LANDON
I collapsed at the edge of the cliff, clutching my chest as if my heart had been physically torn from it. The bond—our fragile, newly-formed mate bond—stretched and twisted in agony.
Kaelen howled in our mind, a sound of such pure anguish that I couldn't distinguish it from my own cries.
*She's gone. She's gone. We failed her.*
"No!" I slammed my fist into the rocky ground, feeling bones crack and reform instantly. "We will find her. We will tear apart whoever took her."
I forced myself to stand, swaying as the bond pulled taut, a compass needle pointing toward a destination I couldn't see. My body had reverted to human form in the shock of her disappearance, leaving me naked and vulnerable.
*The body,* Kaelen reminded me. *We were protecting something.*