[Rock]Around two in the afternoon, my phone rang. I wiped my hands on my jeans and pulled it out. It was Viola’s cellphone.“Hello?”“Rock, it’s Viola. Austin and Carmen went to get lunch a couple of hours ago and never came back. I went to the store they planned to visit. Austin’s car is here, but there’s no sign of them. I went into the security office and had them check the cameras. I know the guy who works there, so he let me see. The humans called the police. I called you after I called Queen Maeve and Alpha Trent….”“No,” I replied, working not to crush the phone in my hand. “She had a guard. Wylder. Where is he? Where were you? She wasn’t supposed to go out without you.”“We figured it would be fine. It was all the other times when I went with them. They weren’t going anywhere new. It looks like the men who took her and Austin were fighting something we couldn’t see on the camera. I went to where they were fighting and found an unconscious troll. His glamour kept him invisible. Austin parks in the back of the parking lot, so people rarely go there. Otherwise, someone would have hit him and damaged their car. He’s still unconscious. Nothing we do is working to wake him up,” Viola said.That didn’t make sense. Trolls were resistant to potions, most human drugs, and almost all magic. Damn it. This is why I didn’t want Carmen going anywhere with only Austin or Gemma.“One of them must have been an earth witch. We’re allied with the witches in the area. Call Queen Maeve and have her contact them about someone to undo this magic. I’m leaving the site in a couple of minutes. Text me what store you’re at. I’ll be there shortly,” I ordered and hung up.Quickly, I found Tripp and told him he was in charge of the rest of the day and that I might not be at work for the next few days. I needed him and Viola to make sure the men went out to their assigned jobs and didn’t decide if I could take time off, so could they. He didn’t question it. I was sure the look in my eyes discouraged it.I hurried to my truck and checked my cell for the place I was going, then pulled out and sped off in that direction. Most of the time, I was a safe driver. Not for my safety, but for the safety of those around me.This time, I took every opening that would get me where I needed to go faster. It wasn’t a long drive, but it felt like it took forever.When I reached the parking lot, there were a couple of police cars. I parked and turned off my truck. I could see Viola, Queen Maeve, and Alpha Trent talking to a man who definitely looked like a cop, but wasn’t wearing a uniform. The flashing lights and all the people wandering around the cordoned-off area painted a surreal picture.“Rhett. Rhett, come here, now.”It wasn’t long before he appeared on the seat where Carmen normally sat. He was dressed as he normally was and leaned forward after he saw the scene out the windshield of the truck. I could smell the scent of the girl he was taking care of on top of his normal scent.“What happened?”“You weren’t watching? I thought you saw everything.”“I don’t have time to watch over all of you anymore. I have a child to care for. Stop being an asshole. What happened?” he growled.“Someone took Carmen. They overpowered a full-blood troll and another werewolf. Carmen’s gone and you’re going to tell me everything that they’ve been keeping from me. I trusted them to take care of us and keep my mate safe, but they failed. You failed. I will not. Tell me everything, now,” I demanded.He glanced at me, then turned his attention back out of the windshield. My patience was wearing thin. I had a hell of a lot more patience than a normal troll, but I wouldn’t for long.“The cult is worshipping a demon. Not a fae that was called a demon by humans and adopted the moniker. A real demon. One victim of the creature who killed the human you found was a Templar. He survived because your friends, Dennis and Sybil, fought the creature off.“Carmen’s vision was of what happened to Dolly after Oberon and the demon arrived here a few years ago. From what we’ve gathered, the evil of the curse was enough power to help the demon grow. When the curse ended, it still wasn’t strong enough to do what Oberon wanted it to do. It needed more of a following, more power.“Oberon's cult used a spell to draw energy from supernaturals affected by it. They created the rain storm back in September, the one all the fae were warned to stay out of. That warning went out to all supernaturals in the area.“Over the last few months, spies have infiltrated the cult. Some have disappeared, others have had difficulty checking in recently. One of them is Shayle, the troll who was interested in your friend.”“Shayle? That’s where she disappeared to? I thought she went back to the fae realm to lick her wounds.”“That’s what they wanted people to think. She’s been undercover since before Forrest’s coming of age. I’ve been training Harmony Aconitum-Blake on how to use her magic to fight.“The Templar hasn’t been able to draw his sword since he lost his family, so we are lacking in options. We don’t know if Harmony’s magic will be strong enough against a demon. This isn’t a certain victory, which is why we have been working to make sure we have the best conditions.“This is the first time they have abducted someone. They usually entice people. Offer things, their wildest dreams, to make them come along. This could be bad. The Templar talked about human sacrifice, but we hadn’t seen proof of it,” Rhett answered.Of course, they hadn’t. The cult sacrificed the spies who had witnessed it. It seemed so obvious. I was sickened by the idea that our ‘leaders’ weren’t smart enough to see the truth.Trolls were loyal to Queen Maeve because she offered a place to us where we would be safe and respected. We only had to concede a few things to be able to live in the human lands. Giving up aspects of our culture to protect our people and be able to live normal lives had rubbed some trolls the wrong way.Carmen was a troll by mating. All the trolls who met her liked her. They all treated her like a young troll, making sure not to use their full strength and treating her well. This was an insult to our people.Queen Maeve knew my mother hired Wylder, but never said there was a chance someone could take him down. I didn’t know if she knew or if she was just keeping it quiet. I wasn’t inclined to believe the innocent possibilities.“When I first met Wylder, he said the cult was interested in my mate. Do you or any of them know why?” I asked in a slow, bitter voice.Rhett hesitated. It wasn’t in his nature to hesitate. What he did and said next was very important. It would tell me if I could trust him or if he was on the side of the people who kept vital information from me.When I heard the cult was interested in her, I thought it was because of the person who approached her when we were at the store and tried to get her to join the cult. But the fact that she was now missing showed me it was much more, and no one had told me anything about it.“They asked Shayle about Carmen. Then the werewolf spy reported sometime later that they asked him about Carmen. They knew her name. I don’t know how. I can’t get into the place they’re in using my usual methods. The shadows in that place are loyal to the demon. We thought she was safe with the troll watching over her,” Rhett answered.“You were wrong and now they have my mate,” I growled, then got out of the truck.As I stood, I adjusted my glamour. It only barely hid that I was a troll now. I didn’t make myself seem smaller. I made my skin look normal and hid my ears and tusks. Doing the minimum meant something to the fae. It meant we were conserving our magical energy for a fight. Queen Maeve would understand.Without waiting for Rhett to get out of the truck, I made my way to the leaders of the fae and werewolves. Queen Maeve spotted me at about the same time as the cop. Her eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head at me. Viola hid her shock a lot better. The cop stiffened.“Officer, that’s Carmen’s fiancée, Rock Beaumont,” Maeve explained as I approached.“What the hell is that? That can’t be a werewolf,” he hissed.I stopped a few feet from the human and the two leaders who were staring at me with differing looks of fear. Viola lowered her head and stepped back. Trent knew he kept information from me that would’ve made me even more serious about Carmen’s safety. Maeve knew she had done the same, and the troll community could see it as a betrayal. The human was just experiencing the natural fear that comes with being around something that could eat him.“What do you know?” I asked the three of them.“The police are letting us have the video, since this is a supernatural issue. It looks like there were about three of them. Two of them ambushed Austin. Another was dealing with Carmen’s guard. Once they had Austin down, they all went after the guard. Carmen came out, and they changed targets, but something made her jump, so we’re guessing that’s when the guard went down,” Trent answered.Turning my attention entirely to Queen Maeve, I glared down at her.“Did you get the call from Viola about what might have happened to Wylder?” I asked.“I did, and we talked to our allies about getting some help. They won’t send anyone until the humans are gone. My apologies, detective, but some supernaturals still aren’t ready for humans to know about them. I hope you’ll keep this quiet,” Queen Maeve said to him.“So I’m not going to get an answer about what he is? I just have to accept that there’s something bigger and scarier than werewolves in my town?”I leaned down and got right into his face. “I’m a troll, detective. My werewolf mate was just stolen. Although there are lots of untrue stories about werewolves eating humans, every single story about trolls eating humans is true. We are violent, we are deadly, and we, as a group, are about to be very pissed about one of ours going missing.”The man quaked but said nothing. His hand was on his gun, but he didn’t seem capable of moving. His little human brain was registering just how bad this situation was. No matter what his feelings about werewolves were, this was not the time to voice them.“I-i-it… it l-looked like she went with them willingly,” he sputtered.“They probably threatened to hurt Austin. If they could take out Wylder, then Carmen knew she couldn’t fight back or they would hurt her and probably kill Austin. The reason they took Austin was probably to keep her under control. She told me ranked blood werewolves have a natural urge to protect omega wolves because they’re so much weaker. And he’s her best friend’s mate,” I replied, standing up and turning toward Austin’s car.I walked over to it and put my hand on the trunk. Carmen would have realized something was wrong and gone out to look for Austin. I glanced over. The cart return was close. Austin liked parking near them, so he didn’t have to leave whoever he was with alone for too long.Looking around, I found the place where it made the most sense for Wylder to hide. I closed my eyes and put my hand on the ground. Asphalt was difficult to read, but I could feel where it was straining the most and where some of it had been broken by the impact of something larger.Heading in that direction, I found Wylder. He was still cloaked by his glamour. His power was impressive if he could keep it on even when bound by earth magic. With as much strength as I could manage, I kicked him.Wylder grunted, and I kicked him again. Magic wasn’t the only way to fix this. If I could piss him off enough, he could pull out of it.There was a reason trolls didn’t like earth witches. Get one with the right specialty and you were a fuсking lawn ornament until they removed the spell or died. My mother taught me this trick. At least it helped with my frustration.