Darcon shook his head, taking off at a jog toward the fjord south of the village. Kull kept pace beside him after glancing around for the other alpha.
“I didn’t pass anyone else on the beach.”
“He came out with us and said he was going to follow your trail while me and Aesir went south.”
Darcon shook his head again, focusing on the swarm of people at the base of the cliff that led up to the village.
“I didn’t see him. He wasn’t on the beach.”
Kull was silent for a moment as they approached the other warriors.
“Maybe he found a trail and followed it,” Kull offered as they stopped beside Larok.
Darcon had checked every step of the beach. He knew there hadn’t been anything there for Kantor to find, but he wasn’t going to argue the point. It was more likely the redheaded alpha was still brushing off the seriousness of the situation and went back to the village.
“Larok, what’s going on?”
The Second met his eye, the solemn expression on his face causing Darcon’s gut to clench in anticipation of his words.
“Roggern was stabbed in the back. Between the tide and the rocks, no one has found a trail yet. We’re going to have to wait for daylight.”
“Fuck that!”
The curse was out of his mouth before he thought, but there was no way he was waiting for morning. It was obvious what happened, and he wasn’t going to leave Autumn with a murderer one second longer than it took to find them. And the sooner they started looking, the sooner that would be.
He was already turning to go when a hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to pause.
“Darcon, I want to find her just as much as you do, but there’s no use wearing yourself out when there’s no light to see by.”
He didn’t care what Larok said, he wasn’t going to stop. Yanking the torch from Kull’s grip, he snarled at the Second.
“No one wants to find her more than me. She’s mine. I won’t stop till she’s safe.”
He jerked his shoulder away and stormed off. He was almost out of sight of the warriors still milling around when he heard footsteps hurrying behind him. Letting out a snarl, he turned to see Kull.
“You don’t know how many there are, and two can search faster than one.”
Darcon clenched his teeth but gave Kull a short nod. The man was right and finding Autumn as fast as possible was more important than it being him that found her.
Kull thought to grab another torch, so they spread out to cover the width of the beach in light, keeping an eye out for clues as they made their way to the hill that marked the edge of the fjord. They slowed as they rounded it and Kull pointed to where Roggern’s body had been found.
“It’s likely whoever did it was hiding behind those boulders. I doubt anyone would have caught him unaware enough to stab him in the back otherwise.”
Darcon grunted, sending a short prayer to the gods for the alpha. No warrior wanted to go down to a coward slipping a knife between his ribs without a chance to fight.
“Unless there was more than one.”
The men split up, scouring the area for a trail. The cliff was lower here and wouldn’t be hard for a man to climb down from above, but he doubted Autumn could manage it. Trying to carry a captive up it would be almost impossible. Especially if that person was fighting them. Autumn may be meek and reserved, but he doubted she would go quietly after watching her captor murder one of the men she’d come to know over the past few weeks.
Since the tide had washed away all footprints that may have been left in the sand, they had no way of knowing which way they would have walked along the beach. Still, he searched, hoping for a stroke of luck.
They searched until the sun began to peek over the horizon, creating new torches as the previous ones burned out. Darcon’s eyes burned and his body was dragging from fatigue. He watched as Kull rubbed his eyes, so he knew the other alpha felt the same, but they both pushed on.
Darcon couldn’t admit defeat.
They had spread out from the point where Roggern had been found, but as the light strengthened, they returned to the original spot. They’d ignored the cliff, focusing on the beach as the most likely route, but with more light they could try to see if the harder path had been taken.
Darcon was surprised to see Aesir sitting on one of the boulders with three bags resting at his feet.
“I’ve brought breakfast,” he announced, jumping down and holding out a folded cloth to both of them.
Darcon accepted it, finding half of a roasted rabbit inside. It was slightly cold, but as hungry as he was, he didn’t care. He devoured it, giving Aesir a nod of gratitude as he wiped the grease from his face and fingers.
Aesir reached down to the bags at his feet, holding the first out to Kull before passing another to Darcon. Peeking inside, Darcon found a change of clothes, a bedroll, and everything he would usually take on an extended hunting trip.
“Larok sent a messenger to Verik and expects him to return soon. In the meantime, he has the warriors sweeping the area around the cavern in an outward spiral. We’re to report in every couple days so he knows where we are.”
“Where does he want us to start?”
“Right here. He was hoping you’d have found something.”
Darcon grimaced.
“So did I.”
Glancing up at the cliff behind Aesir, he spotted a fresh scrape in the dirt just above the alpha’s head.
“And maybe I have.”
Chapter Sixteen
Autumn
Once again, Autumn had no idea how long she was out. Vargan was already on the move when she came back to awareness, the grogginess lingering even after her eyes opened.
She hung limp over his shoulder for a while, watching the ground pass as she tried to pull herself together. Despite the fact the sun was up and she’d clearly slept a good six hours, Autumn felt exhausted, the drugs in her system trying to pull her back under.
Her arms had ached the last time she woke, but she could no longer feel them besides a deep throbbing in her shoulders. She tried to wiggle her fingers but they were so numb she couldn’t tell if they responded or not.
Arching her back to lift her head, Autumn tried to get a better look around. They were still moving through forest but more of the trees were evergreens instead of the deciduous trees from around the village. That, coupled with the sun on her right, made her think Vargan was carrying her deeper into the mountains of the north.
She choked up for a minute, tears flooding her eyes. What good did it do to know which way he was taking her if he kept her drugged so she couldn’t get away?
Sucking in a deep breath through her nose, the urge to gag over Vargan’s scent distracted her from spiraling. She’d always found Darcon’s scent attractive, and the other alphas mostly had pleasant scents, but Vargan’s was repulsive. He smelled of stale sweat and semen with the coppery tang of blood.
The world suddenly flipped as Vargan leaned forward and let Autumn slide from his shoulder. She landed on the ground with a yelp, pain spreading through her hips and up her spine. The jolt to her shoulders awakened the throbbing, intensifying it to the point where she hunched in on herself, trying to move them into a more natural position.
Vargan moved behind her, yanking her wrists before she knew what he was going to do. Her cry was muffled by the gag in her mouth, but it didn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face.