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I shake my head like I can shake away the questions. Right now, I have more important questions to answer. Nothing here matters unless it helps me find her.

I don’t care if she was running to someone or from someone else. I don’t care if she was brave and strong or a timid, terrified mess. No matter what happened here, I know one thing.

She’s mine.

She’s mine, and she’s everything.

And I’m going to find her. I’m going to hunt her down and discover who has her. I’m going to find out who hurt her, if it’s the last thing I do.

I focus on our Bond. On the thread that shimmers, searches, and reaches out for her. Needing her just as I need her.

Pressure builds behind my eyes. My chest tightens, and I try to swallow around the ball of emotions lodged in my throat, but can’t. My dad is still speaking, asking all the questions I have no fucking answers to, still completely oblivious to my living nightmare.

And in this moment, I make a vow to Fate, the Mother, and every god who’ll listen.

I will find my Mate. I will discover who did this, and when I do, she’ll never have to question why Fate Bonded her to the Alpha Heir of the Eastern Pack.

Chapter 1

Soren

The Bloodbound are not our enemy, but if they refuse to hand over my Mate… they will be.

Six days ago, the only clue I had that might lead me to my Mate was that damn Panther that’d been circling the Varenthrall Estate. It seemed mad at the time—and if I’m being honest, I still don’t know if my second in Command, Kane, believed me when I explained the whole story—but my instincts were telling me that to find my Mate, I needed to follow its scent.

When it led me straight to the Bloodbound’s compound, I thought there was some kind of mistake. Why, by the gods, would the beast lead me here?

After less than thirty minutes circling the perimeter of their land, the answer was clear.

I don’t know if it was the sheer impossibility of the situation or what, but reality came crashing down—along with my sense of self-importance—when I realized that whatever its reasons for coming here, they weren’t to help me.

The feline followed my Mate.

And just like before, it has spent every day running the same looping track around the compound like it’s guarding someone inside. Neither my men nor I have caught sight of the feline, but its scent is always fresh, and up until tonight, it had an advantage I didn’t—disappearing into the forest, straight onto Bastard land.

Oh, I got close. As close as I could without triggering their security or wards until I was ready. For almost a week I’ve been watching. Waiting. Sometimes with Kane, but more often than not on my own.

Nothing but the scent of pine in my nose, and the taste of rabbit on my maw.

On day two, I found a path through the forest, right along official Bloodbound territory, that led to a gap in the trees with a perfect view of the compound. There, I spent days watching the castle. Bastards came and went—training, leaving and returning from patrols, and sometimes just simply fucking around.

The days blended into one another with no sign of my Mate. Still, I refused to leave. My instincts were more sure than ever that this was where I was meant to be. Even when my body began to ache, and my eyes turned raw from too little sleep, I waited. Watched.

Until tonight.

I spend my days around back and my nights rotating between the side and front of the castle, but tonight I decided to switch things up and stayed in my secluded spot behind the Bastard’s training yard.

Less than an hour after the sun set, I saw her.

A delicate, feminine figure appeared in the single window of one of the tallest points of the castle, and the golden thread of our Mate Bond shot out in recognition.

My knees nearly buckled in relief.

I raced back to my Second, who was mid-dinner around a campfire with three of my males. This was a small group on purpose. I didn’t want anyone but my parents to know what I was doing until I had my Scent-Match in my arms.

The moment I skidded into camp, dirt and debris flying up around my paws, I shifted and turned to my right-hand.

“Call in the warriors on stand-by.”