He said he would be here.

Kira stepped down from the stage into the dimmer wings, the moment the applause began to thin, moving quickly before anyone could stop her for conversation. Her fingers twisted the fabric of her dress.

He promised.

Connor stood just offstage in his usual dark suit, arms loosely at his sides, scanning the hall even now. When he saw her coming, his stern expression softened a little.

"Connor," she said quietly, stopping beside him. Her voice came out smaller than she wanted.

He turned fully toward her. "Your Highness."

"He’s not here."

Connor’s gaze flicked toward the entrance doors at the back of the auditorium, then back to her face. "He’ll come."

Kira shook her head and looked past him at the royal booth sitting empty and glaring under the lights. "Look at the seats, Connor. Where is Nana? Where is everyone?"

Connor followed her eyes. Then he looked back at Kira, and she could see in the way his expression adjusted, the barely perceptible tightening around his eyes, that he had registered the same thing she had.

Connor saw the way her teeth pressed into her lower lip to stop it trembling, he saw the raw panic in her usually bright eyes, the look of a woman who felt the floor falling away from beneath her feet.

"He said he would be here before the auction started," she said. "That was the whole point. The crowd is here because of him. If he doesn’t show up—"

"He will show," Connor interrupted, his voice firmer. He stepped half an inch closer. "He will show, Your Highness. Derek does not break his promises. Not when it matters. And he knows this matters to you."

Kira let out a shaky breath. "But what if something has happened to him? And Nana? And Kai?" Her voice cracked on the last name. "It’s not just Derek. The whole family is missing. It looks like a public rejection."

She glanced toward the sea of faces in the auditorium, where the sound of restlessness was growing louder. "The guests are already whispering. If this auction ends and nobody from the palace is here to place a bid... this whole night would be a failure."

Connor saw the spiralling thoughts taking hold of her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, the way you steady someone who is about to lose their footing.

"Your Highness. Listen to me. You need to take a breath right now, because you have worked too hard for this night to let panic take the wheel."

He held her gaze and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, then looked around, ensuring they were still unobserved. "Take a minute to catch your breath. Give me five minutes to make some calls."

Kira nodded slowly, feeling a tiny bit of the tension leave her shoulders, though the heaviness in her heart remained. "I... I need to use the restroom."

Connor signalled to Petra, who was waiting nearby. The female gamma stepped forward at once. "Escort the Queen to the restroom. Stay at the door."

"I’ve got her," Petra said curtly.

Petra fell into step beside Kira as she moved away from the wings and down the corridor toward the ladies’ bathroom.

When they reached the ladies’ bathroom, Kira pushed the door open and retreated inside. She locked herself in the end stall, leaning her forehead against the cool metal of the door.

She let out a long, shaky breath that she had been holding for far too long. Her eyes burned, but she refused to let the tears fall. Not tonight. She couldn’t afford to ruin her makeup.

He’ll come, she told herself, eyes squeezed shut. He promised.

***

The moment Kira turned the corner and disappeared from sight, Connor’s expression dropped every trace of the reassurance he had been projecting.

He tapped his earpiece, giving instructions to the bodyguards stationed at strategic points around the hall.

"Full alert. Eyes on the Alphas. If anyone moves funny, intercept them."

When he was sure the men were cleared, he stepped outside into the cool night air, away from the noise of the building, and pulled his phone from his jacket pocket.

He dialled Derek’s private line. Again.

The mobile you are calling is switched off. Please try again later.

Connor cursed under his breath, the word sharp in the quiet. He tried Nana’s line next. It rang and rang before going to voicemail. Something was wrong.

Derek Wolfe never switched off his phone on a normal day, let alone on a night when his wife was standing in a room full of potentially hostile Alphas.

He dialled the mansion, the gammas confirmed that they had seen the King leave. But why wasn’t he here?

He dialled Kai. He had returned to his home pack that evening, but right now, Connor had no other choice.

The call picked up on the second ring.

"Yeah?" Kai’s voice came through. Connor could hear muffled music in the background.

"Where are you?" Connor asked.

"A few minutes out from the university. Got held up, long story." A pause. "Everything alright? Is Derek there already?"

"No," Connor said, and rubbed a hand over his face. "He’s not here. Nana isn’t here. Nobody from the palace is here, and Derek’s phone is switched off. The gammas said he left already."

Kai went quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, the easy tone had vanished. "What do you mean he isn’t there? And Nana? That’s impossible, Connor. Nana was supposed to leave Dravengard hours ago. She was getting ready when I spoke to her."

"I don’t like this, Kai," Connor said, his eyes scanning the dark perimeter of the university grounds.

"The atmosphere in the auditorium is turning sour. People are starting to talk. The Queen is losing her mind with worry, and the guests are getting uncomfortable. It is a powder keg in there."

Another silence. Longer this time.

Connor paced in a small circle on the pavement. "You need to change course. Go to Dravengard. Find Nana and find out why the hell Derek is not here. Find out what is going on at that mansion."

There was the sound of a gear change. "On it," Kai said.

"Keep me updated," Connor said.

"I will. And Connor? Keep her safe," Kai replied, his voice turning cold and serious, the tone of a man who was shifting from a cousin to a warrior. "If the King isn’t there, some of those Alphas might get bold."