chapter 3

The forest wrapped around me like a living thing—shadowed, hungry, alive.

I was running, letting my wolf stretch through the trees, when **her scent** hit me again.

Forbidden. Addictive.

It curled around my lungs like smoke, like promise, like sin.

My wolf didn’t just react—he *lunged*, tearing through the underbrush as if the earth itself whispered her name.

And then I saw her.

My dream angel.

She stood in the clearing: a massive white wolf with fur like moonlight, her body traced with glowing purple swirls that pulsed like runes—patterns that mirrored the blue markings that lit beneath my own skin whenever she appeared.

She didn’t belong to this forest.

She belonged to something older. Wilder. Mine.

Her head lifted. Those violet eyes locked onto me.

A jolt of heat shot down my spine.

Then she *ran*.

She wanted the chase.

Hell—I lived for it.

We tore through the trees, predator and prey switching roles every heartbeat. Every time I nearly caught her, she slipped away with a teasing flick of her tail that made my wolf growl in pure need.

But this time… she didn’t vanish.

She stood waiting for me in the moonlit clearing—and a woman stroked her fur.

A woman impossibly beautiful, dangerous in a way that made the air crackle.

“Hello, Dominic,” she said, her voice like warm silk sliding over steel. “We have been waiting for you.”

“Who are you?” I demanded. “Why are you both in my dreams?”

Her eyes glowed with ancient power. “My child, I am Serene.”

Every hair on my body rose.

“I have heard your cries for a mate,” she continued. “A true mate. One worthy of your soul. But that is not our purpose tonight.”

The forest seemed to darken around her.

“You must return. You must save the missing females. Things are far worse than you realize. Call every pack—no one is safe. Dominic… the wolf in your dreams was the first taken.”

My dream angel stepped closer, brushing her muzzle against my chest, a soft mournful sound rumbling from her.

“You must save her.”

A violent pull wrenched me backward—like the dream was being ripped away from me.

I reached for her. For Serene. For answers.

But everything collapsed into white—

**Beep… beep… beep…**

Light stabbed into my eyes.

The sterile sting of antiseptic filled my nose.

Hospital.

Alive.

Barely.

The last thing I remembered was Elizabeth’s scream as Liza’s dragon jaws closed around her skull. A well-deserved death for a woman who tried to murder a child.

My throat scraped like sandpaper when I tried to speak. A cough barely escaped when Liza’s face suddenly hovered over me—wild-eyed and furious.

She slapped my chest. Hard.

“Dominic Baine, if you ever scare me like that again, I swear to the goddess I’ll kill you myself. Then resurrect you. Just to kill you again. Do you hear me?!”

I would’ve laughed if my throat wasn’t made of fire.

“Oh—shit—water!” she yelped, scrambling to the sink.

She returned with a flimsy cup like she was offering holy nectar. I drained it in seconds.

“It’s only been a night,” I rasped.

Her expression shattered.

“No,” she whispered. “It’s been a month.”

A month.

My heart misfired. The machine beeped frantically.

“The blade was silver,” she said, voice trembling, “but it was laced with poison. Alaric hasn’t slept.”

A heavy bang echoed down the hall. Footsteps thundered.

Speak of the ogre.

“You couldn’t wait five damn minutes?” Liza muttered.

Alaric stormed in and—like his mate—punched me in the arm.

Pain shot through my ribs.

“Both of you are violent,” I croaked.

“You scared the hell out of us,” he snapped. “And while you were out… another female wolf vanished. Aura.”

Aura. My sister.

My vision tunneled with rage. The monitor screamed.

I ripped every tube and wire from my body, ignoring the agony.

I locked eyes with Liza.

“Gather the council. Serene visited me. This is only the beginning.”

Shock flashed between them, then Liza nodded and they rushed out.

I dialed my Beta, Johnathan—my wolf still too weak to link.

“Alpha,” he said the second he answered, his voice raw, “I’m sorry. I failed Aura. The scent… gods, Dominic, it was all rot. Like corpses walking.”

“Johnathan, you didn’t fail her. Listen carefully—I need you to call every Alpha. No pack left out. Emergency council. Missing females. We meet tonight.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I hung up and headed for the castle.

Aero wobbled out of a room the moment he saw me—his tiny smile like sunlight breaking storm clouds. I scooped him up, pressing my forehead to his soft hair and breathing him in.

“Hey there, munchkin. Uncle Dom missed you.”

He cooed. Perfect little traitor.

I smuggled him into the kitchen, scanned for Liza, then grabbed the chocolate.

“DOMINIC!” Liza’s voice thundered—but she couldn’t hide the amusement.

I bolted.

“MINE! Chocolate is excellent for breakfast!” I shouted. “Catch us if you can!”

Aero giggled wildly as we dove behind bushes, shoving chocolate into our faces like fugitives.

“Shhh,” I whispered. “If we’re quiet, Mommy won’t find us.”

His little laugh nearly killed my resolve not to cry like some emotional idiot. I wanted this. A child. A mate. A pack of my own. Why wouldn’t the Moon Goddess just grant me one second-chance bond?

Liza’s footsteps crunched down the cobblestone.

“Dominic, you overgrown toddler—guest house. Now.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. “You win this time.”

She sighed at chocolate-covered Aero and dragged us inside.

After helping Alaric prepare the rooms, the restlessness became unbearable.

**Ninety missing females.**

Ages six to twenty-five.

Taken without a trace.

Something monstrous was hunting our kind.

“I need to run,” I said. “Clear my head. That vision won’t leave me.”

“Go,” Alaric nodded. “Guests arrive in eight hours. Your pack in thirty minutes.”

The moon hung high—beautiful, cold, indifferent. I stripped and shifted, sprinting toward the waterfalls. That place had been calling to me for days, humming under my skin.

I perched at the top of the falls, staring at the moon.

“Serene… what am I supposed to do? How do I find them? Who would take ninety females?”

Silence.

“Serene!” I roared. “Do you hear me? I need direction! SERENE!”

Nothing.

Sleep claimed me as the adrenaline finally wore off.

A stench like death itself ripped me awake.

Below, impaled into a tree, was a note—still dripping with fresh, warm blood.

Someone had been here.

Watching me while I slept.

I scanned the area—nothing but the sound of water and a faint whisper of wind that didn’t feel like wind at all.

I mind-linked Alaric.

**“Bro. Eastern waterfalls. Someone left a bloody note. And they were close enough to touch me while I slept.It was written in my sister's blood.”**

The forest held its breath.

Something was coming.

And it wasn’t done.