CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT - A Bitter Betrayal

As they began to assess the damage and care for their wounded, neither of them realized that in the chaos of the retreat, one of Ragnar's wolves had managed to grab an injured and unconscious Rowan, spiriting him away to their stronghold. It wasn't until the next morning, as they were doing a headcount of the pack, that they realized Rowan was missing. The news hit Anna like a physical blow. "We have to find him," she insisted to Erik. "Ragnar must have taken him during the retreat." Erik nodded grimly. "Agreed. But we can't just charge into their territory. We need a plan." Over the next few days, as the pack worked to repair the mansion and heal their wounds, Anna threw herself into planning a rescue mission. She pored over maps of Ragnar's territory, gathered intelligence from their scouts, and selected a small team of their most skilled fighters. The team consisted of Anna, Erik, Marcus, and two other experienced pack members, Lydia and Jace. They spent hours strategizing, goi