Alex's POV
The moment I realized she was gone, the world tilted.
Adriel. My mate. The one I had branded a mistake, the one I had shoved away in front of the pack. She was gone. The emptiness she left wasn't just a void it was a screaming wound in my chest.
The Mating Ceremony… the Moon Goddess's words… the bond… it all burned inside me now, a quiet, relentless pulse that refused to be ignored.
I clenched my fists as I stared at the empty clearing. The ashes of our confrontation still floated in the wind, carrying the memory of her stunned face and the cruel edge of my rejection.
"You're nothing but a mistake. I will never accept a mate like you."
The words were mine, but they no longer belonged to me. They had twisted into a chain, binding me to her absence.
The pack elders murmured behind me, their whispers like knives. Weak. Abomination. Misfit. They had been right in one sense—she had always been different. But weak? No. She had strength I hadn't even begun to comprehend. And now, the realization that I had pushed her into the human world… that she had escaped… it ignited something I couldn't contain.
Obsession.
I didn't care about appearances, politics, or propriety anymore. The world could wait. She couldn't. Not for me, not for anyone.
I summoned Xavier into the private chambers. His calm presence usually grounded me, but today, I needed more than advice. I needed a plan.
"She's gone," I said bluntly, pacing. "Adriel Nightshade… she left the pack. And if she's anywhere near the human world, I'll find her."
Xavier's eyes narrowed. "You can't just..."
"I don't care," I snapped. "I've wasted enough time denying what the bond is. She's mine. And if I don't find her first… someone else will."
The thought of another—human, wolf, or worse taking her into their protection ignited a dangerous heat inside me.
Xavier hesitated, then nodded. "I've begun tracking her scent. It's faint, scattered across multiple states. Whoever helped her was careful."
"Not careful enough," I muttered, eyes narrowing. "I can find her."
I left the chambers immediately, moving through the night like shadow and storm combined. My pack was quiet, tense. They had seen the change in me—the shift from prideful Alpha to a predator obsessed.
Every instinct, every memory, every fragment of the bond flared as I reached the edges of our territory. She had fled to the human world, yes. But humans couldn't hide a wolf from me not when she carried the bond like a beacon.
I tracked her scent through the city, weaving through the crowded streets, ignoring the stares of humans who didn't see me as I moved. It was her. There was no doubt. Faint but unmistakable.
Adriel.
The name tasted like fire on my tongue, a mixture of longing and rage.
The trail led me to a building unlike anything I'd seen in our world—glass towers reflecting the sun, noise, and chaos in every corner. The human world… it was overwhelming, but it didn't matter. Not when I could feel her pulse, her power, her presence.
I stopped in the street, letting the city's hum wash over me. And then, I felt it.
Her magic. Subtle, restrained, but unmistakable. It had awakened in ways I hadn't predicted. She was stronger than I thought.
Stronger than me, perhaps.
A thrill of excitement and something darker slithered through me.
I had to see her. I had to possess her. Not just for the prophecy, not just for the pack but because every fiber of me demanded it.
And then… the faintest shimmer in the air, almost like a pulse, almost like her heartbeat calling to me.
I stepped forward, every muscle coiled, every sense alive.
There she is.
And in that instant, the obsession became uncontainable.
As I moved through the crowded streets, closing in on her scent, I felt it—her presence flaring like a warning. And then a hand touched her shoulder—someone else's hand.
And I realized with burning clarity that I wasn't the only one who wanted her.
The city pressed around me, alive with noise, lights, and the careless movement of humans who had no idea what was about to unfold in their midst. I ignored all of it. I didn't need to see them; I didn't need to hear them. All I needed was the thread of her—Adriel. The bond pulsed under my skin, faint at first, then stronger, insistent, like a living heartbeat that demanded attention.
There.
A subtle shimmer caught my peripheral vision. A pulse of magic. Her magic. Not strong enough to burn down buildings yet, but enough to make the air thrum around her. The city was her cage, and she didn't even know how to escape it fully.
I moved faster. Faster than any human could. Faster than the reflexes of anyone in my pack. I weaved through the crowds, unseen, untouchable, my focus absolute. The bond flared as if the world itself was working to direct me to her, and every instinct cried out where she was.
And then I saw her.
The city's shadows clung to her like a cloak as she stood outside a modest, unassuming building. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders as her cautiously aware gaze scanned the streets.
Even from this distance, I could see the tension in her shoulders, the subtle twitch of claws hidden under her sleeves, the way she wasn't just alert—she was ready to strike.
Someone was with her.
A human—a tall man, broad-shouldered, protective. My blood froze for a moment. He wasn't just random; he radiated a presence that felt familiar, disciplined, and dangerous. And she… she wasn't backing away. She wasn't afraid of him.
My teeth clenched. Who was he?
I advanced, moving through the crowds like a shadow, my senses straining to separate her aura from his. Her magic pulsed faintly, restrained, defensive. She was hiding, yes, but not from him—he had her trust.
My obsession flared like wildfire. Every thought, every heartbeat, every instinct screamed at me: She is mine. Not his. Not anyone else's.
I stepped closer, ignoring the humans who stepped aside in instinctive fear, oblivious to the predator moving among them.
The bond screamed louder. Pain. Hunger. Desire. Possessiveness.
And then it happened.
Her head turned sharply, and for the briefest instant, our eyes met.
I saw recognition, fear, surprise, and something more. A flicker of defiance.
She's trying to hide from me, but she's not running anymore.
The human's hand brushed her arm—a protective gesture, but my wolf didn't care.
I growled low, suppressing it, but the sound was lost to the chaos of the street.
The pulse of her magic flared suddenly, a bright shimmer that licked at the air between them. My bond answered it, and I felt it—someone else had triggered it.
Before I could react, the human moved forward protectively, positioning himself between her and… whatever had just activated her power. My heart twisted. That was my bond, my mate, and yet she was being claimed, if only briefly, by someone else.
My obsession turned razor-sharp. I would not be denied.
I surged forward, faster than thought, a shadow among shadows. The city blurred. The distance closed in moments.
And then, as I was about to step into the open, I saw an unnatural shimmer across the building's glass, something dark and alive, coiling around her like a predator waiting.
She didn't notice it yet.
But I did.
And in that instant, a cold certainty gripped me: This wasn't just about finding her anymore. Someone—or something—was hunting her before I could reach her.
Before I could react, the shimmer lunged, and a searing pulse of energy erupted around her. She screamed—not from fear, but from the shock of a power she didn't yet understand. And I knew, with bone-deep certainty: if I didn't reach her first, I would lose her forever.