Chapter 154
Alexander’s POV
The world seemed to move in slow motion as I watched the SUV carrying Summer plummet over the cliff edge. Her last words through our bond-“I love you“-echoed in my mind before the connection between
us flickered like a dying flame.
“SUMMER!” My roar shattered the morning air, the sound so primal it barely seemed human. I lunged
toward the cliff edge, every muscle in my body driving me to follow her down.
Strong arms locked around my chest, yanking me backward just as my feet hit the crumbling edge.
“Alpha, stop!” Ethan’s voice cut through my rage. My Beta’s grip was unyielding as I thrashed against
him. “You can’t jump! We’ll find another way down!”
“LET ME GO!” I commanded, my Alpha voice reverberating through the forest. Birds scattered from nearby trees, but Ethan held firm.
“If you go down like this, you’ll die too!” he shouted. “Summer needs you alive!”
The mention of her name sent another wave of agony through me. The mate bond, which had been a steady presence in my mind ever since I first sensed she was mine, was growing fainter by the second. The emptiness spreading through my chest was unbearable–a black hole consuming everything I was.
“We need to get down there,” I gasped, my struggle weakening as the bond continued to fade. “She might
still be alive.”
“Teams are already moving,” Ethan assured me, his own voice rough with emotion. “Derek is leading the search party down the ravine. The river rescue unit is deploying.”
Another stab of pain shot through me as our bond flickered again. My wolf Orion thrashed violently within me, his anguished howl echoing in my mind.
*I can’t feel Aurora anymore,* Orion whimpered,* her presence… it’s disappearing.*
What… what does that mean?
“Alpha, you need to breathe,” Ethan’s voice seemed to come from far away. “Stay with me.”
Before I could respond, a sudden, searing pain tore through my chest–sharp and absolute. It felt like something inside me had been violently ripped away.
And then everything went black.
***
I woke to the antiseptic smell of the pack medical facility, the steady beep of monitors a grim reminder
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that I was still alive when my mate might not be. The emptiness in my chest told me everything I needed to know before I even opened my eyes.
“He’s awake,” someone murmured.
I blinked against the harsh fluorescent lights to find Ethan sitting vigilantly by my bedside, dark circles under his eyes suggesting he hadn’t slept in days.
“How long?” My voice was a rasp, barely recognizable.
“Thirty–six hours,” Ethan replied, reaching for a cup of water. He helped me sit up enough to drink. “The bond break put you in shock. Dr. Miller had to sedate you.”
The memories flooded back with cruel clarity–Summer’s face through the windshield, the SUV tipping over the edge, that final whispered “I love you” before our connection was severed.
“Have they found her?” The question physically hurt to ask.
Ethan’s expression told me everything. “The search teams have been working non–stop. The river current was strong from the recent rains. They’ve covered five miles downstream so far.”
“And?” My hands gripped the sheets so tightly my knuckles turned white.
“We found Natalia’s body yesterday morning, caught in a logjam two miles downstream.” Ethan hesitated. “There was one guard found as well, but no sign of Summer or the second guard yet.”
A dangerous hope flickered in my chest. “If we haven’t found her body-”
“Alexander.” Ethan’s voice was gentle but firm. “The drop was over three hundred feet onto rocks before hitting the water. The vehicle was completely destroyed. The only reason we identified Natalia was through dental records.”
I shoved the blankets aside, ignoring the weakness in my limbs. “I need to be out there searching.”
“The entire pack is already searching,” Ethan assured me, placing a restraining hand on my shoulder. And there’s something else you need to know.”
I stilled, my wolf snarling with impatience.
“Alpha Foster has been apprehended. He was attempting to flee the country when our border patrols caught him.”
The mention of Alpha Foster’s name sent a fresh wave of rage through me. “Bring him to me. Now.”
“He’s in the containment cells. But there’s more.” Ethan’s expression darkened. “Lucien Cross was working with Natalia. He’s taken Lyra and baby Thea out of North America already. Our intelligence suggests they’re somewhere in Eastern Europe.”
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The revelation hit like a physical blow. Lucien Cross–the ruthless Alpha of the Blackspire Pack, known for his brutality and ambition. If he had Lyra and her baby….
“How long have they been gone?” I demanded, forcing myself to stand despite the dizziness that
threatened to overwhelm me.
“At least three days. It appears they were taken while everyone was distracted with wedding preparations.”
Three days. My sister and her infant daughter in the hands of one of the most dangerous Alphas in the world for three days. And Summer…
“I need to see Alpha Foster,” I growled, my wolf clawing to the surface. “He’s going to tell me everything
he knows.”
***
Deep beneath the Council’s headquarters, in the high–security detention wing reserved for traitors and high–risk offenders, Alpha Foster Thorn looked pathetic behind the reinforced glass of his containment
cell.
The once–proud Alpha was hunched in on himself, his designer suit wrinkled and stained. When he looked up at my approach, his eyes held a mixture of defiance and fear.
“Come to gloat, Blackwood?” he sneered, though the tremor in his voice undercut the bravado.
“My mate is missing because of you,” I said, my voice dangerously calm. “My sister and her child are in Lucien Cross’s hands because of you. Gloating is the furthest thing from my mind.”
He scoffed, eyes narrowing. Then, quietly—almost bitterly–he said, “She was my mate. If you hadn’t interfered, she’d still be alive.”
I stared at him.
My wolf surged forward, teeth bared, rage boiling under my skin. My wolf surged forward, teeth bared, rage boiling beneath my skin. I slammed my fist against the glass between us, the impact echoing through the chamber like a gunshot.
The guards on either side of the room were on me in a flash, grabbing my arms and pulling me back.
“Stand down, Alpha Blackwood!” one of them snapped.
I didn’t resist. Not really. But my eyes never left Alpha Foster.
“Summer and Felix died because of YOU,” I snarled. “Because YOU let Natalia poison him. Because YOUR mate, Suzanna, harvested his organs. Because YOU chose another woman’s child over your own son.”
Alpha Foster flinched. “NO!”
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“You forgot, didn’t you?” I said coldly. “The day Felix died–she came to you.”
Alpha Foster’s face drained of color, the fight bleeding out of him as the truth struck home.
“Why did Lucien take Lyra?” I growled, the fury in my voice barely restrained.
Alpha Foster looked shaken. He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
He hesitated. Then, voice low, he said, “The original plan was for Lucien and me to cause chaos during the mate–bonding ceremony. Natalia would use the distraction to take your mate. That’s all.”
“But Lucien changed the plan.”
Alpha Foster nodded. “He stopped communicating. I don’t know why.”
I forced myself to breathe, to stay focused.“Where would he take her?”
