Vanishing Point
852 Words
The name of the missing person was Elena Carter.
Nineteen years old. A waitress at the Howl & Stag Tavern. Last seen walking home after her shift.
No signs of struggle. No footprints leading anywhere. Just gone.
The news spread fast. By the time Aria reached the tavern, a small crowd had gathered.
“She’s not the first,” someone murmured. “People disappear here all the time.”
“She’ll come back,” another voice said uncertainly. “They always do.”
That sent a chill down Aria’s spine.
Liam was already there, speaking with a woman in her forties. She had dark, tightly coiled hair and an air of authority that rivaled his.
Aria edged closer, catching part of the conversation.
“This isn’t random,” the woman said. “It’s the third one this year.”
“I know,” Liam replied, his voice tight and controlled. “We’ll find her, Helena.”
The woman, Helena, crossed her arms. “You’d better. The pack is getting restless.”
The pack.
Aria’s fingers tightened around her notebook. If she wanted answers, she needed to stay close to this.
“Who was Elena with last night?” Liam asked.
Helena hesitated. Then, reluctantly, she said, “She left with Silas Cain.”
Liam’s entire posture shifted—shoulders tensing, jaw tightening.
Aria knew that look. It was the look of a man who had just heard a name he really didn’t like.
“Where can I find him?” Liam asked.
Helena exhaled. “If I had to guess? The old mill. But be careful, Liam. Silas isn’t one of us anymore.”
Liam’s expression darkened.
“Exactly,” he said.
Aria had heard enough.
“Who’s Silas?” she asked.
Liam turned to her. For a moment, she thought he wouldn’t answer. Then, finally
“He’s a rogue.”
Aria frowned. “Meaning?”
Liam’s eyes locked onto hers.
“Meaning he’s a wolf without a pack. And that makes him dangerous.”
The old mill sat at the edge of town, abandoned and half swallowed by the forest. It had been out of use for years, its wooden frame warped with age, its windows shattered.
It looked like the kind of place where people went to disappear.
And Aria was about to walk straight into it.
“Stay here,” Liam ordered as they approached.
Aria scoffed. “Not a chance.”
Liam exhaled sharply, as if debating whether it was worth arguing. But before he could, the other man, the one who wasn’t his brother, grinned at her.
“I like her,” he said.
Liam shot him a glare. “Ronan, shut up.”
Ronan. So that was his name.
Unlike Liam, who radiated controlled authority, Ronan had a sharp, reckless energy about him. His grin was a little too easy, his posture a little too relaxed. But there was something dangerous lurking beneath it.
“Suit yourself,” Ronan said. “If she gets eaten, it’s on you.”
Before Aria could ask what exactly he meant by eaten, Liam pushed open the mill’s heavy door.
Inside, the air smelled of damp wood and something else, something metallic.
Blood.
A single lantern flickered in the far corner. And leaning against the wall beneath it, arms crossed, was Silas Cain.
He looked like trouble.
Tall, lean, with jagged features and dark hair that fell over his eyes. He wore a torn leather jacket, and his smirk was all teeth.
“Well, well,” Silas drawled. “If it isn’t the Alpha himself. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Liam didn’t waste time. “Where’s Elena?”
Silas sighed dramatically. “Straight to business. No ‘hello, Silas, how’s exile treating you?’”
Liam took a step forward, his presence filling the space. “I won’t ask twice.”
For a second, the air between them vibrated with something unspoken. Power.
Then Silas grinned. “Relax, Alpha. I didn’t touch your little pup.”
Aria watched closely. There was something unsettling about Silas. Not just the way he looked at Liam, but the way he looked at her. Like he knew something she didn’t.
“You were the last person seen with her,” Liam said.
Silas tilted his head. “And you think that means something? Maybe she just didn’t want to be found.”
Liam’s jaw tightened. “She’s not the first girl to disappear.”
Silas’ smirk widened. “No, she’s not.”
The tension in the room was suffocating.
Then, too fast for Aria to track, Liam grabbed Silas by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
The smirk vanished.
Liam’s voice was low, lethal. “If you know something, you’re going to tell me.”
Silas didn’t flinch. Instead, his expression turned cold.
“You think you’re the only one with problems, Liam?” he hissed. “Wake up. Something is coming. And when it gets here, your pack won’t be enough to stop it.”
For the first time, Aria saw something flicker in Liam’s eyes.
Not anger.
Fear?.
- Writer
