Chapter 0100
Ethan’s POV
“Boss,” one of the men on the phone said, his voice cautious. “What can I do for you?”
“Send me a picture of Judy,” Ethan demanded, his tone sharp and impatient.
“Judy?” the man hesitated. “Judy Montague?”
Ethan’s brow furrowed, his patience wearing thin.
“Yes, the one you kidnapped earlier,” Ethan said, his voice low and strained. “I want a picture of her. Not one hair better be hurt on her head.”
There was a long pause on the other end. Ethan clenched his fist around the phone, feeling his anxiety rise.
“We don’t have her, Sir,” the man finally said, his voice uncomfortable.
“What the hell do you mean you don’t have her??” Ethan’s voice rose in frustration, teeth gritting. “You were supposed to kidnap her in the city earlier.”
“Well, we were sent to a location via text message to meet up with Miss Judy,” the man explained, “but when we got there, she never showed up. We didn’t ask any questions; we just left. We honestly thought you changed your mind.”
“You’re telling me that Judy isn’t with you??” Panic gripped Ethan’s chest. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat.
“We haven’t seen her,” the man replied.
Ethan’s blood boiled. He almost crushed the phone in his hands. He slammed his fist into the car seat before pulling over to the side of the road. His mind was racing, his thoughts spiraling. If his packmates didn’t have Judy, then who the hell did? Where was she? And why wasn’t Irene answering her phone?
He was in disbelief. Irene always answered his calls, always. What the hell was going on?
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Send me the location you went to meet her,” he ordered, his voice dangerously controlled.
“Yes, sir,” the man responded, a note of fear creeping into his voice.
Ethan hung up, the tension thick in his body. He didn’t wait a second longer before speeding off to the location. As he drove, his mind was a blur of thoughts. There were too many unanswered questions. If his men hadn’t had Judy, then who the hell had her? And why the hell couldn’t Irene get in touch with him?
When he arrived at the location, his heart dropped. He could still smell Judy’s scent, faint but lingering. But it was obvious she hadn’t been there in a while. His instincts kicked in as he looked around. Something wasn’t right.
His eyes narrowed as he spotted a familiar figure—Gavin Landry, accompanied by a group of his men, walking out of a nearby building with the owner behind them. Ethan froze, stepping back into the shadows to remain unseen.
“Beta Taylor,” Ethan muttered, his voice low but urgent as he reached for his phone. “I need you to look up this license plate. We got footage of the kidnapping from the security camera of this building. The kidnappers looked like rogues, but I need confirmation.”
Kidnapping? Was Gavin looking for Judy too? Ethan’s stomach tightened with unease. Gavin had no right to be involved in this. Judy was his to find, and he wasn’t going to let anyone, especially not Gavin, take credit for rescuing her.
He watched Gavin from his hidden position, his mind racing. Could Gavin already know what had happened? Ethan couldn’t be sure, but he wasn’t going to let the Landry alpha get in his way.
“Get me that information, Taylor,” Ethan growled as he quickly dictated the license plate number.
Ethan’s stomach clenched as he waited for Taylor’s reply. The plate sounded familiar, and it didn’t take long for him to remember why. A few years ago, there had been a series of break-ins involving rogues. Ethan had personally stopped them, but he remembered one particular night—he had jotted down the license plate from the rogue’s car, noting it in his phone. He’d even tracked some of them to an abandoned house in rogue territory.
“Shit,” Ethan muttered, recognizing the plate number.
His pulse quickened. The rogues had resurfaced, and they had Judy.
But this time, Ethan wouldn’t let them slip through his fingers.
“Damn it,” he muttered, growling low in his throat. “They’re not getting away with this.”
He had the upper hand—he knew where they were, and now all he had to do was get there before Gavin did. He needed to find Judy, save her, and make sure she never went near anyone else again. She was his, and he would make sure she knew it.
“Judy, just hang tight,” Ethan muttered to himself as he shifted into his wolf form. The familiar rush of strength flooded his body as his bones shifted. “I’m coming for you.”
With a final glance at the building where Gavin had just left, Ethan took off, pushing his wolf into full speed. His heart was pounding, not just from the run, but from the need to find Judy—before anyone else could take her from him.
