Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Axel's POV

"Was the envelope delivered directly to Dr. W’s desk?" I asked, leaning back against the edge of my desk, my eyes fixed on the thick file in my hands.

"Yes, Alpha," Devlan, My Beta and the head of my guards replied, snapping his feet together with military precision. "Our courier confirmed hand delivery to the clinic’s administrative assistant in the lower district. The doctor received it personally. If the reports of her skill are true, she should be on her way within the next few days."

I nodded, approvingly, though the tightness in my chest didn't loosen for a second. Finding a legitimate lead on Vincent’s condition was supposed to clear my mind, but the steady ache behind my ribs refused to quiet down.

My fingers tightened around the edge of the desk. I hesitated, the battle between my pride and my desperation raging silently beneath my skin, before I finally looked back up at my Beta.

"And... the other letter?"

Devlan didn't need to ask which one I meant. The room went dead silent for a beat, the air thick with six years of unspoken regret.

"Delivered as well, Alpha," Devlan answered softly, "The courier brought it straight to the mail office. It was signed for and logged. It should get to her."

"Good. You can leave."

Devlan nodded then stood, then shook his head and walked out.

As soon as the door clicked shut, the silence in the room became unbearable as I pushed off the desk and began pacing the narrow length of the floorboards, my boots thundering against the rug. The quiet place felt more like a cage than a home.

Did she open it?

The question clawed at the back of my mind. Did she tear it up the second she saw my seal? Did she throw it straight into the fireplace without reading a single word?

Zara's voice echoed in my head, repeating the warnings she had been whispering into my ears for months: She moved on, Axel. She hates you. If she ever sees your face again, she’ll turn her back.

I stopped near the high arched window, staring out over the foggy, freezing expanse of the Silvermane valley. The cold glass reflected the tired look in my own eyes.

Zara was probably right. I had signed the banishment order. I had let the pack elders strip her rank and throw her out without a pack to protect her. I had no right to expect a response, no right to hope she would ever forgive the man who broke her.

But I couldn't stop thinking about her. She had haunted every hour I was awake and every dream I had when I slept.

I leaned my head against the cold windowpane, my jaw clenching tight.

I would give her a few days. And if I didn't hear back from her by then... I was going to pack my things, cross the border, and go find her myself.

×××

Three agonizing days passed in silence.

No call came in, no message, no email waiting in my inbox. The silence from was louder than any alarm, cutting through whatever fragile thread of hope I’d been holding onto.

She wasn’t going to reply.

I stood in my room, jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached as I threw on my leather jacket. I strapped on my belt, checked the knife at my hip, and grabbed my coat. If she refused to reply my message, then I was going to make her look me in the eye. I was going to find her.

The door creaked open, and the scent of jasmine and sweet oil filled the room.

I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Zara.

"Where are you going?" she asked, voice sharp as she swept in, her heels clicking against the floor. She looked at my shoes, my travel bag, and the duffel by the fireplace. Her brow furrowed. "You’re dressed to leave. Is anyone expecting you today, Axel."

"It's none of your business, Zara," I replied flatly, keeping my back to her as I tightened the straps on my gloves.

"Nothing of my concern?" she scoffed, her tone rising into that high, grating pitch that had made me recoil for six long years. She marched around the table, her hands clenched at her sides.

"I am the Luna of this pack! You've been cold, distant, and impossible to deal with for weeks! You barely look at me, you sleep in your study, and every time I try to talk to you, you brush me off like I'm a stranger!"

I didn't answer, instead I reached for my coat and fixed the clasp at my collar.

"It's because of her, isn't it?" Zara spat, "It's always Leah! Six years, Axel! Six years she's been gone, and you're still chasing a dead ghost! She was a disgraced rogue who poisoned your brother, but you treat me—the woman who stayed by your side—like dirt on your boot!"

I kept my mouth shut, forcing down the anger boiling in my throat. I knew if I opened it, I’d say something that would tear this whole place apart before I even made it to my car.

When I didn’t give her a single word, her anger cracked and slid straight into desperate, dramatic panic.

Before I could get to the door, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms tight around my waist from behind. She pressed her cheek against my jacket, clinging to me.

"Please, Axel," she whimpered, her voice dropping into a breathless plea. "Stop pushing me away. Let's just forget the past. Let's start over. I am your true mate. The Moon Goddess gave me to you, and you know you'll never get another one. Let her go, Axel. Choose me."

I slowly moved her arms off my waist before taking a step forward toward the door. "Let go, Zara."

"Axel—!"

I paused at the threshold and looked over my shoulder. Zara was sprawled near the foot of the bed, her eyes closed, her arm draped across her forehead in a picture-perfect swoon.

I stood there, staring down at her for three long seconds. My wolf didn't stir. My heart didn't leap into my throat. There was no instinct to rush to her side, only a deep bone exhaustion.

"Get up, Zara," I said, "And stop acting like a child."

Without waiting for her to break character, I stepped through the doorway and slammed the door shut behind me.

I didn't head straight for the garage. First, my feet carried me down the cold, dimly lit hallway toward the keep's eastern wing.

I pushed open the door to Vincent’s room, the scent of sickness and bitter herbs instantly settling over my nose. Vincent was lying motionless on the large bed, his face hollow, his skin so pale it looked translucent against the dark sheets.

The resident pack healer was standing near the bedside table, quietly stirring a bowl of dark, pungent salve. He looked up as I entered, his shoulders slumping under the weight of his own helplessness.

"How is he holding up today?" I asked, stopping at the foot of the bed, my knuckles tightening against the fists of my sides.

The healer didn't answer right away. He simply let out a sigh and shook his head, his eyes filled with a grim, silent pity that made my gut twist into a tight knot.

I stared down at his face, my jaw clenching hard enough to ache.

He'll hold on, I told myself, repeating the words to drown out the silence in the room. Dr. W is on her way. She's the best healer according to rumors. she will save him.

I turned on my heel and strode out of the room, forcing my mind away from the dark thoughts creeping into my head. I had a road to ride and a ghost to find.

I pushed through the front doors and stepped out into the biting air of the parking lot, the wind hit my face but I barely felt it.

My mind was already set on the long drive up north. I took a step toward my car and ran straight into a hooded figure coming in through the entrance

"Watch it—" I started, grabbing their shoulders to keep them from hitting the pavement. "Sorry."

I let go right away and stepped back to get past them.

Then the wind shifted.

An intoxicating scent hit me right in the chest of sweet wild honey, crushed winter pine, and that damp, rain-washed earth smell I’d been carrying in my memories for six damn years.

My feet locked to the concrete as every muscle in me went rigid, my heart slamming against my ribs so hard it knocked the air out of my lungs. Something deep in my chest surged awake, clawing at me…

It couldn't be.

I spun around so fast my coat whipped against the pillars.

The hooded figure had frozen, back to me, shoulders stiff under a faded wool coat. The scent was coming off from their direction in thick waves, drowning out everything else in the parking lot.

It was her…no mistaking it. I’d know this scent blind, deaf, and half dead.

"Leah?" I rasped, my voice breaking on her name.

She didn’t move, but I heard that sudden, shaky catch in her breath cut through the silence between us and I knew, with a certainty, that the woman I’d drive to the ends of the earth for was standing right in front of me.