Page 58 of Mane Attraction
He turned to Janice, his expression softening slightly. “I need you to go back to the ballroom. Tell the pride what’s happened—that Crispin has taken Xelene. Keep them calm, keep them here. Your experience managing crises should serve you well.”
Janice nodded with fierce determination. “I’ll handle it. Just... bring her back safely.”
“I will.” Lev’s voice carried the absolute certainty of an Alpha who would burn the world down for his mate.
Benjamin was already stripping off his own formal wear, his movements efficient and practiced. “I’m coming with you.”
It wasn’t a question, and Lev felt a surge of gratitude for his friend’s unwavering loyalty. “It could be dangerous. If Crispin’s desperate enough to kidnap her?—”
“Then you’ll need backup.” Benjamin’s green eyes flashed with their own predatory light.
The transformation began as soon as Lev’s last piece of clothing hit the marble floor. Power rippled through his massive frame as bones lengthened and muscles expanded. His golden mane erupted from his skull like a crown of fire, and when the shift completed, he stood nearly four feet at the shoulder—a magnificent beast built for dominance and destruction.
Beside him, Benjamin’s own transformation was equally impressive, his darker mane and slightly smaller frame perfectly complementing Lev’s raw power. Together, they made a formidable hunting pair.
Lev’s enhanced senses immediately picked up Xelene’s scent—lavender and something uniquely her that made his lion rumble with possessive need. The trail led from the main foyer toward the castle’s side exit, growing stronger as they followed it into the cool night air.
The two lions bounded across the manicured grounds with fluid grace, their powerful legs eating up distance as they tracked the scent through the pride territory. Lev’s mind raced even as his body moved with predatory purpose.
Where would Crispin take her? Somewhere isolated, somewhere he could...
The thought made Lev’s lion snarl with murderous intent. When he found Crispin—and he would find him—there would be no mercy. No honorable combat. Just swift, brutal justice for daring to touch what belonged to Lev.
They ran for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, following the scent trail through familiar streets and into the wilder areas beyond the city proper. Lev’s hearthammered against his ribs as they entered the northern woodland, where the purple trees grew thick and the undergrowth provided countless hiding places.
Then, abruptly, the trail went cold.
Lev skidded to a halt, his massive head swinging left and right as he searched desperately for any trace of Xelene’s scent. But there was nothing—just the earthy smell of decomposing leaves and the faint musk of other woodland creatures.
No. This can’t be where it ends.
Benjamin circled back, his own frustration evident in the way his tail lashed against the ground. Through their shifter bond, Lev felt his friend’s determination and shared desperation.
We’ll find her,Benjamin projected.There has to be something we missed.
But as Lev cast about in an ever-widening circle, hope began to fade. The scent trail was completely gone, as if Xelene had simply vanished into thin air. Either Crispin had been clever enough to mask their trail somehow, or...
Somewhere out there, his mate was in the hands of a madman, and he was no closer to finding her than when they’d started.
Hold on,he projected into the ether, praying she could somehow hear him through their dimmed bond.I’m coming for you.
THIRTY-SEVEN
LEV
Lev forced his massive lion form to stillness among the shadowed trees, his eyes closing as he reached deep into the mate bond that connected him to Xelene. The connection had been a whisper for too long, barely there, like trying to hear a conversation through thick walls. But now?—
There.
The bond pulsed stronger, carrying waves of determination mixed with fear. His mate was fighting. Whatever hell Crispin had put her through, she hadn’t broken. Pride surged through Lev’s chest, followed immediately by murderous rage. That bastard would pay for every moment of terror he’d inflicted on her.
Lev’s powerful haunches bunched as he prepared to spring forward, Benjamin’s darker form moving in perfect synchronization beside him. They’d hunted together since childhood, and his friend’s loyalty ran bone-deep. Together, they bounded through the woodland, crashing through undergrowth with lethal grace.
The sound hit him first—human footsteps, desperate and uneven, crashing through the forest like prey fleeing a predator. Lev’s enhanced hearing picked up the sharp snap of twigs, therustle of disturbed leaves, and beneath it all, the rapid rhythm of a racing heart he’d recognize anywhere.
Xelene.
She burst through a thicket of purple-leafed trees like a vision from his worst nightmare. Her elegant black cocktail dress was rumpled and dirty, the fabric clinging to her legs as she ran barefoot across the forest floor. Her dark hair had escaped its careful styling, wild strands framing her face as she glanced over her shoulder with naked terror.
