Nicholas’s POV

The lingering ghost of her lips completely burned against mine.

I stood outside the massive pack house. The freezing morning wind violently whipped against my face. Dozens of heavily armed warriors stood at absolute attention. My massive black SUV was perfectly idling in the driveway. The thick exhaust plumed heavily into the freezing air.

We were leaving. We were heading straight to the bloody, violent border.

I aggressively strapped the heavy tactical vest tight over my broad chest. My massive hands physically shook. My wolf, normally a completely violent, terrifying beast, whined pathetically inside my head. He was violently clawing at my skull. He absolutely refused to leave our mate. He desperately wanted to run back upstairs. He wanted to entirely kick down the bedroom door and hide her away from the entire world.

"Alpha?" Marcus asked quietly.

My Beta stood completely still beside me. He heavily held a lethal assault rifle. His face was entirely grim.

"Are we ready?" he pushed carefully.

I didn’t answer right away. I absolutely couldn’t. A heavy, suffocating lump violently caught in my dry throat.

I slowly turned my massive body around. I completely ignored my waiting warriors. I stared entirely up at the giant stone pack house. My glowing golden eyes immediately scanned the heavy stone walls. They instantly locked onto the third-floor window.

Irina.

She was standing directly behind the thick, cold glass. She was holding Luka incredibly tight against her chest. She looked so entirely small. She looked completely, perfectly fragile. The heavy morning light vividly illuminated her pale, beautiful face. Her big eyes were entirely unreadable from down here, but I absolutely didn’t need to see them clearly. I could fiercely feel her heavy, suffocating sadness. It poured intensely down the sacred mate bond. It completely crushed my chest.

*God, I love her.*

The sudden realization hit me entirely like a brutal, physical blow. I loved her so damn much it actively terrified me.

I slowly raised my massive hand. It was a tiny, silent promise. *I will come back.*

Irina didn’t smile. She slowly lifted her incredibly small hand. She gently pressed her soft palm perfectly flat against the freezing glass.

My heart violently shattered into a million jagged pieces.

I aggressively tore my golden gaze away from her. My heavy jaw locked instantly. I forced the terrifying, dominant Alpha King mask completely back onto my face.

"Yes," I growled darkly. My deep voice was pure, lethal ice. "Let’s move out."

I finally turned my broad back on my precious family. I heavily walked toward the waiting vehicles. I led my warriors straight out of the city limits.

The long, agonizing drive ended entirely where the dense, dark woods began.

We immediately left the heavy vehicles behind. We couldn’t drive through the thick, terrifying brush. We had to run.

I aggressively tore off my shirt. I let my massive, lethal black wolf completely take over. The violent shift was fast and incredibly painful. I hit the freezing dirt on all fours. I let out a massive, terrifying roar that violently shook the massive trees. My heavy warriors instantly shifted and aggressively followed.

I led the massive pack straight through the thick, suffocating darkness of the forest. My massive paws slammed heavily against the frozen ground. The icy wind violently tore through my thick black fur. I pushed my warriors incredibly hard. I was completely ruthless. I desperately wanted to reach the bloody border before nightfall. The faster we entirely dealt with this thorny mess, the faster I could completely return to my mate.

We reached the absolute edge of our massive territory just as the sun violently bled out across the bruised, purple sky.

The border was incredibly tense. The icy air smelled violently of old blood, rotting leaves, and aggressive enemy scents. It was completely foul.

I forcefully shifted back into my human form. I quickly pulled my heavy, dark tactical gear back on.

"Set up camp!" I barked harshly. My commanding voice violently echoed through the dead, freezing trees.

The warriors instantly moved. Heavy canvas tents quickly went up. Deep fire pits were violently dug into the frozen dirt. The sharp, metallic clinks of lethal weapons being entirely loaded heavily filled the freezing air.

I stood entirely alone at the absolute edge of the camp. I stared darkly out into the hostile, empty woods. My massive shoulders were completely tense. I was the Alpha King. I absolutely had to be pure steel. I had to be a completely unfeeling, terrifying monster to protect my massive empire.

But inside, I was entirely bleeding out. I was violently tearing myself apart.

Night completely fell. The heavy camp grew dead quiet.

I sat entirely alone in my dark, freezing tent. I absolutely refused to light a lantern. The heavy, suffocating darkness perfectly matched my violent, chaotic mood. I aggressively pulled off my heavy combat boots. I dropped my massive, exhausted head heavily into my rough, scarred hands.

Suddenly, a sharp, familiar warmth violently sparked deep in my chest.

I froze completely. My heavy breathing entirely stopped.

The sacred mate bond.

It gave a completely soft, gentle tremble. It wasn’t physical pain. It wasn’t sheer panic. It was pure, raw longing. It was absolutely desperate.

Irina.

She was intensely missing me.

I sharply closed my glowing golden eyes. I let out a rough, entirely shaky breath. The soft, sweet vibration violently traveled straight down my frozen veins. It instantly warmed my freezing blood. It felt entirely like her incredibly small fingers gently brushing against my rough skin. It completely brought back the terrifying, beautiful memory of that desperate kiss she gave me.

*I am here, little bird,* I sent the absolutely silent, desperate thought straight down the invisible bond. *I am right here.*

My massive chest heavily ached with violent agony. I missed her so damn much it completely hurt to breathe. I aggressively missed the soft, beautiful scent of vanilla and honey. I completely missed the fierce, stubborn fire in her incredibly big eyes.

I gently pressed my massive hand flat against my stomach. I intensely thought about the tiny, incredibly fragile life violently growing deep inside her womb. Our baby. Our completely innocent pup. I thought intensely about Luka’s bright, perfect laughter.

They were my absolute world. They were my entire reason to violently fight.

I slowly lay back on the hard, incredibly uncomfortable cot. I violently pulled my heavy, dark jacket tightly over my massive chest. I desperately clung to that sweet, gentle trembling sensation heavily echoing in the bond.

I completely let the overwhelming, beautiful thoughts of Irina and my precious children entirely surround me. I let their memory completely protect my exhausted, chaotic mind. Wrapped entirely in their warm, beautiful presence, I finally fell into a heavy, restless sleep.

*Snap.*

My eyes violently ripped wide open.

I was entirely awake. My massive heart aggressively hammered against my thick ribs. My black wolf was standing completely upright in my dark mind. He was entirely alert. He was aggressively scratching at the heavy back of my skull. He was violently baring his lethal teeth.

Something was completely wrong.

It was the absolute dead of night. The heavy camp outside was completely, terrifyingly silent. There were absolutely no aggressive shouts. There were no violent alarms. Just the freezing, dead wind violently howling through the massive, twisted trees.

But a strange, terrifying pull heavily tugged directly at my chest.

It wasn’t a violent enemy attack. It absolutely wasn’t the sacred mate bond. It was something entirely different. It was something incredibly dark. It was entirely ancient and completely feral.

It was heavily, violently calling me.

I didn’t think. I completely couldn’t think. My heavy body aggressively moved entirely on its own.

I silently slid off the hard cot. I completely ignored my heavy combat boots. I absolutely didn’t grab my lethal weapons. My golden eyes violently glowed in the suffocating, heavy darkness. My massive muscles went completely, terrifyingly rigid.

I quietly slipped entirely out of my dark tent. The freezing, jagged dirt violently bit into my bare feet. The heavy guards completely failed to see me. The thick, dark shadows absolutely reached out and entirely swallowed my massive frame.

The violent pull grew incredibly stronger. It was entirely magnetic. It was completely, terrifyingly intoxicating. It violently dragged me forward.

I completely bypassed the heavily burning perimeter fires. I stepped entirely past the lethal defensive line. I completely left my sleeping, heavily armed warriors entirely behind in the dark.

I instinctively walked deep into the forest.