4

Damon's POV

The moment we stepped inside, I felt it.

Something was off.

The air was tense, thick with an unsettling energy. The maids were acting strange, avoiding my gaze, whispering among themselves.

My brows furrowed. "Where is Diana?" I asked when I didn't see her. I expected her to wait for me on the couch, demanding answers but the couch was empty.

Silence.

His heart pounded in his chest as one of the maids hesitated before answering.

"She… she left, Alpha."

My entire body froze.

"What?"

"She took the rest of her things, sir. She left."

The words echoed in my skull. My vision blurred for a moment as a strange, cold emptiness settled in my chest.

Diana was gone. How is that possible?

"No," I murmured, shaking my head as if that would make the reality disappear. "No, she wouldn’t—"

I staggered back, feeling as though the air had been knocked from my lungs. How did she find it so easy to leave everything we had behind?

Celeste reached for me, but I shoved her away, my movements almost frantic as I turned and bolted up the stairs.

My heart slammed against my ribs as I burst into the room she and I shared most of the time.

Empty.

The closet was bare. The shelves were cleared. She had removed every single trace of her presence from the house.

Gone.

She had really left.

“Have you checked her house? She could still be there.” I asked one of the maids who shook her head.

“Okay, maybe she is somewhere in the pack. I should hold a search party for her. Maybe she got angry and wanted to clear her head and somehow got lost.” I created so many excuses, refusing to believe that she found it so easy to walk away from us.

I reached for my phone and started calling her number but it was switched off. I tried the head of security next.

“Sir, she was last seen at the pack’s border.”

Silence.

I slowly brought down the phone from my ears to my side. Just like that? No goodbye? No talk?

A growl built in his chest, low and threatening. My wolf howled in his mind, furious, confused.

How dare she leave?

How dare she walk away from me? From us.

Celeste appeared in the doorway, arms crossed. She observed me silently, then let out a sigh. "She was never going to stay."

I spun to face her, rage flickering in my eyes. "You don’t know that."

Celeste arched her brow. "Don’t I?" She smirked. "But don’t worry, my love. I’ve already taken care of it."

My stomach twisted. "What the hell did you do?"

Celeste’s smile widened. "I’ve sent two sentinels after her."

My blood ran cold.

Her next words made my fury snap.

"They have orders to bring her back, either alive or dead." she smiled as though she didn’t just say something so disturbing.

My fists clenched so tightly that my knuckles cracked. Rage filled my heart.

"Call them off," I growled.

Celeste tilted her head. "Why should I?"

I moved before I could think.

In a flash, I had her pinned against the wall, my hand gripping her throat, cutting her airflow.

"Call. Them. Off." my voice was barely human.

Celeste choked out a laugh, eyes gleaming with challenge.

"Make me."

My claws extended, digging into the wall beside her.

I tightened my grip on Celeste's throat till she started coughing, her face reddened and her eyes started dimming.

“Call. Them. Off!” she kept shaking her head. Too stubborn.

“Sir, she’s losing consciousness.” someone said behind me.

I released her and she fell to the ground, coughing and holding her neck. When she had recovered her breath, she started laughing maniacally.

“There’s nothing you can do to protect her.” I moved towards her to finish what I started, but someone, my gamma, stepped in front of me, his eyes pleading.

“You act like you love her but you clearly chose power over her. You can’t have both worlds.”

“Step out of the way,” I ordered him to move but he shook his head.

“Please, alpha, you are not in the right frame of mind right now and you could do something that you will regret.”

He was wrong. I had nothing to regret. I didn’t care about the aftermath. I just wanted Celeste to know that if anything happened to Diana, I would burn her alive and she wouldn’t live to tell the story.

“Step aside.”

“You have to think of Diana. She is not safe. We have to find her first.”

I paused, he was right.

Diana was out there.

Alone.

And if those sentinels found her first…

My wolf roared inside him.

I have to find her.

Before it was too late.

I needed to remind her that the only place she was permitted to be was by her side. No other place.

“Start a search party. I need all hands on deck. She must be found before the end of the day.” I ordered.

I kept pacing around the room, and my jaw tightened.

After what seemed like forever, the two sentinels I sent after Diana stood before me, heads lowered.

"She covered her tracks well, Alpha," one of them admitted. "We searched everywhere, but she’s gone."

My hands clenched into fists.

She was slipping further from my grasp.

"Enough," Celeste’s voice cut through the tension.

I turned to her, fury blazing in my eyes.

"Give up," she said, tilting her head. "She’s not coming back. And besides, you and I will be married soon."

My body went rigid.

"Over my dead body," I growled.

Celeste merely smirked. "That can be arranged."

My patience snapped. In an instant, I had her pinned against the wall, my fingers tightening around her throat.

But instead of fear, Celeste laughed softly.

"Go on," she whispered. "Do it."

My grip tightened—but then she leaned closer, her voice dangerously low.

"If you kill me, my ghost will make sure everything you love burns to the ground."

My body trembled with rage. My wolf claws to be set free, begging to be set free and teach her a lesson.

But Celeste simply smiled, her nails dragging along my wrist.

"Now," she purred, "are you going to let me go, or do I have to make this even more fun?"

I let out a harsh breath before releasing her.

Celeste chuckled, brushing her dress as if nothing had happened.

"That’s a good boy."

Then she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving me furious, helpless, and more determined than ever to find Diana.

No matter what it took.

I made a mistake, I admit it. But, I'm ready to set things right.