"You did what?!"

"Baby, calm down first."

The girl brushed her mate's hands away from her. "Do not touch me right now, Dy. I will hurt you!"

Dyami in response, stepped back and held his hands in the air. "Okay, easy."

My little sister turned her gaze back on me, her eyes coated with a darker shade. "Please tell me what you just said didn't actually happen."

Shrugging, I skimmed over the paperworks in my hands. "I do not see the issue. I had to do it, she belongs to me, and now every Wolf will know that."

Zynthéa sighed in exasperation. "Don't you see how messed up that is, Xander?"

"Watch your words, Théa," I warned her.

"You marked her without her permission! Don't you see how screwed up that is?"

Her words caused my Wolf to growl loudly. Closing the folder shut, I handed it back to Adam and turned to my sister.

"You will not question anything that I do, especially if it has to do with my mate!"

Zynthéa glanced at me, sadness filling her eyes. "What's happened to you? You were never like this."

I arched a brow at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You claimed her without permission, Xander," she repeated. "You could have at least told her what you were planning on doing."

"I was going to mark her either way," I responded, casually. "It was to keep her safe whilst I run around with pack business."

Anger cursed through me as I recalled the moment before I had claimed my mate. She had talked about Gabriel, almost as if she longed for him. It still confused me as how it was possible for her to be mated to the two of us.

"Where is she? Is she at least okay?" Zynthéa asked, concerned.

Dyami snarled. "Why are you so worried about her?"

"We've been over this," she snapped at him. "You can either learn to respect her as your Luna or stay out of my business."

Dyami whistled out loud, and disappeared without sparing her another glance. Adam waited for my instructions, meanwhile Zynthéa glared at me. For a small Wolf, she was quite intimidating.

"She should be at my house. If she is asleep, do not wake her," I told her and watched as my sister darted away.

Adam filled me in on the situation with the imprisoned trio, and the rest of the Rogues that were captured.

Nothing of interest or concern arose, so I dismissed him and decided to head back to my mate. I shouldn't have been at the prison grounds in the first place, but Adam liked to exaggerate matters.

On my way back, I pondered on my sister's words.

Maybe Zynthéa was right, maybe what I had done in the moment hadn't been ideal. I could have dealt with it better, but knowing my mate, she wouldn't have allowed me to mark her for a long time. I needed to know that she was safe.

Since she didn't grow up in the pack, I had no way of communicating with her. Claiming her was the best way to do so.

'Alexander, stop messing around with me!'

Zynthéa's voice in my head confused me.

'What are you saying?'

'Lyra. She isn't here. Where is she?'

'What?'

'She. Is. Not. Here.'

My brows furrowed at her words. Where else would my mate be? Surely, she hadn't ran away because I had forcefully claimed her?

I sent Dyami a quick mind-link to search the training grounds in case she was there.

When I entered my house, I couldn't feel my mate anywhere. Zynthéa ran down the stairs until she was stood right before me.

"She is nowhere to be found," she told me. "I looked everywhere."

Zynthéa continued to blame me for my mate's disappearance, but I was too stunned to respond back to her or put her in her place. When I remembered the claim, I quickly focused on my mate.

'Lyra?'

Please, respond. Please.

Zynthéa's voice in the background was starting to annoy me, so I held up a finger to silence her and pointed the finger toward my head to let her know what I was doing.

My sister understood immediately.

She sighed and threw her hands in the air before pacing around in the room, finally settling on a stool by the kitchen island.

'Alexander, I am so sorry.'

I could feel my forehead creasing at my mate's words, but I was glad to know she was alright.

'Baby, where are you? I came home but you were not here. Please, tell me where you are."

"I am so, so sorry."

I couldn't understand why she was apologising, but decided not to press her about it.

'Tell me where you are, first. I will come and get you.'

'You can't, Alexander.'

'I can't? You don't want me to?'

A daunting feeling raced through me as I considered the reason for my mate's disappearance.

Maybe Zynthéa had been right, claiming her without permission had affected her more than I thought it would have.

But still, claiming a mate shouldn't have caused for her to leave me. I didn't understand. It was inevitable and bound to happen. It was in a Wolf's nature to claim their mate; it was in my nature.

My Wolf longed for hers, she was mine and claiming her was the first step in ensuring that.

'Baby, what is happening?'

The silence was slowly killing me. I couldn't even feel her. When my thoughts bounced back, I completely panicked. My mate was gone? She had left me? She had rejected me because I had marked her?

"Alexander!"

My eyes travelled to the girl by the kitchen island. "She is gone, Théa."

Zynthéa hopped off the stool and stalked toward me. "Are you an idiot?"

I growled at her, but felt numb. "Maybe." I chuckled, humourlessly.

All my life, rules had been important to me. To protect the pack and ensure their safety. Yet, in that moment, I wanted to abandon my pack to find her. It was an irresponsible thought, and one that I could hardly contain.

"Get a grip! We have to find her," my sister demanded, shaking me out of my thoughts. "Maximus just told me he saw a she-Wolf escape earlier."

Her words didn't surprise me. Lyra wasn't a mere Wolf, she had power running through her vein.

Escaping wouldn't have been an issue for her, and that's where my frustration came in. I had trusted her not to leave.

"Where are you going?"

I ignored Zynthéa and headed out of my house.

My mate had left me, to return back to the enemy. I thought claiming her would allow me to keep her safe, and to keep her by my side, but it had driven her away.

My Wolf was going crazy at the thought. I needed to run, to stop myself from lashing out at everyone. The last thing I wanted to do, was to hurt anyone in my pack.

It was past midnight and I had roamed my territory at least three times. I had blocked everyone out, and was slowly losing myself.

At one point, I decided I should rest by a waterfall to have the icy cold water relax my muscles.

Unsure of how long I stayed there, I decided it was time to head back when the sky appeared slightly lighter. It couldn't have been any later than three in the morning.

'Alpha, a Wolf in the prison is wreaking havoc asking for you.'

My brows knitted together at Adam's words. A Wolf?

Then I remembered the trio from Pale Moon— the same people whom had spoken to my mate prior to her departure. If anyone knew where she was, it would be her friends.

Without a second thought, I sprinted toward where I kept all of my prisoners.

It was the place I should have turned to first thing after knowing of my mate's disappearance, but my thoughts had been limited.