My Fated Mate Can Have Her Chapter 286: Gone

Rowan

My paws tore through the forest floor, sending dirt and leaves scattering in my wake.

The trees blurred past , nothing more than dark sars against the grey morning sky. My lungs burned with each desperate breath, but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t.

Telsid’s voice still echoed in my mind, strained and panicked in his usual way.

"Rowan... you need to return. Imdiately. It’s about Violet. We cannot find her."

Cannot find her?!

I had barely been able to quickly conclude what I had been working on before I was shifting and heading back to the capital. A few wolves had followed while I left the rest to handle the little that was left of the task.

The bond pulsed faintly in my chest, distant and muted by the miles between us.

It had no set direction this ti.

No. No. No.... Just how far had she gone?!

My mind raced faster than my legs could carry .

Just where could she have gone?

The realization that she had left on her own made my chest ache with a pain far worse than the burning in my muscles.

That day at the observatory. I could see the panic that had set in after I had kissed her hand, a shift in her expression I had been too afraid to examine closely. It had been my fault for being so careless.

I had seen it. I had known sothing was wrong.

And I had done nothing.

I had let her go, given her space, told myself she just needed ti to process whatever she was feeling.

I had been a fool.

Did she know she was going to leave when she ca to my bed that night?

I had been so elated, and overwheld by the gift of her choosing to be with , that I hadn’t bothered to even question it.

I hadn’t thought to wonder why.

Now, racing through the forest with my heart pounding against my ribs, the truth crashed over with sickening clarity.

She had co to say goodbye, and I had been too blind and desperate for her to see it.

I shifted back into my human form as I bounded through the main courtyard of the castle. Telsid was waiting for , and my wolves were already roaming the premises.

Telsid looked terrible. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his usually composed expression was tight with barely contained anxiety. Behind him, a cluster of servants and guards stood at a careful distance, their faces pale and wary.

They looked terrified.

They should be.

"My Lord," Telsid began, stepping forward. "I—"

"Where is she?"

My voice ca out as a growl, rough and barely controlled. I saw Telsid flinch, saw the servants shrink back, and I forced myself to take a breath.

This wasn’t their fault. They couldn’t sense her, and they possibly couldn’t have known she was planning to leave. They couldn’t have stopped her even if they had.

But the rage still burned in my chest.

"We don’t know," Telsid admitted, his voice strained. "I noticed she hadn’t appeared for als on the second day after your departure. I assud she was occupied with the archives or perhaps feeling unwell. By noon, I sent wolves to search for her." He swallowed hard. "We searched the entire castle and the capital. We cannot find her anywhere."

"And you waited until now to tell ?!"

"I didn’t want to alarm you unnecessarily. I thought perhaps..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I was wrong. I should have contacted you sooner."

I turned away from him, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. Three days. She had been gone for three days now! And...

I brought my fist to my mouth, biting down hard on it.

She could be anywhere by now!

"There’s more," Telsid said quietly.

I looked back at him, my jaw tight.

"Bei is also gone. We discovered she was missing too," Telsid hesitated. "But she left sothing behind. A note and several maps. She seed to have suspected where Violet might be heading and went after her."

The new reveal sent a fresh wave of fury crashing through that I imdiately had to reign in.

"Are you telling she knew of Violet’s disappearance..." My voice dropped dangerously low. "She knew, and she didn’t tell you or anyone? She didn’t bother to alert any of you?!"

Telsid slowly nodded.

"She went after her alone..." I concluded.

Telsid’s expression tightened. "It appears so, my Lord."

I could not believe that wolf from Fresna had suspected sothing was wrong, and instead of coming to , instead of telling anyone who could have helped, she had simply followed Violet into whatever danger awaited them both.

What sort of foolishness was this?!

"You said Bei left so things behind. Bring everything," I ordered, already striding toward the castle entrance. "NOW!"

"Yes, My—"

I took the stairs two at a ti, my heart hamring with each step. The corridors blurred past , servants pressing themselves against the walls as I passed, and then I was standing in front of Violet’s door.

The room looked almost exactly as it always had.

Almost.

The bed was neatly made, the curtains drawn back to let in the morning light. But as I stepped inside and made my way around, my gaze catalogued what was missing with painful precision.

Her traveling bag was gone, along with so of the practical clothes I had arranged for her too.

Several of the items she had brought from her original journey were also gone.

But not everything. So of the dresses I had gifted her still hung in the wardrobe. A few books she had been reading sat on the bedside table. Small things, personal things, left behind as though she intended to return for them.

Was she truly returning?

My chest constricted.

I stood there for a long mont, surrounded by the ghost of her presence, breathing in the fading traces of her scent that still clung to the pillows and sheets.

Then I turned and walked to my own chambers.

No... This had to be a dream. Where would she even go?!

I did not know why I raced to my room. Her scent also lingered there... along with sothing else.

My gaze quickly fixed on the folded piece of paper tucked between the pillows.

My hands trembled as I picked it up.