Chapter 46: Chapter 46:The Locked Door Was Never Locked

Chapter 46 – The Locked Door Was Never Locked

I ran. Every step pounded against my chest, every breath a knife through my lungs. The frost-bitten wind whipped across the mountainside as I sprinted toward the fortress, ignoring the ache in my legs, ignoring the burn in my ribs. My mind was a cyclone of fury, fear, and disbelief. Isolade—gone. My guards sworn loyal, the doors watched, yet she had vanished.

I reached the fortress gates and barely slowed, vaulting the threshold into the inner courtyard. The guards jumped back, startled by the speed I moved.

"What happened?" one of them asked. Fear and uncertainty lacing his tone.

"Tell me she didn’t leave this place," I demanded, voice sharp, eyes scanning for any sign of betrayal.

"No, Alpha," another said, stepping forward. "We... we never left her chamber. The door was locked. Guarded. We didn’t—" His voice faltered.

"Then how?" I growled. "How does a council member just vanish under your noses?"

The first guard swallowed hard. "We don’t know. The room... it’s untouched. Nothing broken. Nothing missing."

I stopped dead, letting my gaze sweep the courtyard and the corridors beyond. Every instinct screamed danger. Every warning in my blood screamed deceit.

I tore down the hall, ignoring their protests. I kicked the chamber door open myself, boots slamming against the wood, heart hammering.

The room was... empty.

Nothing out of place. Not a chair overturned. Not a curtain ripped. Even the lock still held tight, undisturbed. It was impossible.

I shoved past the guards, scanning every corner. My fists clenched, nails digging into my palms. "Explain. Now. How does this happen?"

One of the guards swallowed, voice shaking. "Alpha... we swear. We never left. We never left the door. The chamber... it was locked. Guarded. Nothing could have—"

"Then someone inside helped her," I snapped, spinning to face them. "Someone who knew exactly where she was, exactly what she had, exactly how to get her out without leaving a trace."

I stormed into the room, moving to the corner where I had stored a scroll months ago. My chest tightened when I noticed it wasn’t there. Not on the shelf. Not under the bed. Not in the hidden compartment I had thought unbreachable.

The scroll. My private records. The one I had locked away. The one only I, and maybe the most trusted of my inner circle, knew about.

Someone had been inside. Someone who knew.

I spun, eyes blazing. "This isn’t just about her," I muttered under my breath. "They’re sending a message. Someone is testing me. Proving they can reach anywhere, take anything, and strike at my command without leaving a mark."

A sudden sound in the corridor drew my attention. I moved like a shadow, boots silent on the stone floor, senses screaming. At the end of the hall, a figure slumped against the wall. A servant. Unconscious. One hand clutched a crumpled piece of parchment.

I dropped to my knees beside him, checking for life. Heart racing, I pried the note from his fingers. My pulse hit double time when I read the words scrawled across it:

"If you protect her, I will destroy everything you built."

Cold fire surged through me. Whoever had done this wasn’t just stealing a council member, they were threatening the very foundation of my pack, my authority, my life. Every muscle in my body tensed.

I slammed my fist against the wall, breathing hard. "This isn’t over," I muttered. "This isn’t a mistake. This isn’t random. This is... deliberate."

The guards hovered behind me, nervous, uncertain. "Alpha... what do we do?" one asked, voice trembling.

I didn’t answer immediately. My gaze swept the empty room again. No signs of struggle. No escape. Nothing disturbed. Nothing except for the scroll, the one thing only I had knowledge of.

"They didn’t escape," I said finally, voice low, dangerous. "They were helped. And whoever did it... has their own agenda."

Maris’s warnings from the council hall replayed in my mind: the pack turns slowly. Loyalty shifts like sand. Perhaps someone inside the fortress wanted her gone, wanted to destabilize me, wanted to make the wolfless Luna look weak.

I rose, eyes sharp, scanning the hall for any clue. Every shadow felt like a threat. Every echo of my footsteps sounded like a challenge.

"Search the fortress. Every room. Every hidden passage. Every servant. No one leaves until I know exactly who did this and where she is," I ordered, voice clipped, deadly calm.

The guards scrambled, fear and urgency driving their movements. They knew better than to question me when my temper hit this pitch.

I moved back into the empty room, lingering over the missing scroll. My mind raced through the possibilities. The scroll contained information that could change the balance of power, not just here, but across territories. Whoever had taken it knew its value. Whoever had helped Isolade knew the stakes.

I clenched my jaw. The political war had already begun, and I hadn’t even realized it. Not until now.

A sudden, faint noise made me freeze. Footsteps? Or my mind playing tricks? I narrowed my eyes, scanning the hall. The fortress that had always been a bastion of control now felt vulnerable, exposed. Every lock, every guard, every security measure suddenly seemed laughably insufficient.

I turned toward the corridor where the servant had been found. "Tie him up," I barked. "Not for punishment. For answers. I will know what he saw, what he knows, and who sent him here."

The guards obeyed, shaking as they moved to comply. I felt the weight of the note in my hand, cold and threatening, a promise of chaos I had yet to fully grasp.

I clenched it in my fist, jaw tight. "They think they can scare me," I muttered under my breath. "They think they can break me by taking her. They’re wrong. Dead wrong."

But even as I spoke the words, a flicker of doubt burned in the back of my mind. Someone had infiltrated the fortress. Someone knew our inner workings, our protocols, our schedules. And if they could reach her... what else could they do?

I walked the room again, boots heavy, eyes scanning every corner. The curtains fluttered in the morning breeze, the floorboards creaked under my weight, and the walls seemed to whisper secrets I could not yet hear.

I crouched near the bed, fingers brushing over the surface. Nothing. The scroll was gone. My personal records, months of planning, secrets, leverage, gone.

I rose, rage and fear coiling tight in my chest. Whoever did this was inside our walls. Whoever helped her escape was playing a dangerous game and I had no idea what their endgame was.

I turned slowly, voice low, controlled, but edged with fury. "She didn’t escape. Someone helped her."

The guards froze. Even the morning light seemed to dim in the corridor. The fortress had always been my stronghold. Now, it felt like a trap.

Outside, the wind howled through the mountains. Inside, the walls held secrets. And somewhere, Isolade moved unseen, with someone powerful enough to outsmart the fortress and me.

The game had escalated. And this time, it wasn’t just about loyalty or tradition. It was about survival. Mine, hers, and the pack’s.

And the note... the promise of destruction... hung in the air like a shadow waiting to strike.