where the fuck are you, Asher Cohen?"

I breathed out, my fears rebounding.

*****

Asher's Point Of View

I slammed the door of my black SUV, groaning, almost growling. The sun was scorching hot, having a dangerous contest with my anger. Frustration.

I hope this was fucking worth it. Worth my time.

I grunted, marching through the fancy white doors of the station. It didn't take long for me to zero in on agent Joe.

He was at the far end of the hallway, muttering some words over the phone glued to his ears. As soon as his eyes took me in, he shoved the device into his black pants, ambling to me with long steps.

"Alpha Asher," He greeted with a nod. Eyes for a second, raking through my body, before gliding his stare to meet the empty darkness in my gaze.

"I fucking hope this is important, Joe," Before he had a chance to comment on my disheveled, wrecked state, I pushed past him.

He caught up with my fast, long strides, guiding me into another hallway. "It is," His words were low but they held a sharp edge that made me stop immediately.

I gave him a quick look. His dark eyes reflected the seriousness his voice had conveyed over the phone a few hours ago. But that alone wasn't enough to get my ass from Greece to Seattle. The last thing I wanted to do was concern myself with anything else that doesn't involve finding Cirilla Bane.

"Where's he?" I focused ahead, following Joe's hasty footsteps. We used the elevator, pulled up to one of the floors, and led me to the morgue.

We met agent Mike Sullivan right outside the doors. He was an FBI agent and one of us, from my pack, but his jurisdiction was in Seattle.

He lowered his head to me, "Alpha," Tugging the door gently, he stepped in, and I followed suit without hesitating.

He went over to the end, pulling out one of the metal cases from the freezer. I strode closer. Eyes stuck on the naked cold corpse lying on the metal.

"His name is Tony. He was found like this a few days ago in the water," I inspected the corpse as Sullivan kept filling me in.

"Cause of death?" I didn't take my eyes off Tony.

"Drowning," Sullivan replied and I heard Joe's boots shuffle against the door. But still, I didn't take my eyes off Tony.

That's bullshit. I pulled my hands to his lips, pushing against its stiffness, until I took a glance at his tongue. It was barely there. And that confirmed one of my suspicions.

"Magic," I bit out, taking in the small burns that managed to show on the surface of his body. He was burned inside out. I went round him to his other end, my movement almost slowed when I saw the two deep holes at the crook of his neck. A vampire's bite.

"That's why I contacted Joe," Sullivan began, gaining my full attention.

I couldn't stop the quick pounding in my chest. I couldn't quieten Ryker's mutters. All I could grip hard was the hope building in my chest. Just like every other time a lead showed up. A possible lead to find my mate. Since magic was next to useless in tracking her down, this was all we had.

It could or couldn't be her, since she hadn't gotten her third side when she was taken. But the look on Sullivan's face told me he didn't have a doubt. It was her.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded to my words, pulling small frames of pictures from his leather jacket. "I got these from the security footage close to where Tony was last seen," He handed them to me. The trembling within me grew intense as my eyes dropped on the first picture. "The footage closer to where he worked was all scrambled. That was the only one I could get,"

My body stilled. There was a piercing pang of pain in the deepest corner of my heart. It was agonizing. Suffocating. Torturing.

I gripped the metal beside me in an attempt to keep myself grounded. My eyes were unmoving from the figure in the dark corners of the picture. It was her. I couldn't get a full glance of her face, only her sides, but it was her. I would know even without getting a fucking glimpse of her face. That body belonged to the woman I had wasted my time denying. I had failed in protecting. And would do anything to have caged in my arms again.

It was her. And she was here in Seattle.

My eyes reluctantly moved to the back of the woman beside her. I couldn't see her face as well.

Eyebrows knitted together. "Who's the woman?"

"I don't know. I couldn't find them on any other footage. They were all scrambled," Sullivan drawled.

"It's her. And she's here in Seattle," I shoved the pictures in my jacket.

"I've had everyone on the searching,"

I nodded at his words, leaving the morgue, and making my way back to my car.

I took a picture of the photos and sent it to Theo. He and half of the Elite team were currently in Connecticut, following a lead.

In less than a quarter second, his call came through instantly. I pulled my phone to my ears.

"It's her, isn't it?" That was the first thing he said. "Where was that taken?"

"Seattle. A few days ago," I shoved into the driver's seat. "She's still here, Theo. I can feel it. We'll find her—"

"I know. We'll be there ASAP," He informed me before disconnecting.

I pulled an instant call to Lyra. She was still back in Oregon with Stefan. Even though they'd both insisted on being among the search party for Cirilla, I insisted they stayed back, it wasn't the smartest to leave the pack unprotected.

She answered after one ring. "Ash,"

Before she dived into question mode, I spoke first. "Has she gotten in touch with you? Texts, calls, anything?"

"No," Her quiet response sent a thud in my chest, and without a word more, I disconnected.

My hands strapped the wheels tight. I couldn't understand why she hadn't contacted me yet. She had somehow escaped Mason. That much was pretty clear. So I couldn't understand why she hasn't reached out to any of us. Something was wrong. I knew my mate and she knew just how much I would be going crazy trying to find her. She would have found a way to reach out to us by now, but she hasn't.

This was bad. She was still in fucking danger.