KIERAN’S POV
My office had never felt so small, so suffocating, so goddamned far from where I needed to be.
The moment my phone vibrated with the encrypted alert from my field unit, my lungs cinched tight. I read the message once. Twice. The damning words didn’t change.
'Target lost. Trail severed after entering restricted forest perimeter.'
“What do you mean you lost her?” I snapped into the comm.
Static cracked. “Alpha, we followed her as instructed. She crossed the main trail behind the Institute, entered the mountain forest, and then…everything cut out. The perimeter is shielded. We can’t get drones in. No visuals. No scent trail beyond the first ridge. We’re still scanning—”
“Not good enough!” I bit out. “Expand the radius. Sweep the valley. If you have to tear the mountain apart stone by stone—”
“Alpha—”
“FIND. HER.”
I ended the call and hurled the encrypted comm tablet against the wall.
