Page 61 of Blood Bound

“But she didn’t exactly jump to action either,” Elias finishes, his brow furrowed in concern.

Marcus rises from his seat, his expression dark. “We need to consider the possibility that Arabella might be aligning with Lucien. Her reluctance to act could be telling.”

I roll my shoulders, wincing against a knot that’s forming. There’s a strange sensation building between my shoulder blades, a feeling like ants crawling beneath my skin. “Fuck. If that’s true, we’re in even deeper shit than we thought,” I mutter, feeling distracted, which is ridiculous considering the gravity of the situation I’m dealing with.

Something is wrong.

The others nod grimly, but I’m not focusing on them. I’m already moving toward the door. There’s something unpleasant tugging at the edges of my consciousness, an insistent pull I can’t ignore.

Something is wrong!

I have to get out of here.

Now!

“Darick, where are you going?” Selene calls after me. “We need to discuss our next move.”

I pause at the threshold, glancing back at them. “I need to check on something. We’ll regroup tomorrow.”

Rowan. She needs me. I know it.

Without waiting for a response, I stride out of the room, my mind focused on one thing: finding Rowan.

The minute or two that it takes me to cross the club feels like a lifetime. Largely because with every step, I know what I’m going to find. As I reach the alcove where I’d left her and sweep back the curtain, my suspicions are confirmed.

It’s empty.

I resist the urge to rip the curtain off its railings. Of course she wouldn’t wait. Why would she? Aside from the fact that we still haven’t set aside our differences, the woman remains true to form; she’ll always be Rowan. Stubborn. Impossible. Headstrong. And a thousand other characteristics that should make her intolerable. But, perversely, they’re also half the things I love about her.

Not love. That would be too strong a word. I’m sure of that.

But admire? Certainly. I’ve never met anyone more invested in their convictions. She’d do anything for those she loves. I know a lot of people who could take a leaf from that book. And it occurs to me that, aside from Marcus, I can’t think of a single soul who’d do that for me.

Then again, I guess we vampires are a soulless lot.

I turn away from the alcove and scan the crowd, hoping to catch sight of her. But the longer I look, the more troubled I get. There’s no sign of her. No sleek crimson ponytail swinging beneath the flashing lights.

I push through the throng on the dance floor, my eyes searching frantically for any sign of Rowan. The pulsing music and flashing lights that usually fade into the background for me now feel oppressive, disorienting.

Where the hell is she?

As I shove past a group of giggling blood groupies, I try to focus on our blood bond. Even when Rowan’s been angry with me, shutting me out as best she can, I’ve always felt a faint tingle of her presence. But now…nothing. Just a cold, empty void where her essence should be.

Panic starts to claw at my chest.

This isn’t right. Something’s very wrong.

I close my eyes, trying to block out the noise around me and concentrate harder on our connection.

“Come on, Rowan,” I murmur. “Where are you?”

But no matter how hard I focus, I can’t sense her. It’s like she’s vanished completely, leaving not even a trace for me to follow. The realization hits me so hard that I have to brace myself against the bar.

“Darick?” Marcus’s voice cuts through my rising panic as he emerges beside me. “What’s wrong?”

I turn to him, not bothering to hide the fear in my eyes. “It’s Rowan. I can’t sense her. At all.”

The implications make my blood run cold because there’s no doubt in my mind as I reach into that dark emptiness where she should be. Someone took her. Someone powerful enough to mask her from me completely.

---