Dain.
I was so uneasy.
The feeling sat heavily in my chest, refusing to leave no matter how hard I tried to stay calm. Every second that passed without knowing where Maria was only made the restlessness worse, tightening around until it beca difficult to focus on anything else.
Actually, nothing was permitted to happen to Maria.
Nothing.
The thought echoed firmly in my mind with growing intensity. I hadn’t even marked her yet. I hadn’t felt what a true marked bond would be like between us, hadn’t experienced the depth of connection everyone always spoke about with such certainty.
And sohow, that realization only made the fear inside stronger.
Honestly, I was terrified of losing Maria.
Not just because of the mate bond pulling at constantly, not just because every instinct inside reacted violently at the thought of her being in danger... but because sowhere along the line, without even realizing when it happened, I had already fallen in love with her.
I love her.
The truth hit with complete clarity now, undeniable and impossible to suppress any longer. There was no confusion left in about it. No hesitation.
I loved Maria.
That was the only explanation for why she occupied my thoughts endlessly, why no matter what I tried to focus on, my mind always circled back to her. Her face. Her voice. Her scent. Every little thing about her lingered stubbornly in my head like she had already beco a permanent part of .
I just couldn’t get her out of my mind no matter what.
"Look!" Davian suddenly called out, instantly dragging all of our attention toward the direction he was staring.
We turned imdiately.
There, near the corner, was paper and ink scattered carelessly across the surface, as though sothing had interrupted whatever had been happening there. My eyes sharpened at once.
Most likely Maria had written sothing before she was taken away.
I stepped closer quickly, my focus narrowing completely onto it. But the mont I inhaled deeply, my expression darkened.
The scent lingering there wasn’t just Maria’s.
Vanessa’s scent was mixed into it too.
The realization settled heavily in my chest.
Truly, Vanessa had been here.
"I have an idea!" Adrien suddenly said, his voice cutting through the tension almost imdiately.
We all looked at him.
"We have the mate bond, and as long as we can keep inhaling Maria’s scent, we would be able to track her," he explained quickly, sounding more certain the longer he spoke.
My eyes brightened instantly.
Finally, Adrien had actually put his brain to work.
"But how do we keep inhaling her scent so we can grow stronger?" Aidan asked almost imdiately, his brows furrowing as practicality interrupted the brief mont of hope. "It’s not like we have any of her personal belongings," he added.
And unfortunately...he was right.
The small spark of optimism inside dimd slightly again.
Unless we had sothing that properly carried Maria’s scent, there was no way we could keep tracking it long enough to strengthen the connection. The paper in front of us wouldn’t work either. The scents were mixed together now—Maria’s and Vanessa’s tangled too heavily to separate cleanly.
Which ant it definitely couldn’t help us track her properly.
"Well, you need not worry about that!" Adrien suddenly said, his voice carrying an unexpected level of confidence that imdiately cut through the tension hanging heavily in the room.
All of us turned toward him at once.
The certainty in his tone was impossible to ignore, especially after monts ago it had seed like we had reached a dead end.
"You have sothing?" we all asked in unison, curiosity instantly replacing part of the frustration that had settled over us earlier.
Adrien stiffened almost imdiately under the sudden attention.
The confidence he had spoken with faltered so quickly it was almost suspicious. His shoulders tensed slightly, and for the briefest mont, he looked like soone who had spoken too fast without thinking ahead.
"I an..." he started awkwardly before pausing. "Actually... I do... don’t," he muttered, the words stumbling out unevenly as he struggled to correct himself.
His gaze shifted away imdiately afterward.
That alone made the silence around us heavier.
"Adrien, is there sothing you aren’t telling us?" Davian asked slowly, one brow lifting in obvious suspicion as he studied him carefully.
Adrien avoided eye contact completely.
"I know you, Adrien," Aidan added almost imdiately, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You definitely have sothing personal belonging to Maria."
The accusation landed directly.
Adrien swallowed hard at once, the movent in his throat visible before he shut his eyes briefly like soone ntally preparing himself.
"Yes, I do," he finally admitted.
Then his eyes snapped back open sharply.
"But don’t ask what!" he added firmly, his voice rising slightly this ti as though he was trying to end the discussion before it even properly began.
The room grew quiet again.
"But—" I started to speak, confusion and irritation already building inside , but Adrien cut off before I could finish.
"Our priority is finding and saving Maria," he said quickly, his tone far more serious now. "Every second out here is a waste of ti. The more we delay, the lower our chances of finding her."
The words settled heavily between us.
And annoyingly enough... he was right.
None of us could afford distractions right now, especially not when Maria’s safety was uncertain.
"But shouldn’t we also inhale whatever you have, Adrien?" Davian asked after a mont, his voice calr but more direct now as he stepped closer until he was standing face to face with him. "That way it would be faster and easier."
The implication behind his words was obvious.
If all of us strengthened the scent trail together, our chances of tracking Maria would improve significantly.
Davian’s stare hardened slightly, almost daring Adrien to refuse.
But Adrien didn’t even hesitate.
"No," he said flatly.
The answer ca instantly, without the slightest sign of uncertainty.
"What do you an no?" I asked imdiately, my irritation returning just as fast.
Davian actually had a point. Adrien couldn’t insist on being selfish at a ti like this, not when Maria’s life could be at risk.
"Show us what you have now!" Aidan declared firmly.
The atmosphere in the room tightened almost imdiately after those words left his mouth, the tension rising so sharply it felt like the air itself had gone rigid around us.
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