Emma pov

　　"Let's go back to the Lone Mountain Pack, let's go to the house Ava was in," I suggest thoughtfully, starting to bite my thumb's nail. "Her mother... well, her supposed mother, will have to tell us the truth."

　　Matthew stands in front of me, his green eyes suddenly darkening, his hand comes to my face, removing my hand from my lips. His touch brings me a wave of calmness, his eyes filled with seriousness, also convey empathy towards me.

　　"Emma, calm down. Take deep breaths, like this..." Matthew inhales through his nostrils, and I mimic him. "Hold your breath inside for a bit and count with me... one, two, three, four, five. Now release the air very slowly, through your mouth, like this." Matthew's lips are slightly parted by a few centimeters, forming the letter 'O' as the air exits through his lips, I do the same. "Again," he commands.

　　We control our breaths together for a few minutes, until I feel calmer and more relaxed. "Thank you," I whisper softly, and Matthew smiles gently, running his fingers on my cheek, causing me to close my eyes for a few seconds with

　　 that gentle touch.

　　"Now we can go after Milena Golden again," Matthew replies a bit more humorously, making me let out a relieved laugh.

　　I keep my anxiety more under control while Matthew drives us back to the Lone Mountain Pack. We don't talk much during the journey. Just more theories about what could have happened.

　　"Maybe it's necessary to call the sorcerer Vini to search her mind," I suggest thoughtfully.

　　"Let's first see what we can find out with Milena. I find it very strange how easily Emily came to us, especially after what she said yesterday, that her mother was strict," Matthew remarks seriously, and I reflect on his point of view.

　　When we arrive at Milena Golden's address, we notice the door unlocked and ajar. This already alarms both me and Matthew. "Stay behind me, Emma," Matthew orders as soon as we get out of the car, and I obey him. With great calmness and caution, we approach the door of the house, "Hello? Is anyone home? The door is open!" Matthew speaks loudly as we enter. "Milena Golden? Are you home, miss? This is Matthew Anderson, alpha of the Night Howlers Pack."

　　However, there was no response. In fact, there was nothing in the house. No furniture in sight, everything that was there yesterday was gone.

　　"What the hell happened here?" Matthew curses confused, and I pass by him, entering other rooms, and they are all empty.

　　"Everything disappeared, just disappeared!" I comment scared. There's nothing left inside the house. Milena Golden simply vanished without leaving anything behind.

　　Unable to believe our bad luck, I searched every room in the house, even the backyard, to find any trace that Milena Golden lived there. Matthew also searched, but we found nothing.

　　"Let's go back to the car and drive around the block. It's impossible for someone to just disappear with everything like this, out of nowhere. In less than twenty-four hours!" I declare incredulously as I leave the house. Matthew is right behind me, and I notice how quiet he's been in the last few minutes. When we get into the car, he doesn't start driving right away, and I wonder about it. "Matt, what's wrong?" I ask, concerned.

　　"What you said... that it's impossible to vanish like this in less than twenty-four hours, maybe she was already planning this, Emma," Matthew theorizes, and I become even more intrigued by the situation. "Let's do what you said, let's drive around the block. But I don't think we'll find anything."

　　I don't argue with Matthew about the plan to drive around the block. We stop a few neighbors from the house, but no one seems to have seen anything strange, not even Milena Golden in the past few days.

　　"It's better if we go back home, Ava might have woken up by now," Matthew suggests after we've been driving around the nearby blocks for an hour and talked to some neighbors. I agree without much expectation.

　　My mind tries to come up with a new plan, something we overlooked. Suddenly, I feel Matthew's hand on my thigh and a light squeeze of his fingers against my skin. I look at him, startled, his eyes still focused on the road. "You're starting to get anxious again, I thought this would help distract your thoughts," Matthew comments without looking away from the road, squeezing his fingers against my thigh again, making me catch my breath.

　　My mind indeed focuses on the sensation of his skin touching mine, the perfect pressure he applies, comforting and yet sensual. I feel a surge of arousal, but I push it away, biting my lower lip, and banishing the images of the night we slept together.

　　I look at Matthew driving, his concentration on the road, his left-hand firm on the wheel while his right hand continues resting on my bare thigh. "Feeling better, Emma?" Matthew asks, finally looking at me. His dark green eyes flash with a promiscuous desire that I remember from the night we slept together. I swallow hard and nod. A smirk forms on his lips before Matthew removes his hand. The warmth that was on my thigh slowly dissipated, and I felt the urge to ask him to do it again.

　　"If Ava doesn't wake up, what do you plan to do, Emma?" Matthew asks as he parks the car in his garage. I inhale deeply and look at him with sorrow, his expression full of empathy, and I can feel the tenderness in his presence and how he has supported me on this journey, even though it's not his obligation.

　　"I'll try to wake her up. I'll go after Milena Golden to the ends of the earth. I'll find out who was the sorcerer who cast this spell on her. I won't give up on my best friend, especially now that I've found out she's alive!" I declare determinedly.

　　"Whatever you need to make this happen, I'll be here to help you, Emma," Matthew declares with tenderness, warming my heart. With a sudden desire, I lean towards Matthew's face and give him a light kiss on the cheek, wishing I could do it on his lips, his sweetest and most delicious lips. It was a simple and quick gesture, but it gave me butterflies and comfort at the same time.