Aries POV
Branches whipped past me, slashing against my fur as I tore through the forest, following the trail of blood like a starved predator.
The coppery scent filled my nose, and it took everything in me not to lose control—to not let the rage building in my chest consume me.
She was just there.
They couldn't have gone far.
With that conviction, I pushed myself harder, paws pounding against the earth. Every second counted. Every heartbeat mattered.
Please let me find her in time, I prayed again and again, desperate and relentless.
Then suddenly, I skidded to a halt.
The trail—gone.
No more blood. No more scent. Just two diverging paths and a sickening silence.
I dropped my nose to the ground, tried to sniff out anything, any trace she might have left behind. But there was noth
