Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THEO
I t’s been hours since I last saw Estee. Hours of restless pacing, of my wolf clawing at me from the inside, of an itch beneath my skin that refuses to settle. I’ve asked Jerome about her more times than I can count, but she’s remained locked in my office since Isla and Asher left. I hate that she’s working on this alone, but I hate it even more knowing that I can’t help her myself.
Still, every time I try to leave the new and temporary workspace I’ve set up, someone else appears, needing something from me. Repairs to housing, trade disputes, complaints from vendors—it’s endless. I’ve ignored this kingdom for too long. There are months of work ahead of me to undo the damage, and I can’t even begin to touch the surface without confronting my mistakes. But I’m grateful the pack is allowing me to try to redeem myself, just as she is. I’m not sure I deserve this chance to prove I’m worthy, but I’m accepting it anyway.
As dusk begins to swallow the bright sky, and there’s no one else waiting to speak with me, I escape and make my way back to where I assume Estee is—in my office.
After the time I’ve already spent apart from my mate and the whispers of our kiss still lingering on my lips, I’m desperate to have eyes on her. She’s the only one who can lessen the unease currently stuck in my throat.
My wolf rumbles in agreement from within, and my stride lengthens. Each step echoes in the castle halls, and I take the stairs three at a time, my heart pounding faster with each foot forward. A pressure surrounds my chest, tightening with a suffocating grip.
This is insane. I shouldn’t be losing myself so completely after an afternoon away from my mate. Yet, I am, and I’m beginning to wonder if there’s a reason for my increasing distress.
That thought sends another wave of dread through me that doesn’t ease even as I get closer to my office. In fact, it only gets worse when I realize her scent isn’t getting stronger, like she hasn’t been here for quite some time.
Something is wrong.
I start to run.
It’s as if poison seeps into my lungs with each breath, filling me with a cold, acidic fury. I break into a sprint, my vision narrowing, blood roaring in my ears. My mind races through possibilities I can barely stomach, each one twisting the knife deeper.
Where is my mate?
The door to my office looms ahead, locked. I don’t waste time fumbling for keys; I kick it open with a force that splinters the wood, the shards biting into my skin, but I barely feel the sting. My gaze sweeps the room, wild and desperate, but she’s not here. The faint traces of her linger, but they’re stale, hours old. My wolf howls within my mind, a primal cry for our mate, as I call for Jerome.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” he replies immediately.
“Lock down the castle,” I demand. “Hell, lock down the whole damned island. Estee is missing.”
“Sire, might I suggest we don’t alarm the pack and ? —”
“I don’t give a damn about the pack right now!” My fury lashes through the link like a whip, blazing. “I need to know where my mate is. Something’s happened to her, and I will tear this place apart stone by stone if I have to.”
There’s a short pause, followed by a determined, “Yes, my king. I will initiate the lockdown.”
The connection snaps, and I let out a roar that shakes the surrounding walls, echoing back at me, a sound of unbridled anguish. Estee wouldn’t disappear without a word, not after this morning, not after the promises we made. She wouldn’t just leave me, not like this. The thought of her abandoning me claws at my heart, twisting it until I can hardly breathe.
For a single, horrid moment, doubt slithers through my mind like a snake. Could she have left with Asher and Isla? Were our moments this morning a farce?
The idea hits me like a blade, sharp and brutal. If she left me here, if she abandoned me to face Orix alone… I don’t know if I’d survive it. I don’t know if I’d want to.
But no. I force the thought aside, burying it beneath a rising tide of rage. She wouldn’t do that. Not the Estee I’ve only just begun to know, not the woman so full of passion earlier. And if she’s not here, there’s only one other explanation. One that has a dark shadow tightening around my heart like a noose.
Just the thought of him has my mind turning venomous and foul, a reminder of every twisted manipulation and lie he’s spun. If he’s taken her, if he’s laid a single hand on her?—
I will sacrifice whatever I must to get her back. No price is too high to pay for my mate.
I storm from the office, fury surging through my veins like wildfire. Jerome rounds the corner, his face pale, breaths coming in short, nervous gasps. “I’ve searched all the lower floors for Princess Estee, Sire,” he says, voice losing confidence. “But there’s no sign of her, and her room has remained untouched since this morning.”
Even though I already dismissed this idea, I still have to ask. “Could she have left with King Asher and Queen Isla earlier?”
He shakes his head then frowns. “She certainly could have, Your Majesty, but I don’t believe so. When the king and queen of Polaris departed earlier, it seemed Queen Isla was quite ill, and King Asher made a point of speaking with me about certain things before boarding his ship home. Topics that made me believe I would be working with Estee within the walls of this castle. He even asked me to call upon Queen Sloane to come and assist Princess Estee since her sister is unable to.”
There are plenty of questions I could ask about all that, but finding Estee is far more important.
Relief mingles with fury, a volatile mix that only sharpens my resolve. She didn’t leave me willingly. She’s here, somewhere, hidden or taken.
“I’ll search the castle myself,” I say, barely holding back the growl in my voice. “Then we’ll scour every corner of this cursed island if we have to. She will be found.”
As Jerome nods in understanding, the energy of my wolf tingles along my skin. He wants to hunt, and I’m not going to stop him, not even within the walls of the castle.
My back starts to arch, and a loud rumble reverberates from deep within me as a fierce determination soothes my frayed nerves. At least until Drea begins shouting from down the hallway.
“Where is Estee? Why is there a lockdown?” she demands, barreling toward me, eyes blazing, fury etched into every line of her face. She’s flanked by one of my guards, who looks as if he’s trying to restrain her without much success.
“I don’t care who you think you are,” she adds before I can even entertain answering her question, “I will make your life even more miserable than it already is if you don’t take me to Estee right now.”
The threat is laughable, but there’s a fire in her gaze, a loyalty that almost makes me admire her. Still, my wolf snaps, snarling as I let some of his rage bleed into my voice.
“Watch your tone,” I growl, low and dangerous. “One word from me, and you’ll find yourself in the dungeons.”
Drea falters, but she doesn’t back down entirely. “Estee said she was going to see you,” she insists, trembling with barely suppressed fear and anger. “She was hiding something from me. She didn’t trust you, and neither do I. Lock me away if you have to, but I won’t stop trying to find her while I can, no matter the consequences.”
I narrow my eyes, letting the weight of my presence bear down on her. “Estee never came to me this afternoon,” I say, each word a cold, hard truth. It infuriates me to know that she was trying to find me but never succeeded. “If you know anything about where else she might’ve gone, I suggest you tell me now.”
As much of an annoyance as this woman appears to be, she clearly cares for my mate. Maybe I can use that to my advantage.
Drea barely manages to shake her head, and I glance up at the waiting guard, whose name I can’t recall. “Take this woman and allow her to keep watch for Princess Estee, but only from within the castle. We don’t need two of them missing.”
Her eyes remain clear as she takes in my words, seeming to weigh their truth. “She really never made it to you this afternoon?”
“No.” The word burns through me.
Drea looks back up at the guard. “We have to find her, Orion. She’s,” her voice cracks, “she deserves better than what she’s been through.”
That was something we could agree on.
The guard bows, keeping his eyes low, before speaking to me. “I will keep Drea from causing any trouble, Your Majesty, and if we find any sign of Princess Estee, you’ll be the first to know.”
“I’d expect nothing less.”
When I step away from them, my wolf rushes to the surface, and I don’t stop him this time. His snarls echo through the hallway as he makes his powerful presence known. He sniffs at my guard and Estee’s friend then shakes his head, seeming satisfied that they know nothing more than they’ve shared.
“Estee was coming to see us,” I tell my wolf. “We have to figure out why that never happened.”
He makes a harsh noise as he tears through the corridor, going in the direction of my bedroom. But when he turns the corner, he comes to an abrupt halt, his claws digging into the wooden floors.
His snarls grow louder, but there’s nothing here. I don’t even sense Estee. At least not at first.
A low, feral growl escapes from my throat, my wolf’s rage blending with mine until there’s no separation, only a single, burning wrath. I close my eyes, inhaling deeply, and the horrifying scent solidifies—a twisted blend of Estee’s essence and the vile taint of that god.
He was here. He has my mate.
The realization ignites a maelstrom of fire within me, a violent need to hunt, to reclaim what’s mine.
Hold on, my Starlight, I vow, my wolf’s roars vibrating through me. I’m coming for you.