down and saw the familiar ruby ring sitting on the corpse’s hand. This fucker was a ghoul, and he’d attacked Ronnie. That meant Ronnie was somewhere nearby, either dead or close to it.
Colt sprang to his feet, even though he felt disconnected from his body. From the world, for that matter.
Maybe there were others. Maybe they had taken Ronnie off somewhere once they realized he was a ghoul, too. There was a chance he was still alive, if that was the case.
It had to be. Colt wouldn’t let himself entertain any other possibility.
Then he noticed something. Something he had been too blinded by rage and grief to notice before. The dead ghoul’s arm had been torn open, and though there wasn’t much flesh missing, it was obvious he had been fed upon. Colt had never known any Alpha ghoul to leave so much of his prey behind, but there was no way Ronnie had done that.
Where the hell was he?
“You have any idea who that is?” Roland asked, his voice coming into focus as he approached.
Colt looked up at him in disbelief until he realized why the sheriff was so calm.
Of course.
He didn’t know that was Ronnie’s blood. How could he? Colt wasn’t even sure how he knew. He suspected drinking it had formed some kind of odd connection between them. Or maybe he was imagining the whole thing.
“No, but Ronnie was here.” Colt stood, feeling the earth shift beneath his feet. He had to stay focused. He had to find Ronnie. That was the only thing that mattered right now.
The faint lines around Roland’s eyes wrinkled in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“That’s Ronnie’s blood all over that fuckface’s mouth,” Colt said, pointing at the corpse. “He was here, and now he’s not.”
“How do you know it’s Ronnie’s blood?” Roland asked, narrowing his eyes.
Colt knew if he gave the honest answer to that question, Roland was going to beat the shit out of him. And he’d have the right. The only reason Colt cared was because he didn’t have the time to waste.
“I just do. Just trust me,” Colt said, following the trail of blood deeper into the forest. It disappeared eventually, which meant either the bleeding had stopped, or Ronnie had been taken, probably while trying to run from his pursuers.
The thought made Colt’s stomach churn. He’d never felt so much rage and fear in the same instant. The emotions warred, threatening to explode because there wasn’t room enough for them both.
“I want every last cop in the city looking for him,” Colt said, turning back to Roland, who wasn’t far behind him. “Human, ghoul, I don’t care. We need to find him.”
Roland stared at him for a few seconds, and Colt could tell he was weighing whether he believed him, as well as all the implications if he did. Colt knew the interrogation wasn’t over, merely postponed, but Roland raised his radio to his mouth and began barking orders to the rest of the police force.
Colt headed back toward his truck, somehow managing to put one foot in front of the other even though his mind was pure chaos.
Ronnie was missing. Ronnie was alone and hurt and probably terrified out of his mind. Whatever had happened to him, it happened because Colt hadn’t been there to protect him. He was never going to forgive himself, no matter what state he found the boy in.
He had to be alive. He just fucking had to be.
“Where are you going?” Roland called out, following Colt to the truck.
Colt stopped, realization crashing over him like a wave. He hadn’t known where he was going, not until that moment.
“I know where Ronnie is,” he replied.
“What? Where?” Roland demanded.
“Just keep looking in case I’m wrong,” Colt said, climbing into his truck. He wasted no time starting it up, ignoring the sheriff’s cries demanding more information. There was no time to waste.
Colt broke every traffic law in the book, but anyone who didn’t recognize his license plates and pulled him over was in for a particularly unpleasant surprise. Somehow, he made it to the docks without getting stopped.
He looked around desperately for any sign Ronnie had been there. Colt didn’t even have a reason to think he would be, other than the strange sense buried deep within his core. It was as inexplicable as him being able to track Ronnie’s blood, but he had no choice but to follow it.
Colt saw a figure at the end of the pier, perched on the