For Me,There Is Only You |18+|

69. Someone's Trash, Someone's Treasure

The very next day, after we returned from Emberreach, Ansel called for an emergency meeting.

Grandma and Grandpa were getting ready to leave for the sanctuary soon after us.

It would take time to speak with Zephyra and uncover the truth behind the cryptic text. And even though Ansel was uneasy about involving an Elder, we no longer had a choice.

We needed answers—and Zephyra might be the only one who had them.

The truth was, whether elemental, werewolf, or Elder, we were all already in too deep.

But what weighed most on Ansel's mind wasn't just the riddles or ancient warnings, it was the missing children.

He couldn't stand the thought of them going through the kind of pain he once did.

That's why, when he told the others more children had been abducted, no one argued.

Everyone agreed, they needed to widen the search. The children had to be found. And they had to be saved.

Some time ago, they discovered a warehouse the Shadow Weavers had been using. Phoebe tried to read the lingering energy from the objects left behind with her echo touch, and Kyler attempted to track them using personal belongings, such as strands of hair.

But the Shadow Weavers had covered their tracks too well—everything was too clean, too precise. Almost unnatural.

Still, Kyler managed to find a lead. The strands of hair left behind held just enough of a trace for his tracker abilities to pick up a fragmented trail.

It pointed out the person's movement across three different locations. So, they split up—Kyler and Ezra went to one, Karson and Genesis to another, and Ansel and Phoebe followed the third lead.

Noel stayed back at headquarters to coordinate intel, while Nathan was tied up with his pack duties.

I knew the others wouldn't be back for a while, the places they'd gone were all far apart. That's why Ansel had been so hesitant to leave me here alone.

But he didn't have a choice.

Zev, on the other hand... had gone quiet again.

I had braced myself for his anger, for the storm of jealousy or frustration after the time I spent with Ansel. But nothing came. No harsh words. No cold remarks. Just silence.

And that silence made it even harder to figure him out.

He was becoming impossible to read. I didn't know what was going on in his head anymore.

While they were all out in the field, I stayed behind and went down to the basement, hoping to find the original journal the torn pages had come from.

I spent more than half the day digging through every dusty shelf and box I could reach, but found nothing.

After that, I searched Ansel's study and even his father's old office, where I had once found the journal about the Nexus.

Still... nothing. Not a single clue.

I didn't stop until night had completely swallowed the sky.

Exhaustion settled on me, mixing with the jet lag I hadn't fully shaken off.

Lately, even the smallest effort left me drained. I didn't know why I was tiring so easily these days.

My head felt off... too light, yet too heavy, like it couldn't decide which way to fall.

I barely made it to the bed before everything faded into black.

I must've slept for maybe two hours—no more. When I cracked my eyes open, the clock on the wall glowed: 10:03 p.m.