Damien’s POV
"Nothing."
Marcus stood in front of my desk like he was delivering a death sentence. The afternoon light streaming through the office windows made everything look too bright, too normal for the hell I was living through.
"What do you an, nothing?"
"Sera was smart about it, Alpha." Marcus’s jaw was tight with frustration. "Hat, face mask, stuck to back streets. We found footage of her at three different bus stops, but after that..." He shook his head. "It’s like she just vanished."
My hands clenched into fists on the desk. "She can’t just disappear."
Jake said quietly. "No scent trail to follow. No pack connections to trace. She knows how to stay invisible."
"And she’s avoiding main roads," Tyler added. "Sticking to local routes, probably paying cash for everything. She doesn’t want to be found."
"I don’t give a shit what she wants," I snarled, standing up so fast my chair went flying backward. "Find her."
The three warriors exchanged glances. Marcus stepped forward, his voice careful.
"Alpha, with respect, she’s had almost two days. She could be anywhere by now. Different state, different—"
"I said find her." My voice dropped to that deadly whisper that made grown wolves show their necks. "I don’t care if you have to check every bus station, every motel, every fucking diner between here and the Pacific Ocean. Find. My. Mate."
"Yes, Alpha."
They filed out, leaving alone with my rage and grief. I slumped back against the desk, running my hands through my hair.
*Two days.*
Two days since I’d held her. Two days since I’d heard her voice. Two days of Adrian asking where Mommy went and making up lies that tasted like poison.
My phone buzzed. Text ssage.
For one insane mont, hope flared in my chest. Maybe—
*Unknown number: "Your warranty is about to expire..."*
I threw the phone across the room so hard it shattered against the wall.
The intercom crackled. Emma’s voice, professional as always. "Mr. Nightshadow? Your four o’clock is here."
"Cancel it."
"But sir, they flew in from—"
"Cancel everything. I’m leaving."
I had to go ho. Had to be there when Adrian got out of school. Had to pretend everything was normal when my world was falling apart.
The drive ho was torture. Every woman I passed on the street made my heart skip. Every dark-haired figure at a bus stop made do a double-take.
*She could be anywhere.*
By the ti I pulled into our driveway, the sun was starting to set. The house looked the sa from the outside—grand, imposing, perfect.
Inside, it felt like a mausoleum.
"Daddy!" Adrian’s voice echoed through the hallway as he ca running toward , still in his school uniform. "You’re ho early!"
I caught him in my arms, breathing in his little-boy scent. "How was school, buddy?"
"Good! We learned about butterflies. Did you know so of them can fly really, really far?" His eyes were bright with excitent. "Mrs. Peterson said so butterflies travel thousands of miles!"
*Like your mother.*
"That’s pretty amazing," I managed.
"Is Mama back yet?" Adrian looked past toward the front door with hopeful eyes. "I made her a picture at school."
My throat closed up. "Not yet, sweetheart."
"When is she coming back?"
"Soon," I lied. "Why don’t you show that picture?"
Bath ti, bedti stories, tucking him in with promises that everything would be okay. Lies, all of it.
Then it was just and Lily.
I sat in the nursery rocking chair, holding my daughter while she slept. She was so small, so perfect. Dark hair like her mother’s, eyes that shifted between green and blue depending on the light.
"She left because she thinks you deserve better," I whispered to Lily. "But she’s wrong. There’s no one better than your mama. No one."
Lily stirred but didn’t wake. I kissed her forehead, breathing in that sweet baby sll.
After I put Lily in her crib, I stood there staring at the empty spot on the rocking chair where Sera used to sit. Where she’d nursed our daughter, sung lullabies, made everything right just by being there.
I had to know if she’d said anything to her friends. If she’d given any hint about her plans.
The drive to Ophelia’s apartnt complex took fifteen minutes. I climbed the stairs to the third floor and knocked on apartnt 3B.
Footsteps inside, then the peephole went dark as soone looked through it.
The door swung open, and Ophelia’s face appeared. She took one look at —alone, disheveled, probably looking like hell—and her expression shifted from confusion to alarm.
"Damien? What are you doing here? Where’s Sera?"
The hope in her voice was like a knife to the chest.
"That’s what I ca to ask you."
Her face went pale. "What do you an? Ask what?"
"Is she here? Did she call you? Did she say anything about—"
"Whoa, slow down." Ophelia stepped back, gesturing for to co inside. "What’s going on? You’re scaring ."
I stepped into her tiny living room, too big for the space, too desperate for polite conversation.
"She’s gone, Ophelia."
"Gone where?"
"I don’t know. She left yesterday. Took so clothes, left a letter, and disappeared."
The color drained completely from Ophelia’s face. She stared at for a long mont, then sank down onto her couch like her legs wouldn’t hold her anymore.
"She left? She left you? Left the kids?"
"She thinks..." I couldn’t finish the sentence. Couldn’t say the words out loud.
Ophelia was quiet for a mont, processing. Then sothing shifted in her expression. Her shock transford into fury so pure it made the air in the room feel electric.
"What did you do?"
"What?"
"What. Did. You. Do?" She stood up slowly, and even though she was a foot shorter than , I had the urge to step back. "Sera wouldn’t just leave her children. Not unless sothing horrible happened."
"I didn’t do anything—"
"Bullshit!" She was yelling now, closing the distance between us with quick, angry steps and grabbed the front of my shirt with both hands, shaking with surprising strength. "That woman went through hell and back just to get to you! She survived torture, lost her wolf, gave birth to your daughter while completely human because she loved you!"
I stared down at her, my chest tight with guilt and rage and grief.
"Why isn’t she here?" Ophelia’s voice cracked, tears starting to stream down her face. "Why is my best friend out there sowhere, alone and broken, thinking she’s not good enough for her own family?"
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