Leo’s POV

​The flight was filled with restless pacing and staring out at the clouds. Every hour felt like a day. My wolf was pacing just as fast as I was, sensing that we were nearing her. Her new scent was stained into my memory, and the closer we got to Nigerian airspace, the more my skin hummed with anticipation.

My parents, my brothers, the prophecy—it all felt like a distant, fading nightmare. The only reality was the woman waiting at the end of this journey.

​By the time the jet touched down and I had secured a car, the sun was beginning to dip. I didn’t head to a hotel. I followed the information Scarlett had given me, driving deep into the territory of the Silverback Pack.

​The forest here felt different—ancient and lush with greenery. As I crossed the border, several warriors emerged from the trees, their eyes glowing with shifting light. They stopped my car, their expressions alert until they recognized me.

​"I am here to see Alpha Samuel," I said, my voice carrying the weight of my status.

​They led me toward the heart of the village, a place where the houses were built into the massive trees. A tall, broad-shouldered Black man stood waiting on the porch of the main pack house. He had silver hair and eyes that had seen decades of war. This was Alpha Samuel. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

​He stepped forward, his eyes widening in total disbelief as he took me in. He looked at my face, then at my build, his jaw dropping. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

​"Alpha..." he breathed, his voice trailing off. He moved to bow but paused, his eyes darting back and forth as if searching for two other men behind me. He couldn’t differentiate me from my brothers. To him, I was just one-third of the legendary triplet Alphas who were supposed to be half a world away. He didn’t know which one of us was standing in front of him.

​"Leo," I said, introducing myself.

​Samuel straightened up, his shock turning into frantic confusion. "Alpha Leo... we—we didn’t receive word of a visit. Is there a problem? Is the alliance—"

​"The alliance is fine, Samuel," I interrupted, stepping out of the car. I didn’t have time for pack politics. "I’m not here for business. I’m here for her."

​Samuel blinked, his brow furrowing. "Her? Alpha, I don’t understand. Who—"

​"Scarlett," I said, already searching around with my eyes as if she would emerge from around the corner. "Where is she?"

​The color drained from Samuel’s face. He looked around nervously, checking to see if any of his pack members were eavesdropping. He leaned in, his voice a nervous whisper.

​"She’s not here, Alpha Leo," Samuel said, as he looked at the ground. "She left yesterday. We haven’t seen her since."

​"That is a lie," I growled, the sound vibrating deep in my chest. My wolf was scratching at the surface, ready to tear this village apart tree by tree. "You’re hiding her. You think you can keep her from me?"

​"No!" Samuel insisted, his hands rising in a placating gesture. "She left of her own accord. She left a message saying she couldn’t stay here anymore. She didn’t tell me where she was going, Leo. I didn’t even know when she slipped away."

​I didn’t think; I just moved. I lunged forward and grabbed him by the collar, slamming him back against the wooden pillar of his porch. His men reacted instantly, shifting their weight and baring teeth as they moved toward me, but Samuel barked out a command for them to step back.

​He didn’t fight me. He just looked at me with a mix of pity and realization.

​"Now I understand," he rasped, struggling for air against my grip. "Now I understand why she fled in the middle of the night. It’s because you found her. No wonder she left."

​"No..." I shook him, my heart feeling like it was being ripped out of my chest. "Scarlett told me she would be here waiting. We had a plan. She wouldn’t just leave me."

​"She lied to you, Alpha," Samuel said softly, his eyes filled with pity. "She deceived you."

​"No... no..." I shook my head, my hands trembling as I let go of his collar. I stepped back, the world tilting on its axis. The idea that I had lost Scarlett again was a bitter pill to swallow. I couldn’t take it. Not after everything.

​I looked at Alpha Samuel, my eyes wild as I scanned the dark tree line. "She’s here. She has to be around. She wouldn’t just vanish without a trace."

​"No, Alpha Leo," Samuel said, his voice heavy with a grim certainty. "Not with what happened. Not after the combat competition."

​My blood ran cold. "What happened at the competition?"

​Samuel sighed, looking at his warriors before turning back to me. "She was almost raped by Alpha Musa and Alpha Tony."

​I felt rage so intense in my chest I thought I might shift right there on his porch. My vision blurred red. "They did what?"

​"They didn’t succeed," Samuel said quickly, seeing the rage in my eyes. "But Scarlett... she didn’t just defend herself. She lost control... she almost killed both of them. One is still bedridden, and the other’s bones have been broken."

​I froze. The Scarlett I knew—the girl who used to cry when a bird broke its wing—had done that? Unbelievable.

​"She’s hurt," I whispered, the realization hitting me. "If she fought two Alphas, she has to be hurt."

​Samuel nodded.

​"Which way did she go?" I demanded, my voice trembling with desperation. "Samuel, tell me which direction she took."

​"I have no idea," Samuel said, holding his hands out in a gesture of complete helplessness. "She just disappeared into the night."

​"No... that is not possible," I bit out, my wolf pacing in circles, howling for her. "You are lying to me! You’re her Alpha here; you should know where your pack members are!"

​"I am not lying, Leo," Samuel insisted, his voice firm despite the pressure of my aura. "I don’t know anything about that woman. She came to this pack months ago begging for us to take her in. She told us she was homeless, a rogue with nowhere to go, and we took her in because she was strong. But she never said a word about herself. She never told us she was from the Full Moon Pack, and she never mentioned you."

​I frowned and, just as I was about to demand he send out a search party, a sharp, familiar pull hit the back of my mind. A mind-link.

​"Leo? I’m in Australia. What hotel are you staying at?"

​I froze. My blood turned to ice in my veins. It was Leonard.

​"You’re in Australia?" I projected back, trying to keep my mental voice from trembling.

​"Yes," Leonard replied, sounding exhausted and frustrated. "I decided to come too. I couldn’t stay in that house with them, Leo. I had to get away before I shifted and killed someone. I took a public flight. I’m at the airport now—where are you?"