Calix awoke with the echo of his own scream still ringing in his ears.
The nightmare refused to leave him.
It clung to him like a shadow as he hurriedly dressed, barely fastening the leather clasps of his tunic before throwing open the door to his chambers.
He had made a promise.
He would return to her.
The first place he ran to was her home.
Lira and Kael’s small cabin stood quietly beneath the morning sun, smoke curling lazily from the chimney.
He knocked once.
No answer.
He opened the door.
The house was neat, almost painfully ordinary.
Her blanket still lay folded near the bed.
A few belongings rested where she had left them.
Nothing suggested she had planned a journey.
Yet…
She wasn’t there.
Calix searched every room twice before stepping outside again, unease twisting tighter inside his chest.
“Maybe she’s at the spring…” he told himself.
He hurried through the forest.
Past the riverbank where they had first begun speaking as friends again.
Past the abandoned storage shed where they sometimes escaped the watchful eyes of the pack.
Past every hidden path only the two of them knew.
Finally…
The mountain.
The secret sanctuary.
The spring shimmered peacefully beneath the morning light, untouched by the worries of the world.
Everything was exactly as she had left it.
The smooth stone where they had sat together.
The water reflecting the sky.
The silence.
Only…
She wasn’t there.
Calix stood in the middle of the clearing, his breathing growing heavier.
For the first time since becoming Alpha, genuine fear crept into his heart.
By midday, he had searched nearly every place she could possibly be.
Nothing.
Not a scent.
Not a single trace.
His wolf, usually so calm when tracking, paced restlessly inside him.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He found Oria inside the kitchens.
She stood sorting bundles of herbs beside a long wooden table.
The moment she noticed him, her shoulders stiffened.
Calix approached slowly.
His voice was frighteningly calm.
“Where is she?”
Oria’s hands froze.
For one heartbreaking second, guilt flashed across her face before disappearing behind practiced composure.
She lowered her eyes.
“I…” she whispered.
Her fingers tightened around the herbs until several leaves crumbled between them.
“…I don’t know who you mean.”
The lie struck Calix harder than any claw.
He knew Oria.
She was a terrible liar.
But before he could question her further, she stepped away, keeping her face turned from him.
“I’m sorry, Alpha.”
The title felt like a wall between them.
Calix watched her leave, confusion growing into suspicion.
Lira was no different.
When he greeted her, she smiled too quickly.
Too politely.
She wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Kael barely acknowledged him before finding an excuse to leave the room entirely.
Every answer felt rehearsed.
Every silence felt deliberate.
It was as though the three people who loved her most had suddenly forgotten she existed.
Calix’s instincts screamed.
They’re hiding something.
But why?
With nowhere else to turn, he climbed the stone steps leading to the Queen’s private chambers.
Inside, Queen Elara sat beside a sunlit window, quietly embroidering a silver wolf onto deep blue fabric.
She looked up as the doors burst open.
Surprise crossed her gentle features.
“Calix?”
He hardly noticed the breach of etiquette.
“Mother.”
His voice cracked with barely restrained urgency.
“Have you seen her?”
Elara slowly set aside her embroidery.
She had seen her son angry.
She had seen him determined.
She had even seen him heartbroken after rejecting his fated mate.
But never…
Never like this.
He looked frightened.
Not for himself.
For someone else.
She rose and crossed the room, resting a gentle hand against his arm.
“No,” she answered honestly.
“I haven’t seen her since yesterday evening.”
Calix closed his eyes briefly.
Another dead end.
Elara searched his face carefully.
“What happened?”
He hesitated.
Then, quietly, almost painfully, he admitted the truth.
“I was supposed to meet her.”
His voice grew softer.
“I promised I’d come back.”
His emerald eyes drifted toward the palace windows overlooking the forest.
“But she’s gone.”
Silence settled over the room.
Queen Elara’s heart tightened.
She knew her son well enough to understand what those simple words truly meant.
This wasn’t merely concern.
This was fear.
And somewhere deep within her own heart, a quiet unease began to grow as well.