Chapter 162

Ava

The water was eerily quiet as our boat finally came to a stop—half an hour of searching, all to no avail. Olivia, if she was ever even here, was apparently long gone by now.

Chris cut the engine, its low rumble fading into silence. I squinted into the darkness, searching for any sign of movement or another vessel, but saw nothing other than the moonlight reflecting off of the calm surface of the water.

It was… peaceful. And utterly devoid of Olivia.

“I don’t see anything,” Ophelia whispered, her hair rustling softly in the breeze as she leaned over the edge of the boat.

Leonard nodded in agreement. “Maybe we should head back. We could be out here all night and not find anything.”

I glanced at Chris, who was still standing at the helm with his jaw clenched tight. I could see the conflict in his eyes—the desire to find his sister warring with the practical need to return to the pack.

He was disappointed, of course. We all were. So close to finding Olivia, and yet… nothing.

“Chris,” I said softly, placing a hand on his arm. “What do you think?”

He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “I hate to admit it, but they might be right. We’ve been searching for half an hour now, and we can’t stay out here all night. The pack will start to wonder where we’ve gone.”

The four of us exchanged disappointed looks, but nodded. “Alright,” Chris said, reaching for the ignition. “Let’s head back and try again tomorrow…”

Just as we were about to turn the boat around, however, Ophelia let out a gasp. “Wait! Look over there!” she hissed.

We all turned to follow her pointing finger. In the distance, barely visible in the darkness, was a small blinking light. As we watched, it headed toward an outcrop of rocks at the corner of the shore.

“That has to be them!” Chris exclaimed, immediately springing into action. He fired up the engine once again, and we lurched forward as he steered us toward the rocks. Almost immediately, the sound of the other engine revving through the water caught our attention, and the blinking light picked up its pace. Within a moment, it disappeared behind the rocks.

Before I knew it, Chris hit the gas and the quiet of the night had been shattered by the roar of our engine as we sped through the water. I gripped the side of the boat tightly, my hair whipping around me and my heart racing. Beside me, Ophelia grabbed my arm, her lips parted in a silent gasp.

As we rounded the rocks, we caught sight of a small speedboat ahead of us. Two figures were visible in the darkness, hunched over the steering wheel as they tried to outrun us.

“Hold on tight!” Chris shouted over the noise of the engine. His jaw was set in stony concentration, reminding me of the last time I had seen him race. This was a different kind of race, but his skills were clearly transferable, and he steered us with practiced precision.

We gained on the other boat quickly, but it was smaller and more nimble than ours, easily weaving between dark rock formations that jutted out of the water. Chris matched their movements, steering our larger boat with impressive skills.

Suddenly, a massive rock loomed directly in front of us. Ophelia let out a scream, and I felt my stomach drop.

“Chris!” I yelled, certain we were about to crash.

At the last possible second, Chris yanked the wheel hard to the right. The boat tilted dangerously, and I was sure we were going to capsize. Water sprayed over us as we skidded sideways, missing the rock by mere inches. Ophelia and I tumbled to the floor, our dresses swirling around our legs, but were quickly caught by Leonard, who wrapped his strong arms around us and held us fast against the side of the boat.

“Is everyone okay?” Chris called out as the boat righted again, not taking his eyes off the boat ahead.

We all mumbled in response, still too shaken and soaked with cold water to speak properly—but, thankfully, unharmed. Leonard let out a nervous laugh as he helped us back to our feet. “Remind me never to doubt your driving skills again, Alpha.”

The chase continued, our boat gaining ground steadily. The other vessel was fast, but Chris’s superior handling was giving us the edge we needed. We followed them into a small cove, the rocky walls rising high on either side of us.

Realizing they were cornered, the two figures in the other boat suddenly dove into the water and ditched their boat, which went careening into another outcrop of rocks in the distance. I felt my ears ring as the boat crashed in an explosion of gasoline and oil, but it didn’t seem to sway Chris.

Nor did it sway the two occupants, who didn’t miss a beat before swimming to shore.

“After them!” Chris shouted, steering our boat toward the narrow strip of beach.

We jumped out as soon as the water was shallow enough, splashing through the waves in pursuit of the fleeing figures. I hiked up my dress, having long since lost my shoes during the chase. Leonard and the scout leaped ahead, powerfully striding through the water.

One of the figures stumbled on the sandy shore, giving Leonard and the scout the chance to tackle them. The other continued running, quickly disappearing into the darkness beyond the beach.

“I’ve got this one!” Leonard called out. “Go after the other!”

Chris and I exchanged a quick glance before taking off after the second figure. But after a few minutes of running clumsily through the sand, it became clear we had lost them.

“Damn it,” Chris muttered, kicking at a nearby piece of flotsam in frustration.

We made our way back to the boat, where Leonard, the scout, and Ophelia were restraining the captured figure in the sand. As we approached, Leonard pulled out a small flashlight and shined it on the person’s face.

I couldn't hold back my gasp of shock as I saw that familiar square jaw and hunter-like eyes.

“Dedrick?!”

It was indeed Dedrick, the same man who had schemed with Olivia to try and take over Moonstone. He looked a little different from when I had last seen him—a bit thinner, with dark circles under his eyes and a wild look about him. But it was, without a doubt, him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Chris demanded, grabbing a fistful of Dedrick’s shirt. “Where is Olivia?!”

Dedrick just glared at us mutely, refusing to speak. But then, as Chris continued to interrogate him, the beam of the flashlight caught something around Dedrick’s neck. There was a faint bluish glow emanating from beneath his shirt, something that Chris missed in his fit of rage.

“Chris…” I breathed, my hand shaking as I pointed at it. Chris paused, following my finger, and his eyes widened.

“What do you have here, Dedrick?” Chris growled. Before Dedrick could answer, Chris reached out and grabbed whatever was hanging from the chain, ripping it from around Dedrick’s neck. As he held it up to the light, we all stared in disbelief.

It was the missing moonstone, its soft blue glow illuminating Chris’s face as he held it up beneath the light of the full moon.