LOGINRachael POVI woke up reaching for Eryx.My hand met cold sheets instead of warm skin.I sat up too fast, my heart already racing as my eyes scanned the small cabin. The light coming through the single window was grey and thin. The other side of the bed was empty. “Eryx?” My voice came out rough. “Eryx?”No answer. Only the sound of the wind catching the corner of the roof.I pushed myself off the bed, my feet hitting the floor hard as I moved toward the door. Panic crawled up my chest, sharp. He was still weak, still pale. He wouldn't just disappear.“Eryx!” I called again as I stepped outside.The morning air was cool, quiet. Too quiet. The trees stood still, the world looking calm in a way that made my chest feel worse. I looked at the dirt, searching for tracks, for any sign of which way he’d gone.I walked faster, then broke into a run, my eyes searching everywhere. I didn’t care that I was barefoot or that the tall grass was damp with dew. “Eryx!” I shouted again.Nothing.My b
Eran POVI caught Lincoln’s eyes across the clearing and smirked.It was instinctive. The look on his face, tight, suspicious, already bracing for something he couldn't stop, fed a dark energy inside me. I let the moment linger just long enough for him to realize I was the one holding the cards. Then I turned away and faced the crowd.They were waiting. Watching. Trusting me to tell them what to do next.Idiots.I lifted my hand. The murmurs died down until the only sound was the wind moving through the trees. Dozens of faces tilted toward me, expectant and uneasy. The air felt heavy.“My people,” I began. My voice was calm, steady. It carried easily over the open space.I felt the shift. It was that subtle tightening in the atmosphere when people sense danger before they can name it.“Our alpha,” I said, letting the words hang there, “is dead.”The reaction was explosive.Gasps tore through the crowd. Voices rose in a messy blur of disbelief and panic. It rippled outward like a wave,
Rachael POVI woke slowly, awareness seeping back into me fast. My body was pressed tightly against something solid and unmoving. An arm was locked around my waist like a barrier, pinning me down. For one terrifying second, I thought I was trapped again, the walls of the cellar closing in.Then I breathed in.Eryx.His scent wrapped around me, pine, rain, and metallic tang of dried blood. It grounded me instantly. My heart skipped, then steadied slowly. I was still in his arms. He was holding me too tightly, almost possessively, as if his subconscious was guarding a prize it couldn't afford to lose. Relief flooded through me so fast it left my limbs weak.I tried to move, just a little, testing whether I could sit up. I couldn’t. His grip tightened instinctively. Even in sleep, he refused to let me go. I stayed still for a moment, listening to the heavy, ragged sound of his breathing.Last night came back to me in pieces, that distant, haunting growl of a wolf echoing through the fore
Lincoln POVIt’s been three days.Three long, dragging days since Eryx vanished beyond the borders and never came back.At first, I told myself it was nothing. Eryx had always moved on his own terms. He disappeared, handled the whole thing and returned soon. That was who he was. That was who he’d always been.But this time feels different.The pack feels it too.I stand on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, arms folded tightly across my chest as dawn bleeds slowly into morning. The air was sharp but I barely notice. My wolf paces inside my skin, restless and on edge, mirroring the unease coiled in my gut.Three days is too long.I turn sharply and call for the guards. “Send men out again. Widen the search. North and east this time. Leave no trail unchecked.”They bow and move quickly. Too quickly. They’re scared too.Word spreads fast in a pack, even when no one speaks it aloud.Maya corners me before I can make it back inside. Her brows are drawn tight, concern etched deeply into
Rachael POVI tried to lift Eryx, my arms trembling under his weight, but he didn’t move. Not even a twitch. Panic knotted in my stomach, squeezing my chest. “Eryx… please… wake up!” I shook him lightly, hoping somehow my voice could drag him back from wherever he was. But the forest swallowed my words, leaving only the sound of my own ragged breathing.I took a step back, chest heaving, scanning the shades between the trees. Maybe someone—anyone was nearby. Maybe someone could help. “Help! Somebody! Please… is anyone here pls help me!” I screamed, my voice cracking, slicing through the heavy quiet. But nothing answered me. Not even the wind stirred. It was like the forest itself was holding its breath, waiting. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might burst.I turned back to him. Eryx lay there, as unyielding as a boulder, his chest barely rising. I swallowed hard and forced myself to bend down, pressing my hands under his shoulders. I tried to lift him. Nothing. He was so heavy.
Rachael POVThe moment I saw him, my body moved before my mind could catch up.“Eryx—”I pushed up from the chair, forgetting the rope still tied to it. My legs took one step forward before the cord snapped tight and yanked me back hard. The chair scraped loudly across the floor as I stumbled, pain shooting through my wrists and ankles.“Rachael.”He was already there. Eryx crossed the space between us in seconds. His hands were on me, strong, warm, and steady. He pulled me against his chest like he was afraid I would disappear if he let go.“Bloody hell,” he muttered, his breath hot against my hair. His eyes swept over the ropes, the chair, and my shaking hands. “I’ve kill them. And I'll kill every last one of them again.”His jaw was set so tight it looked like it might snap. He slid his fingers under the rope around my wrists, tearing at the knot with rough, impatient movements. He was cursing low under his breath, a steady stream of profanity as the fibers resisted him. Finally, t







