Rowan

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

The trees blurred past me, nothing more than dark smears 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. Immediately. 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 me 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 time.

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

My mind raced faster than my legs could carry me.

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 something was wrong.

And I had done nothing.

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

I had been a fool.

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

I had been so elated, and overwhelmed by the gift of her choosing to be with me, 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 me with sickening clarity.

She had come 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 me, 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 came 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 meals on the second day after your departure. I assumed 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 me?!"

"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 something behind. A note and several maps. She seemed to have suspected where Violet might be heading and went after her."

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

"Are you telling me 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 something was wrong, and instead of coming to me, 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 some things behind. Bring me everything," I ordered, already striding toward the castle entrance. "NOW!"

"Yes, My—"

I took the stairs two at a time, my heart hammering with each step. The corridors blurred past me, 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 some 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. Some 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 moment, 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 something else.

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

My hands trembled as I picked it up.