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Mia didn't show up for breakfast.
That was the first thing. She always showed up. Even when she was hungover, even when she had a midterm in two hours, even when her mom called at six a.m. to remind her she was a disappointment. Mia showed up with coffee and complained about it.
Today, nothing.
Ella sat in the corner booth at Raven's, the diner two blocks from campus, and watched the door. Her wristband sat heavy on her arm. The metal was cold. It hadn't warmed up since yesterday, since they clamped it on and told her congratulations, she was official now. Registered. Tracked. Tagged like a dog that bites.
She checked her phone again. No new messages. The last text from Mia was from last night, right after Ella left the Bureau.
*You okay?*
Ella had sent back a thumbs-up. She didn't feel like typing out the whole thing. The silver burn on her moon mark, the way Cain Locke stared at her like she was a case file he hadn't decided to open yet, the lady at the front desk who smiled too wide and said, "Welcome to the system."
Mia had replied with a heart emoji and *See you tomorrow. Usual spot.*
That was eleven hours ago.
Ella's coffee had gone cold. She pushed it away and pulled up Mia's contact. Tapped call. It rang four times and went to voicemail. Mia's voice, bright and fake-cheerful: "Hey, you've reached Mia, I'm probably ignoring you, leave a message or don't."
Ella hung up. Tried again. Same thing.
She stood up, left a five on the table, and walked out. The morning was gray and wet, the kind of weather that made everything look like it was filmed through a dirty window. She pulled her hood up and headed toward Mia's apartment.
It was a ten-minute walk. Ella did it in seven.
The building was old, red brick with ivy crawling up the side. Mia lived on the third floor, apartment 3C. Ella buzzed. No answer. She buzzed again, held it down for five seconds. Nothing.
She tried the main door. Locked. She stepped back, looked up at Mia's window. The curtains were drawn. No light inside.
"Excuse me."
Ella turned. A guy in a gray hoodie was standing behind her, keys in hand. He looked annoyed.
"You visiting someone or just loitering?"
"Visiting," Ella said. "My friend's not answering."
He shrugged and unlocked the door. Held it open. "Make it quick. I'm not supposed to let people in."
Ella slipped past him and took the stairs two at a time. Third floor. The hallway smelled like old carpet and someone's burnt toast. She knocked on 3C. Loud.
"Mia. It's me. Open up."
Nothing.
She tried the handle. Locked.
Her wolf stirred under her skin, restless. It didn't like this. Mia's scent was faint, almost gone. Like she hadn't been here in hours. Maybe longer.
Ella pulled a bobby pin from her pocket. Mia had taught her this last year, drunk and laughing, said every girl should know how to pick a lock. Took Ella three tries back then. Today it took one.
The door swung open.
The apartment was dark. Quiet. Ella stepped inside and shut the door behind her. The air smelled stale. No coffee, no perfume, none of the usual Mia clutter of scent.
"Mia?"
Her voice sounded too loud.
She walked through the tiny living room. Mia's laptop was on the couch, closed. Her shoes were by the door. Her jacket was on the hook. Like she'd come home and then just… left. Without her stuff.
Ella checked the bedroom. The bed was made. Mia never made her bed.
The bathroom was empty. Toothbrush still in the cup. Makeup scattered on the counter.
Ella went back to the living room and opened the laptop. It woke up to the lock screen. She tried Mia's birthday. Wrong. Tried her mom's name. Wrong. Tried *wolfgirl123* because Mia thought she was funny.
It unlocked.
Ella pulled up the browser history. Last thing Mia searched: *Marked Registry encrypted files.*
Ella's stomach dropped.
She scrolled down. More searches. *Regulation Bureau missing persons. Werewolf disappearances full moon. How to access government records without clearance.*
The last search was timestamped 11:47 p.m. last night. An hour after Mia texted her.
Ella opened Mia's messages. There was a thread with someone called *L*. No profile picture. The conversation started three days ago.
*L: You said you wanted proof. I have it.*
*Mia: What kind of proof?*
*L: The list. The real one. Not the public registry. The one they don't show you.*
*Mia: How do I know you're not Bureau?*
*L: Because if I was, you'd already be flagged.*
There was a long gap. Then Mia replied.
*Mia: Where do we meet?*
*L: Old rail yard. East side. Midnight. Come alone.*
*Mia: I'm bringing a friend.*
*L: Then don't come.*
Mia sent one more message after that, timestamped 11:51 p.m.
*Mia: I'm coming.*
Ella's hands were shaking. She took a screenshot, sent it to herself, and kept scrolling. There were no messages after that. No calls. Nothing.
She opened Mia's photos. Most of it was junk. Screenshots of memes, pictures of food, a few selfies with Ella. But the recent ones made Ella's chest tighten.
A photo of a document. It looked official. *Regulation Bureau — Internal Clearance Only.* The page was covered in names. Ella recognized some of them. Werewolves from campus. A girl from her history class. The guy who worked at the bookstore.
Every name had a status next to it. Green, yellow, or red.
Mia's name was yellow.
Ella's name was green.
For now.
She kept swiping. Another document. This one was a map. The city, marked with red dots. Each dot had a date next to it. The dates were all full moons. The most recent one was two weeks ago. The next one was tonight.
Ella zoomed in. One of the dots was right over the east rail yard.
Her phone buzzed. She nearly dropped it.
Unknown number.
She opened the message.
*You're in her apartment. You shouldn't be.*
Ella's pulse spiked. She looked around, suddenly aware of how exposed she was. The windows. The door. She hadn't locked it behind her.
Another message.
*If you want to find her, stop looking at old files and start moving. You've got until moonrise.*
Ella typed back fast. *Who is this?*
The reply came immediately.
*Someone who doesn't want you dead yet. Rail yard. East entrance. One hour. Don't bring your phone.*
Then nothing.
Ella stared at the screen. Her wolf was pacing now, clawing at her ribs. It wanted out. It wanted to run, to fight, to find Mia and drag her back.
She looked back at Mia's laptop. Opened the photos again. Scrolled to the last one.
It was blurry, taken from far away, like Mia had zoomed in on something and screenshotted it. It showed the front of the Regulation Bureau. The main entrance. Two people in dark uniforms were holding someone between them. The person's head was down, hood up, but Ella could see the wristband on their arm.
Silver. Just like hers.
Just like Mia's.
The timestamp on the photo was 11:58 p.m. last night.
Mia had sent this to herself right before she left.
Ella zoomed in on the person being dragged. The hood had slipped just enough to show a sliver of face.
Dark hair. Brown skin.
Mia.
Ella's breath caught. She checked the image metadata. It had a location tag.
*Regulation Bureau — Detention Wing.*
She stood up. Her chair scraped loud against the floor. She shoved her phone in her pocket, closed the laptop, and headed for the door.
Her wristband buzzed.
She stopped. Looked down.
The screen on the band had lit up. A single word flashed across it in red.
*FLAGGED.*
Then it went dark.
Ella ran.