Chapter 8

Zaiden’s POV

The bond burned.

At first, I thought it was just the echo of fear the fear she felt the night the rogues attacked Sunrise. But this… this was different.

It clawed at my chest, sharp and unrelenting. Her pain. Her hunger. Her exhaustion. Every breath she struggled to take seared through me like fire.

I slammed my fist into the oak table, splintering it down the middle. Papers scattered, Cole flinched, but I didn’t care. The room couldn’t contain the fury writhing inside me.

“They beat her,” I growled, voice low and lethal. My claws ripped through my skin, my wolf too close to the surface. “Those filthy mongrels dared touch what’s mine.”

Cole’s jaw tightened. “We’ll find her, Alpha. The patrols are sweeping the borders, the trackers….”

“Not fast enough!” My roar shook the walls, golden fire blazing in my eyes. The wolf inside me raged, demanding blood, demanding her. “She’s suffering. Every second we waste, they hurt her.”

Her fear lanced through me again. A blow. A cry she tried to choke down. My chest constricted, breath ragged. My wolf howled inside me, the sound tearing through the pack link, rattling every warrior to their bones.

Cole steadied himself, though his eyes betrayed his unease. “They probably want you to lose control.”

“I am control,” I snarled, pacing like a caged beast, blood dripping from my palms where claws had torn skin. “And when I find them, I’ll show them what it means to provoke an Alpha.”

The bond thrummed again this time faint, broken. She was fading.

“No.” The word cracked like thunder. My wolf surged, snapping bones, demanding release. I forced it back with brutal effort, but only barely. My body shook with the restraint.

Cole bowed his head. “Give me the order, Alpha. Say the word, and we’ll burn every den in the forest until we find her.”

I lifted my head, eyes glowing molten gold, voice guttural with the weight of my fury.

“Find them. Tear the land apart if you have to. And when you do…” I bared my teeth, a vicious smile cutting across my face “leave the Alpha rogue for me. I’ll rip him apart piece by piece while she watches. I’ll make sure she knows no one will ever hurt her again.”

And then through the bond weak, but there her voice.

Zaiden.

My knees nearly buckled at the sound. She was alive. Still fighting. Still mine.

I swore then, with the full weight of my soul and my wolf: nothing on this earth would stop me from getting her back.

*********

Unknown POV

I picked up my phone, my patience wearing thin.

“You idiots,” I snarled, my voice a low growl. “Don’t you realize she can mindlink the Alpha? She’s already part of his pack. Every second you let her keep that bond, you risk everything.”

The fool on the other end stammered, “We didn’t think…”

“Clearly,” I cut him off, my tone razor-sharp. “Listen carefully. I don’t want this mission to flop. We are too close. If we can break her, we can break him. Zaiden will not hold that title much longer.”

Silence. I could almost hear him swallowing his fear.

“Weaken her with wolfsbane,” I continued, cold and precise. “Dull her strength. Poison her bond until she can’t reach him. She’ll suffer… and through her, so will he. Do you understand?”

“Yes, boss,” he answered quickly.

“Good. Make sure she’s alive but broken. We want him desperate, distracted. When he’s weak, when his pack starts to doubt him, we’ll strike. And then…” I leaned back, a slow smile twisting my lips, “Sunrise will fall, and their Alpha will choke on his own bond.”

I ended the call before the coward could breathe another word. Better not to leave traces. Better not to risk being caught.

For now, patience was my ally.

But soon… Zaiden would learn that even the strongest Alpha bleeds