111 Chapter 111


    Damien’s POV 1


    The morning sun beat down mercilessly as I led Lucas along the eastern border patrol route, but I barely felt


    the heat. Every step forward was torture. Every breath was agony.


    *Sera.*


    Three days. Three fucking days since we’d returned home to find her gone. Three days of search teams


    “Alpha,” Lucas’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. “The thermal drones picked up movement about


    two miles north. Could be our search teams, but-”


    “But could be rogues,” I finished, my voice rough fromck of sleep. My silver-blue eyes scanned the treeline


    ahead, searching for any sign of movement. Any sign of *her*.


    Alex, my wolf, prowled restlessly beneath my skin. He’d been agitated for days now, pacing and snarling


    inside my mind. But it wasn’t just impatience. It was something worse.


    The bond was breaking.


    I could feel it happening. Slowly. Like ice cracking under pressure. Each hour that passed without contact,


    without even the faintest whisper through our mindlink, the connection grew weaker.


    The silence was killing me.


    “How many teams do we have out there now?” I asked, forcing myself to focus on the present.


    “Twelve, Lucas replied immediately. “Every avable warrior. Plus the helicopters and drone units. We’ve


    covered a hundred-square-mile radius around where she wasst seen.”


    *Nothing* Always fucking nothing.


    My hands clenched into fists. The urge to shift, to let Alex tear through the forest hunting for his mate, was


    overwhelming. But I couldn’t abandon the patrol. Not when rogue activity had been increasing along the


    borders.


    111 Chapter 111


    “Alpha.” Lucas’s tone changed, bing more cautious. “Maybe we should consider that she-”


    “Don’t.” The word came out like a whipcrack. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”


    Lucas held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying, maybe we need to expand the search. Look beyond our


    territory. If she was taken-”


    “If she was taken, I’ll burn down every rogue,” I snarled. My alpha power red involuntarily, making the air


    itself seem to vibrate with menace. “I’ll tear apart anyone who dared to touch her.”


    Her scent lingering on the sheets. Adrian’s toys scattered across the floor where she’d been ying with him


    before she left. The note she’d written-a simple exnation that she was going to find me because she was


    worried.


    “She’s pregnant,” I whispered, the words torn from my chest. “Our baby, Lucas. She’s carrying our child, and


    she’s out there somewhere. Hurt. Scared. And I can’t-”


    I couldn’t finish. The rage and helplessness were choking me.


    Alex suddenly went rigid inside my mind. His hackles raised, senses on high alert.


    *Something’s wrong.*


    Lucas must have felt it too, because his hand moved instinctively to his weapon. “You feel that?”


    “Yeah.” I strained my enhanced hearing. In the distance, voices. Shouting. The unmistakable sound of a


    confrontation.


    We broke into a run, following the sound through the dense pine forest. My heart hammered against my ribs,


    but not from exertion. From hope. Maybe-maybe they’d found something. Found *her*.


    We burst into a clearing where three border patrol soldiers stood in a tight formation, weapons drawn. Between them and usy a figure on the ground.


    A woman.


    “What the hell is going on here?” I barked, my alpha voice cutting through the chaos.


    The nearest soldier snapped to attention. “Alpha! We found this one about a quarter mile inside our territory.


    She was unconscious now.”


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    111 Chapter 111


    “Rogue?” Lucas asked, moving closer to examine the prone figure.


    “Has to be,” another soldier replied, disgust clear in his voice. “Look at the state of her. And no wolf scent at


    all. Whatever she is, she’s not pack.”


    The woman was filthy beyond description. Her clothes-or what was left of them-were torn to bloody


    ribbons. Dark stains covered the fabric, some that looked suspiciously like dried blood. Her hair was matted


    with dirt, leaves, and things I didn’t want to identify. Scratches and bruises covered every visible inch of skin.


    She looked like she’d been living wild for weeks. Like an animal.


    “Face?” I asked.


    “Can’t see it clearly through all the grime,” Matthews replied. “But she’s breathing. Barely.”


    Alex stirred uneasily, but I pushed down the strange feeling. Of course my wolf was agitated. We were both


    on edge, desperate for any sign of Sera. This pathetic creature was just another distraction. Another waste of


    time when we should be out there searching.


    I crouched down, studying the woman more carefully. She was small. Malnourished. Her breathing was


    shallow and irregr. Human-weak, without the enhanced healing that should have taken care of these


    injuries by now.


    “No wolf scent at all.” I confirmed.


    I looked down at the unconscious woman again. Everything about her screamed *rogue*.


    “She could have information,” I said finally.


    It was a long shot, but right now, any lead was better than nothing,


    “Bind her, I ordered, my voice cold and authoritative. “Silver restraints. Take her to the holding cells for


    interrogation once she regains consciousness.”


    “Yes, Alpha.” Soilders moved toply immediately.


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