Chapter 472

Adele trudged back to her quarters, exhausted beyond belief. It had been a hellishly long day at the clinic since her workload had doubled, if not tripled.
Just days ago, she’d been at her office minding her business when there was sounds of commotion. She’d stepped outside only to find men in suits arresting every single worker and doctor in the vicinity, seizing anything they could get their hands on.
They hadn’t spared her either.
She’d been hauled off to the Lycanthrope Intelligence Agency (LIA), and interrogated relentlessly about her connection to Patrick Vales, or rather, Elias Turner. The source of this content ɪs
They tried to be subtle, but Adele wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what this was. Alpha King Elijah was under fire—cornered by President Roy—and scrambling to clean up the ignis mess. A mess they were still desperately trying to keep under wraps.
Because, really, what would happen if the public discovered a drug existed that could give them powers like werewolves, but without knowing the consequences?
Even though humans and werewolves now lived side by side, racism hadn’t magically vanished. Adele didn’t even want to imagine what a hateful human would do if they got their hands on something like that.
She was eventually released, but that didn’t mean she was over it. What pissed her off most was that Elijah had let her get taken. And for what? She knew practically nothing about ignis. Hell, she’d saved his precious heirs during the attack. And this was her thanks? That man didn’t know the first damn thing about loyalty.
Thanks to that incident, the hospital remained shut until further notice. But her clinic? It was still very much open. Unfortunately.
In an academy filled with aggressive werewolves and spoiled human brats who’d rather fake an injury than endure one of Commander Malakai’s classes, yep, life was thriving—note the sarcasm.
A vacation would have been nice at a time like this.
Sure, using her powers to heal was her life’s calling. But babysitting these entitled kids? Not so much. Elijah had brought her here to care for his heirs, not to run the entire damn school infirmary.
At this rate, she’d need an assistant. Or better yet, she’d just take over the whole damn hospital. Elijah owed her that much if he was going to turn her into a full-time employee.
She’d bring it up with him later. For now, she needed sleep.
However, the moment Adele stepped into her quarters, she froze.
“What the hell?”
It looked like a tornado had ripped through the room, no, more like someone had ransacked the place with desperate, greedy hands. Furniture was overturned with the cushions tossed to the ground, but it was the paintings on the wall that gave her pause — hasty, chaotic drawings that didn’t make sense.
It was happening.
Panic prickled at the back of Adele’s neck as she rushed inside and there she was. Mary was curled up on the floor sketching like a girl possessed. Again.
Adele sighed and crouched beside her, trying to keep calm. She’d grown used to these outbursts since Mary’s visions sometimes hijacked her senses and turned her into a frantic artist. She had even started keeping sketchbooks on standby to make it easier when the episodes hit.
Mary should’ve been in the East by now, at the Seers sanctuary, learning to control her powers. But Alice had insisted her “time here hasn’t been served yet.” Adele hadn’t understood what that meant until now.
The floor was littered with pages upon pages of drawings scrawled in frantic charcoal and ink. Adele picked one up and though the lines were erratic, she could still make it out a girl surrounded by four wolves.
Violet.
Of course it was Violet. Nearly every one of Mary’s visions revolved around the cardinal alphas and Violet Purple. Most were cryptic. But this one felt like a message that couldn’t be ignored.
Adele began collecting the scattered pages. Several were odd fragments, unfinished sketches that didn’t make sense until she pieced them together like a puzzle. As she shifted the papers into place, the fragments formed an image and it was of a building. Some lodge or something tucked away in the woods.
And then she saw it scrawled in jagged handwriting near the corner:
“Pine Ridge Lodge.”
She whispered it aloud, almost like a question. But Mary didn’t respond, still trapped in her trance, furiously shading a single spot on the next sketch until the paper nearly tore.
Worried, Adele reached out and touched her. Mary jolted upright with a sharp gasp.
Mary’s eyes were wide as she looked around. Her hand loosened its death grip on the pencil and dropped it to the floor.
“You’re okay,” Adele said softly, steadying her. “You’re safe now.”
But then her gaze fell to the final drawing, and this one was more detailed, more haunting than the rest. A girl was hunched over what looked like a wounded wolf, her hands pressed to its side healing it?
Mary followed her gaze and said, “I don’t think you’re supposed to be here.”
Adele didn’t need further convincing at all. She was already on her feet, turning back the same way she came from.
These damn cardinal alphas were going to be the death of her.
Adele snatched up her phone and called Griffin. Violet had to be with him. But his line didn’t connect.
Neither did Asher’s. Or Alaric’s. Or Roman’s.
A string of curses flew from her lips. She was dangerously close to losing her mind.
Frantic, she searched up Pine Ridge Lodge and of course, it was real. A real, secluded cabin in the damn mountains. Just perfect for trouble. Great.
She spun around, ready to bolt to her car only to scream when someone appeared directly in front of her.
“Sorry to scare you,” Micah said, eerily calm. “I was hoping to speak with the student in your custody with your permission but you seem to be in a hurry. Everything alright?”
“All is well,” Adele snapped as she moved to walk past him.
But he stepped slightly into her path.
“Are you sure?”
That stopped her cold.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you want, Micah?”
They were never particularly close. The man was too quiet, and too unreadable. Not to mention, he had a way of unnerving her even when he wasn’t trying.
Micah tilted his head slightly, his gaze unblinking. “Your energy is all over the place, and the only times I’ve picked up something this chaotic from you is when the cardinal alphas are in danger.”
His voice dropped an octave.
“What’s happened this time?”