Chapter 2

Elowen Veyra's POV

The tinted window of the car came down slowly, and the face waiting on the other side made my chest tighten. I had spent three years pretending that I did not miss my family, pretending that I had chosen my new life and was perfectly fine with it. But the moment I saw my brother, I knew I had been lying to myself.

"Get in, little wolf."

Rowan Veyra's dark eyes were filled with worry, but there was anger underneath it too. He opened the door before I could say anything, and the moment I climbed inside, I was surrounded by the familiar scent of cedar and wintergreen. It was nothing like Calden's cold pine scent. This smell belonged to my childhood, to long nights in the family house, to the brother who used to carry me home whenever I was too tired to walk.

I barely had time to settle into the leather seat before everything I had been holding inside finally broke. I leaned toward him and rested my forehead against his thigh, just as I used to when I was a child and had been frightened by something I could not understand. Rowan did not laugh or ask me to sit properly. He simply placed one hand on my back and rubbed it slowly.

"Let it out," he whispered. "You don't have to pretend with me."

That was all I needed.

The tears came harder than I expected. I cried until my shoulders shook and my chest hurt, and Rowan stayed exactly where he was, letting me ruin his expensive trousers without saying a word. His hand continued moving over my back in slow circles, giving me the same comfort he had given me when I was a little girl with scraped knees.

"I was so stupid," I managed to say between sobs. "I should have listened to everyone. I thought I could make him love me. I actually believed I could change everything."

Rowan looked down at me, and instead of giving me some meaningless speech about how everything would be fine, he simply said, "Sometimes we stay in the wrong place because we need to discover the truth for ourselves."

I slowly lifted my head.

"That is supposed to make me feel better?"

A small smile touched his face.

"No. It is supposed to remind you that making one bad decision does not make you a bad person."

I wiped my face and looked away, embarrassed by how much I had cried. "Thank you for coming for me. I know you were probably busy."

"Busy?" Rowan gave a short laugh as he adjusted his cuff. "I was in the middle of a Council meeting."

I stared at him.

"You left a Council meeting?"

"Of course I did."

"You are going to get into trouble."

"I can survive a few angry elders." His expression became serious. "You sent me a message saying you was seriously injured. Do you honestly think I was going to sit there and continue discussing business?"

I lowered my eyes.

"Father knows?"

"He knows you're home."

My heart tightened at those words.

For three years, I had stayed away from the people who loved me because I was ashamed. I had convinced myself that returning home would mean admitting that I had failed. I had been so focused on proving that my marriage could work that I had forgotten there were people waiting for me to come back.

Rowan reached over and brushed a tear from my cheek.

"Father has been waiting for you."

I swallowed hard.

"I don't know if I can face him."

"You can."

"What if he is angry?"

"He is."

I looked at him in surprise.

Rowan smiled faintly. "Very angry. But not with you."

The car moved through the gates of the Veyra estate, and my heart began beating faster. Everything outside the window looked familiar. The tall trees, the stone walls, the gardens, even the old statues beside the main road were exactly as I remembered them.

Three years had passed, but somehow home had remained untouched.

As the car crossed into our territory, I felt the pack bond awaken around me. It was subtle at first, like a quiet warmth spreading through my body. Then I caught the familiar scent of mountain sage in the air, mixed with the cool scent of the forest.

I closed my eyes.

I was home.

Rowan touched his forehead to mine.

"Welcome back, Elowen Veyra."

I closed my eyes as fresh tears gathered.

For the first time in years, those words did not frighten me.

They made me feel safe.

---

Calden's POV

The hospital corridor was empty when I walked out of Thessaly's private room, but the silence did nothing to calm the anger inside me.

The head healer's words kept repeating in my mind.

There was no emergency.

Thessaly was never in danger.

The injury was not real.

I stopped beside the observation window and stared down at the city.

Three years.

For three years, I had watched Elowen give her blood whenever Thessaly claimed she needed it. I had seen how weak Elowen became after every donation, yet I had always believed there was no choice.

A pact was a pact.

That was what I had told myself.

But now I knew the truth.

My hand tightened around my phone as I tried calling Elowen again.

Nothing.

"The number you have called is unavailable."

I lowered the phone slowly.

She had blocked me.

No.

She had not simply blocked me.

She had left.

Beta Aldrin hurried toward me, his expression tense.

"Alpha."

I turned.

"What did you find?"

"We checked the security footage. Elowen left through the west garage shortly after she left the ward. She was alone."

"Where did she go?"

"We are still checking."

"Then check faster."

Aldrin hesitated.

"Alpha, the Council may object if we use pack resources to search for her."

I looked at him.

"Find her."

He opened his mouth, but I cut him off.

"Every road. Every vehicle. Every flight leaving the territory. I want to know where she went."

Aldrin nodded.

"Yes, Alpha."

He turned to leave.

"Beta."

He stopped.

"Do not lose her."

He nodded again and walked away.

I stood there alone.

Why did I care so much?

Elowen had asked for a divorce, and I had agreed. She was free now. The marriage had never been a real one anyway. I had never marked her. We had never completed the bond between us.

So why did the thought of her leaving make something inside me feel wrong?

I remembered her face when she had stood before me.

She had been trembling, but she had not lowered her head.

"I want a divorce, Calden."

For years, I had thought I knew her.

I had believed she would always obey.

I had believed she would always be there when I called.

Now she was gone, and I could not even reach her.

"Alpha?"

I looked up.

Beta Aldrin was standing near the elevator.

"We found something."

My body went still.

"What?"

"There was a vehicle waiting for her outside the hospital. It crossed our territory shortly after she left."

"Who was driving?"

"We are trying to identify the family crest."

A strange feeling moved through me.

Family crest?

Elowen had never mentioned anyone coming for her.

I looked toward the windows.

The territory suddenly felt different.

Empty.

Her scent was fading from the air.

My wolf reacted before I could control it, growling deep inside my chest.

I had spent years treating Elowen like an obligation.

Now that she was gone, I realized just how much space she had occupied in my life.

"Find her," I said again.

Aldrin nodded.

"Yes, Alpha."

But this time, my voice was no longer calm.

I needed to know where she had gone.

And more importantly, I needed to understand why losing her felt like something had been ripped out of me.

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