Aria’s POV
"Alpha Nathan," Collins reported, "we pulled the Crestfall Hotel’s footage. It’s too dark to see anything. The front desk staff were all temps filling in for the regular workers. There’s nothing else."
His words slamd into like claws to the chest.
Too dark, no leads, no one to question.
My breath hitched, a sharp, stinging pain exploding in my chest. My wolf whimpered helplessly inside .
Lana... my pup... what if—
No. I wouldn’t think it. I couldn’t.
I stared forward, my vision blurring.
"Keep digging," Nathan said, his voice low and edged with alpha command. "Search every nearby cara. I want the entire area swept. She needs to be found."
There was a beat of silence.
"Yes, Alpha Nathan," Collins replied firmly before the line clicked off.
My lashes trembled.
Why... why was he doing this?
Why did he care this much?
I’d told him Lana wasn’t his.
And still...
My teeth sank into my lip before I realized it, the tallic tang of blood grounding as my wolf stirred anxiously.
Nathan’s voice broke through the haze as if sensing my thoughts. "If you want to repay , co back to Hemsworth Villa once Lana’s found."
His gaze rested on , heavy and expectant. My heartbeat stuttering with every passing second.
I turned toward the window, silent. I couldn’t answer. Not now, maybe not ever.
Nathan’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t push. The space between us thickened, filled with everything we weren’t saying.
The drive to the Crestfall Hotel was a blur of flashing lights, racing heartbeats, and the wolf pacing inside my chest.
When we arrived, Collins and several investigators had already cordoned off the front desk. The air buzzed with tension, and fear. I inhaled deeply, letting my wolf sift through the traces.
Collins hurried toward us, bowing. "Alpha Nathan, Luna Aria!"
Nathan waved him off. "Any new leads?"
The way Collins’s expression tightened made my stomach drop. He shook his head.
My knees weakened, and I felt the blood drain from my face.
Lana... where are you?
"Let see," Nathan said, his voice sharpening as he stepped forward.
The investigators moved aside instinctively like lesser wolves giving way to an alpha. My heart pounded against my ribs as I followed him, my wolf pacing restlessly just beneath my skin, snarling at every second wasted.
The footage played exactly as Collins described. It was dark, grainy and almost useless.
When the clip ended, silence crashed over us like ice.
My heart dropped. No... no, this can’t be all. I leaned closer, refusing to accept defeat. My gaze snagged on a faint shape in the corner of the screen, and sothing inside snapped awake.
"Wait!" I blurted, the word ripping out of like a howl.
Every pair of eyes swung to . Even Nathan paused, watching as I leaned over the desk, blood thundering through my ears.
"Brighten the image," I said quickly. "And rewind a bit."
The investigators exchanged looks, but Collins nodded. They obeyed.
As the image brightened, a faint glow erged from the darkness. My breath hitched, hope flickering like a spark.
"Zoom in," I urged, my voice trembling.
One of the investigators zood until the pixels distorted.
Nathan leaned in beside . His energy brushed against mine, unsteady and taut.
"The license plate," he murmured.
"The license plate!" I cried, my finger shaking as I pointed at the screen. "Track that plate!"
My voice cracked apart on the last word, my wolf clawing at my ribs with frantic desperation.
Nathan made a sharp gesture, and the team scrambled.
As they worked, my breathing grew ragged, each inhale a battle. My chest heaved, my vision wavering.
"Alpha Nathan... it’s a temporary plate," one investigator finally said.
The world lurched.
My knees buckled.
Before I hit the ground, strong hands gripped . They were Nathan’s. His warmth wrapped around my shoulders, steady and unyielding.
And the mont I felt that strength... the fight, the control, the facade, I lost all of it.
A broken sob tore from my throat, and I collapsed fully into him. My wolf keened, the sound echoing hollowly in my head, begging, grieving and raging.
"Aria..." he murmured, tightening his hold, his voice soft enough to bruise .
I clenched my teeth to stop the sobs, but they spilled out anyway, shaking , tearing through the room. Each one felt like it scraped pieces of my soul away.
"Temporary plates can still be traced," Nathan said sharply, as if willing to hold on. "Find who registered it." he ordered.
My trembling eased a little, but only because my hands were fisted in his shirt, clinging not from trust, but fury.
Who took my pup? Who dared touch Lana?
I could feel my wolf rising, hot and feral, veins pulsing beneath my skin as my eyes narrowed.
"Let them handle it," Nathan said, gentler now. "I’ll take you back to Hemsworth Villa to rest."
I shook my head violently. "No. I need to find Lana."
"It’ll take ti to investigate," he countered, his voice firm but low. "And you were drugged recently, you need rest. Don’t collapse before we get answers."
I froze.
The drug...
I’d brushed aside the fatigue, ignored the dizziness. But now, with my body shaking, it was impossible to pretend.
If I collapsed before Lana was found...
My grip on his shirt loosened, falling away.
Nathan sensed it, the mont the realization sank in.
"I’ll inform you the second we discover anything," he said, steady and sure. "I’ll send soone to take you back. Your room at Hemsworth Villa is ready. It’s been cleaned daily."
My throat tightened. He was leaving no room to argue.
I bit my lip hard, lowering my head. My wolf growled in frustration, but my body was too weak to fight anymore.
"Take her back," Nathan ordered.
An investigator stepped toward , gentle but firm, guiding away.
I didn’t resist this ti.
My legs moved, but my mind stayed behind—stuck on a single, agonizing thought:
Lana... wait for .
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