_Kayden’s POV_
I stormed into the packhouse. I was furious. How in the hell had she escaped? I had personally ordered my guards to keep that cellar heavily guarded. No one should have been able to slip in or out without my explicit command. And yet, Leah was gone. Disappeared, as if she had vanished into thin air. The guards had searched everywhere, combing through the packhouse and the woods surrounding the territory. There was no sign of her. No scent. No tracks. Nothing. It was as if she had never even existed. I slammed my fist against the wall, the impact cracking the wood paneling. “Find her!” I roared to the nearest guard. “I don’t care what it takes. I want every inch of this land searched again. Do you understand?” The guard flinched, but he nodded quickly before running out the door to relay my orders. Where could she have gone? I paced back and forth, my mind racing with questions. Who had helped her? There had to be a traitor in the pack. Someone had betrayed me, had defied my orders, and let Leah out. It was the only explanation. But who? I trusted my guards, or at least I thought I did. Now, I wasn’t sure who to trust anymore. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, the anger boiling hotter. Leah’s escape was a direct threat to everything I had built. If she was free, she could cause problems for Selena and me. She could reveal things that would tear this pack apart, and I couldn’t let that happen. I should have killed her when I had the chance. The thought gnawed at me like a relentless beast. If I had just ended her miserable life, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now. She wouldn’t be a danger to us. But I had hesitated, thinking I could break her, punish her into submission. Now I was paying the price for my mistake. The door behind me creaked open, and I turned to see Selena walking in. Her expression was calm, but I could see the slight worry in her eyes. She walked over to me, placing a hand on my arm. “Kayden, you need to calm down. You’re going to drive yourself mad like this.” “How can I calm down, Selena?” I snapped, my voice harsher than I intended. “Leah is gone. We have searched everywhere, and there is no trace of her. She could be out there plotting something right now, for all we know.” Selena frowned, but there was a softness in her eyes that I couldn’t ignore. “I understand, Kayden. But you have to remember that we have already increased security around the pack. There is no way she could get back in without being caught. And if she’s still in the area, the guards will find her.” I shook my head. “But what if she’s already gone too far? What if someone took her out of the territory?” Selena stepped closer, her hand resting gently on my chest. “Kayden, listen to me. It is possible that she is already dead. If she escaped into the forest, there are rogues out there. She wouldn’t have survived long on her own in her condition.” I frowned, the thought swirling in my mind. Could that be true? Leah had been weak when I last saw her. Broken. The beating I gave her was meant to make sure she wouldn’t be a threat. If she had somehow made it out of the pack’s territory and crossed paths with rogues, they would have finished her off for me. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she might survive, that she might find a way to come back and ruin everything. “I hope that you are right,” I muttered while running a hand through my hair. “I can’t afford any mistakes, Selena. Not now.” Selena gave me a small smile and leaned into me, pressing her body against mine. “You worry too much,” she said, her voice soft and sweet. “Leah won’t cause any problems for us. And even if she does, we will handle it together. We are stronger than she is.” I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close, though my mind was still racing. Selena had always been able to calm me down, but this situation felt different. It wasn’t just about Leah being gone. It was the uncertainty, the feeling that I had lost control. Selena tilted her head up to look at me, her eyes shining with excitement. “Instead of worrying about Leah, why don’t we focus on more important things? Like our engagement. I can’t wait to get married to you, Kayden. To finally be your wife and mark you as mine.” Her words should have made me feel better. I should have been thrilled by the thought of our engagement, of marking her and making her my mate in every way. But a part of me, small and buried deep inside, felt uneasy. I had pushed aside my bond with Leah, convinced myself that it didn’t matter, that Selena was the one I truly wanted. But now, with Leah gone, that small part of me twisted in confusion and regret. I forced a smile, trying to push the thoughts away. Selena was my future. Leah was nothing but a memory, a mistake that needed to be erased. “You’re right,” I said, brushing my fingers through Selena’s long, golden hair. “We should focus on us. Leah is gone. She won’t ruin what we have.” Selena smiled brightly, standing on her toes to kiss me softly on the lips. “That’s better. No more worrying about her. Soon, we’ll be married, and everything will be perfect.” I kissed her back, trying to let go of the tension in my chest. “I love you, Selena,” I whispered against her lips. “I love you too, Kayden,” she murmured, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “And I’ll always be by your side. Nothing can come between us.” Her confidence was reassuring, and for a moment, I let myself believe her words. Leah was out of the picture now. Whatever had happened to her, whether she was dead or hiding somewhere, it didn’t matter. I had Selena. I had my pack. Nothing could threaten that. But deep down, a nagging feeling lingered. A sense of unfinished business. I couldn’t shake the thought that Leah was still out there somewhere, plotting her revenge. And if she was, I would have to deal with her once and for all._Leah's POV_I woke to a hand on my shoulder. “Leah,” Kayden said. “Get up. It’s nearly noon.”My eyes snapped open. Light cut through the curtains. The room smelled faintly of smoke and pine. For a second I did not know where I was. Then the memory of the night fell back on me like wet cloth. The dream. The fire. Kayden on the couch. The smoke in my mouth.I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. “Go away,” I mumbled. “Leave me alone.”He laughed softly. It was a low sound that held no mockery. “You said that two hours ago. You said it when I brought you tea and when I put out the small embers.” He kissed the top of my head like it was a small thing and like he was afraid of hurting me. “You can’t hide forever. The pack is eating downstairs and the food will not wait.”I curled into the blankets more. My face was hot. My throat was raw. My body ached in places that had nothing to do with sleep. The dream left a pulse behind the ribs. The shame of what I had done when I had slep
_Leah’s POV_The night was heavy. Silence wrapped around the mansion, but inside me there was no rest. My body lay on the bed but my mind was a mess. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe slowly, to convince myself that I was safe.But safety was only a shadow. The Seer’s words lingered like smoke in my chest. Tariq will come. Susan is a witch. He will not stop until he has you.Athena paced restlessly in my mind. Her claws scraped the inside of my skull.You shouldn’t close your eyes, she warned. He waits for us in the dark. Don’t let him in.“I have to sleep,” I whispered to her. My voice trembled even in my own head. “I need strength.”Athena growled but she eventually got quiet. Sleep came suddenly like a rope around my neck.I opened my eyes and I was no longer in the pack house. I stood in a cold and endless hall made of stone. The air smelled of rust and roses. It was sweet and rotting. The walls bled with shadows, and at the end of the hall, a torch burned blue.And the
_Leah's POV_I swallowed and began. The words felt rusty in my mouth, but once I started, they flowed like a broken river finding a path.“I was born to a princess,” I said. “My mother was a princess, of the Emerald Pack. She left the crown and married a common man. They raised me quietly. When I was small, they suddenly died. I remember nothing of them. I then remember staying at the BloodMoon pack. I don't know how I got there. Kayden and the others always treated me badly since I was an omega. When he learnt that I was his mate, he rejected me and threw me in the cellar. Tariq then came and saved me. I thought that he was kind.""He told me lies but I trusted him. I read his phone once and found messages. He had someone saved as ‘honey’ and he lied about it. I found a chest in Tariq’s place. It had his diary. In it, I read that he had planned to marry and sacrifice me to lift a curse. He even waited all these years until I got my wolf at eighteen. He had been waiting. He planned it
_Leah's POV_I woke to a sky full of stars and a sound like a hundred held breaths.My body felt hollow and heavy. My limbs were numb. I blinked and the light stabbed behind my eyes. For a moment I did not know where I was. Then the clearing came back in pieces—the circle of salt, torch flames and faces blurred into a ring. There were so many people. I tried to sit up and the world tilted. Someone’s strong hands steadied me.Kayden.He carried me like I was the smallest thing in the world. He held me bridal-style and I lay against his broad chest. His heartbeat was slow. The smell of him, pine smoke and sweat and something warm, made my head swim.“Easy,” he murmured. His voice sounded very far away. “Just rest.”I wanted to speak and I could not find my voice. Confusion curled thick in my chest. My mind was empty of the last few hours. How did I get here? What had happened? The clearing moved around me like a dream.Athena unclenched from the back of my ribs and hissed in my mind. Yo
_Kayden's POV_ I called the pack to the south clearing at dusk. The air smelled of pine and wet earth. The moon was high in the sky. It hung like a pale coin over the trees. We moved as one pack. Their faces were lit by torch fire. They watched Leah on the stretcher. She lay wrapped in thick blankets. The IV drip still ran at her arm. She looked calm. She looked very fragile. The doctor had protested against bringing her out. His hands trembled when he spoke. “Alpha, she could deteriorate,” he warned. “The cold, the night, the open air...she will not tolerate it in this condition.” I turned to him. “I know. But the Seer says that the moon is the key. The ritual must be done beneath the moon. We need to take the risk since there is no other way.” Fred stood by me. He had gathered the ropes and the blankets. He had also collected the night-amber. The herb smelled faintly bitter. The Seer had already warned me about its taste. “Alpha,” Fred said quietly, “the pack is ready. They
_Kayden’s POV_The Seer did not waste time. She moved quickly back to the small table where the doctor had left a silver bowl and a clean cloth. Her eyes were still on Leah. Her fingers trembled only a little as she reached for the bowl.“You will need to give me her blood,” she said without preamble. Her voice was soft. It had no question in it.I looked at Leah. Her skin was pale as milk. Her breath came in small and shallow rises. Time felt thin and fragile in the room. I swallowed. My mouth was dry.“Her blood?” I echoed. I could not imagine piercing her for any reason. But the Seer’s face was absolute. There was no doubt in her.“Yes,” she said. “A drop. It will tell me what binds her. It will open the path to a vision. I must see the origin of the dark magic.”Fred bent and checked Leah’s arm. He looked at me. “Alpha,” he said quietly, “it is the only way.”My hands felt clumsy. I thought of the knife at my belt. I thought of the last time I had touched her like this—when she wa