Draven’s POV
[Tomorrow at first light, Natalie’s healer appointment. You will accompany her. Have the healer examine your lungs as well.]
I sent the message through the pack mindlink and waited for the familiar flicker that told me Lyanna had received it.
Nothing.
No answer.
Not even the faint sign that she had opened the link.
At first, I ignored it.
Lyanna often shut me out when she was upset. She would refuse my messages, avoid me for a while, and then return as she always did.
But this time…
The silence felt wrong.
Different.
Heavy.
---
The next morning, the healer’s den was quiet except for hushed voices and the scent of herbs.
Natalie clung to my arm the moment we entered.
“Draven,” she asked softly, “is everything alright? Is the pup safe?”
I nodded.
“The healer said everything is stable. The fire caused no harm.”
She let out a long breath.
“Thank the Moon Goddess…”
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, my thoughts drifted.
Lyanna’s face.
That last look she gave me through the smoke.
There had been no fear in it.
No anger.
Only acceptance.
As if she already knew I would not choose her.
And the worst part was—
I had not.
---
After the appointment, I returned Natalie to the pack house and went straight to the council hall.
The entire ride, my mindlink remained silent.
Too silent.
My beta met me as I entered.
“My Alpha, Elder Alden has returned. The summit begins tonight.”
I nodded without slowing.
But something in my chest tightened.
Lyanna still had not been found.
No reports.
No sign at the gates.
No scent on the borders.
Nothing.
It was as if she had vanished from the pack entirely.
“She did not report to the healer?” I asked.
“No, Alpha.”
I kept walking.
“Did she return to the pack house?”
“No.”
My jaw tightened.
“Then where in the hell is she?”
My beta said nothing.
Because he did not know.
None of them did.
---
I quickened my pace, speaking over my shoulder.
“Send a few new gowns and jewels to the Sterling estate.”
My steward hesitated.
“For Lady Natalie?”
I stopped.
The question felt wrong.
“…No,” I said after a moment. “Send them to Lyanna.”
If she had gone anywhere, it would be to the Sterling Pack.
But even as I gave the order, unease settled in my stomach.
And I hated that I could not name the reason.
---
A full week passed.
Council meetings.
Border reports.
Patrol rotations.
Disputes with neighboring packs.
The ordinary burdens of an Alpha.
Everything should have felt normal.
Nothing did.
Just after midnight, I returned from a long meeting with the patrol captains.
The pack house was dark, except for one lamp glowing in the sitting room.
A figure lay curled on the couch in silk.
For one foolish second, my chest loosened.
“Lyanna,” I murmured, almost amused. “I told you… I always return. You did not need to—”
Then I stopped.
It was not her.
It was Natalie.
She looked up, and the softness in her expression turned to disappointment when she saw me.
“Draven…” Her voice trembled. “She still has not come back. Not once.”
I exhaled slowly and loosened the collar of my shirt.
“She is being dramatic,” I said.
But the words sounded flat, even to me.
Natalie’s eyes glistened.
“I even apologized,” she whispered. “I do not think she will ever forgive me. Maybe I should leave.”
I sat beside her and kissed her forehead.
The gesture felt automatic.
Nothing more.
“Do not upset yourself,” I said quietly. “It is not good for the pup.”
Then after a pause, I added,
“This is your home now. Yours and the child’s.”
I hesitated before finishing.
“…Whether Lyanna accepts it or not.”
The words should have felt decisive.
They did not.
---
Later that night, I stood alone on the terrace.
Cold wind.
Moonlight over the pack lands.
Silence everywhere.
I lit a smokeleaf for the first time in years.
I did not even know why.
It did not calm me.
Nothing did.
My hand moved to the communication crystal at my belt before I even realized it.
Lyanna’s name remained there.
Untouched.
My thumb hovered over the call rune.
I did not press it.
Instead, I sent a message:
Tomorrow is Elder Alden’s eightieth moon celebration. Do not cause trouble. Do not upset Natalie or the pup.
I stared at the message before sending it.
Then I waited.
For what, I did not know.
The wind struck harder across the terrace.
My chest tightened again, sharp and strange.
It is only stress, I told myself.
Nothing more.
But for the first time in years, Alpha Draven Blackmark was not certain of anything at all.
