Chapter 286 286: Clarissa's path...

Clarissa

The bed where I'd left her was empty, the blankets thrown aside. Signs of a hasty departure were everywhere. "Damn it, Lyla," I muttered. Why couldn't she have listened to me just this once?

A noise outside made me freeze. Voices, growing closer. Flashlights were cutting through the trees.

"—check the old groundskeeper's place."

"Alpha says she might be hiding nearby."

They'd found us. I needed to get out and find Lyla before they did. But where would she have gone in her condition?

I slipped out the back window just as the search party reached the front door. Crouching in the bushes, I watched as they broke in, their flashlights sweeping the insides of the shelter.

"It's empty," one of them called. "But the bed's been slept in. She was here."

"Spread out," ordered Nathan's assistant's voice. "She can't have gotten far in her condition."

Condition? It means Nathan had purposely left Lyla in my Father's private study to make use of her later on. I'm sure his assistant must have seen how battered she looked.

I remained absolutely still as they spread out, beginning their search of the surrounding area. Once they moved far enough away, I crept from my hiding place, heading deeper into the forest. If I were Lyla, injured and alone, where would I go?

been a childhood hiding spot, one of the few places Lyla and I had shared before

staying well out of sight. The forest grew

sank. There was no sign of Lyla.

a voice said

knife in hand, ready to defend myself. But the figure that stepped from the shadows wasn't one of Nathan's men. Though his face was still concealed, he didn't look

slightly, squinting in the darkness. "What are

imagine," they replied. "Trying to save Lyla before Nathan finds

demanded. "Did

figure nodded. "She's

are you?" I asked again, peering into the darkness. It was the shape of a man for sure, and he was

into the moonlight, and I nearly gasped when

father

broad-shouldered, with blond hair that had streaks of gray now and deep lines etched around his eyes. As Beta of Blue Ridge, he'd always stood loyally behind my father when he was alive. Also, since Nathan has yet to appoint a Beta, he's been acting as Nathan's Beta and supporting his decisions without question. Or so

he said gruffly. "Nathan's men are combing these woods, and they're

cared

involved with Nathan at any point. I'm not one to lay blame, but Nathan was a perfectly normal child until she blossomed into a

I said, watching him closely. Who knows, he might be working with Nathan's men. "He's ordered a full-scale search. And he's planning to attack the

we need to move quickly." he gestured for me to follow.

"How do I know this isn't a trap? Why are you helping us? You're Nathan's father.

I'm the best chance you and Lyla have of surviving in the next

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