Chapter 9

Gideon's POV

When I arrive, I’m met at the border by a woman I’ve seen only once before—Ivan’s housekeeper. Neatly dressed, eyes sharp, she bows, just enough to show respect, but no more.

"Alpha Gideon," she says flatly. "What brings you to Night Mountain?"

"I have reason to believe that one of mine crossed into your territory."

The woman looks at me expectantly.

I sigh, annoyed. "Red hair, brown eyes."

"Oh." Her expression doesn’t shift. "She was being pursued by rogues. She passed through here but only briefly."

My breath catches. "You left her to die?"

"She was in poor condition," the housekeeper says coldly. "Her wolf was barely present."

My mind reels. Claire? The strongest she-wolf in our packs history reduced to nothing?

"How? Why would her wolf disappear?"

The woman shrugs. "I wouldn’t know, sir."

My blood roars in my ears. Where is she? She has to be alive, she has to be.

"Then where is Ivan? I want to speak to him directly." I push past her.

"He’s not obligated to entertain—"

"WHERE IS HE?" I growl.

A shadow steps from the trees behind her.

Ivan.

Cool, poised, dressed like royalty despite the remote wildness of his land. His gaze moves over me with no urgency.

He clicks his tongue. "You’re trespassing."

"Where’s Claire?"

Ivan looks at me as if I were dumb. "Who?"

A sharp pain cuts through my chest.

"Claire. Claire! Her tracks lead here to your property!"

The housekeeper gives a timely reminder. "The injured girl, sir."

Ivan picks a piece of lint off his sleeve. " I assumed she was killed by the rogues."

My breath stutters. "You left her to them?"

"She wasn't mine to protect." His grey eyes pierce into me like a blade.

I take a step forward. Grabbing him by the collar, rage pulsing in my blood. "Fuck you. How could you leave her defenseless!"

Ivan doesn’t flinch. "Now you care?"

I freeze.

He goes on, voice colder now. "From what I heard, she used to be your Luna, and you abandoned her."

I say nothing. I can’t.

Ivan plucks my hand from his shirt. "You protect yours. I'll protect mine. If she's really dead now, it's all because of you. Now get off of my property before I make you."

He turns and walks back to his home, the butler at his heels.

By nightfall, I’m standing in my private study. The fire crackles in the hearth, throwing shadows on the walls.

I pull out a photograph from a locked drawer in my desk. One I took months ago.

Claire stands in the sunlight, hair a mess, laughing at something I said. I can’t even remember what it was, but the look on her face—she was happy.

Tears fall—angry, heartbroken tears. I grip the edge of the desk until my knuckles turn white.

I love her. Goddess help me—I think I always did.

I remember the moment I rejected her. The look in her eyes when the bond broke. It wasn’t just pain—it was devastation. And I caused it.

I hear Leo's cries from the room next door. Since Claire left, no one's embrace can make him stop crying.

Maybe Leo actually is mourning her.

And I would give anything to hold her once more.

Daphne's POV

I look into my vanity—Leo's cries echoing in the room next door.

"Shut him up!" I said, unable to bear it any longer.

The maids apologize, trying to calm him by bouncing, singing, and pacing, but all their efforts are in vain.

I should have him moved to the west wing. Maybe I'll finally be able to sleep. But I'm sure that would just push Gideon further away.

I don’t understand it. Not really.

Claire is gone! That should mean I win! I have the man, the title, the baby.

But something shifted in him the moment she vanished.

I was supposed to be his only one. But now? Not once has he touched me since that night at the ceremony.

I thought kissing him in front of the pack would reignite something between us. Instead, it lit a fire under his guilt.

He’s still gentle and considerate, but has become cold. Distant. Polite. Sorrow overwhelms him when he looks at his whiny pup's face.

So I changed my approach. I took over all of Leo's affairs, hoping that by doing so, he might start noticing me again and forget all about that woman.

But the child is a nuisance. He has her eyes, nose, and stubborn looks. He only calms when someone he loves is near. That someone isn’t me.

I swear, sometimes when he cries, I can hear her voice.

I don’t love him. I hate him.

But Gideon has already publicly announced that Leo is his heir and has tacitly allowed me to become Leo's "mother."

There’s no doubt that this also means I will become his Luna.

I tell myself it doesn’t matter. He’s a placeholder until I have my own. If I give Gideon a child of my own—a true child, one from his Luna—he’ll forget about Claire. He’ll forget about the mate bond. He’ll remember how good we were together. Before.

I smooth my hair down and spray a sickly sweet perfume on my neck.

Claire is gone. Her body was never found, but no one survives rogues that long without a pack. And even if she did—even if by some miracle she’s still breathing—she won’t stay hidden forever. Eventually, she’ll slip. She’ll come crawling back.

And when she does, I’ll be ready with a blade in hand. She took everything from me once.

I won’t let her do it again.