Kaelen's POV
I threw the plate across the room and it broke against the wall.
Food spread everywhere, but I didn't care. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think about anything except her.
Elara.
"Kaelen, please," Cerys said from the hallway. "You need to eat something."
I spun around to face my new wife. She looked perfect as always - beautiful dress, perfect hair, worried face. But looking at her made me feel sick.
"I don't need anything," I snapped.
"You haven't eaten in three days. You're making yourself sick."
"Good."
Cerys stepped into the room, careful to avoid the broken pieces of plate. "This isn't good. She's gone, Kaelen. You need to accept that and move on."
Something dark and angry rose up inside me. "Move on? MOVE ON?"
I grabbed Cerys by the shoulders and shook her. "She's carrying my child! My child! And she's out there somewhere, alone and scared because of what I did!"
Cerys pulled away from me, fear flashing in her eyes. "Kaelen, you're hurting me."
I let go of her and turned away. My hands were shaking. Everything was moving.
"Get out," I said quietly.
"What?"
"GET OUT!"
Cerys ran from the room, slamming the door behind her.
I was alone again. Just me and the pain that never stopped. It felt like something was eating me from the inside out. Like my wolf was trying to claw its way out of my chest.
I walked over to the window and stared out at the forest. She was out there somewhere. My Elara. My beautiful, perfect omega who smelled like spring flowers and rain.
The omega I had thrown away like garbage.
I pressed my face against the cool glass and closed my eyes. I could still remember the last time I saw her. She had come to tell me something - something important. But I was standing at the altar with Cerys, announcing our marriage.
The look on Elara's face would haunt me forever. The shock. The pain. The lie.
I had destroyed her.
And in doing so, I had killed myself.
A knock on the door interrupted my thinking.
"I said get out!" I roared.
"Alpha, it's Marcus. I have news about the search."
Marcus was my best tracker. I had sent him and twenty other troops to find Elara three days ago.
I yanked the door open. "Did you find her?"
Marcus shook his head. "We tracked her scent to the border of the Deadlands, but then it disappeared."
"What do you mean it disappeared?"
"It's like she just disappeared, Alpha. One moment her trail was clear, the next it was gone. We searched for hours but found nothing."
I grabbed Marcus by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. "You're telling me that twenty trained soldiers can't track one pregnant omega?"
"Alpha, please," Marcus gasped. "There's something else. Something strange."
I dropped him. "What?"
"We found signs of a fight. Claw marks on trees. Blood on the ground. But not her blood."
"Whose blood?"
"We're not sure. The smell was... unusual. Not from any pack we know."
A cold feeling settled in my stomach. "What kind of unusual?"
"Old, Alpha. Ancient. Like it came from one of the old families."
The old genes. Most of them had been wiped out years ago in the great pack wars. The few survivors had gone into hiding or been killed.
"Could she have been taken?" I asked.
"It's possible. Or she could have found safety."
Protection. The thought of another male touching Elara, protecting her, made my wolf go crazy with rage.
"Double the search party," I ordered. "Send fifty men this time. And bring the best trackers from the ally packs."
"Alpha, that's a lot of resources for one runaway omega."
I backhanded Marcus so hard he flew across the room and hit the wall.
"She's not just any omega!" I screamed. "She's carrying my child! My child! And I will burn down every forest in this area to find her!"
Marcus staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his nose. "Yes, Alpha. Right away."
He rushed out of the room, leaving me alone with my rage.
I started walking back and forth like a caged animal. Every instinct I had was shouting at me to shift into my wolf form and hunt for her myself. But I was the Alpha. I had tasks. Responsibilities.
Responsibilities that meant nothing without her.
Another knock on the door made me snarl.
"What now?"
Cerys peeked her head inside. "Kaelen? There's someone here to see you. She says it's important."
"I don't want to see anyone." " She says she knows where Elara is. " I was across the room and pulling the door open before Cerys could blink.
"Where is she?"
Standing behind Cerys was an old woman I had never seen before. She was tiny and bent with age, but her eyes were sharp and knowing.
"Alpha Duskhowl," the old woman said in a creaky voice. "My name is Grandmother Willow. I have information about your lost omega."
"Talk. Now."
"The girl you seek is no longer in this world of the forest. She has found sanctuary with one who cannot be tracked by ordinary means."
"What does that mean?"
The old woman smiled, showing missing teeth. "It means she is protected by magic, Alpha. Old magic. The kind that hides smells and confuses trackers."
"Whose magic?"
"Someone from the old bloodlines. Someone with power you cannot imagine."
My blood went cold. "Who?"
"I cannot say his name freely. Names have power. But I can tell you this - he is no friend to you, Alpha Duskhowl. Your histories are written in blood and treason."
"You're speaking in riddles, old woman. Give me facts."
Grandmother Willow reached into her bag and pulled out a small mirror. "Look into this, Alpha. See what your heart most wants to see."
I took the mirror and stared into it. At first I saw only my own image - haggard, wild-eyed, desperate.
Then the picture changed.
I saw Elara. She was living and safe, sitting in a cabin somewhere. But she wasn't alone.
A man sat across from her - tall, dark-haired, with silver eyes that seemed familiar.
"No," I whispered.
The man in the mirror turned as if he could see me watching. When our eyes met through the magical glass, he smiled.
I knew that smile. I had seen it in my dreams for five years.
"Riven Blackthorn," I breathed.
The mirror broke in my hands, cutting my palms. Blood dripped onto the floor.
"He has her," I said, my voice deadly quiet.
"Yes," Grandmother Willow agreed. "The last prince of the Blackthorn line holds your omega. And he will not give her up easily."
Rage like I had never felt before consumed me. Riven Blackthorn - the wolf I had tried to kill five years ago. The wolf whose family I had scattered to the winds. The wolf who had sworn revenge against me.
Now he had the one thing I cared about most in the world.
"This is perfect," I said, starting to laugh. The sound was loud and broken. "He wants revenge? He'll get it. But first, I'm going to take back what's mine."
"Alpha," Cerys said nervously, "what are you planning?"
I turned to face her, and she stepped back in fear. Whatever she saw in my eyes scared her.
"I'm going to war," I said simply. "And I'm going to kill Riven Blackthorn with my bare hands."
Grandmother Willow was backing toward the door. "Alpha, you should know - the girl carries more than just your kid. She carries a message. A fate that could change everything."
"What prophecy?"
But the old woman was already gone, vanished like smoke.
I looked down at my bleeding hands and smiled.
Let Riven think he had won. Let him think his magic could protect her.
I would gather every soldier, every friend, every weapon I could find.
And then I would show him what happened to wolves who stole from me.
But as I stood there planning my war, I didn't notice the small listening device hiding behind the curtains.
Or the fact that someone had been recording everything I said.
Someone who had their own plans for Elara's child.
Someone who had been waiting years for this moment to arrive.