Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Jake

My mate had vanished without a trace. Although her smell was still in the room, it was faint. The other scent was artificial and so strong that it overpowered all the other aromas, making them dissipate into the air. It was a pungent chemical smell, unfamiliar to my sensitive nose, like a mixture of burnt rubber, gasoline, and something else I couldn't quite identify.

Evelyn was gone.

The smell of fear lingered in the air like a corpse, slowly decomposing until it was nothing more than bones and shadows.

The sun had sunk low and cast a cold light on the scene, but it didn’t matter. I knew what I saw. Someone scattered her belongings around the lodge. Her empty shoes were placed neatly by the door, as if she had taken them off before she left. But she hadn’t left willingly. The smell of fear still lingered in the air. It was faint, but combined with what I had felt earlier, I realized this was not her choice. Someone had forced her here, and I felt my grip on my com