LUCIEN’S POV
I left with the woods in sight, running as fast as I could because Monica was crazy and would do anything to hurt Adria. Thinking of it, the look on her face on the night we spoke before Adria went missing wasn’t one of hurt.
It was an expression that got stronger and stronger with each word. Looking back at it, it seemed she was making the decision in her mind while I did the talking and there I was over the last two days, thinking happily that she had left New Orleans because I had told her to.
My guts told me she had done serious preparation to kidnap Adria since I wasn’t sure she’d ever had to kidnap a person before.
People I passed by stared at me in surprise as it was quite uncommon to see a grown man like me running all by himself. It wasn’t even the time where people working out were many on the streets, but I didn’t pay them any attention, all that was on my mind was thoughts of Adria.
My feet crunched on dry twigs and leaves as I ran through the forest, pushing back the stubborn branches that insisted on hanging low. It wasn’t easy running through the woods because it got deeper with each step.
My head whipped around frantically searching for any place she could have been hidden in. Monica couldn’t have killed Adria. There was no way she’d have done that. No, I didn’t even wish to think of that as a possibility.
She would need a cabin of some sort if she hid Adria in the forest. My first guess would have been that Adria was at her house but all the dash cams installed in front of the houses on the street had no record of Adria walking into the street on that day.
I searched around some more, going deeper into the woods. Could she have hidden Adria in one of the houses on the next street? No, she couldn’t be so careless, could she? If the police had the information we were given, then that would be the first place they would search.
My feet came to a halt, and I sat with my back on a tree breathing hard. Zayne was probably going to find Adria because the dash cams didn’t show anyone returning from that place so the broad-shouldered man and Adria were definitely somewhere on that street and I was probably wasting my time searching a place I knew I wasn’t going to find her instead of going for the places she was likely to be in.
Taking a deep breath, I got to my feet and began to retrace my steps. Already the hot afternoon had melted into evening and thinking of Daniel who was going to involve the police if we couldn’t find Adria was even more suffocating. If Monica had really done it, I was going to take her to her father and watch her get punished severely with my own two eyes.
Even if she didn’t stay in the human world, at least every wolf knew about the treaty between wolves and humans, and she had no excuse whatsoever.
By the time I left the forest, everywhere had gotten a bit darker and stars had already begun to make their appearance. Where in the world was Adria?
When I was a few feet away from my house, I saw Monica leaving her house dressed up in black clothes and immediately walked up to her briskly.
“Where are you going?” I asked and she sized me up, taking in my disorganized state.
“Were you exercising or searching for Adria? Isn’t that something that should be left for the police?” She asked, folding her arms and staring at me with eyes which bled with confidence. A confidence that could only come from knowing you had the upper hand.
“Of course it is the police’s job except that if they get involved and find out a wolf was behind it all, our treaty would be breached and things wouldn’t be pretty, would it?” I asked, dipping my hands into my pockets, and there was a moment of fleeting shock in her eyes.
She cleared her throat and looked away.
“I didn’t know we weren’t the only Lycans in New Orleans. I haven’t met one so far.” She replied shiftily.
“I know, right? I also haven’t encountered one.”
“Lucien, if you’re suspecting me, then you should stop. I really have no business with kidnapping Adria. Even if I did get jealous of her, she was good to me too. Why would I kidnap her? Do I even have the guts to do that? What if I get caught? My father would be really mad and the elders would force him to punish me. Now, look at that. Do you think it’s something I would want?” She poured out, looking sincere.
“Listen, if I find out…”
“God, it isn’t me!” She shrieked, and walked away angrily, and just as I raised my head, watching her leave, I saw Zayne and he shook his head.
He also watched Monica leave and then walked up to me quickly.
“I searched all of the abandoned houses and cafes, basements, attics, she’s not there. I tried listening for a heartbeat or catching a scent but it was all dust and gosh… how could a person simply disappear in there? I even sniffed the ground wondering if she dug up a hole and hid her there but I seriously found nothing.” Zayne informed me, and I kicked the trash can close to me.
“At this rate, I’m not sure what to believe again. My gut feeling says it’s her, but she spilled the facts about her getting punished by the elders in her Kingdom and truly she wouldn’t do that if she has them in mind.” I told him, and he also heaved a sigh.
“Then I guess we should really involve the police.” Zayne concluded and I nodded slowly. I didn’t want Adria getting hurt because I kept pointing fingers at the wrong person while the culprit got away.
“Let’s go to them now.” I said to Zayne tiredly, and we made our way to the station.
There was no turning back now, if indeed Monica took Adria and the police discovered it, then our treaty would be breached… and trust broken.