Fifty-Three

                                    

                                          
Elijah
I race for the house, my paws moving so fast that they hardly touch the ground. The last thing I wanted to do was leave Noelle, but I had no choice. The pack that attacked us was dead set on a fight, and she was in no shape to take them on. Thankfully Remi knew what to do and he made sure she was in the house before he joined the scuffle. 
Fighting the other wolves was surprisingly easy. They were not trained in combat, and as their numbers dwindled, those standing ran. My guess is that Dante put them up to the fight, but I couldn't understand why. If he was trying to scare us out of training Noelle or show that he knew I completed my mating bond, why not send worthy opponents? Something about the entire situation felt off.
I bound up the steps to the house and shift into my human form. With no regard to my lack of clothing, I burst through the door and call out for Noelle. The house is eerily quiet. I run through the lower-level rooms and then charge up the stairs. My heart hammers against my ribs and my voice raises with panic when I find room after room empty. 
Snatching a shirt and joggers from a pile of clothes in my room, I throw them on while running downstairs. I run out the front door and yell for my mate. 
My palm runs up my face and I fist my hair, looking around the yard for any sign of her. 
"Boss?" Killian says, walking around the house butt-ass-naked with Remi trailing him.
"I can't find Noelle."
"What do you mean, you can't find her? I watched her go into the house," Remi says, walking past me and calling her name from the door.
My irritation at his attempt bubbles over and I snap, "She's not fucking here!" 
"What the fuck is this?" Killian asks, standing by the garage door and pointing to the ground.
I walk over to him and look down at the tire marks. We used a driver to get here, and they parked in front of the house on the horseshoe driveway. I open the keypad on the side of the door and enter the code. The door creeps up to reveal Corbin's black Mercedes sitting on the other side of the garage. 
My gaze darts to Killian and he mumbles, "Fuck." 
We stand in silence for a few moments, and my blood boils in my veins. Noelle is gone, and some fucker took her away from me. 
"That attack. It was a distraction so they could take her," I say quietly. "That's why they were shit fighters. He didn't care if they got hurt or not; it was just a ploy to get us to look the other direction."
"What the hell are we going to do now?" Killian asks, pacing around the garage with his fists clenched at his sides.
"Is there any chance Corbin sent for her?" Remi asks in a small voice, as if he is scared to speak after my outburst.
I glance at him and nod. "Maybe. Let me ask him." I shoot Corbin a text and immediately I get a response back. 
No. Why? Is everything okay? 
"It wasn't him," I say, my shoulders slumping. "Should we tell Corbin? He's going to lose his shit." 
Killian and Remi both nod. "Yes. Maybe he can help," Killian answers. 
I am about to dial Corbin's number when Remi's gaze flashes up to the corner of the garage, his eyes lighting up. "Wait," he says, holding up his hand. "Security cameras." He turns to me and holds out his hand. "You have the app installed on your phone, right? For the security system for this house?" 
Hope wells within me. "Yes, I do." I tap the screen a few times and hand my phone to Remi, who goes to work, tapping and tapping until he reaches the screen with all the cameras—garage, kitchen, living room, den, and dining room. He turns it so Killian and I can watch and taps "Kitchen," rewinding it back before the battle. My heart squeezes in my chest as I watch Noelle give me a good morning kiss and I slap her on the ass before we go to the backyard to train.