Chapter 53: All or nothing
LUCIAN’S P.O.V.
It had been nearly five months since Teresa disappeared, and any semblance of patience I once had had disappeared long ago, replaced by a raw, consuming need to find her. Her absence was a wound that refused to heal, an ache I couldn’t ignore. Every trace of her scent, every whisper of our mate bond, was slipping away like sand through my fingers, taunting me with its elusiveness. I’d made plans—several, in fact—and I swore I’d search every inch of this world, tear apart every corner of every territory, to bring her back. Failure wasn’t an option. I needed her like I needed my next breath.
My first plan had been simple, or so I thought: follow our bond. I clung to the remnants of it, drawing it out like a thread of hope, letting Ares, guide me across towns, through territories, even into dangerous areas where I had no allies. But no matter how close we came, the trail would inevitably fade, vanishing like mist under the morning sun. Each time we lost it, the frustration burned hotter in my chest.
"It’s like she’s playing hide and seek, and we’re the idiots still counting to ten," Ares scoffed in my head, his voice dripping with exasperation. His anger matched my own, and I could feel his simmering impatience pressing against my mind.
"Can you be quiet, just this once?" I muttered aloud, though in truth, I didn’t want him to leave me in silence. The last time he’d gone quiet, I’d felt more alone than ever. I just needed a moment’s peace to think. We stood on a hillside overlooking a small, sleepy town, the moon casting an eerie, silvery glow on the landscape. The beauty of the night, with its quiet serenity, should have soothed me. But every nerve in my body was coiled, my senses stretched to their limits, straining for any hint of her presence.
"I’ll be quiet when we find her," Ares huffed, his irritation prickling in the back of my mind. I sighed, unwilling to argue with him, knowing that his frustration was a mirror of my own.
The search had taken us far—farther than I’d imagined. We’d crossed borders, pushed past the limits of my territory, and I was starting to wonder if she was in another realm altogether. How else could her trail keep vanishing? But giving up wasn’t an option. I’d chase her to the ends of the earth, to every corner of every world, if that’s what it took.
When our bond failed us, I turned to Plan B: pulling every string I could. I’d leveraged every connection, called in every favor, and put every resource at my disposal to work. I even reached out to private investigators in the human world, taking care to be discreet. It was humiliating, sitting through patronizing calls with humans who didn’t understand. One detective had the audacity to tell me, "Sir, people move on; you should too."
That comment nearly drove Ares into a frenzy. He growled for a solid five minutes, seething with anger that mirrored my own. To "move on" was unthinkable, as foreign an idea as abandoning my own heartbeat. Teresa was out there somewhere, and every fiber of my being screamed at me to keep looking.
When the human world failed me, and the last shred of my pride as an Alpha wore thin, I knew it was time to turn to my pack. With a heavy heart, I reached out through the mind link, summoning everyone to an emergency gathering. The pack, sensing the urgency in my call, assembled quickly. They watched me, curiosity and a hint of caution in their eyes. Rylan stood near the front, raising an eyebrow, his expression a mixture of intrigue and concern. Juliette, standing beside him, looked utterly bewildered.
Taking a steadying breath, I faced them all, gathering the courage to speak. "I need your help finding someone," I began, my voice rougher than I intended. "Teresa."