Third POV
Lucas, Liam, and Levi stood frozen in front of the empty cell, the silver bars bent outward at an impossible angle.
The warrior who had been assigned to guard Annie lay motionless on the ground, his skin an unnatural blue-gray color. Blood trickled from his nose and ears, and his eyes were wide open, staring sightlessly at the ceiling.
“Damn it,” Lucas muttered, kneeling beside the fallen warrior. He checked for a pulse, though it was clear the man was beyond help. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed as he spotted sothing in the warrior’s neck. “Look,” he said, pointing to a small needle protruding from the skin. “Poison, most likely.”
“Probably wolfsbane,” Levi said, recognizing the faint purple residue around the entry point. The youngest triplet moved closer to examine the bent bars. “These were forced from the outside. Annie didn’t do this alone.”
Lucas stood up slowly, his jaw tight with anger. “She had help. Soone broke her out.”
Alpha Henry pushed through the small crowd of warriors that had gathered at the holding cells. His face darkened when he saw the scene before him.
“Report,” he demanded, his voice hard and cold.
“Annie’s gone,” Lucas said. “The guard is dead—poisoned with what looks like wolfsbane. And those bars were broken from the outside.”
Henry examined the cell, eyeing the bent silver bars. Even standing so close he could feel the heat of the tal searing through the air.
“Silver this thick doesn’t bend easily, especially not by a werewolf. Whoever did this has considerable strength.”
“Or there were multiple perpetrators,” Liam suggested. “Working together.”
“The caras,” Levi said suddenly. “We need to check the security footage.”
One of the warriors stepped forward hesitantly. “Alpha, the surveillance system went down about an hour ago. We thought it was just a technical glitch and sent soone to check it out.”
“And?” Henry growled.
“The equipnt was tampered with. All the wires cut.”
Lucas slamd his fist against the wall. “This was planned. They knew exactly what they were doing.”
Liam nodded grimly. “The question is, who helped her? And why?”
“And where did they take her?” Levi added.
Henry surveyed the scene once more, his expression grim. The triplets exchanged dark looks. This was no coincidence.
“Find her,” Alpha Henry ordered, his voice hard. “Now.”
The warriors scattered imdiately, rushing to organize search parties. Henry turned to his sons.
“Lucas, coordinate the search efforts. Levi, I want you to question Samuel Williams—find out if he knew anything about this. And Liam—” he pointed to the needle still embedded in the dead warrior’s neck, “—take that to Matilda for analysis. We need to confirm it’s wolfsbane and see if she can tell us anything else about it.”
The brothers nodded, each understanding the gravity of the situation. Annie wasn’t just Liam’s spurned ex-girlfriend anymore—she was a threat to the pack, to Hazel, and to their future.
“Be careful,” Lucas warned his brothers. “Whoever did this is still out there. And they clearly have no problem killing.”
Liam knocked on the door to Matilda’s office, the extracted needle carefully sealed in a small plastic evidence bag. The pack physician called for him to enter, and he found her sorting through dical supplies, her graying hair pulled back in a tight bun.
“Alpha Liam,” she said, straightening up when she saw him. “What can I do for you?”
Liam held up the evidence bag. “We need this analyzed imdiately. We believe it contains wolfsbane poison.”
Matilda’s eyes widened slightly as she took the bag from him. “May I ask what happened?”
“Annie Williams escaped. The guard was killed with this.”
“Goddess,” Matilda breathed, her expression grim. “Give a few minutes. I’ll run so tests right away.”
While Matilda moved to the laboratory section of her office, Liam paced restlessly.
His eyes drifted to Matilda’s desk, where a thick dical textbook lay open. Curious, he picked it up, more to distract himself than anything else.
Advanced Werewolf Physiology: Mate Bonds and Pack Dynamics.
Flipping through the pages, Liam noticed the author’s na.
Dr. Esther Perez.
Lucas and Levi had ntioned this na before. Apparently, their mother knew her as one of Angeline Bailey’s no-good, troublemaking friends.
Liam raised an eyebrow. It was hard to believe that a celebrated doctor would be classified under that umbrella.
At the back of the book was a glossy photo of Dr. Perez with her research team, all smiling proudly at the cara. Esther stood in the center, her dark hair streaked with gray even then, wearing a white lab coat with her pack’s emblem pinned to the lapel.
Sothing caught Liam’s eye. There was a mark partially visible on Esther’s neck, just above her collar. He squinted, trying to make out what it was.
“It’s definitely wolfsbane,” Matilda announced, returning to the office. “A particularly potent strain, too. It would have killed him within seconds.”
Liam nodded absently, his attention still fixed on the photo. “Matilda, this book... It’s by Esther Perez, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Matilda said, looking surprised. “One of the finest dical texts ever written about werewolf physiology. Dr. Perez was revolutionary in her understanding of mate bonds.”
“My mother ntioned her once,” Liam said slowly. “Said she was a friend of Hazel’s mother.”
“That’s right,” Matilda confird. “She and Angeline Bailey were close, from what I understand. A terrible tragedy, what happened to both of them.”
“What do you an?”
Matilda sighed. “Well, Angeline disappeared, as you know. And Esther... she was doing groundbreaking work, but then suddenly withdrew from the dical community. Lives like a hermit now, from what I hear. Won’t see visitors, won’t publish her research. So say she had a ntal breakdown after Angeline vanished.”
Liam frowned, his mind making connections. “Lucas tried to visit her once, when we first found out Hazel was our mate. She refused to see him.”
“Not surprising,” Matilda said. “She refuses to see anyone these days.”
Liam turned the book around, pointing to the mark on Esther’s neck. “Do you know what this is?”
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