LOGINThe next morning, the sunlight crept lazily into the Alpha’s chamber, spilling beautifully across the sheets. Nyssa stirred gently, her fingers brushed the empty space beside her. The bed was still warm, meaning Lucien hadn’t been gone long, but it was still enough to make her frown slightly. He almost always waited for her to wake first or at least kissed her forehead before slipping out, but this morning, nothing.She blinked sleep from her eyes, slowly pushing herself upright. Where could he have gone this early? She looked around the quiet room again and exhaled. Maybe he was coordinating some matters with the elders.She waited for another few minutes, expecting him to stroll in with that familiar smirk, but he didn’t. So she sighed and forced herself out of bed. After cleaning up and bathing, she dressed in a soft beige gown that complimented her skin and tied her hair loosely behind her back.There was a heaviness in her lower stomach, a strange twisting sensation she couldn’t
168Nyssa had barely closed her bedroom door before the anger she’d been holding snapped hot beneath her skin, it pulsed through her chest like a second heartbeat. She paced from one end of the room to the other, her hands were balled into fists, Adriana was restless and growling inside her.Lucien … How could he?How could he bring someone, a stranger into the heart of their Pack without thinking through every possible danger? Without consulting her? Without even pausing to consider that this woman could be a threat cleverly disguised beneath a pretty face and gentle voice?They had a duty to bring down the faceless prince and one wrong step could destroy everything.Nyssa dragged her fingers through her hair, breathing hard. “What was he thinking ..…?” she muttered under her breath, her voice trembled with frustration. “What if she’s lying? What if she’s working with the faceless prince? What if—-”A knock sounded on her door interrupting her thoughtsShe shut her eyes, already know
“Where is Lucien?” Nyssa asked immediately as she caught up with Gamma Hume by the pack’s gate. Her voice shook with the intensity she’d been suppressing all day, and despite her attempt to mask it, fear clung stubbornly to every word she spoke.She has been tense from the moment Lucien left the pack with Gamma Hume. Even the Queen’s constant, soft pleas for her to rest fell on deaf ears. Nyssa couldn’t rest. Not when she didn’t know if her mate was safe. She spent the entire day pacing her room back and forth, back and forth, her feet refused to stay still unless Lucien was beside her.Every few minutes she rushed to the window, peeking out with the same desperate hope, praying she’d see him walking confidently through the pack gate as he always did. Alive.But he never appeared.Until she heard the hooves of the horses.The moment she heard the sound of horses approaching, she got up, rushing toward her window. A single rider entered the gates. Only one and it was not Lucien. Her h
The veil slipped through her fingers, and Lucien stretched his eyes closer to see who it was, finally the face beneath the veil. It was the same one Lucien had seen staring at him from across the motel hall the previous night. Her features were sharper now in the natural light filtering in from the small window, she had high cheekbones, dark eyes, long brown wavy hair that flowed down her shoulders and a strange elegance in the way she held herself, like a woman who had lived more than one life.Lucien’s breath caught before the words tumbled out of him. “You?”The woman didn’t flinch. She simply tilted her head, observing him like she had expected for that exact reaction. The two men who had dragged him in had already stepped out, closing the wooden door behind them with a silent thud. The cottage smelled faintly of herbs and rust, and the ropes around Lucien’s wrists dug deeper the more he struggled. “Get this thing off me!” His voice rose.“It is rude to shout,” the woman replied,
Lucien was restless, his mind kept circling around the note, and what it had to do with the faceless men.Gamma Hume paced the motel room like a restless tiger, muttering curses under his breath. He had read the paper at least thirty times. Each time he finished, he dropped it on the table with more force.“This is a trap,” he said for the hundredth time. “Alpha, I can swear on every ancestor of the Moonrage line this is a trap. They know we’re here. They know what we’re looking for. They know who we’re asking about.”Lucien sat on the small, wooden chair near the dusty window. He didn’t look away from the paper lying on the table.“They must have followed us,” Gamma Hume continued. “Or they tracked us. Or one of those women overheard us and reported back. Or—--”“You think they’re watching us right now?” Lucien interrupted calmly.Gamma Hume stopped pacing immediately. He swallowed heavily. “It’s possible.”Lucien rubbed his forehead slowly. “That’s exactly why we can’t back down.”G
Morning came quickly, Nyssa had barely slept, and Lucien didn’t sleep at all. The moment the sun rose, he was already up, fully dressed, and pacing the room. He waited for a while until everywhere was bright enough to move. He decided not to wake Nyssa. Instead, he kissed her forehead gently and slipped out of the room.He had a mission, and he wasn’t going to waste a second.Gamma Hume was already waiting outside, leaning against one of the pillars with a grim look on his face. He straightened immediately when Lucien approached.“Alpha, morning” he greeted. “Ready?”Lucien nodded once. “Let’s go.”They didn’t take horses or guards. They dressed plainly, throwing on cloaks that made them look like normal travelers instead of the alpha and the gamma of a powerful pack. If there were already eyes watching them, which Lucien knew there were, showing up with soldiers would ruin everything.They moved through the village like two strangers passing through for business. They had disguised t







