Maia's POV

A commotion erupted outside, and the door burst open.

A teenage boy stumbled in, maybe fifteen years old. His eyes were red and swollen, and tears streaked down his face.

"Please, you have to help me find my sister! She's missing, please..." His voice cracked.

Ethan's expression shifted. "Hey, it's okay. Take your time and tell me what happened."

"My sister's twenty-one. She went into the forest two days ago to gather herbs, and she never came back. I can't reach her." The boy's voice shattered. "She's the only family I have left. You have to find her. Please."

He broke down completely.

Something twisted tight in my chest.

His sister had been missing for two days, and he was falling apart.

I'd been gone for four days, and my brother thought I was playing games and pulling tricks.

Ethan and Lucian exchanged a glance.

The boy sobbed, and Ethan pressed his lips together. His voice came out low and rough. "We just found an unidentified female body. Her wolf soul was completely stripped away."

The boy's legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed. "No, no, that can't be..."

Someone helped him up to take his statement, but then his phone lit up.

"Hey, where are you? I got lost in the forest two days ago and just made it out today!"

"Thank the Moon Goddess!" The boy wiped away his tears, bowed his head in thanks, and ran off.

Ethan and I both exhaled in relief.

A few days passed, and Lucian walked up to Ethan with his brows drawn together. "Ethan, Maia's been missing for days now. Something's wrong."

Ethan shoved him away. "I don't have time to deal with her. I need to take Lyra to the Coming of Age ceremony."

"Ethan!" Lucian's voice rose sharply. "Maia could be in real danger!"

"Whatever." Ethan's laugh came out cold. "I don't care what happens to her. She better not come back—saves me the headache."

"How the hell did I raise such a bastard!" Lucian roared, but he couldn't force his Alpha to do anything.

Ethan had just stepped outside when his phone rang.

"Are you Maya's brother? I’m her friend. I haven't been able to reach Maya for days now. Can you—"

"How should I know where she is!" Ethan snarled, cutting them off. "Stop bothering me! I don't give a damn if she's dead or alive!"

Then he hung up.

He jabbed at the screen, firing off a message: [Had enough of your tantrum yet? If you don't show up at Lyra's coming-of-age ceremony, I'll kill you.]

My tears hit the floor at his words.

Just then, Lyra walked into the council hall carrying a lunch box, and Ethan's face softened immediately. He smiled and walked over to meet her. "Lyra, what are you doing here?"

She gave him a sweet smile. "I was worried about you, Ethan. I brought you something to eat."

Ethan ruffled her hair. "You're so good to me. Not like that ungrateful wolf. She only causes trouble."

Tears welled up in Lyra's eyes.

Ethan's expression shifted immediately. "What's wrong? Did someone hurt you?"

She bit her lip and looked pitiful. "I ran into Maia on the way here. I tried to say hello, but she pushed me and threw this at me. She said she never wants anything to do with you again."

Ethan saw the scraped skin on Lyra's knee, and his face darkened. "Damn ungrateful wolf!" He pulled out his phone.

Lucian suddenly grabbed what she was holding. "You're saying Maia just threw this at you? This is a Moon Tear crystal!"

Lyra flinched and hid behind Ethan.

"Lucian, I already told you Maia's fine." Ethan's voice was ice-cold. "Now she's pushing Lyra too? I'm mind-linking her right now."

"That's impossible." Lucien's expression turned serious. "Aurora left that pendant for Maia. Maya would never give it to anyone."

Ethan put it on speaker. "Listen. She'll answer any second now."

The phone started ringing.

My heart clenched tight.

I hadn't expected the phone to actually connect.

"Maia!" Ethan's voice exploded with rage. "Get your ass to the Moon Shrine inner chamber right now! You pushed Lyra? Do you have a death wish?"

Silence. A few seconds passed.

"Alpha Ethan, we found this phone around the dungeon area."

"What did you say?" Ethan's voice cut through the phone. "Why do you have Maia's phone?"

"Alpha Ethan, we just found it in the grass near the dungeons." The voice on the other end was heavy. "You need to come see this yourself."