Liam's POV
The scent hit me like a punch to the gut—Ava. Faint, barely there, but enough to send my wolf into a frenzy.
I crashed through the underbrush, paws tearing through dirt and fallen leaves. Faster. I needed to be faster. My wolf didn’t care about the branches whipping at my sides or the rocks cutting into my pads. All that mattered was reaching her. Finding her.
Then, just ahead, something pale against the dark earth—something that didn’t belong.
I shifted mid-stride, my body snapping back into human form as I skidded to a halt. My breath came sharp and ragged, misting in the cold night air. There. Half-buried in the damp earth, torn at the edges—her boot.
My blood turned to ice.
I knelt, fingers trembling as I picked it up. It was covered in dirt, the leather scratched, but
