Something was wrong.
I knew it before I saw anything.
Knew it in the way Maddox had stopped growling and gone terrifyingly quiet.
Then we turned the corner.
One of the huge windows had been left wide open.
Cold air rolled through the corridor, thick with pine, damp earth and forest, smearing scents together.
For one second I thought I’d lost her.
Then something sharp cut through the air.
Chemical.
Wrong.
My entire body locked.
Maddox exploded inside me.
I followed the scent down and saw something metallic near the base of the wall.
I crouched and picked it up.
A small hollow needle.
Some kind of dart.
Agatha stopped behind me.
“Oh my God.”
I didn’t hear the rest.
There was blood on the tip.
Almost nothing.
A smear.
A f*****g speck.
Enough.
Ella.
Her blood hit the b
