From Bait to Queen: The Rejected Mate's Destiny

Dean POV:

The screen in the VIP box went black.

"What happened?" Karina complained. "I wanted to see her ripped apart."

I stared at the static. A sudden, sharp pain pierced my chest-like a violin string pulled until it snapped.

"Dean?" Karina touched my arm.

I flinched. Her touch felt wrong. The sweet scent that usually surrounded her was gone, replaced by something acrid. Sweat. And lies.

"We're leaving," I growled.

"But my winnings!"

"Now!" I roared. The Alpha Command slipped out.

We drove back to the penthouse in silence. A void opened up inside me, a black hole sucking in the air. I doubled over, gasping.

Hayley? I pushed the thought through the mind-link.

Silence. The silence of a disconnected line.

"Alpha!" Marcus burst in. "The Blood Pit... it's gone. Explosion. No survivors found yet."

"No," I whispered.

"She might have escaped," Karina said, leaning in the doorway. "Rats are good at running."

I looked at her. Really looked at her. Without the fog in my brain, she looked... plastic. Cruel.

"Shut up," I snarled.

I pulled up the traffic cams on my tablet. In the smoke, a large figure emerged carrying a small, limp body. Brennen.

Hayley wasn't moving. Her head hung at a sickening angle.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. The drug, the hex, whatever had been clouding my mind-it shattered the moment the bond severed.

"Get the car," I ordered Marcus.

"Where are we going?"

"To the ruins. I need to see it."