Romance

  
  Lily&#39;s Perspective
  It was hopeless. A goddamned dead end.
  Aurora and Brett might as well have vanished into thin air. Nearly forty hours had passed since the kidnappers sent that video of Aurora. Silence. No new demands, no threats, nothing. This quiet was worse than constant harassment—a dull blade slowly sawing through our nerves.
  We&#39;d thrown every resource we had at it. The Moonlight Pack&#39;s networks, both above and below board. Ethan&#39;s contacts in the police and city administration. Even tentative queries to underground information brokers. Surveillance footage was scrubbed frame by frame. Suspect vehicles were tracked and lost. The industrial district where they&#39;d last been seen was turned inside out, sewers included. Jacob roamed day and night like a caged beast, returning each time with red-rimmed eyes, smelling of dust and despair. Celena forced hers

  Brett&#39;s Perspective
  I was starting to get it. In this hellhole, if you wanted to live, to not be treated like a bug waiting to be squashed, you learned two things: keep your senses sharp, and make yourself look like trouble.
  Luka and a couple of the other marginally &quot;friendlier&quot; guys in this makeshift pack had been giving me pointers. Not fancy combat moves or pack lore. Just the dirty, basic rules of street survival.
  &quot;Pup, ears up, nose working,&quot; said a stray they called Scarface—a deep claw mark furrowed his left cheek—as he chewed on suspicious jerky. &quot;No one&#39;s your friend here, but everyone&#39;s a signpost. They get tense, guards are coming or someone nasty&#39;s on the move. They relax, maybe you can breathe. Scents, sounds, even how tight their muscles are when they walk… you notice it all. We ain&#39;t territory wolves with a cozy den. We&

  Aurora &#39;s Perspective
  Through the arm locked around his throat, I could feel his pulse jackhammering, wild and frantic. A choked, gurgling sound escaped him, his face flushing, glasses askew. The scent of fear—sharp, sour, purely human terror—poured from him, overwhelming the smells of disinfectant and dust. Good. Fear was good. Fearful people told the truth.
  &quot;Don&#39;t move! A sound, and I snap your neck!&quot; I hissed, my voice low and guttural, carrying an unconscious, predatory rasp. &quot;Talk! Where is this?! Who are you people?! Why am I here?!&quot;
  &quot;Mmph… grrh…&quot; He struggled weakly, fingers clawing at my forearm. I eased the pressure just enough for him to breathe and speak, but kept my hand clamped over his mouth.
  &quot;Talk!&quot; I tightened my grip for a split second.
  &quot;D-don&#39;t kill me!&quot; he whimpered, the words muffled. &quot;I… I

Lily&#39;s Perspective
  It was hopeless. A goddamned dead end.
  Aurora and Brett might as well have vanished into thin air. Nearly forty hours had passed since the kidnappers sent that video of Aurora. Silence. No new demands, no threats, nothing. This quiet was worse than constant harassment—a dull blade slowly sawing through our nerves.
  We&#39;d thrown every resource we had at it. The Moonlight Pack&#39;s networks, both above and below board. Ethan&#39;s contacts in the police and city administration. Even tentative queries to underground information brokers. Surveillance footage was scrubbed frame by frame. Suspect vehicles were tracked and lost. The industrial district where they&#39;d last been seen was turned inside out, sewers included. Jacob roamed day and night like a caged beast, returning each time with red-rimmed eyes, smelling of dust and despair. Celena forced herself to maintain the pack&#39;s daily routines, but everyone could see she was a ghost, her gaze often 

Chapter 257