<h4>Chapter 165: The Dream</h4>


    Nathan’s POV


    "We’ve searched the records of three countries, Alpha... and none of them match the Oscar we’re looking for." Leo, my Beta and closest friend, delivered the words carefully, but they still hit me like a de to the chest.


    My jaw tightened. My frown deepened. "Then keep searching," I snapped, my voice low and sharp. "I don’t care how long it takes. I don’t care how far. Keep searching until you find him."


    Leo bowed his head quickly. "Yes, Alpha." He hesitated then, shifting his weight before speaking again. "But... about the meeting in France. Are you still attending?"


    The mention of it made my temples throb. My hand lifted, fingers pressing hard against my forehead. Work. Business. Alliances. All of it meant nothing to me right now. Not when Hailee was out there, alive. Not when I could still hear her voice every time I closed my eyes.


    And yet... this project. France. It wasn’t something I could ignore. It was tied to the pack’s future, to everything I had spent years building.


    I exhaled harshly, dragging my hand down my face. "Yes," I muttered atst, though every word tasted bitter. "Get the jet ready. We leave in an hour."


    Leo gave a short nod, already moving to carry out the order.


    The hour passed in a blur. I barely registered the servants moving in and out, packing what needed to be packed, arranging documents and files I didn’t care to nce at. My mind wasn’t in France. My mind wasn’t here.


    It was with her.


    By the time Leo returned to say the jet was ready, my body was running on instinct. I moved through the motions—out of the office, down the halls, into the car that carried us to the hangar. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless, angry, desperate.


    The jet gleamed under the fading light, its engines humming low, ready for takeoff. I climbed the steps slowly, each one heavier than thest, as if I was not the one controlling my body.


    Inside, the leather seats stretched wide and polished, the faint scent of fuel clinging to the air. I sank into one, my head tipping back, exhaustion wing at me. For days I hadn’t slept properly, not since that call. And now, with the hum of the engine and the steady roll of the wheels along the runway, my eyelids finally dragged shut.


    The hum of the engines faded as sleep dragged me deeper, and there she was again.


    Hailee.


    Her red hair was tangled, dirt streaking her cheeks, her eyes wide with terror. Chains cut into her wrists, dragging her to her knees. She looked thinner, weaker, but still so achingly beautiful it split me open.


    "Help me, Nathan..." Her voice cracked like ss. "They’ll take us... they’ll take the boys."


    The boys. A blur of small figures appeared behind her—three of them. They clung to her, their faces pale, their little eyes filled with fear that no child should ever carry.


    And then shadows moved around them. Tall, pale, eyes glowing red. Vampires.


    They grinned as they circled, weapons in hand, ck charms glowing with a strange, poisonous light. My wolf snarled inside me, thrashing against the barrier of sleep.


    "No—" I surged forward in the dream, my arms reaching out, my voice shattering in the darkness. "Don’t touch them! Don’t you fucking touch them!"


    One of the vampiresughed, low and cruel. He bent toward Hailee, his breath ghosting across her ear as he hissed, "She belongs to us now."


    Her sea-blue eyes locked on mine, scared and pained. "Nathan! Find us before it’s toote!"


    The image flickered—fading, twisting. The boys were being pulled into a truck, Hailee screaming, her wrists bleeding against the chains. The vampires raised their weapons, their red eyes zing in triumph—


    "HAILEE!"


    My roar ripped me awake.


    The cabin lights red too brightly, my chest heaving like I had been fighting for real. Sweat clung to my brow, my hands shaking as if I’d held her and lost her all over again.


    "Alpha," the pilot’s calm voice rang out over the speakers. "Prepare yourself—we’ll bending shortly."


    Landing. France.


    But I barely heard him. Her voice still rang in my head, sharp and desperate: "Find us before it’s toote."


    My heart was still pounding long after the pilot’s announcement faded. I ran a trembling hand over my face, trying to steady my breath, but it was useless. Hailee’s voice echoed in my skull, each word like a knife carving into me. Find us before it’s toote.


    I reached for the mind-link instantly. Leo’s voice came at once, calm but alert. "Alpha?"


    "I had a dream," I growled low, though it felt more like a warning from the Moon Goddess herself. "Hailee was there. So were the two little boys. Vampires had them in chains. It felt real, Leo. Too real."


    He hesitated. "Do you believe it was a vision?"


    "Yes." My jaw clenched. "It wasn’t just a dream. I could feel her fear. I could smell her blood." My chest tightened. "Double the search. Triple it if you have to. I don’t care if you have to tear apart the world—find them."


    "Yes, Alpha," Leo replied firmly. "I’ll expand the team immediately."


    The link cut, but the unease stayed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake it.


    The meeting in France was a blur.


    I sat at the long table, papers spread out before me, men and women from allied packs droning on about trade, territory, security. I forced myself to listen, to nod when appropriate, to mutter a few clipped answers.


    "Yes, the shipments can be rerouted through the northern border."


    "No, the western alliance won’t be a threat."


    But the truth was, I wasn’t there. Not really. Every time my eyes dipped to the polished wood, I saw her chained to the ground. Every time someone’s voice rose in debate, I heard her scream.


    One of the French Alphas leaned toward me, smiling politely. "Alpha Nathan, do you agree with the expansion proposal?"


    I blinked, realizing I hadn’t heard a word. "Yes," I said tly, my voice colder than intended. "Handle it as you see fit."


    A few heads turned, whispers stirring at my dismissiveness, but I didn’t care. By the time the meeting finally ended, my head throbbed from the effort of staying seated, pretending I cared about anything but her.


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    The car ride back to the hotel was quiet, the city lights shing past the windows. I sat in the backseat, my elbow resting against the door, my fingers pressed against my temple.


    Leo’s updates came through the link now and then—more teams deployed, more dead ends, no sign of her yet. Each word twisted my gut tighter.


    The driver suddenly mmed the brakes. My body lurched forward, my hand bracing against the seat in front of me. "What the hell—?"


    "Forgive me, Alpha," the driver said quickly, his voice tense. "I almost hit a child."


    My eyes snapped forward.


    There, in the middle of the road, stood a small boy. Dirty, trembling, his clothes torn. He stared wide-eyed into the headlights, frozen like prey caught in a hunter’s snare.


    For one wild heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe.


    Because in the shape of his face, in the wide terror of his eyes, I swore I saw... my Hailee.


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