Darius “Anything?” I barked the moment Kieran’s presence brushed against my mind.
“Give me a damn minute, would you?” he shot back, breathless, like he’d been running.
“I’m working as fast as I can, Your Majesty.” “Work faster.” I paced the length of my study, boots grinding into the carpet I’d already worn thin over the last few hours.
“It’s been half a day, Kieran.
Half a day and nothing.” “We’ve got wolves running three territories.
I promise you, the second anyone catches her scent…” “That’s not good enough.” “With respect,” he said, and I could practically hear him grimace through the link, “it’s going to have to be good enough for now, because I don’t have a magic wand that conjures runaway mates out of thin air.” I snarled, low and vicious, and I heard him sigh on the other end.
“I’m not trying to upset you further.
I’m telling you the truth, we’re doing everything we can.” “Do more.” “Darius…” “I said do more!” Silence stretched between us, and I dragged a hand down my face, forcing myself to breathe.
My wolf was a live wire beneath my skin, snapping and snarling, desperate to shift and run and hunt her down himself.
I understood the feeling because I shared it.
“I’m sorry,” I said finally, quieter.
“I just need her found.” “I know.” Kieran’s voice softened, just slightly.
“We’ll find her, I promise you that.” A knock sounded at my door before I could respond, sharp and urgent.
“Enter,” I called, and one of my guards, Bastian, stepped through, his face pale.
“Your Majesty.
We have a problem.” My chest tightened instantly.
“What kind of problem?” “A rogue pack operating out of Thistlewood came across our patrol an hour ago.
One of them mentioned a woman.
Black hair, black eyes and said she smelled like roses.” The air left my lungs in a rush.
“Where is she?” “That’s the problem, sir.” Bastian’s throat bobbed.
“They didn’t have her with them but they mentioned selling her, they said something about a king willing to pay a fortune for an unclaimed mate.” Rage detonated inside my chest so violently I nearly blacked out from the force of it.
My fangs dropped, my claws split through my fingertips, and I heard the wood of my desk groan beneath the pressure of my grip.
“They have her?” “We don’t know for certain, Your Majesty.
The patrol only caught wind of rumors but given the description…” “Get me everything you know, now.” My voice came out warped, barely human, and Bastian flinched but nodded, backing out of the room to relay orders.
I mindlinked Kieran again, and this time I didn’t bother hiding the fury bleeding into my voice.
“Rogues have her or they know where she is.
She’s in Thistlewood.” “Thistlewood?” Kieran’s tone sharpened instantly.
“That’s rogue territory, Darius, no pack claims that land.
If they’re planning to sell her…” “Then we move now.” “We need a plan.
If we storm in unprepared, we could get her killed or ourselves.” “I don’t care about a plan!” I roared, and the windows of my study rattled from the force of it.
“I care about getting to her before some filthy rogue lays a single finger on my mate.” “And you’ll get to her but not if you go in blind and end up dead before you find her.” Kieran’s voice was firm, steady in a way that only made me angrier, because he was right, and I hated that he was right.
“Let me pull together a team, just give me an hour.” “She doesn’t have an hour.” “She has however long it takes us to do this properly,” he snapped back, and I’d never heard my beta speak to me with such sharpness before.
“I know you’re scared for her, I am too but going in like a bull with no strategy gets people killed, Darius, and it gets her killed too.
Is that what you want?” The question landed like a blow, because no, gods, no, that was the last thing I wanted.
“An hour,” I ground out.
“You have one hour, Kieran.” “Understood.” A pause.
“For what it’s worth, we’ll get her back.
Rogues whose traffic mates for money are cowards and cowards don’t fight well when cornered.” I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t, not with the images flooding my mind, of her tied up somewhere, terrified, at the mercy of men who saw her as nothing more than a payday.
I marched down to the war room, where a handful of my most trusted guards were already assembling maps of Thistlewood and the surrounding rogue territories.
Bastian looked up as I entered.
“Your Majesty.
We’ve confirmed at least three rogues were seen with a woman matching her description near the eastern border two hours ago.” “Alive?” “As far as we know, yes.
They wouldn’t get paid for damaged goods.” His mouth twisted with disgust at his own words.
“There’s more, word is they’re planning to auction her off tonight to the highest bidder.
Apparently several kings and alphas have shown interest once rumors of an unclaimed mate started circulating.” My vision went red at the edges.
“Auction her?” “That’s the intelligence we have, sir.” “Like she’s some kind of livestock,” I snarled, slamming my fist into the war table hard enough to crack the wood straight down the middle.
Everyone in the room flinched, but no one dared say a word.
“We’ll get there in time,” Bastian said carefully.
“Kieran’s assembling the strike team as we speak.” “It needs to be silent and fast.
I want her out before anyone even realizes we’re there.” “Understood, Your Majesty.” I stared down at the map spread across the table, at Thistlewood circled in red ink, and forced myself to think instead of simply rage.
She was out there right now, scared, alone, surrounded by men who wanted to sell her like she was nothing more than an object and it was my fault.
If I hadn’t let her slip out of that room unnoticed, if I’d woken sooner, if I’d asked her name before falling into bed with her…
None of that mattered now because what mattered was getting her back.
“Your Majesty.” Kieran’s voice rang out through the mind link again, sharper this time and more urgent.
“We have a location.
It’s an abandoned warehouse on the edge of Thistlewood.
My scout confirmed the scent, there are roses and its faint but its there.” My heart lurched.
“You’re sure?” “As sure as I can be without seeing her myself.” “Then we move.” I straightened, addressing the room.
“Gather everyone, we leave in fifteen minutes.” “Fifteen minutes isn’t enough time to prep a full extraction team,” Bastian argued.
“Then make it enough.” My voice left no room for argument, and after a beat, he nodded and turned to relay the order.
Fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes to save the only woman who had ever made me feel something other than boredom and duty in all my centuries of living.
I would tear that warehouse apart brick by brick if I had to.
We loaded into the vehicles in record time, engines roaring to life as we sped toward the border of Thistlewood, toward the woman who smelled like roses and tasted like forever.
We were still ten minutes out when Kieran’s voice slammed back into my mind, frantic in a way that made my blood run cold.
“Darius, there’s a problem.
The auction…it’s not happening at midnight like we thought.” “When is it happening?” “It already started.”