Dimitri POV
Forty-eight hours.
That was how long Anais had been in my suite, and she hadn't eaten a single crumb. Her scent, usually a field of fresh lilies, had soured into something that smelled like wilted flowers and rain-soaked earth. It permeated every inch of the Alpha Wing, a constant, suffocating reminder of her grief that clawed at my sanity.
She is fading, Ragnar paced in the back of my mind, his claws scraping against my skull. Fix it. Feed her.
I sat in my private study, the air thick with the scent of cedar and my own agitation. A pile of documents regarding the transition of power lay ignored on the mahogany desk.
"Alpha." Davon's voice broke through the Mind-Link, sharp and hesitant. "The police report is in. They're ruling it a random Rogue attack. A robbery gone wrong."
My grip on the fountain pen tightened until the plastic barrel snapped, ink bleeding onto my fingers like black blood.
"That's a lie," I projected back, my mental voice cold enough to freeze the link. "Rogues are scavengers, not assassins. They kill for food or territory, not to silence a lone Omega woman in her own home. This was an execution. Find the truth, Davon. Our truth."
"Understood," Davon replied instantly. "I'll deploy the trackers."
I wiped the ink from my hand, my eyes narrowing at the map of the territory on the wall. Someone had walked into my city, slaughtered the mother of my Mate, and thought they could hide behind a lazy police report.
By the afternoon, Davon stood before my desk in the flesh. He looked grim.
"We found them," he said, his voice low. "Two human mercenaries trying to cross the border into the next county. They had cash—untraceable bills. They admitted to the hit but claim they don't know the employer. Everything was done through dead drops."
A low growl vibrated in my chest, deep and dangerous. Mercenaries. This was calculated.
"The police are asking for them to be handed over," Davon continued, watching me carefully.
I stood up, my shadow stretching long across the floor. "They will not see the inside of a human court. Bring them to the cells. They will face Pack justice."
The Warrior standing guard by the door stiffened, his eyes widening in shock. To interfere with a human homicide investigation was risky; to take the suspects for ourselves was a declaration of war against the system. But I didn't care.
"Alpha..." Davon started, but I cut him off with a look.
"Do it."
Once he left, the silence of the study became unbearable. Ragnar was whining, urging me to go to her. I found myself walking down the hallway toward the guest room, drawn by the magnetic pull of the bond.
I stopped outside her door. I could hear nothing, but the scent of her sorrow was so potent it tasted like ash on my tongue. I raised my hand to knock, but my arm froze.
What would I say? I knew how to command armies. I knew how to break bones. I did not know how to mend a shattered girl.
Cowardice, bitter and unfamiliar, coated my throat.
"The ones who hurt your mother have been found," I said to the closed door, my voice harsh and devoid of the emotion churning inside me. "They will pay."
I didn't wait for a response. I turned and walked away, my footsteps heavy, just as a soft, broken sob echoed from behind the wood.
Ayesha POV
The Alpha's estate was terrifying. It was a fortress of stone and glass, smelling of power and predators. When the guards had "escorted" me from my apartment, I thought I was going to die. Instead, they brought me here, to a guest room that was bigger than my entire house.
"She's inside," the guard grunted, opening the door.
I stepped in, and my heart broke.
Anais was sitting on the edge of a massive bed, looking like a doll that had been dropped and forgotten. Her eyes were red and swollen, staring at a spot on the floor.
"Anais?"
Her head snapped up. "Ayesha?"
I rushed over and sat beside her, grabbing her ice-cold hands. "Oh, god. I heard... I heard about Amber. I'm so sorry."
She didn't speak. She just trembled, her lower lip quivering as she tried to hold it back.
"I know it hurts," I whispered, squeezing her hands. "When I lost my parents to that Rogue attack... I thought I would stop breathing. My Elder told me something then." I brushed a stray hair from her face. "He said we have to live for them now. We have to be strong enough for the both of us, because they'd want us to."
It was a simple thing to say, but it seemed to cut the strings holding her together.
Anais let out a strangled cry and collapsed into me. I wrapped my arms around her, rocking her as she screamed her grief into my shoulder. It was a raw, ugly sound, but it was better than the silence.
In this cold, terrifying castle, we held onto each other—two girls against a world that wanted to crush us.
