Waking up, Lance blinked against the dim light that filtered through the thick canopy above and to find himself slouched against a large tree trunk.
The forest around him was eerily quiet, except for the occasional rustle of leaves. He pushed himself up slowly, his head heavy and his body stiff. One look around told him he’d been out for far longer than he should have. Than he had ever been in the past.
Judging by the sunlight streaming through the trees, it had to be more than twelve hours.
He frowned, trying to piece together how he had ended up here... He had not even been asleep when this happened. Before he could think further, he felt it-a light, familiar pressure brushing against the edge of his mind. Someone was trying to get in.
Closing his eyes, Lance took a deep breath and relaxed his mental guard just enough to let the connection form. "Kael," he murmured slowly.
Immediately, Kael’s voice came through, sharp and worried. "Where are you, Lance? Are you okay?"
Lance exhaled slowly, again. He had no idea where he was. "I’m not sure," he admitted. "Looks like I’m somewhere near the no man’s land adjoining the human territories, though. The smell of humans near by is quite strong.." His brow furrowed as he tried to think. "As for how I got here... I have no idea. The last thing I remember was heading to the scroll room."
There was a brief silence, filled only by the faint hum of the mental link between them. Then Kael’s voice came again, lower but no less tense. "You were last seen last evening before dinner. It’s post lunch now... so almost an entire day."
Lance let out a harsh curse under his breath. Almost, a whole day gone. That was the longest he had ever been completely out, with his wolf in control the entire time.
He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to recall the struggle- how he had tried to regain control, but the beast had resisted him. No matter how hard he’d pushed, his wolf had refused to listen, acting as though Lance didn’t exist. That had never happened before.
Something wasn’t right.
Then Kael’s next question came, cutting through his thoughts. "Is Emira with you?"
Lance frowned, startled at the question and worry in Kael’s voice. "Emira? Why would she..." He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening as the memory returned in fragments as he remembered going towards the Scroll room, only to find a few of the things in the room, on fire. And no sign of Emira.
He swallowed hard. "I... went to see her," he said slowly. "The scroll room was on fire when I got there. She was missing." His eyes darkened as he scanned the forest again, this time more alert. "And I caught the faint scent of a rogue near the door as I put out the fire...before everything went black."
The wind shifted slightly, carrying with it a scent he didn’t recognise, and Lance’s muscles tensed instinctively. He didn’t know how he had ended up in this part of the forest-or what had happened before he blacked out here-but one thing was clear.
Someone had entered their territory and," Kael, there was a rogue in the territory..."
"I know. We found the remains just outside the border. You took care of that."
Lance nodded to himself then, "I guess I followed the scent of the rogue. At that point, I was still in human form. Then..." He paused, pressing a hand to his temple as flashes of memory began to surface. "Then I shifted during the fight."
Lance trailed off after that. The wild rage that had taken him over when he’d realized the Rogue was alone had made him lose his control until all he’d wanted to do was tear apart the man. And he’d probably done just that.
As he did, he remembered another moment, attacking someone else and finding an Omega that smelled like his mate....
He frowned. Why did his wolf think that he’d smelled Ramona? But shaking his head, he put that information aside and said, "They might find another person on the way. And maybe an injured Omega. I think there was more than one person involved. Kael. I want to know who dared to let Rogues onto our land right under our nose."
"Already looking into it. You’ll have the person when you return."
Lance hummed and then slowly stood up. He’d probably fainted from exhaustion from chasing the car for so long.
"They must have crossed into human territory after that," he muttered in his head. "To evade capture."
He could almost feel his wolf stir beneath his skin again, restless and agitated. Every part of him screamed to move. "I’ll go after them. If they went into the human territories, they can’t be far. I can track her scent..."
But before he could finish, Kael’s voice broke through the link again, sharper this time. "You can’t go."
Lance froze, his brows drawing together. "What?"
"It’s not safe, Lance. We don’t know how many people are there. And you are already exhausted. You’re our crown prince, Lance. You know what that means. There are many rogues who have been living among the humans... If they sense you... I’ve already sent a team to follow your trail. They’ll reach you soon. Stay where you are."
"And if something happens to her while I wait here?" Lance asked quietly.
He could almost see Kael pause before answering. He might not like it and he might want to get rid of the Omega but that did not mean he did not realize what she had come to mean for his brother...both his brothers.
Either way, he was unwilling to let any member of his pack suffer, so waiting was out of the question. "There’s no need to think too much, Kael. I can take care of myself. I won’t confront anyone till the team reaches me. Until then, I’ll find her whereabouts."