HUNTED-Chapter 419: Gone.

Kodi fought against the silver net, enraged by seeing Keira faint into the arms of another. Blaze bared his teeth, but the silver was preventing his wolf from completely surfacing. Gritting his teeth together, he grabbed the small, speared end of the net, ignoring the sizzling, burning sensation and the smell of burning flesh and yanked it from the ground.

These gunmen, most likely the Order, were more interested in the Princess, seemingly relaxed in his presence. They discussed Keira, eager to be rewarded for getting their hands on a Cross werewolf. They thought because he’d been caught in a silver net, he wasn’t a threat. WRONG.

Peeling the net away, he tossed it over the nearest gunman and pulled back. The man got tangled up in it, yelping as Kodi’s overwhelming aura sliced fear down his spine. The rogue stabbed him in the head with the speared end and grabbed his gun, pointing it at the man who now cradled Keira’s slack form in his arms.

They had the decency to cover her, but the man still touched what was his.

"Uh-uh, lover boy." The gunman held a blade to Keira’s throat.

Kodi arched an eyebrow. "You won’t do it."

"Won’t I? How do you know?"

"Because she’s the ultimate prize. You’ve got ya hands on one of the Cross Princesses." Kodi flicked the safety off the gun.

The man scoffed. "Like you just said… Princesses, there’s more than just one. I will slit her throat if it means I will survive."

"You slit her throat, and you will breathe your last breath straight after," Blaze growled.

His wolf was already tugging on the reins, slithers of his fur starting to scratch under the surface of Kodi’s skin until a pain jabbed into the back of his neck, followed swiftly by another one.

"Ah…." The man looked between Keira and Kodi, who was now stumbling forward, fighting against the wolfsbane and the tranquilliser. "You two must be mates…" The man looked past Kodi. "Give him two more."

"That’ll kill him."

"It might, but the freak is big."

Two more darts sunk into the side of Kodi’s neck, and he collapsed on his knees, staring at Keira’s long raven hair.

"Should we take this one as well? He’s strong."

"And they’re mates." Other men spoke behind his back.

The man holding Keira knelt in front of Kodi, so they were face to face, a malicious grin on his lips. "He’ll only get in the way, besides…" He pointed the blade against Kodi’s chest. He braced himself. "Crowe won’t want to deal with a troublesome Hellho…"

Darkness swallowed Kodi’s consciousness. He couldn’t fight against the drugs any longer. After hearing the soldiers guess correctly about what he was, he assumed a bullet would be put in his head. To his surprise, he woke up disorientated, staring up at a high ceiling, white walls, and some fancy-ass four-poster bed with sheer curtains blowing gently at the end of the bed.

A breeze gently swept in from the side where one of the floor-to-ceiling windows had been opened.

Everything in this place was fancy and expensive. It made him feel uncomfortable. Did the Order take him in the end?

Kodi sat up abruptly and looked at his wrists. They were free, and so were his legs. Actually, he was now wearing some baggy shorts.

No, he hadn’t been taken. If he hadn’t been taken, then where the fuck was he? And where the fuck was Keira?

The moment his eyes had locked with Keira’s, Kodi knew she’d got her wolf. Keira’s eyes had been a vibrant blue before they’d flickered out from the dart in her neck. The Princess’s 18th birthday is in a month, so it was still considered early for a normal werewolf to receive their wolf. But Keira wasn’t normal, and in her family line, she was indeed a late bloomer.

The only problem was he didn’t believe she knew who he was to her.

He needed to know where she was. From the tiniest bond formed in the minuscule minute they’d locked eyes, Kodi could faintly tell Keira was safe or uninjured. The feeling was faint, but it was still there. That didn’t ease his frustrations, though.

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Kodi ripped the sheets off him and got out of bed, tossing the sheets to the side as his agitation continued to grow from not knowing anything or knowing where the Princess was. He marched up to the door and slowly peeked outside of it. The corridor was clear.

Wherever he was didn’t deem him as a threat. He glanced at his burly muscles wondering if he looked like one of those gentle giants or something because that was twice now that they believed him weak. Sliding out of the room, he followed the long corridor, keeping his steps light as he glanced at the multiple doors.

Was this a mansion? It didn’t smell like some fancy hospital or like that of the Order’s compound. But there were so many doors.

Kodi continued observing, his body tense, alert, and ready for anything. What he didn’t expect was Keira’s smell to grow stronger and thicker, wrapping around him like a noose and tugging him forward. He was moving before he could stop himself.

Bursting open the double doors, his frantic eyes searched the opulent bedroom. He inhaled deeply, taking in her fragrant cherry scent, that damned sweet scent that had been clinging to him like unwanted dirt to a white car for weeks. It was far too sweet, intoxicating him and swaying his mind at times he should have kept his hands to himself.

Yet as he walked further into the bedroom, scanning the area and uncaringly waltzing into her ensuite bathroom, Kodi realised the Princess wasn’t there.

And he was in her bedroom.

That meant he was in the Silver Crescent pack house, the royal pack of werewolves, one of the most secure places in the world, and Keira wasn’t there. He knew she couldn’t be because even with this tiny string of a bond connecting them, Kodi could tell she wasn’t near him.

How did he know? He didn’t understand it, and his wolf, Blaze, was in the middle of napping off the wolfsbane in his system. He’d become resistant to it until his foster dad took him off the regime. Apparently, taking it daily was harmful to his health. It didn’t stop his best friend from taking it, though.

Storming out of the room Kodi’s wolf wanted to lay around in and smell her scent and rub his own into her bedsheets, he made it to a curved staircase, needing to understand what was happening. After jumping down a few steps, he stopped in the foyer and focused his senses. Voices were coming from the living room.

Yes, now he knew where he was; Kodi had memorised the layout of the Alpha King’s pack house. When he saw the blueprints in the black market, two thoughts came to his mind-

It might come in handy to memorise it. Someone else could get their hands on something so priceless. Now, he couldn’t have that.

Kodi ensured it had been the last and only existing blueprint of its kind. He had his ways.

Marching through the exquisite and clean hallways, Kodi burst through the doors to the living room, where he’d heard familiar voices.

At his entry Keira’s guard Reed, Randall or whatever spun around, claws ready, eyes glowing a bright amber. Another guard, the pack’s Delta was behind him, and on the sofas were Rhea and Sora. Anyone else in the room that wasn’t Keira was a blur.

"Where is she?!" Kodi demanded, taking Rhea and Sora by surprise at the tone in his voice. He was all harsh breathing, glowing amber eyes, bad temper and impatient.

Nobody in the room responded. Their faces were a mixture of calm, quiet, or deep in thought.

"She’s been taken," he growled, hoping to see some sort of reaction that would make sense!

"By the Order!"

Nobody looked surprised by his words.

The living room was light, like it was early afternoon. The attack was late afternoon. "How long have I been out?" He asked, his voice quiet but his frustration barely simmering beneath the surface.

"Just one day," Reed replied through clenched teeth, his eyes still a bright amber and claws still out.

Kodi had a feeling this guy didn’t like him.

"One day?" Kodi clipped. "Just. One. Day."

Reed-Randall frowned at him, his eyes hard, distaste seeming to make his nose twitch whilst looking at Kodi. "You had three tranquilisers in you. You’re lucky it wasn’t a week."

Kodi stared at the guy hard, as if he were speaking to someone with the brains of an infant. "One day and Keira hasn’t been found yet," he snapped, his wolf’s eyes opening from his sleeping position, glaring at the Randall guy.

"That’s Her Highness to you," Reedy guy snapped, stepping closer, his frame almost shaking.

"We are already on it…" Finn stepped forward, placing one hand on the pup and held his other hand out in greeting, trailing off so Kodi would give him his name.

Although Kodi didn’t like royals, or this whole lovey-dovey pack shit, the Delta seemed decent, and he didn’t want to disrespect someone who was speaking to him normally.

"Kodi," he answered. When Finn didn’t let go of Kodi’s hand, he relented with a sigh. "Black."

"Black?" A feminine voice called from the side of the room. Kodi turned to it, and it was only then he realised the fricken Alpha Queen had been there the entire time. It was impossible not to notice her white locks or presence, yet he had. In his state, he was a little frantic, something he wasn’t used to.

Somehow, the Alpha Queen also seemed to recognise his last name. Yet beyond her puffy red eyes from crying, she did not hold any loathing or disgust for him.

Kodi was meant to bow his head in recognition, and as hard as it was, everyone could tell it took Kodi a lot of effort to bow his head to Aila Cross.