Chapter 03

Mason’s POV

Years. I’ve burned through actual years hunting down Dan.

The man once held Alpha status over the Arthur pack, but after losing his wife and son, he abandoned every responsibility tied to that position, including the basic requirement of registering his daughter’s updated location. Rumors circulated for a while questioning whether she was even biologically his. Her wolf classification had never been formally documented whether every wolf owes the council that report eventually: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, or, in exceedingly rare cases, Omega, a designation so scarce most supernaturals never encounter one firsthand.

She should have been formally introduced into supernatural society by now. Arthur’s daughter was supposed to walk through my school’s doors last week, registering for her first semester of classes. Instead, here I sit, still chasing ghosts. The council finally tracked Dan down last night, thanks to security footage capturing him brawling inside some dive bar. Vampires generally avoid tangling with wolves whenever possible, blood bonds between our races notwithstanding those connections remain vanishingly uncommon anyway.

I parked outside, watching the girl limp painfully down the block toward another wolf’s residence. Once she disappeared inside, I settled in to wait for her eventual return. Roughly fifteen minutes later, the wolf himself emerged from his house, walking directly toward my car. Curiosity finally won out, and I stepped outside to meet him.

“Please tell me you’re here to get Olivia out of that situation.” Tension radiated off him with every passing second until I finally offered confirmation.

“That’s exactly why I’m here. I run the school as Headmaster, and I sit on the council as well.” Relief flooded through him instantly. Judging by his reaction, he’d either recently graduated from that same institution or at minimum recognized the name immediately.

“Thank God. She needs out from under that excuse of a father, permanently. Would you mind passing this along to her?” He bent down, retrieving a small bag I hadn’t even noticed him carrying earlier, holding it out toward me.

“Of course.” I tucked the bag safely inside my car. An hour passed before Olivia finally reappeared, making her way back toward the wolf’s front door. I watched her count out a stack of bills, tucking some into her back pocket while stuffing the remainder alongside whatever she’d already stashed there previously. Within minutes of her stepping through that doorway, screaming and desperate pleading erupted from inside. Almost like he’d deliberately lured her in under false pretenses of safety before turning violent.

For the first time in my existence, I genuinely resented possessing enhanced hearing. Even sealed inside my car, every desperate plea reached me clearly, along with the sickening sound of his fists connecting repeatedly against her body. My entire body trembled with the overwhelming urge to end someone’s life right then. When I contacted the council for instructions, they explicitly forbade intervention, insisting I wait until Dan finally succumbed to sleep before subduing him.

The moment Dan finally drifted off, I moved with vampire speed straight into the house, beating him nearly unconscious before he could register what was happening. I secured him with cuffs immediately, then radioed for cleanup.

“Dan put up considerable resistance; had to subdue him forcefully.”

Complete fabrication, obviously. Didn’t bother me in the slightest. I sprinted toward the basement and encountered the single most gutting sight I’ve witnessed in my extensive lifetime enough to trigger my fangs instantly, red bleeding into my vision until murderous intent toward this wolf consumed every rational thought. Chained to the concrete floor like some feral animal lay his own daughter. Blood seeped from multiple open wounds across her body, the scent thick and unmistakable in the enclosed space.

Wounds like these should have already healed themselves, yet I couldn’t detect any trace of her wolf whatsoever. Her hair spread loose across the concrete like some tragic halo, and the gray shirt clinging to her frame carried faint traces of that neighboring wolf’s scent, sparking an unexpected flare of jealousy within me. Her stunning caramel complexion was marred everywhere by bruising, eyes shut tight, dried blood tracking down her cheeks where tears had clearly fallen.

I returned upstairs briefly, locating the key hidden within Dan’s clothing sick bastard before hurrying back down to release her from the shackle. The instant I lifted her into my arms, cinnamon and cherry notes flooded my senses. Her blood called to something primal within me, a pull I never anticipated experiencing toward anyone.

No. This can’t possibly be happening right now.

My fangs extended involuntarily, forcing me to violently suppress the urge to mark her right there. This fragile woman cradled against my chest was my blood-bonded mate. Looking down at her battered face, something inside my chest fractured completely. I made a silent vow to her unconscious form. In that moment, nothing like this would ever touch her again, not while I drew breath. Even so, revealing our bond to her remained impossible, at least for now.

I carried her upstairs quickly, cradling her securely against my body. Settling her gently into the car’s backseat, I climbed in myself and began the long drive back toward the school.