Dmitri hated these events.

He leaned against the cold monastery wall, a cigarette burning between his fingers. The smoke curled up into the night air, disappearing into the falling snow. Inside, the gala was still going strong music, laughter, the fake pleasantries of wolves pretending they weren't here for some reason.

He'd done his duty. Showed his face. Shook hands with the right people. Represented the Volkov pack as the visiting neutral party. Now he just wanted to leave.

His father was dying and Dmitri was here, wasting time at a party, when he should be home preparing to take over as Alpha.

He took another drag from the cigarette, letting the nicotine settle his restless wolf. The beast had been on edge all night, pacing beneath his skin, searching for something Dmitri couldn't name.

Then he heard it.

A fast heartbeat,Erratic and Panicked.

Dmitri's head snapped up. His wolf surged forward so violently he nearly shifted right there. Every nerve in his body lit up like someone had set him on fire.

*Mate.*

No,that wasn't possible.

He crushed the cigarette under his boot and pushed off the wall. His legs moved before his brain caught up, carrying him away from the monastery doors, into the darker parts of the grounds.

He didn't want this. I didn't want a mate. He had too much responsibility waiting for him at home. Too many problems. A mate would be a weakness, a distraction he couldn't afford.

But his wolf didn't care about logic. It only cared about one thing.

"Find her,Protect her,Keep her."

Dmitri followed the pull, his boots crunching through the snow. His senses sharpened. He could smell her now something sweet and clean, like winter air and pine trees. And underneath that, fear.

His wolf snarled.

He moved faster, rounding the corner of an old stone building. That's when he saw them.

Three wolves young, drunk, stupid circling a woman in a silver dress. She was on her knees in the snow, trying to crawl away from them. Her ash-blond hair had fallen loose from its pins, hanging around her face in messy waves.

One of them reached for her.

Dmitri's vision went red.

He crossed the distance in three strides and grabbed the wolf by the back of his neck, throwing him into the snow like he weighed nothing. The other two spun around, startled, their eyes widening when they saw who it was.

"Alpha Volkov-" one of them started.

Dmitri didn't let him finish. He let his wolf rise to the surface, just enough. His eyes flashed golden eyes .A growl rumbled deep in his chest, dangerous, unmistakably Alpha.

The three wolves scattered like rabbits, stumbling over each other in their hurry to get away.

Dmitri didn't watch them go. He was already turning toward the woman.

She was slumped against a stone pillar at the base of the old bell tower, her head tilted back, her eyes half-closed. Her lips were blue from the cold. Snow clung to her bare shoulders and the silver fabric of her dress.

"You," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Then her eyes rolled back, and she fell unconscious..

Dmitri caught her before she hit the ground.

The moment his hands touched her skin, the mate bond snapped into place like a chain wrapping around his ribs. Everything in him screamed *mine*. His wolf roared in satisfaction, finally finding what it had been searching for.

But Dmitri forced himself to focus. She was in trouble.

He scooped her up easily, cradling her against his chest. She was so light. Too light. He could feel her heart racing against his, too fast, too irregular.

Drugged. She'd been drugged.

Rage burned through him. Who would do this? And why?

He kicked open the door to the bell tower and carried her inside. The space was dark and dusty, abandoned years ago. Moonlight streamed through the broken windows, spreading a silver light across an old wooden bed against the wall.

Dmitri laid her down gently, brushing the wet hair back from her face. Her skin is too cold.

He checked her pulse fast but steady. Then her pupils. Dilated. Uneven. Definitely drugged. Probably something mixed with alcohol to make it hit faster.

His jaw clenched. When he found out who did this, they'd regret it.

But right now, she needed help.

Dmitri straightened, looking down at her. The logical thing to do was take her back inside. Find her family. Get her a doctor.

But his wolf wouldn't let him move. Every instinct he had screamed at him to stay. To guard her. To keep her close.

"Mine to Protect ,Keep her safe ".

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.

The woman stirred. Her eyes fluttered open ice-grey, unfocused, confused. She stared up at him like she was trying to figure out if he was real.

"Where..." Her voice cracked. "Where am I?"

"You're safe," Dmitri said, keeping his voice low and calm. "I won't hurt you."

She blinked slowly, her gaze tracking across his face. Even drugged and disoriented, something in her expression shifted when she looked at him. Recognition. Not of him specifically they'd never met but of what he was to her.

The mate bond worked both ways.

"Cold," she whispered. Her whole body was trembling. "I'm so cold."

Dmitri didn't hesitate. He shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, tucking it close. She pulled it tight against her chest, her fingers clutching the fabric like a lifeline.

But she was still shivering so violently.

The drugs, combined with the freezing temperature and her wet dress, were sending her body into shock. She needed warmth but fast.

Dmitri sat down on the bed beside her and carefully pulled her against him. She came willingly, curling into his chest like she belonged there. Her head rested against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her, sharing his body heat.

Outside, the full moon rose above the treeline, spilling silver light through the tower windows. Dmitri felt its pull immediately stronger than usual and demanding.

The mate bond flared to life between them, hot and undeniable. It wrapped around his chest, pulling tighter with every breath she took.

Dmitri gritted his teeth, fighting for control. She was drugged. Vulnerable. He couldn't-

She tilted her face up toward his.

Their eyes met. Hers were clearer now, more focused. She stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time. Or maybe like she'd been searching for him her whole life.

"I know you," she whispered.

They'd never met before tonight. He was sure of that. But the matebond didn't care about logic. It recognized what it wanted.

"You don't," Dmitri said, his voice rough. "You're confused. The drugs-"

"No." She lifted one hand and pressed it against his chest, right over his heart. "I know you."

The touch burned through his shirt like fire. His wolf howled in approval.

Dmitri's control cracked.

He should move away. Should put distance between them before this went too far. But he couldn't. The pull was too strong. She was too close. And every instinct he had was screaming at him to claim her, to mark her, to make sure every wolf in the world knew she was *his*.

She shifted closer, her lips just inches from his.

"Please," she breathed.

That one word shattered him.

Dmitri's hand came up to cup her face, his thumb brushing across her cheekbone. Her skin was warming now, color returning to her lips. Her eyes were half-lidded, dark with something that wasn't just the drugs anymore.

"Tell me to stop," he growled. It was the last thread of his control, the last attempt to do the right thing.

She didn't tell him to stop.

Instead, she closed the distance between them and pressed her mouth to his.

The kiss was soft at first. Tentative. Like she wasn't sure what she was doing. But then the mate bond surged, and everything changed.

Dmitri's hand slid into her hair, tilting her head back as he deepened the kiss. She gasped against his mouth, and he took the opportunity to taste her sweet and sharp, like winter honey. His wolf roared in victory, finally, finally getting what it needed.

Her hands gripped his shirt, pulling him closer. She kissed him back with a desperation that matched his own, like she'd been waiting for this her whole life.

The full moon blazed outside the window.

And Dmitri Volkov, Alpha of the Volkov pack, gave in to the bond he'd been fighting from the moment he heard her heartbeat.

He pulled her into his lap, his coat falling away from her shoulders. She didn't seem to notice the cold anymore. She was burning up, just like him.

"Please," she whispered again, between kisses. "Don't stop."

Dmitri knew he should. I knew this was wrong. But when she looked at him with those grey eyes, full of trust and need..

He couldn't.

"I won't," he promised against her lips and he didn't.

Pain woke her,Katya opened her eyes to grey dawn light filtering through broken windows. Her head pounded like someone was hammering nails into her skull. Her mouth tasted like metal and something bitter she couldn't name.

Everything hurts.

She tried to sit up and gasped. Her body ached in places she'd never felt before deep, intimate places that made her freeze in confusion and growing horror.

Where was she?

The bell tower. She was still in the bell tower.

Katya pushed herself up slowly, her arms shaking. A man's coat slid off her shoulders heavy, black, smelling like pine and smoke and something else. Something masculine and familiar that made her stomach twist.

She looked down at herself.

Her silver dress was torn. The delicate fabric ripped along the side seam, hanging loose around her waist. Her stockings were gone. Her shoes were somewhere on the floor.

And there was blood.

Dark red stains on her inner thighs, dried and flaking.

Katya's breath caught in her throat. Her hands trembled as she touched the marks, confirming what her body was already telling her.

She wasn't a virgin anymore.

Her shoulder throbbed. She reached up and felt raised skin teeth marks, swollen and tender. A claiming bite.

No. No, no, no.

Fragments of memory flashed through her mind. Amber eyes. Strong hands gripping her hips. A deep voice growling her name like a prayer. The weight of a man's body covering hers. Pain that turned into something else, something overwhelming and terrifying .

She remembered begging him not to stop.

Katya pressed her hands over her face, trying to force the memories away. But they kept coming. The way he'd kissed her. The way he'd touched her like she was something precious. The way he'd whispered against her skin in a language she didn't understand but somehow felt in her bones.

And then... nothing.

She'd fallen asleep in his arms, warm and safe and complete.

Now she was alone.

Katya dropped her hands and looked around the empty tower. No note. No explanation. Just his coat and the evidence of what they'd done.

He'd left her.

Whoever he was, whatever he was to her he'd taken her virginity and disappeared like she meant nothing.

Shame burned through her chest, hot and suffocating. How could she have been so stupid? She didn't even know his name. Didn't know what pack he belonged to. Didn't know if he was married or promised to someone else.

All she knew was that he had amber eyes and he'd made her forget everything about the gala, Aleksei, her entire life for a few hours in the dark.

And now he is gone.

Katya forced herself to stand. Her legs wobbled, but she stayed upright. She couldn't fall apart. Not yet. Not here.

She found her shoes and pulled them on. The torn dress was impossible to fix, but she did her best to hold it together with one hand. She picked up the man's coat and stared at it for a long moment.

No identification. No pack insignia. Nothing.

Just the scent that made her wolf whimper in her chest.

Katya dropped the coat on the bench and turned toward the door. She couldn't take it with her. Couldn't risk anyone seeing it and asking questions.

She had to get back before anyone noticed she was missing.

The monastery grounds were quiet in the early dawn. Snow had stopped falling, leaving everything covered in a pristine white blanket. Katya's footprints from last night were already buried.

She kept to the shadows, moving as quickly as her aching body would allow. Most of the gala guests were either asleep or too drunk to notice one disheveled woman sneaking through the corridors.

Almost.

"Katerina."

Katya froze. That voice is disappointed, it was one she'd known her entire life.

She turned slowly.

Her mother stood at the end of the corridor, still dressed in her gala gown. But the elegant woman from last night was gone. Now she just looked furious.

"Where have you been?" Her mother's eyes traveled down Katya's body, taking in the torn dress, the messy hair, the marks on her skin. Her expression shifted from anger to something worse Disgust.

Katya's throat closed up. "I... I was-"

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Her mother crossed the distance between them in three sharp strides. She grabbed Katya's arm, her fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. "The wedding is supposed to be today. *Today.* And you disappear all night looking like... like..."

She couldn't even say it.

"Mama, please-" Katya tried to pull away, but her mother's grip tightened.

"Your father is waiting. And Aleksei." Her mother's voice dropped to a hiss. "Pray for it yourself katya they're more understanding than I am."

She dragged Katya down the corridor, through a side door, into a small private room Katya recognized from childhood. This was where the pack elders held their meetings. Where decisions were made.

Where punishments were given.

Her father stood by the window, his back to the door. He didn't turn when they entered.

Aleksei was there too, leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed. His black suit from last night was rumpled. His hair is messy. He looked like he hadn't slept either.

But unlike Katya, he didn't look broken.

He looked *angry*.

"Sit down," her father said without turning around.

Katya's mother shoved her toward a chair. Katya sat, her legs grateful for the support. Her whole body was shaking now.

"Father, I can explain-"

"Explain what?" Now he turned. His face was carved from stone hard, cold, unforgiving. "Explain why my daughter, the future Luna of the Baranov pack, spent the night gods know where gods know what?"

"I was drugged," Katya whispered. "Someone put something in my drink. I didn't mean-"

"Didn't mean to what?" Aleksei's voice cut across hers like a knife. He pushed off the wall and stalked toward her. "Didn't mean to spread your legs for another Alpha ?"

Katya flinched like he'd hit her.

Aleksei stopped in front of her chair. His nostrils flared. His eyes, those cold steel-blue eyes she'd known since childhood, widened slightly.

He could smell it. Smell *him* on her.

"You reek of another Alpha ." Aleksei's voice shook with barely controlled rage. "I can smell him all over you. On your skin. In your hair." He leaned down, his face inches from hers. "You let someone else touch you. The night before our wedding."

"Aleksei, please-" Tears burned behind Katya's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "I didn't know what was happening. Someone drugged me, and I got lost, and-"

"I don't care." He straightened, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I don't care if you were drugged or drunk or possessed by the moon goddess herself. You're *ruined*, Katerina. Ruined."

The word hit her like a physical blow.

"I won't have a whore as my Luna," Aleksei continued, his voice cold now. Detached. "I won't bind myself to a woman who couldn't even make it to her wedding night without betraying me."

"I didn't betray you," Katya said, her voice breaking. "We're not even mated yet. We're not-"

"We're nothing now." Aleksei looked at her father. "The wedding is off. Tell the packs whatever you want. I don't care. But I won't marry her."

Katya's father said nothing. Did nothing. Just stood there with his jaw clenched and his eyes hard.

Her mother looked away.

No one defended her. No one asked what really happened. No one cared that she'd been drugged and left alone and taken advantage of by a man whose name she didn't even know.

They just cared that she'd ruined their political alliance.

"Come," Aleksei said, walking toward the door. "You'll face the pack. Tell them yourself."

Katya's stomach dropped. "No. Please-"

"Now, Katerina."

It wasn't a request.

Katya stood on shaking legs and followed him out of the room. Her mother walked behind her, a silent guard making sure she didn't run.

The main hall was still full of wolves. Some were sleeping in chairs. Others were drinking coffee and picking at leftover food. A few were dancing to music that had turned slow and tired.

They all stopped when Aleksei walked in with Katya behind him.

The whispers started immediately.

Aleksei climbed the steps to the raised platform where the pack leaders sat during ceremonies. He didn't wait for permission. Didn't ask for silence.

He just spoke.

"The wedding is off," he announced, his voice carrying across the hall. "Katerina Morozova is no longer my intended mate. Our packs will not unite."

Shocked silence. Then chaos.

Wolves stood up, talking over each other. Her father's allies looked furious. Aleksei's family looked confused. Everyone else just looked *interested* like this was the most entertaining thing to happen all night.

Someone asked, "Why? What happened?"

Aleksei didn't answer. He didn't have to.

One look at Katya's torn dress, messy hair, marked skin told them everything.

The whispers exploded into shouts.

"She was with someone else!"

"The night before her wedding!"

"Shameful!"

"Whore!"

Katya stood in the center of it all, alone, her chin trembling but held high. She wouldn't cry. Wouldn't break. Not in front of them.

Across the room, she saw Svetlana standing near the windows. Her sister's expression was unreadable, not happy, not sad. Just... blank.

Katya looked away.

Aleksei was already leaving the platform, already walking away from her like she was nothing. Her father followed him, no doubt trying to salvage what he could from this disaster.

Her mother gripped her arm again. "Come. We're leaving."

"No," Katya said quietly.

Her mother's fingers tightened. "What?"

"I said no." Katya pulled her arm free. She looked at her mother, this woman who'd raised her, taught her, prepared her for a life she no longer had and felt nothing but emptiness.

"I'm leaving," Katya said. "Not with you. Not with Father. I'm leaving Velgorod."

"You can't-"

"Watch me."

Katya turned and walked toward the doors.Running With every ounce of dignity she had left.

Behind her, the whispers turned to shouts. Someone called her name. Someone laughed.

She didn't look back.

She pushed through the heavy wooden doors and stepped out into the morning snow. The cold air hit her face, sharp and clean, washing away the stuffiness of the hall.

Katya kept walking.

She had nothing. No mate. No family. No future.

But she had herself.

And right now, that would have to be enough.

Dmitri stood outside the bell tower, staring at the closed door.

Dawn was breaking. Grey light spread across the monastery grounds, turning the snow silver. He'd been standing here for ten minutes, maybe longer, trying to force himself to walk away.

He couldn't.

His wolf was going insane inside him, clawing at his ribs, howling to go back inside. To wake her. To claim her properly in the daylight and make sure every wolf in Russia knew she belonged to him.

But he couldn't do that either.

She was sleeping. Exhausted. Her body curled up on that old bed, wrapped in his coat, her ash-blond hair spread across the bed like silk. She'd looked so peaceful when he'd finally pulled away from her an hour ago. So beautiful.

He didn't even know her name.

Dmitri ran a hand through his hair, frustration burning in his chest. This wasn't supposed to happen. He'd come to this gala for politics, not to find his mate. Not to lose control completely and claim a woman he'd just met.

But the bond had been undeniable. The moment he'd touched her, everything else had ceased to matter.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

Dmitri pulled it out, frowning at the screen. Irina. His beta. She wouldn't call unless it was important.

He answered. "What is it?"

"Alpha." Irina's voice was shaking. That stopped him cold. Irina never shook. "You need to come home. Now."

Dmitri's grip tightened on the phone. "What happened?"

"It's your father." She paused, and in that pause, Dmitri's world tilted sideways. "He is no more ."

The words didn't make sense at first. His father was sick, yes too weak. But not at the verge of dying Not yet.

"What?" His voice came out flat and empty.

"Murdered," Irina said, and now he could hear the barely controlled panic underneath her usual calm. "Someone got into his room last night. Tore his throat out. Your brother tried to stop them. He's dead too."

Dmitri couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. The phone felt like lead in his hand.

"The pack is falling apart," Irina continued, speaking faster now. "Challengers are already circling. They're saying you abandoned us to go to some party while enemies killed our Alpha. If you don't come back *right now*, we're going to lose everything. The pack. The territory. All of it."

Dmitri looked back at the bell tower door. Behind it, his mate was sleeping. The woman his wolf had claimed. The woman he'd promised without words, but promised all the same that he'd protect.

"Dmitri." Irina's voice sharpened. "Are you listening? Your father is *dead*. We need you."

He closed his eyes. Drew in a breath that felt like swallowing glass.

"I'm coming," he said.

He ended the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket. His hands were shaking. His voice had been steady. But inside him, everything was screaming.

His father was dead. His brother was dead. His pack was in chaos.

And he had to leave her.

Dmitri took one step toward the tower door. Then another. His hand reached for the handle.

He stopped.

If he went back inside, he wouldn't be able to leave. His wolf wouldn't let him. And while he stayed here, his pack would tear itself apart.

*Duty or mate. Choose.*

It wasn't a choice. Not really. He was the Alpha's son. His responsibility to the pack comes first it has always had been.

But gods, it hurts.

Dmitri pulled his hand back and turned away from the tower. His wolf howled in protest, clawing at him, begging him to go back. He ignored it.

He walked to his car, got in, and started the engine.

As he drove away from the monastery, he looked in the rearview mirror. The bell tower grew smaller and smaller. Then disappeared behind the trees.

He didn't even know her name.The drive north took four hours.

Four hours of snow-covered roads and empty forests. Four hours of his wolf raging inside him, demanding he turn around. Four hours of Dmitri gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

He tried to memorize everything about her. The way she'd looked at him with those ice-grey eyes. The way she'd fit perfectly against his chest. The sound of her breathing when she'd fallen asleep in his arms. Her scent is pine and winter air and something uniquely "her".

He told himself he'd find her after this. Once the pack was stable. Once he'd dealt with whoever killed his father. He'd go back to Velgorod and track her down.

He told himself that.

But deep down,there is a part of him that knew how pack politics worked, he knew it was a lie.

He didn't know her name. Didn't know what pack she belonged to. Didn't know if she was promised to someone else or mated already.

All he knew was that he'd claimed her and then abandoned her.

His wolf snarled at him, furious and heartbroken.

Dmitri kept driving,The Volkov stronghold sat deep in the northern forest, surrounded by pine trees older than the packs themselves. It was built like a fortress with stone walls, iron gates, guard towers at every corner.

Right now, those gates were open. And there were too many cars in the courtyard.

Dmitri parked and got out. The air smelled like blood and smoke.

Irina met him at the entrance. She looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes, her short dark hair messy, blood spattered across her jacket.

"It's bad," she said without preamble. "We've contained the immediate threat, but we lost twelve wolves in the fighting. The ones who killed your father escaped before we could stop them."

"Where is he?" Dmitri's voice was calm. Too calm.

Irina gestured toward the main hall. "We laid them both out in the great room. The pack is waiting for you."

Dmitri walked past her without another word.

The great room was packed with wolves. They parted as he entered, creating a path to the center where two bodies lay on stone slabs.

His father,His brother.Both of them were covered in blood. Both of them with their throats torn out.

Dmitri stopped in front of them. His father's eyes were closed, but his face was twisted in a grimace he'd died fighting. His brother looked younger in death, almost peaceful.

Something cold and empty settled in Dmitri's chest.

He didn't cry. Didn't rage. There was no time for that.

"Who did this?" he asked, his voice carrying across the silent room.

"We don't know yet," Irina said from behind him. "But we have suspects. Three wolves have been making noise about challenging your father for weeks. They disappeared right after the murders."

Dmitri turned to face the crowd. Hundreds of wolves stared back at him. Some looked loyal. Some looked uncertain. Some looked hungry.

"Does anyone want a war?" Dmitri asked.

Silence.

Then three wolves stepped forward from the crowd.

The first was a massive brute named Viktor, one of his father's old rivals. The second was a younger wolf named Sergei, ambitious and stupid. The third was a woman, Zoya, who'd been his father's beta before Irina.

"The pack needs strong leadership," Viktor said. "Not a boy who runs off to parties while his Alpha dies."

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.

Dmitri looked at each of them in turn. His wolf, still raw from leaving his mate behind, was more than ready for this fight.

"Come on, then," Dmitri said quietly. "All three at once. Let's make this quick."

The crowd pulled back, forming a circle.

Viktor smiled and shifted first bones cracking, fur sprouting, his body twisting into a massive grey wolf. Sergei and Zoya followed, both of them smaller but faster.

Dmitri waited until all three were in wolf form.

His wolf burst out with all the rage and pain and frustration he'd been holding back since dawn. Black fur. Amber eyes. Larger than all three of them combined.

Viktor attacked first,Dmitri caught him mid-air, jaws clamping around his throat. He threw Viktor into the stone wall hard enough to crack the ancient rock. Viktor didn't get up.

Sergei came at him from the left. Dmitri spun and raked his claws across Sergei's face, blinding him. Sergei yelped and stumbled back, blood pouring from the wounds.

Zoya was smarter. She went for his legs, trying to hamstring him. But Dmitri was faster. He pinned her to the ground with one massive paw and leaned down until his teeth were inches from her throat.

She went numb and shocked, accepted her defeat and submitted herself.

Dmitri released her and stepped back, shifting back to human form. He was breathing hard, covered in blood, some his, most not. His shoulder was bleeding where Sergei had gotten a lucky hit.

He didn't care.,He looked at the crowd. "Anyone else?"

No one moved."Then bow," he commanded.

As one, the entire pack dropped to their knees. Even Viktor, limping and defeated. Even Sergei, blind and broken.

Irina was the first to speak. "Alpha Volkov."

The words echoed through the hall. *Alpha Volkov.*

Dmitri stood over his father's body, now Alpha, now alone.

After the challenge, after the pack had scattered, Dmitri stood in his father's office "his" office now and stared out the window at the forest beyond.

Irina knocked and entered without waiting for permission. She carried a first aid kit.

"Sit," she ordered. "That shoulder needs stitches."

Dmitri sat. He didn't argue as she cleaned the wound and stitched it closed. The pain was almost welcome, something real to focus on besides the hollow ache in his chest.

"What do you need?" Irina asked when she finished.

Dmitri was quiet for a long moment. Then, "Find her."

Irina looked up. "Her?"

"Ash-blond hair. Grey eyes. She was at the Velgorod gala last night." His voice was flat. Empty. "Find out who she is."

Irina studied his face, and he saw the moment she understood. "Your mate."

He didn't answer. I didn't need to.

"I'll do what I can," Irina said carefully. "But there were hundreds of alpha's,beta's, Omega ,single wolves at that gala. It might take time."

"I don't care how long it takes." Dmitri looked at her. "Find her."

Two weeks passed.Two weeks of hunting down the wolves who'd killed his father. Two weeks of rebuilding the pack's structure. Two weeks of meetings and politics and blood.

Two weeks of feeling the mate bond fade from a sharp pull to a dull ache.

Irina finally knocked on his office door with news.

"I searched the Morozova pack registry," she said. "No unmated females matching that description. I checked the Baranovs, the Petrovs, every pack that attended the gala."

Dmitri's jaw tightened. "And?"

"Nothing." Irina looked genuinely sorry. "Either she's not registered with any pack, or she's using a different name. It's like she vanished."

Dmitri stood and walked to the window. From here, he could see south toward Velgorod, toward the city where he'd met her and lost her in the same night.

"Keep looking," he said.

"Dmitri-"Said Irina

"Keep looking."Dimitri said

Irina nodded and left.

Dmitri pressed his hand against the cold glass and closed his eyes.

She was gone. Disappeared like smoke. And it was his fault.

He'd left her alone in that tower. Hadn't even stayed long enough to know her name. He had chosen duty over the mate bond.

His wolf whimpered, mourning the loss.

Somewhere out there, she was alive. He could still feel a faint thread connecting them, so thin it might snap at any moment.

But alive.

"I'll find you," Dmitri whispered to the empty room. "I swear it. I'll find you."

Even if it took the rest of his life.