Nathan’s POV
Collins moved fast as he always did.
Within the hour, he ca back with a report. He had the hospital’s surveillance footage pulled up. The screen showed Aria entering the won’s restroom but she never ca out.
Nurses searched every stall, every corner. She was not found.
Unease spread through my veins, sharp and biting. Collins’ voice grew tense as he continued his report, highlighting a suspicious figure, a janitor pushing a cart shortly after Aria entered.
He was a man...tall, broad and had long hair obscuring the face.
I decided to check it out myself, maybe I would pick up on a detail Collins missed. I stared at the monitor, replaying the footage again and again, slowing it down fra by fra. No matter how many tis I watched, the face refused to reveal itself.
“Get all the hospital footage,” I ordered coldly. “Save every clip containing this person. Track their last direction, lock down exits, now!.”
My people surged into motion. The hospital corridors filled with hurried footsteps and controlled panic, tension thickening the air like the monts before a full moon rise.
I rubbed my temples, irritation clawing at , when the nurse called back. Lana was refusing to eat, she was refusing everyone.
The mont I stepped into the room, my wolf eased.
At the pediatrician’s instruction, I lifted Lana into my arms. It felt awkward and unnatural but my hold instinctively adjusted, it was protective and steady, as if I’d done this a hundred tis before.
She whimpered, then slowly settled, her small fingers clutching my shirt.
Her eyes were still wet.
“Mommy...” she cried softly.
I leaned closer, and understanding slamd into with brutal clarity.
Her voice trembled against my chest...soft, broken and laced with a sob that clawed straight into my ribs. The mont she cried, my wolf stirred, restless and unsettled, its low growl echoing through my veins.
I held her awkwardly, far less confident than I had ever been in boardrooms or blood-soaked negotiations. She was too small, too fragile. Her scent wrapped around . Every whimper rang like a bell inside my chest, tolling again and again, tightening my heart until it ached.
Why does it hurt this much?
Collins’ voice suddenly cut in, sharp and urgent.
“Alpha Nathan, we’ve traced the direction that man fled in. He’s no ordinary janitor. Everything points to malicious intent...he was likely targeting Luna Aria.”
Collins handed the tablet. The mont the screen lit up, my eyes sharpened, my pupils narrowing as my vision honed in with predatory clarity. The footage froze on a single fra...a trash bin, a discarded wig, and beneath it, a cold, dangerous face stripped of disguise.
My claws itched beneath my skin.
Lana suddenly wailed, her cries piercing and frantic, as though she understood far more than she should. The sound hit my wolf hard, stirring sothing savage and protective deep in my chest.
I lifted my gaze slowly, the air around turning frigid. “Contact the Asterfell Departnt of Transportation,” I ordered, my voice edged with a lethal calm. “I want every road surveillance feed pulled. Now.”
Collins didn’t hesitate. He turned and left at once.
The room felt too small to contain the storm raging inside . Soone had dared to lay hands on Aria, my mate, and from the Hemsworth Group’s private hospital, no less. The audacity alone warranted blood.
I lowered Lana back onto the bed carefully, my movents uncharacteristically gentle. As I tucked the blanket around her, understanding dawned like a sharp strike to the chest.
That’s why she cried earlier.
She could sense Aria’s danger...and I am the one who is her mate. I can’t even feel our mate bond unless she is close enough. That sucks!
My gaze lingered on Lana’s tiny face, it was peaceful now in sleep, her lashes damp. A question rose unbidden in my mind, dark and unsettling.
Who is your real father?
I pushed the thought aside and straightened. Calling the head nurse over, I fixed her with a stare that brooked no refusal. “You’re relieved of all other duties today. Your only responsibility is her. Do not leave her side.”
“Yes, Alpha Nathan.”
Two guards took position outside the room monts later. Whether Lana’s injuries were connected to Aria’s abduction or not didn’t matter. With Aria already in danger, I wouldn’t gamble with this child’s safety.
Because if anything happened to her too...
My jaw tightened.
Even if I brought Aria back alive, she would never forgive .
Aria’s POV
A thunderous clang ripped from unconsciousness.
I jolted awake with a sharp intake of breath, my vision swallowed by darkness. A blindfold pressed tightly over my eyes, the fabric rough against my skin. I held still, forcing myself to breathe evenly as my wolf stirred beneath the surface, uneasy and alert. I was bound with silver chains ant to trap my wolf, it hurt badly.
I listened, trying to make out my environnt.
Sound beca my only guide. The echo was wrong. Every noise bounced back at , multiplied. Sowhere nearby, tal pipes clattered against concrete, the sharp ringing vibrating through the floor and into my bones.
I could tell I was in an abandoned factory.
The scent confird it...rust, oil, old dust, and sothing stale that had long forgotten sunlight. Asterfell was vast, but places like this were few. My mind raced, trying to map the echoes and the dampness in the air.
Before I could form a plan, footsteps approached and a chilling voice reached .
“Is she still out?”
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