Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Darius
I sit on the edge of the hotel bed, my hands dangling between my knees, staring at the scattered remnants Violet left behind.
Her suitcase lies open on the floor, clothes spilling out like she grabbed only what she could carry.
The dresses I bought her at that boutique in the human district hang in the open closet, the red one from tonight in a pile on the carpet.
Jewelry boxes sit on the nightstand, shoes by the bed, makeup on the desk.
Everything I gave her, everything that marked her as mine, abandoned.
The concierge’s words echo in my skull. “She took a car to the airport, sir. Seemed in quite a hurry.”
My wolf claws at my insides, howling. The sound reverberates through my bones, a grief so profound, it steals my breath. I bury my face in my hands, pressing hard enough that spots dance behind my eyelids.
This isn’t how things were supposed to go.
I knew. God, I knew from the moment Ethan and I spoke that I was making a mistake. He warned me. Told me I needed to figure out what I wanted before someone got hurt. Before Violet got hurt.
But I kept stalling. Kept telling myself I needed more time to think it through, to find the right way to handle my father, the pack, the expectations pressing down on my shoulders.
And now, she’s gone.
I lift my head and stare at that wine-red, silk dress again. My chest aches. I would never have taken another mate. Not with Violet in my life. I don’t care who pressured me, what political games my father wanted to play. The thought of binding myself to anyone else makes my skin crawl.
But she never gave me a chance to explain that.
The devastation in her eyes carved something out of me, left a hollow space where my heart used to be.
She thinks that I would choose duty over her. That I would hide her away like something I was ashamed of while I paraded a proper mate around in front of the pack.
She’s wrong.
I get to my feet and start pacing the length of the room. Every instinct demands I go after her, claim her, make her understand.
I pull out my phone and call her again. I already tried a couple of times on the way back here, and I sent her at least two texts. No answer, no reply.
It rings once, twice, then goes to voicemail. Her voice, warm and familiar, asking me to leave a message. The sound nearly breaks me.
“Violet.” My voice comes out rough. “Please, please call me back. Let me explain. I need to talk to you.”
I hang up and immediately call again.
Straight to voicemail this time.
Again.
Voicemail.
After the fifth attempt, I stop and stare out the hotel room window. She has either blocked me or turned off her phone. Either way, the message is clear.
She doesn’t want to hear from me.
My wolf snarls, demanding I track her. But I already know the trail will lead to the airport. A public building crawling with humans and security. I can’t exactly shift in the middle of Departures and start sniffing for my mate. And even if I could, she’s probably on a plane by now. Gone.
My hands curl into fists that I press against the glass. I’m the alpha heir of one of the most powerful packs in the Coalition. I have resources. Connections. I could call in favors, have someone check flight manifests, track her movements.
But using pack resources to hunt down the mate who rejected me? My father would hear about it within the hour. And that’s a conversation I’m not ready to have. Not yet. Not until I know what the hell I’m going to do.
I need a plan. A real one, not just charging after her on instinct and making everything worse.
None of it means anything without her. My role as alpha heir. My car and penthouse. The pack’s approval. My father’s legacy. All of it, worthless. Empty symbols of a life I don’t want anymore.
If she chooses Ryker over me because I was too much of a coward to tell her the truth…
I can’t finish the thought. The idea of her in his arms, letting him touch her, claim her, makes rage and anguish wrestle inside me until I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.
I love her.
The admission doesn’t surprise me. Maybe I’ve known for weeks, been dancing around it, afraid to name it.
It’s more than the fated mate bond. Strip away the supernatural connection, and I would still want her. Still crave the way she challenges me, the fire in her eyes when she’s angry, the vulnerability she shows when she thinks I’m not looking.
I love her for every sharp edge and guarded moment. For the way she doesn’t need me but chooses me anyway.
Or she did, until I destroyed what we had.
But I’ll rebuild it. Even if I have to tear down everything else in my life to do it.
Decision crystallizes in my mind, clear and sharp. I grab my cell phone and look up flights. I am going to be on the next one back to Moonvale. I’ll track her down, make her listen, show her that she’s not second place. That she is everything.
We’ll leave the pack if need be. Hell, we can leave the country if she wants to. Start someplace new, where pack politics don’t dictate our lives. Somewhere she can be Violet, and I can be the man who loves her, not the alpha heir with a hundred conflicting obligations.
My phone buzzes as I start booking my flight, and I see that I’m getting a call from Jeddian Vince, a fellow pack member and head of the Gulf Coast Coalition.
I decline the call.
His name flashes on the screen again almost immediately.
I grit my teeth and answer. “Not a good time, Jeddian.”
“Make time.” His voice is clipped, urgent. “We need you at the Coalition building tomorrow. Two p.m. sharp.”
“I can’t. I have a personal emergency.”
“This is urgent.” Jeddian’s tone sharpens. “The packs have called an emergency session. They’re voting on the hybrid situation tomorrow afternoon, Darius. If you’re not there to argue our position, we’ll lose everything we’ve worked for.”
“Send someone else.”
“They specifically requested you. Your presence carries weight. Without you, this whole thing collapses.” He pauses. “I wouldn’t insist if it weren’t critical. You know that.”
My jaw clenches so hard, it aches. Violet, somewhere out there, believes I chose the pack over her. And now, the fate of thousands of hybrids is up in the air.
What kind of man will this decision make me? The kind who abandons his mate for politics? Or the kind who abandons his duties while he chases after a woman who doesn’t want to see him?
My throat goes dry, the choice tearing me in half. “How long will it take?”
“Two, maybe three hours.”
I glance at the clock on the nightstand. Nearly midnight. Based on the options I just saw online, Violet’s flight will probably land soon. Then, she’ll be in Moonvale, no doubt erasing every trace of us.
By the time this meeting ends and I catch a flight back, she will have had the entire day to disappear.
A full day to get on another plane or drive across state lines and hide somewhere I’ll never find her.
Plenty of time to convince herself I’m not worth the risk, that she made the right choice by walking away.
My grip tightens on the phone. Every instinct tells me to refuse, to get on the next flight out and track her down as soon as possible, before the trail goes completely cold.
But she has already gone to ground. She won’t answer my calls or texts. Even if I could fly back right now, she’s way ahead of me. I’d be wasting time while the hybrid threat hangs in the balance.
Ethan. If I can finish this meeting quickly and get back to Moonvale by tomorrow evening, maybe Ethan can gather intel during the day and narrow down the search. Maybe I’ll still have a chance.
Maybe.
The doubt gnaws at me even as I say, “I’ll be there. But the second the vote is done, I’m gone. No matter what the outcome is.”
“Understood. I’ll see you at two p.m. tomorrow. Don’t be late.”
I end the call and immediately dial Ethan. He answers on the second ring, voice groggy.
“Do you know what time it is?”
“I need you to find Violet.”
The grogginess vanishes. “What happened?”
“She knows about the fated mate bond.” The words scrape my throat raw. “She rejected me. Flew out before I could stop her.”
“Fuck.” Ethan exhales sharply. “Where are you?”
“Still in Miami. There’s an emergency Coalition session tomorrow afternoon. I have to be here for the vote on the hybrids.” My free hand clenches. “Can you pick her up from the airport? Make sure she gets home safe?”
“Of course. Which flight?”
“I don’t know the exact one. Check all the flights from Miami until you find her.” I hesitate. “And Ethan, make sure she’s okay. But don’t push her to talk if she doesn’t want to.”
“You sure about that?”
“I need to do this right. Not through you.” My throat tightens. “Just make sure she’s safe.”
“I’ve got you,” Ethan says quietly. “I’ll head to the airport now and check all the arriving flights.”
“Thank you.”
“What are you going to do?” he asks.
I stare at Violet’s abandoned belongings, resolve hardening despite the anguish clawing at my chest. “Handle this vote. Then fly back to Moonvale and talk to my father. Tell him I’m choosing Violet, consequences be damned.
If he’s smart, he’ll let me keep the title of alpha heir.
If not”—I take a breath—“then I walk away from the pack with her.”
“You mean that?”
“Every word.” And I do. The certainty settles into my bones, immovable. “I’m done letting other people dictate my life.”
“Whatever you need,” Ethan says quietly, “I’m here. Always.”
“I know.” Guilt twists sharply in my gut. I wish I’d given Violet that kind of unwavering support. Instead, I made her question everything.
“She brought up all the stuff you warned me about,” I tell my friend. “Hiding her, choosing the pack over her. All of it.”
He sighs. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t want to be right.”