a P

my pale face, the IV in my wrist, and the exhaustion etched into my b

d, her Beta authority making the

need to ask

uest room that smelled of lavender and clean linen, a stark contrast to the cold, sterile scent of Bry

hand gripping mine. "Tell me everythin

p site. The phone call where he left me to die. The dia

ith rage by the time I finished. "That asshole Alpha! And that m

icker of warmth in the icy landscape of my heart.

me to help you h

lips. "No," I said, my gaze unwavering and clea

was ancient, brutal, and final. It would sever the bond completely. It

Whatever you need, Aria. I'm with you." She squeezed my hand again. "I've already sent Martha and a few of my strongest pack runners to the

in a long time, I

son

, the plastic cracking under the fo

erge of collapsing because of a stupid, careless error.

haron Price, my head of HR, entered

nbox since morning; she wanted Bryson to think Aria had simply walked out on her responsibilities. "Aria hasn't come into the office

s position, even without knowing our tr

here. She was supposed to be reliable. I decided she was usi

napped, my Alpha tone

pacing restlessly under my skin. I was going to go home and put an end to this nonsense. I

n open, expecting to find her, maybe

was met w

co

lf, whose life is guided by scent, the absence was a jarring s

k the stairs two at a time, my

n the door t

made. But her side of

tstand were gone. The lotions a

o the walk

ay in a sad, empty row. Not a single dr

wn my spine. My mind reeled, trying to dismiss it as a childish protest, but th

d out with my mind, trying to conn

s met with a faint, sharp static. A painful resistan

d was d

. Her words from this morning cam

as a tri

dialed her number, my th

I was about to roar in frustr

answ

voice came through the speaker, an