Page 65 of Once You Go Pack
TWENTY-FOUR
CADE
The silence that followed Mila’s departure felt like a vacuum, sucking all the air from Cade’s lungs. He stood frozen at the head of the council table, watching the chamber doors swing shut behind her retreating figure, his wolf howling in agony at letting his mate flee in pain.
What the hell is wrong with you?his inner voice snarled.She’s your mate, your queen, and you let doubt creep in to undermine your destiny.
The council chamber erupted around him, voices rising in heated debate about magical manipulation and human treachery, but Cade barely heard them. All he could focus on was the growing distance between him and Mila, and the way their bond stretched taut with her raw pain and his own crushing guilt.
He’d doubted her. For one terrible moment, when Lyra first spoke of Zarik’s accusations, he’d actually wondered if Mila’s ancestral powers could have influenced the Moonfire. The thought made him sick now—his brilliant, compassionate mate who couldn’t hurt a fly, much less manipulate ancient magic for personal gain.
She loves you, you idiot,he told himself fiercely.And you love her. The mate bond is real. Everything between you is real.
Zarik had played him perfectly, weaponizing Cade’s deepest fears against the woman who’d become his anchor. The bastard knew exactly which buttons to push—the uncertainty about Mila’s heritage, the pressure of leadership, and the terror of failing his pack.
“Your Majesty,” Elder Grimm’s voice cut through his self-recrimination. “We need to address these serious allegations. If your mate has indeed corrupted the sacred trial?—“
“Enough.” Cade’s alpha voice cracked like thunder, silencing the chamber instantly. His eyes blazed with fury as he swept his gaze across the assembled wolves. “There will be no further discussion of these baseless accusations until I’ve had time to investigate properly.”
“But surely you understand our concerns,” another elder protested. “The integrity of our most sacred traditions?—“
“Is not up for debate by a council influenced by the lies of a defeated challenger,” Cade snapped. “This session is adjourned until further notice.”
The dismissal was clear, but several council elders lingered, their expressions ranging from confused to openly hostile. Cade bit back the urge to shift and physically remove them from his sight. Every second he wasted here was another second Mila spent believing he’d chosen duty over their love.
As the chamber slowly emptied, Cade noticed something that should have alarmed him immediately—Zarik was nowhere to be seen. The Shadow Moon wolf king had vanished during the chaos. But Cade’s mind was too consumed with reaching his mate.
The moment the last elder filed out, Cade bolted for the doors. His long strides ate up the distance to the building’sentrance, his sharp senses scanning the area outside for any sign of golden hair or Mila’s distinctive scent.
Nothing.
The royal car sat where he’d left it, but Mila was nowhere in sight. He’d expected—hoped—to find her waiting by the vehicle, maybe collecting herself after the emotional ambush they’d just endured. Instead, only the crisp mountain air and the distant sounds of council elders departing met his senses.
Maybe she went back to the castle,he reasoned, pulling out his communicator with slightly trembling fingers.Or called Lyra for a ride.
His sister’s face appeared on the screen within seconds, her green eyes still bright with anger from the morning’s events.
“Please tell me everything is fine,” Lyra said without preamble. “I’ve been pacing my chambers ever since you ended our call.”
“Is Mila with you?” Cade asked, his voice rising in panic.
“No, why? I thought you two would come back together after you sorted out Zarik’s ridiculous accusations.” Lyra’s expression shifted to concern. “Cade, where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Cade growled. “She ran out during the meeting, and I had to stay to manage the political fallout. I thought she’d be waiting outside, but...”
“But she wasn’t.” Lyra’s voice carried a note of accusation that made Cade wince. “You let her face that pack of wolves feeling alone, didn’t you? You let them smell your doubt.”
The truth of it hit him with brute force. Mila’s senses through their deepened bond would have picked up every flicker of uncertainty and every moment of hesitation. She’d felt him waver and felt him question the very foundation of their love.
“I’ll find her,” he said roughly, ending the call before Lyra could voice more of the recriminations already echoing in his head.
Cade climbed into the car, his hands gripping the wheel as he tried to think like his mate. Where would a hurt, angry human go in an alien world? She didn’t know the territory well enough to navigate far from the main roads, and her Earth sensibilities would keep her from venturing into truly dangerous areas.
Probably walking back toward the castle,he decided, turning the vehicle toward the winding mountain path.Taking time to clear her head before facing me again.
But as he drove, scanning the roadside for any sign of her, a creeping dread began to settle in his chest. The mate bond hummed with distance and distress, but something else lurked beneath those emotions. Something that made his wolf uneasy.
Twenty minutes into his search, that something crystallized into pure terror.
