Chapter 8

Alexander’s POV

I flung the report across the room, pages scattering on the floor like fallen leaves. 

“Still nothing?” I growled at Marcus. 

He shook his head, expression grim. “No trace, Alpha. Its been six months since she disappeared—since she stopped picking your calls or replying your texts. We’ve checked every contact, every border patrol, even the human cities. Evelyn’s gone.” 

Six months. 

Six months of empty closets, cold beds, and a pack house that gossiped too loudly. 

Scarlett had come to me a week after Evelyn vanished, eyes wide with feigned concern. “I heard something awful,” she’d said. “People are saying Evelyn cheated. That she left with another man because you were spending too much time with me.” 

The rumors had spread like wildfire after that—whispers in the training grounds, sidelong glances at pack meetings. That the Luna had betrayed her Alpha. That she’d run off with some stranger. 

I’d summoned the worst offenders and made an example of them. “Anyone spreading that filth again will be expelled,” I’d roared to the entire pack. “My wife did not cheat.” 

I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t 

Evelyn—the quiet, loyal Evelyn I know—would never. 

Memories of her rose in my mind then, sharp and painful. 

Her soft laugh the first time I’d taken her to the lake at midnight, the way she’d splashed water at me like a pup. The nights she’d fall asleep on my chest after we made love, her fingers tracing lazy patterns over my mark on her neck. How she’d look at me in the early years—like I was her entire world. 

When had that stopped? 

When had I started seeing her as… less?

I remembered the council meetings where I’d brush off her suggestions with a casual, “You’re an omega, Evelyn—you don’t understand pack strategy.” The times I’d corrected people in front of her: “She’s my secretary, really. Helps keep things organized.” The way I’d begun emphasizing on her low rank to justify why she couldn’t join certain hunts or negotiations. 

I’d told myself it was to protect her. Omegas were fragile. She couldn’t handle the brutality of Alpha-level politics. 

But the truth was uglier. Evelyn wasn’t weak at all. Last time at mother’s house, she’d wiped the floor with everyone at cards and darts, skills no omega was supposed to possess. She’d learned it all for me. 

At some point, I’d started believing my own excuses. I’d stopped seeing the beautiful intelligence in her eyes, the quiet strength that had drawn me to her in the first place. I’d taken her devotion for granted and belittled the very woman who’d given up everything to stand beside me. 

It had been years since I’d felt that kind of joy with her—the kind that made everything else asides us seem irrelevant. 

Before Marcus could continue, the door opened. 

Scarlett swept in, dressed in a sleek red dress that hugged her figure, her expression one of practiced sympathy. 

“Alexander,” she cooed, moving to my side and resting a hand on my arm. “You look exhausted. Still no word from Evelyn? I hate to say it, but… maybe the rumors are true. Maybe she really did find someone else. I mean, she was just an omega. Perhaps she felt she couldn’t keep up with—” 

“Shut up,” I roared, the sound exploding out of me before I could stop it.

Scarlett flinched, eyes wide. 

The room went still. 

I dragged a hand over my face. “I’m sorry. I’m… agitated. It’s been a long day.” 

She recovered quickly, giving me a forgiving smile. “I understand. You’re under so much stress.”

I stood, turning my head to her and Marcus who stood at the edge of the room, watching us both. “I need a moment. Alone.”

Scarlett hissed arrogantly. “Fine. If you need me, I’ll be in the lobby.”

She was about to leave before Marcus cleared his throat, stepping forward with a thick cream envelope sealed in silver wax. “This arrived this morning, Alpha.” 

I took it. The seal was unmistakable: the crowned wolf of the Voss Empire.

Marcus continued. “I wanted to give it to you before stepping out. It’s an invitation. The Lycan Kingdom is hosting a grand banquet—the first in decades where werewolf packs are formally invited. It’s for the welcome ceremony of their long-lost princess.” 

I stared at the elegant script.

The Lycan Kingdom. 

Lycans were the ancient rulers of our kind—stronger, faster, longer-lived. They kept to themselves in their mountain stronghold, rarely interacting with werewolf packs. But their favor could elevate a pack to legendary status: exclusive trade in silver weapons, access to healing arts lost to us, alliances that no enemy would dare challenge. 

Every ambitious Alpha dreamed of a connection to the Lycan throne. 

And now they were opening their gates. 

Marcus glanced at me. “The invitation is addressed to you and your Luna. Since Evelyn is… absent, we need to decide on your companion.” 

Scarlett stepped closer, voice eager. “I could go with you. We can present as business partners. Crimson Ridge already has minor trade ties with the Kingdom—my father negotiated a small silver route years ago. I know the protocols, the right people to approach. I can help you establish a real connection.” 

I looked at the invitation again. 

A direct audience with the Lycan King. 

A chance to put Shadowfang on the path to true dominance. 

I could already see it: my pack’s banners flying beside the silver wolf of the Voss crown. My name spoken with awe from border to border. The empire I’d bled to build finally reaching heights no werewolf Alpha had ever touched.

All of it within reach—if I played this banquet right.

Scarlett was the key. Her pack’s minor ties could open the door. Once inside, I’d make sure Shadowfang walked through it first.

Evelyn had never understood ambition like this. She’d always shrunk from it, content to stay in the shadows.

But Scarlett did.

Scarlett was right—she could help. 

I nodded slowly. 

“Fine. You’ll come with me.” 

Scarlett’s smile was triumphant. 

Marcus hesitated. “Alpha… are you sure?”

I folded the invitation and tucked it into my jacket. 

“I’m sure.”

Whatever game the Lycans were playing, I would be there.

And I would turn it to Shadowfang’s advantage.

Perhaps when I cooperate with the Lycan Kingdom, I can ask them to help me find Evelyn.