Chapter 17：16.

COLTON'S POV

I didn't have to go far towards the cell blocks to pick up the scent. It was burned in my mind the first time I'd caught it. I knew the wolf they were holding captive. I knew it in my bones, in my blood that began boiling, rushing through my veins like a wildfire, red hazing my vision as it burned everything in it's path.

She was here. She had the audacity to trespass onto my pack grounds after she had tried to kill my mate so many months ago. Jessica was in the cell block, and for all I cared she could rot in there.

"Alpha," Eric inclined his head as he came from underground. I kept my jaw tight as I nodded back to him, acknowledging his submissive gesture. 

"Is everything alright?" he asked after a moment of silence passed between us without orders.

"The she wolf you have captive, is the she wolf who tried to kill India the night I found her." I spat, the wildfire consuming me as it raced through my system, my inner wolf chomping at the bit to get down there and tear apart the red headed wolf from hell once and for all. Without India here to calm me down, I was afraid it just might happen.

I pulled away from my inner turmoil then and noticed Eric's jawline had become ridged as well, and pride swelled through me as I realized he was ready to defend his Luna. 

"What shall I do with it?" he spat then and I chuckled.

"We keep her for a few days. No food, no water. Let her grow weak. Then we call Alpha Shelton and let him know she's back. We will discuss further actions then, but rest assured, she will pay for her attempt on India's life." I growled, my wolf wanting nothing more than to go into the cell and end the miserable life that sat behind the bars. I could smell the fear rolling off of her in waves as it floated to the surface around me. 

Good, she should be scared, she should be terrified of the man I could become with India's absence. Every day I became more irritated, every day I craved the blood of my enemies more and more, I was becoming someone I didn't know, someone India would be ashamed of, and I was scared she wouldn't awake in time to save me from myself, from the dark depths my soul seemed to be traveling down. 

My wolf was falling faster than I, he didn't have his humanity to hold onto, it's why I rarely let him out anymore, and he hated me for it, while understanding it was necessary. He was respectful of my guidance, even if he didn't agree at the moment, just as I relied on him in battle, he relied on me to make the difficult decisions, for he was all instinct, rash and raw power. 

Eric nodded and headed down the stairs then, eager to let the rest of the pack members know the order. I headed back towards the infirmary then, eager to be by India's side once more.

I turned the corner and pulled the giant steel door open, my eyes searching the room until they settled on the tiny bed that held my mate. 

Only this bed was empty, and the little she wolf I'd left in charge of her was missing as well.

I dashed to the bedside, fur sprouting from the pores across my body as the anger boiled over, burning my muscles and my bones as I searched uselessly for any sign of India or Mikayla.

Someone had taken India, and they'd taken Mikayla for trying to protect her.