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When the girl does not show up at dinner, Lucy and Nico exchange a strange glance. I'm not sure what they’ve been told, but from the way they shift uncomfortably in their seats, I know it isn’t good.
I’ll deal with them later.
“Perhaps you should bring her a tray of food,” Amara says suddenly, and she doesn’t have to explain.
After dinner, I decide to follow Amara’s advice, if only to make sure that the girl is okay. We had a tense encounter the night before, and the last thing I need is Nico and Lucy filling her head with more trouble.
But there’s no answer when I knock on the door of the girl’s bedroom with a plate full of food in hand. She left the door unlocked, and it swings open when I test the handle.
Even though the doors to the terrace are open, allowing the night breeze to sweep through the room, the space is filled with her scent.
No sign of her.
My wolf stirs, and something gnaws at my insides at her absence.
Lucy said after brunch, the girl spent the day in the garden, and I assumed she skipped dinner to avoid any conflict. But if she’s not in her room... where can she have gone?
And why does my stomach twist itself into a knot when I can’t find her?
I set the plate of food down on the nightstand next to her bed before storming out of the room.
“Girl?” I ask, wishing she had a name I could call out.
It’s not just that. She deserves a name. She deserves a sense of identity that’s uniquely hers and the fact that Viktor and the Banes denied her that makes me see red.
I loosen my grip on my wolf as I make my way through the halls of the villa. Instinct takes over as I track her scent towards the back exit, muscles tensing as I realize she’s left the house. My brow furrows when I follow her trail down to the grey-cobbled path that leads toward the lake.
Why did she come out here?
The villa is on the outskirts of the Rover’s village, and while every member of our pack has orders to treat my mate with respect and care, that does not mean it’s safe for her to wander about on her own in the night.
She does not know these lands, and if you get far enough from downtown, the lack of light becomes all-consuming. The only sources of illumination are the stars and the silvery moonlight shimmering on the surface of the lake, but once you wander past the edge of the path, the terrain becomes uneven and treacherous in the darkness of the night.
And, of course, that’s exactly where her scent leads me.
My concern and frustration sharpen into outright fear when I realize her trail fades under the black surface of the lake. Every reflected glimmer of moonlight looks like it could be her golden blonde hair billowing in the water. Every small ripple makes my pulse quicken as I try not to picture her small figure sinking through the cold.
What the hell was she thinking?
If she wanted to go swimming, she might have waited until it wasn’t the middle of a freezing night. Or, if she truly wished it, she could have easily asked anyone in the villa to accompany her to make sure she didn’t lose her way in the dark.
I have to find her. Each passing second presses on my mind like a physical weight, my gaze scanning every little movement, ears listening for any trace of her among the sounds of nature surrounding the lake.
I’ve lost her scent, and my wolf gnaws at my very soul, asking—no, demanding—that I find her.
Find my mate. Make sure she’s safe. That’s all that matters.
I can’t help but think of those doe eyes, wide with timid curiosity, the violet shade of her iris like the vibrant petals of a purple flower. At the slightest notion of not seeing them again, something inside of me snaps, and I lose any kind of hold over the spirit that lives within me.
Find her.
“Flower! Where are you?” I shout, not caring about the way my voice catches with concern.
She’s too warm for this cold night, too small for this massive lake, too soft for the hard things that might lurk in the dark.
I’ll organize a search party. Nico is our best scout, and I can have Mark gather a few of the nearest wolves to search the perimeter of the villa. I don’t care if I have to wake everyone in the pack, and I don’t give a damn if she was trying to run away.
I just need to know she’s safe. I just need to make sure she didn’t disappear the way her trail did. It’s all I can think about. It’s like my worry is so large it’s taken up all the space in my mind and body, leaving no room for any other emotion or thought.
