The scent of her was fading.
Dominic knelt in the ruin of their shared room, fingers pressed to the cold floorboards where her warmth had once lingered. Her scent—honeysuckle, fire, rain—was being erased by the reek of silver and chloroform. Each breath he took scraped down his throat like shards of ice.
The bond between them pulsed weakly, thinned to a trembling thread. It was still there—alive—but distant. And wrong.
He had thought pain was something the body could withstand. That training and rank, years of discipline as a Peace Fighter, had forged him into something beyond it. But this? This was agony that lived in the marrow.
Keegan stood near the doorway, jaw tight, watching his Alpha crumble. "Dominic," he began softly, "we'll find her. We will."
Dominic didn't answer. His eyes, wolf-bright, burned with something beyond fury. "She was here." His voice was low, hoarse. "She was safe."
Now the sheets were torn, the curtains clawed. There was a single white feather on the floor—hers. His mate, his Luna, stolen from under his watch.
He rose slowly, movements precise as if control was the only thing holding him from tearing the world apart. "Get the others."
Keegan nodded and vanished down the hall.
Dominic turned toward the mirror above their dresser. His reflection stared back—a man carved in steel and stormlight. His eyes, usually cool silver, were bright with feral light. The faint scar at his temple pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. He barely recognized himself.
"Sapphire," he whispered. "Where are you?"
A faint whisper brushed his mind—her voice, far and fading. Dom...
He stiffened, every nerve alive. Sapphire?
It's cold... he... The words dissolved into static, her pain bleeding through the bond like smoke.
Dominic's control shattered. He growled, fists curling, and the mirror exploded outward in a thousand shards that fell like rain around him.
When Keegan returned with Cain and Angel in tow, Dominic was already half-shifted, his claws scoring the walls.
"Alpha," Cain began carefully, "we've found tracks leading east. Wolves—at least ten. Strong scent of silver and magic."
Angel stepped forward, pale but steady. "We'll find her, Dominic. You just have to hold on to that link."
"I am holding it," he rasped. "But she's in pain."
Keegan set a hand on his shoulder. "Then let's end whoever caused it."
The words steadied him. Dominic drew in a slow breath, forcing his wolf down. "Prepare the unit. No one rests until she's found."
They moved quickly, every Peace Fighter responding to his silent summons. The compound stirred to life—boots on stone, weapons loading, comms activating. Outside, the night howled with wind and fury.
Dominic stood at the balcony overlooking his warriors, their eyes gleaming gold in the dark. His heart beat once, heavy and certain. "She's alive," he told them. "And whoever took her will learn what it means to steal from me."
The air trembled as his voice deepened, layered with his wolf's growl. "We track until dawn. We don't stop. No mercy."
A chorus of howls answered him.
Moments later, they were gone—ghosts slicing through the forest, their formation fluid and silent. Dominic led them, his speed fueled by the pulse of the bond tugging at his chest like an invisible leash. Each heartbeat whispered her name.
Sapphire. Sapphire. Sapphire.
The forest gave way to marsh and stone. The ground was streaked with silver residue—damp, acrid. Dominic crouched, touching the faint scorch marks left by magic. It wasn't natural silver—it was hexed. Fredrick's signature.
He closed his eyes. Memories rose unbidden—Fredrick's laughter during their Peace Fighter training, the sharp mind hidden behind that arrogant smile. A man who believed in order until grief turned him into something else.
He'd lost his mate. He'd lost himself.
And now he wanted to steal Dominic's.
Dominic's claws dug into the soil. "Not again," he growled.
The others fanned out, searching for tracks. Cain returned first, carrying a torn scrap of white fabric. He handed it silently to Dominic. It was from Sapphire's dress—the one she'd worn last night. The scent made Dominic's wolf snarl inside him.
"She fought," Cain said grimly. "Hard."
Dominic nodded, eyes narrowing. "She always does."
He turned toward the east, where the air grew colder and the forest darker. "Fredrick's territory."
Angel shuddered. "The Frozen Court? I thought it was abandoned."
"Not anymore."
They traveled for hours, the trees thinning until snow began to fall. Dominic could feel the bond flickering stronger now, like a heartbeat muffled through walls of ice. She was alive. But she was afraid.
The image hit him unbidden—Sapphire curled on a cold bed, her hands trembling as she whispered his name. He stumbled, the emotion crashing through him so hard he couldn't breathe.
Keegan caught his arm. "Dom! What is it?"
"She's crying." His voice broke. "I can feel it."
Keegan swore under his breath. "Then we move faster."
Dominic straightened, forcing air into his lungs. "No. We move smarter. He wants us to come blind. We need an entry, not an ambush."
He pulled out the old map Alpha James had given him years ago—a tattered relic showing the underground routes between packs. His finger traced a thin line toward the northern edge. "There's a hidden pass here. It'll lead us beneath the cliffs. He won't expect us from below."
Cain nodded. "Then that's our path."
As the pack moved, Dominic lagged behind for a heartbeat, closing his eyes. He reached again through the bond, pushing past the haze of distance.
Sapphire... can you hear me?
At first, nothing. Then—a flicker. A breath. Dominic?
Relief nearly brought him to his knees. I'm here, love. Hold on. I'm coming.
He—he says I'm his...
Rage surged, but he smothered it, forcing calm through their link instead. He's lying. You're mine, always. Do you understand?
Her voice trembled, but it carried strength. Always.
Then the connection faltered again, swallowed by cold.
Dominic opened his eyes, resolve hardening. "I've got her location. Southeast ridge, near the old mines."
"Then let's end this," Cain said.
They set off into the storm, unaware that far ahead—through stone walls and shadowed halls—Sapphire lay awake, clutching the echo of that single word he'd sent through the bond.
Always.
By dawn, the forest bled gray and silver, light catching on the frost-laden branches as the search party broke through the ridge. Their breath fogged in the frigid air, each exhale a ghost. Dominic ran at the front, his focus locked on the invisible tether that bound him to Sapphire. It thrummed beneath his ribs like a second heartbeat—weak, but alive.
The storm had quieted. Snow muffled every sound except the crunch of boots and the steady rhythm of their breathing. Around them, the world was so still it felt sacred, the kind of silence that demanded reverence—or promised death.
Keegan jogged up beside him. "If she's in the Frozen Court, it won't be easy getting her out. He's got old magic there. Warlock sigils from the fall of the Iron Pack."
Dominic didn't look at him. "Then we burn it down."
Keegan's throat worked, but he didn't argue. He'd seen that look before—the quiet before Dominic's fury. When he spoke again, it was softer. "You love her more than life, don't you?"
Dominic's jaw tightened. "She is my life."
The truth of it sat heavy between them. No denial, no shame. Just the raw, unvarnished reality of a bond that went deeper than blood or law.
Behind them, Angel and Cain whispered through the mind link, updating him on positions. Dominic caught flashes of their surroundings through their eyes—rocky cliffs, shadowed caves, thin tendrils of smoke in the distance.
Then Cain's voice broke through sharply: Dominic, we've got company.
The air shifted. Dominic stopped dead, every muscle going taut. He caught the faintest echo—a rustle of snow, the click of steel, the heartbeat of something unnatural.
Fredrick's men.
"Positions," Dominic ordered.
The forest exploded.
Shadows lunged from the trees, their bodies moving with the precision of trained killers. Silver flashed, slicing through the cold. Dominic met the first strike mid-air, claws raking through armor, hot blood splattering against the snow. The metallic tang hit his tongue, burning like vengeance.
Keegan took down another, his growl echoing through the clearing. Cain moved like a storm, each hit brutal and sure. But for every enemy they felled, two more took their place.
Dominic barely felt the cuts forming along his arms. Every blow was driven by a single thought—find her. He could feel her heartbeat in the distance, quick and unsteady. His wolf howled inside him, a sound of raw desperation.
He leapt onto the nearest attacker, slamming the wolf into the ground hard enough to crack bone. "Where is she?" he snarled.
The man coughed blood but smiled, defiant. "The king sends his regards."
Dominic's claws tore through his throat before the sentence finished.
The snow soaked red.
"Fall back!" Keegan shouted. "They're trying to split us—"
But Dominic didn't move. His eyes had gone bright silver, every instinct locked on the pull of the bond. He could feel her terror spiking. Her scent flooded his mind, her voice breaking through the static of distance.
Dom... please...
Hold on, love, he sent back fiercely. I'm coming.
A pulse of agony hit him so hard it drove him to his knees. His chest constricted, breath catching as the image of her flashed through his mind—her face pale, a hand gripping her swollen belly. He choked on the pain.
"Dominic!" Keegan grabbed his arm, shaking him. "What is it?"
"She's hurt," he gasped. "He touched her."
Rage erupted like wildfire, consuming the air around him. Snow melted where his claws dug into the ground. "He hurt her."
Cain's expression darkened, eyes flashing amber. "Then he's already dead."
Dominic rose slowly, every line of him coiled with deadly grace. "We're not stopping. Not for rest. Not for mercy. Until I have her back, this war doesn't end."
Keegan's hand landed on his shoulder, steady and sure. "Then we're with you to the last breath."
The words anchored him. He nodded once, sharp and final.
They moved again, faster this time. The terrain turned jagged, rocks jutting like teeth from the frozen ground. The scent of iron grew stronger. Somewhere ahead, the faint glimmer of light broke through the mist—the entrance to the mines.
Dominic stopped, scanning the darkness beyond. The air was wrong—too still, too cold.
A trap.
He knew it the way animals knew a coming storm.
And still, he went forward.
The first blast of energy came without sound—just a ripple of force that hit like a tidal wave. The ground split beneath them, sending snow and stone flying. Keegan was thrown back, cursing. Angel screamed through the link.
Dominic staggered to his feet, shaking off the ringing in his head. His nose bled, but he didn't care. The scent of Sapphire's fear was there now, thick and fresh.
She was close.
He bolted into the fissure, ignoring Keegan's shout to wait. The tunnel swallowed him in darkness. His eyes adjusted instantly, catching the shimmer of runes etched into the walls.
Magic. Old and cruel.
He pushed forward, following the bond until he reached a chamber carved into ice. The sight froze him where he stood.
A woman lay on a silver bed, hands bound in threads of light. Her dark hair spilled across the sheets like ink. For one shattering second, his heart forgot how to beat.
"Sapphire."
She stirred weakly, her eyes fluttering open. "Dominic?"
He crossed the distance in two strides, tearing through the restraints. When his hands touched her skin, the bond roared to life between them—heat meeting ice, soul meeting soul. The world vanished.
She gasped and clung to him. "You found me."
"I'll always find you," he whispered, his voice breaking against her hair. "Always."
But before he could lift her, the air shimmered.
Fredrick stepped from the shadows, his smile sharp as glass. "Touching."
Dominic turned, every muscle locked in deadly calm. "Let her go."
Fredrick's gaze slid lazily over Sapphire's form, then to Dominic. "You're too late. She's already mine."
"She'll never be yours."
Fredrick chuckled softly. "We'll see."
The chamber trembled as power gathered between them—dark against light, ice against flame. Dominic shifted fully, his wolf bursting forth in a surge of silver and black. Fredrick's own aura expanded, cold tendrils crawling across the walls.
The collision was instant and cataclysmic. Light and shadow exploded, tearing through the chamber, sending shards of frost screaming into the air.
Sapphire screamed his name, reaching for him through the chaos.
Dominic barely heard her. All he saw was the monster who'd stolen his world. And he would destroy him, even if it meant burning down the realm to do it.