Zara's POV.

A sharp, pounding ache creaked at the back of my head as I stirred awake. My body felt strangely heavy, my limbs tangled in soft, luxurious sheets that were far too comfortable to be mine. The scent surrounding me was intoxicating... musky, and laced with something dark and deeply masculine. It sent a shiver down my spine before my eyes even fluttered open.

As soon as they did, I froze.

The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, smooth and painted a deep shade of gray. the kind of decor that screamed wealth and power. The dim morning light streamed through thick curtains. Everything was wrong. This wasn’t my bed. This wasn’t my home.

Panic shot through my veins like lightning, my heartbeat accelerated as flashes of last night slammed into me all at once. The bar. The alcohol. The strong arms catching me before I fell. The molten gold eyes that had burned through me, igniting something I had never felt before.

And then...

My heart dropped to my stomach.

I turned my head slowly, dreading what I would see.

there laid his muscular body, still deep asleep.

A scream clawed at my throat, but I swallowed it down as horror and disbelief stirred within me. My body was bare beneath the sheets, and the soreness between my thighs confirmed what my heart refused to accept.

I had slept with a stranger.

No. Not just a stranger.

My mate.

The word sent another wave of panic surging through me, making my breathing shallow. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. I hadn’t planned for this. I hadn’t wanted this. I wasn’t supposed to find my mate.. not when I was running away, not when I had nothing to offer.

I clenched the sheets around me, squeezing my eyes shut. Think, Zara. Think.

The events of last night replayed themselves mercilessly. The moment our eyes had locked, the pull had been undeniable. Even through the haze of alcohol and heartbreak, my wolf had screamed at me... Mate!

Could he have known too?

I had felt it in the way his fingers had tightened around my wrist when I stumbled into his arms, in the way his golden eyes darkened with something deep and possessive.

I hadn’t fought it.

My body had responded before my mind could, and the moment his lips crashed against mine, I knew there was no turning back. One moment we had been in the club, the next, I had found myself pressed against soft mattress, pinned beneath his weight as his mouth claimed me.

I felt heat crawl up my neck. I couldn’t remember every detail, but I remembered enough. His hands, his lips, the way he had growled in my ears as he thrusted into me.

And now, I was waking up in his bed.

Shame burned through me like fire.

"This can’t be happening," I whispered to myself, my fingers digging into my scalp.

I couldn’t stay.

My mate.. whoever this man is. Isn't someone I could afford to be around. I didn’t know his name, didn’t know anything about him except that he was powerful. Too powerful. The way he had commanded attention... he wasn’t an ordinary wolf.

I needed to get out before he woke up.

Heart hammering, I forced myself to move, ignoring the soreness in my legs as I slipped out of bed. My dress lay discarded on the floor, wrinkled and twisted. My shoes were nearby, one lying near the foot of the bed, the other tossed halfway across the room. I cringed at the sight before gathering them quickly.

As I reached for my dress, my gaze landed on the bedside table... and on the black leather wallet sitting there.

My movements stilled, and I swallowed hard, my mind racing.

I was about to flee with nothing but the clothes on my body. No money. No food. No plan. I had only managed to escape last night with the clothes I wore. I needed something to hold onto, just in case I need a change of cloth or food, even.

A dangerous idea suddenly crept into my mind, and my pulse quickened.

It was wrong. But was it? This was survival. I was on the run, with nowhere to go. If I took just a little.. enough to get me far from here... would it really be that bad?

I hesitated for only a second before my fingers closed around the wallet. My breath hitched as I flipped it open.

Thick stacks of crisp bills greeted me. Large, significant amount.

I didn’t think twice before snatching a handful of cash, I shoved it into my dress pocket before placing the wallet back down.

Guilt clawed at my stomach, but I pushed it away. I had no choice. I would disappear after this. He would never see me again.

I tiptoed toward the door, my bare feet moving as quickly and silently as possible.

My hand was on the doorknob when a low, sleepy growl rumbled from the bed.

I froze.

My breath caught in my throat as I turned my head slightly, just enough to see him shifting in his sleep. The sheets had fallen low on his waist, revealing his sculpted torso. My heart clenched painfully.

He’s beautiful.

I sucked in a sharp breath, shaking my head. No. Don’t be weak now.

I twisted the knob and slipped out, shutting the door behind me without a sound.

The hallway was just as lavish as the bedroom, lined with expensive paintings and gleaming marble floors. I moved swiftly, searching for an exit.

A maid spotted me from the end of the corridor, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Miss? Are you..

I bolted.

I didn’t give her a chance to finish. My feet carried me down the stairs, my heart slamming against my ribs as I burst through the front doors and into the morning light.

The cold air hit me like a slap, but I didn’t stop running.

I had no idea where I was, but one thing was certain.

I had to disappear before he found out I was gone.

And before he realized I had stolen from him.

Zeke's POV.

The moment I woke up, I knew something was wrong. The bed beside me was cold.

My arm instinctively reached out, searching for the warm, soft body that had been pressed against mine all night. But all I felt was empty sheets. She was gone.

I sat up abruptly, my eyes darting around the room, scanning for any sign of her. The morning sunrays filtering through the curtains revealed the chaos she had left behind... discarded clothes, the lingering scent of her arousal mixed with mine, the faint indentation of her delicate frame on the mattress. But she was nowhere in sight.

A low growl rumbled in my chest as my wolf stirred restlessly. She left us.

Clenching my jaw, I ran a hand through my hair, my mind replaying the events of last night. She had been drunk, yes, but not out of her mind. And she had responded to me... every single touch, every kiss, every thrust. She had wanted me just as much as I had wanted her.

So why the hell did she leave?

A sudden thought hit me like a punch to the gut. I turned to the nightstand where I had left my wallet the night before. My eyes locked onto the space it should have been.

Empty.

"What the hell?..” I snarled, shoving the blanket off and storming out of bed.

She had taken my money.

I threw open the closet, yanked on a pair of black sweatpants, and stormed toward the door. My footsteps were heavy, my muscles coiled with frustration. I had been searching for my mate for years. Years. And the moment I found her, she vanished like a damn thief in the night... after stealing from me.

Did she have any idea who I was?

I stepped into the hallway, my voice thundering through the mansion. “Everyone, get in here. Now!”

The commotion that followed was immediate. The sound of hurried footsteps echoed as the housekeepers, security guards, rushed toward me, their expressions laced with fear and confusion.

Beta Caleb was the first to arrive. His eyes swept over my disheveled appearance before he gave a short nod.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice sharp and alert.

“My mate,” I growled, my fists clenched at my sides. “She’s gone.”

A murmur spread through the gathered staff.

Caleb’s eyes darkened with immediate understanding. “She left willingly?”

“She ran, Caleb. And she took my damn wallet.”

His brows shot up. “She stole from you?”

I could hear the barely restrained amusement in his voice, but he was smart enough not to let it show.

“Yes,” I blurted out. “And I want her found. Now.”

Caleb nodded swiftly, already pulling out his phone to issue orders to our tracking team. “She couldn’t have gone far. If she left on foot...

“She didn’t,” a small voice interrupted.

I turned sharply, my eyes locking onto a young maid who stood trembling near the back of the crowd. Her hands were clasped together, her brown eyes wide with fear as she hesitated under my glare.

“What did you say?” My voice was low, dangerous.

She swallowed hard, then quickly lowered her head in submission. “I...I saw her, Your Majesty. She ran out of the house just before dawn.”

My wolf bristled at her words. “You saw her? Why the hell didn’t you stop her?”

The maid flinched. “I... she was moving so fast. I didn’t think…” She trailed off, clearly terrified of my anger.

I took a step forward, towering over her. “Which way did she go?”

The girl gulped and pointed toward the main road. “T-That way. But she was wearing different clothes. She must have changed before leaving.”

Smart. Very smart.

I exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Did she get into a car? A cab?”

The maid nodded hesitantly. “Yes. A black taxi. I couldn’t see the license plate, but it had a red bumper sticker.”

Caleb was already making calls, his voice crisp as he relayed the information. “Check the city’s traffic cams. Find every black taxi with a red bumper sticker that passed this area within the last two hours.”

I clenched my jaw, my blood boiling.

She thought she could just run away? After what we shared?

I had waited six years for my mate, and the moment I found her, she stole from me and disappeared?

Did she really think I wouldn’t hunt her down?

She was mine.

I took a slow breath, reigning in my rage. Losing control wouldn’t help me find her. And I would find her.

Caleb turned back to me after ending the call. “We’ll have footage in a few minutes. If she’s still in the city, we’ll find her.”

“She won’t be,” I muttered. “She’s running from more than just me.”

Caleb tilted his head. “You think she’s been on the run before?”

I thought back to last night, to the pain I had seen in her black eyes, the way she drank like she was trying to drown something inside of her.

“She has secrets,” I admitted, my voice lower now. “And I intend to find out every single one of them.”

Caleb smirked slightly. “She’ll be one hell of a Luna.”

I met his gaze, my own filled with steel determination.

“She’ll be my Luna,” I corrected. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”

I turned back toward the house, my mind already working through every possible way to track her down.

Zara might have run from me. But she had made one fatal mistake.

She had left a part of her scent in my bed.

And a wolf never loses the scent of his mate.

I let a slow, knowing smirk spread across my lips.

“Run, little mate,” I murmured. “Let’s see how far you get.”

Zara's POV

The taxi smelled of old coffee and pine freshener, and I pressed my forehead against the cold window while the city lights dissolved into long golden streaks behind my exhausted eyes. My heart had refused to slow down since I burst out of that mansion, and every time the car stopped at a junction, I gripped the folded bills in my pocket as though someone might snatch them away from me.

The driver had not asked me a single question when I climbed in. He was a broad man somewhere past fifty, with grey threaded through his hair and a thick scar across the back of his right hand, and his calm manner should have comforted me but somehow did the opposite.

"Where to, miss?" he had asked, and I had been so tired that the truth tumbled out of my mouth before I could catch it.

"Anywhere that leads to the human side of the border," I had answered.

He had only nodded, as if passengers made that request every morning, and then he had pulled away from the curb without another word.

Now we had been driving for twenty minutes, and the mansion's walls had long since vanished behind us. I told myself that I was safe, that nobody could track a stranger through the maze of streets winding across the lower districts of Lychanthria, but my wolf paced restlessly inside my chest and refused to settle.

Narla had not stopped whimpering since I left that bed. She was not frightened of the road or the driver or the lonely miles stretching ahead of us, because what she felt was grief, and the sound of it made my throat ache in a way I could not explain to myself.

"We could not have stayed," I whispered under my breath, so softly that the driver could not possibly hear me.

She answered with a low, mournful hum that vibrated through my ribs, and I turned my face away from the mirror so that he would not see the tears gathering in my eyes.

To distract myself, I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out the money I had stolen. Counting it seemed like the only practical thing a runaway could do, so I bent low in the seat, shielded the bills with my body, and began sorting them into piles across my lap.

There was far more than I had realized when I grabbed it in the dark. Each bundle was bound with a paper band, and the total was enough to cover a human worker's wages for an entire year, which made my stomach twist when I understood how much of a stranger's life I was holding in my trembling hands.

I was about to shove everything back into my pocket when something stiffer than paper slid out from between the last two bundles and landed face down on my knee. It was a card, yet it was unlike any card I had ever seen, because it was heavier than it should have been and its surface was a deep matte black that seemed to swallow the light from the street lamps passing overhead.

I turned it over slowly.

There was no name printed on it, no number, and no bank logo. In the center, pressed so finely into the surface that I could only see it when the light slid across at an angle, was a crest made of a single silver crescent moon cradled between the points of two curved claws.

The moment my fingertips brushed it, a scent rose from the card and wrapped itself around me. It was musk and cedar with something darker running underneath, the very same scent that had clung to the sheets and to my skin, and Narla surged forward so violently inside me that I gasped out loud.

I clamped my free hand over my mouth because the longing that flooded through me was so sudden and so enormous that I could barely breathe around it. I wanted to press the card against my face and inhale until nothing else existed, and I wanted to order the driver to turn around and carry me back up those marble stairs.

Instead, I forced myself to sit upright and tuck the card into the lining of my dress, where it burned against my ribs like a hot coal.

"Everything all right back there, miss?"

The driver's voice made me jump. I lifted my eyes and found his gaze fixed on me in the rearview mirror, and I had the uncomfortable certainty that he had been watching for far longer than a polite man should.

"I am only tired," I said, forcing a smile onto my face.

"You look like a woman who has not slept in days," he replied, and his tone was gentle, yet his eyes flicked once toward the spot where I had hidden the card before they returned to my face.

My pulse quickened. Had he seen it? The mirror was angled in such a way that he could have glimpsed anything I held above my lap, and the thought sent a cold trickle running down the back of my neck.

I decided to say nothing and fixed my attention on the road instead. We had turned onto a narrow lane lined with shuttered warehouses, and I realized with a creeping unease that we had passed two wider avenues that would have been faster.

"This is a strange way to go," I said carefully.

"The main avenue has a wolf checkpoint tonight," he answered without any hesitation. "The Alphas are searching the roads for someone, and I would rather not give them a reason to peer inside my cab."

Searching for someone. The words landed in my stomach like stones, because I knew exactly who the Alphas were searching for, and I knew my father would have turned every road in Lychanthria upside down by now to drag his disgraced daughter back to the wolf king's selection.

"Then I am grateful for the detour," I said, though my fingers curled tighter around the fabric of my dress.

We stopped at a red light in an empty intersection, and the driver reached into his jacket and drew out a phone. He angled the screen away from the mirror, tapped it with his thumb for several seconds, and then slipped it back into his pocket with a casual movement that did not fool me for a moment.

"Family," he said over his shoulder. "My daughter worries when I drive the night shift."

"Of course," I replied, and I hated how thin my voice sounded.

The light turned green, and he drove on, humming a tuneless melody under his breath that raised the fine hairs along my arms. A man with nothing to hide did not hum while a stranger in his back seat prayed for the journey to end.

After another ten minutes, the warehouses gave way to a sprawling grey structure crowned with a flickering neon sign that read Harrow Terminal. The driver rolled to a stop beside the east entrance, where a handful of travelers huddled under dim lamps waiting for buses that would carry them away from everything they knew.

"The last night bus to Thornwall Crossing leaves at five from platform nine," he said, turning in his seat to face me for the first time. "Inside the east hall you will find an old woman selling travel tonics near the ticket counter, and you should tell her that you need something for your eyes."

My blood turned to ice. "I never said anything about my eyes."

"Your eyes say plenty for themselves, miss, to anyone who bothers to look at them."

I had been keeping my face lowered the entire ride, but in the dim glow of the dashboard I understood that he had seen the black of my irises in that mirror from the very beginning, and he had said nothing until now.

My hand shook as I pulled a bundle of bills from my pocket and held it toward him. "Please take this for the ride."

He looked at the money, and then he pushed my hand gently back toward me with his scarred knuckles. "Keep every note of it, because you are going to need all of it before this journey ends."

"Why would you help me like this?" I asked, unable to stop the question from slipping out.

"Because I was told to," he said, and then he blinked as though he had spoken a thought aloud by mistake, and he forced a tight smile onto his lips. "Because a girl with that look on her face deserves a bit of kindness from a stranger, I meant to say."

Neither explanation made any sense, yet I could not afford to stand there arguing, so I thanked him in a whisper and climbed out into the freezing air. The door clicked shut behind me, and the taxi remained idling at the curb while I hurried toward the terminal entrance with my heart pounding in my ears.

At the glass doors, I could not resist glancing back one final time. The driver had lifted his phone again, and the glow of its screen lit his face from beneath, and because the windshield was clean and the font was large, I could read the message he had just sent.

She has the card. Proceeding as planned.

My knees nearly gave out beneath me as the taxi pulled away from the curb, its taillights shrinking into the dark, and I understood with sickening clarity that I had not escaped anybody at all, because someone had been waiting for me since the moment I ran.