I glared at him with raw disdain, the heat of betrayal burning through my chest like fire under my ribs.
Did Caleb finally remember the words I had thrown at him when I called for him, when my voice had cracked with desperation?
I was reaching out for him for my mate, for the wolf who should have come to my side without hesitation.
Why hadn't he come? Why had he left me to bleed, to face the shadows alone?
And now, here he stood, pretending, his voice coated with false concern. Who was he trying to fool? Me, or himself?
"It's impossible!" Serena snapped before anyone else could speak, her voice sharp as claws dragging against stone. "If Isabel had been harmed, there would be a reason. If it was for wealth, they would have kept the dress it's worth more than a fortune, diamonds threaded through every stitch. Why cast such treasure aside?"
Her eyes glittered with satisfaction as she twisted her words like blades. "And if jealousy was the motive, the killer would have shredded the dress to pieces, not let it drift on water like some offering. Who would take the time to strip her of it and then vanish, leaving no body behind? No it doesn't make sense."
Her poisonous logic slithered through the room, planting doubt.
Caleb's eyes flickered with a desperate light, as though clinging to the hope she offered. "Exactly. Wasn't there anything else at the scene? Her phone? Her shoes? Some trace of her scent or perhaps the weapon? Any trail of blood leading deeper into the forest?"
The officer shook his head, his voice steady. "Not at this time."
Serena's lips curved into a cruel smile. "Then it's clear. Isabel cast off the dress herself, took a knife to it, and spilled her own blood for the drama. Then she threw it into the river so she could howl from the shadows and have the pack come running. Always craving attention. Always stirring chaos."
Her words were venom, dripping into every ear in the room.
"That rebellious girl has gone too far," my mother's voice sliced in, sharp and cold. "Once it was little tricks to catch the pack's gaze, but now she drags our name before the Alpha's law and the guard wolves. She's shamed us all."
The scent of the Sanders hit the air then my family arriving, summoned to this place of judgment. Their arrival wasn't comfort but condemnation. I felt their disapproval wash over me like ice. From my father's stern glare to my brother's silent accusation, their verdict was the same.
The officer Nelson Tucker lifted his hand, trying to steady the storm. "Mrs. Sanders, please, hold your temper."
"Hold my temper?" my mother spat, her dominance rippling through the air, demanding submission. "If your daughter turned against her pack, betrayed her blood, tried to drown her own kin would you stay calm? Would you stand there like stone while the truth clawed at your throat?"
The room was thick with tension, every wolf caught between instinct and reason.
My brother Ethan checked his watch with deliberate ease, as though he couldn't be bothered with the weight of my blood staining the floor. His voice was cold, detached. "Officer, we don't have time for these games. We came only to tell you this do not waste the pack's strength on childish illusions."
Their dismissal cut deeper than any blade. My own blood, my own kin, refusing to fight for me. Refusing to believe me.
Inside, my wolf snarled, pressing against the fragile cage of my control. The urge to bare my teeth, to show them all I wasn't prey to be hunted down or cast aside, throbbed in my veins.
But I swallowed the growl. My instincts screamed to fight, to defend, to howl my innocence into the night sky until the stars themselves bore witness.
Instead, I stood silent, cloaked in shadow, watching as they twisted my fate into lies.
In their eyes, I was already guilty. In their words, I was already condemned.
And the one wolf who should have shielded me, who should have torn the world apart to find me Caleb sat trembling, torn between loyalty and doubt, the bond between us fraying thread by fragile thread.
I stood there, numb, the ache in my chest spreading like poison through my veins. My heart felt shattered, each beat dragging shards deeper inside me.
I looked at the faces of my parents and brother the wolves who should have been my anchor, my blood, my protection. Their features hadn't changed, yet they felt like strangers wearing familiar skins. The bond that should have tied us together was nothing but a frayed thread, and the more I reached for it, the more it cut into me.
What had I done, in this life or the last, to make them hate me with such ferocity?
Around us, other wolves shifted uneasily, their scents tinged with doubt. One of them finally spoke, his tone edged with disbelief. "She's your kin. Now she's missing she could be in danger, even hurt. Doesn't that stir any concern in you?"
My father's voice was cold, slicing through the air like claws. "I know my daughter. Her hide is thicker than stone, and her pride is bottomless. She would gnaw her own dignity to bones before giving up her life. Besides, she carries the Bolton name now. Who among the pack would dare harm her? Stop wasting your strength. That rebellious girl is likely off somewhere, laughing at us all."
Then he turned his back, dismissing me as though I were less than prey. "I have a council to attend. I won't waste another breath here."
Their departure was rushed, careless. I heard my mother's whisper, sharp with annoyance, drifting behind her like a trail of venom. "Damn it, I didn't even finish my claws. Dragged here for such trivial nonsense."
Serena slid in close to her, her voice soft and oily. "Mom, where did you get your nails done? They look perfect."
"I'll take you later," my mother promised, already sounding lighter, more indulgent. "We'll treat ourselves. If Isabel were as obedient as you, I wouldn't be so stressed. Look at me two new lines on my face, all because of her."
Their words sliced through me deeper than any blade, the casual cruelty of them cutting my heart raw.
When the room finally emptied, silence pressed down heavy and suffocating. Only Caleb remained, his presence filling the space with tension I could almost taste. His shoulders were taut, his wolf restless beneath his skin.
"Mr. Bolton," Nelson Tucker said, his tone cautious but firm. "Did Ms. Sander reach out to you before she vanished? You left the joining ritual so suddenly yesterday. She may have felt abandoned, vulnerable, pushed into despair. If you have any knowledge, it could save her."
The suggestion burned through the air like fire, and I felt Caleb's wolf bristle. The accusation subtle, yet sharp dug its claws into him. His hand slammed down on the table with a crack that echoed through the chamber, his dominance rippling outward in waves that made even seasoned wolves flinch.
"You dare suggest I drove her to death?" His voice was thunder, low and dangerous.
"Caleb "
"She is my mate," he snarled, standing to his full height, his frustration and fury shaking the walls. "And you dare speak of her as if she's already dead? You haven't found a body. You haven't found blood on the earth where she fell. Nothing. So how can you speak such lies?"
"She's your wife!" Nelson pressed, though his voice wavered against Caleb's force.
Caleb's chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, his control thin as ice over a raging current. His eyes burned, his wolf surging against the leash. Then, with a growl that carried both defiance and pain, he turned his back on them.
"Then wait," he bit out, voice raw. "Wait until you find her body before daring to bury her with your words."
He stormed from the room, leaving behind the sharp sting of his scent anger, grief, and something else, something darker, that clung to me like chains.