Chapter 43. Secrets Revealed

Dylan’s POV

The moment I stepped back into the base, I knew something was wrong. The air felt off—too still, too quiet. A creeping unease crawled up my spine, and before I could even pinpoint what it was, a soldier rushed toward me, his face pale and tense.

“Alpha,” he panted, bowing his head slightly. “The girl—she’s gone.”

My entire body stiffened.

Gone?

For a split second, I didn’t move. The words echoed in my mind, each syllable sharp and cruel, but I couldn’t process them.

No. She couldn’t be gone.

Avery wouldn’t—she couldn’t—have escaped.

Unless…

A deep, primal growl rumbled in my chest. My pulse pounded violently against my temples as rage surged through me, hot and unrelenting.

“Where is she?” I asked, my voice eerily calm despite the storm brewing inside me.

The soldier flinched. “We—we don’t know, Alpha. She must have slipped out unnoticed.”

Slipped out? Impossible. The base was heavily guarded.