It was never easy searching for someone you cherish.
The longer the search drags on, the more desperate you become. It wears down your mind, your heart, your body—your soul.
I would have given up my entire world if it meant finding her and holding her safe in my arms again.
I never fully understood the connection she talked about, but there was one thing I did understand with absolute certainty—I loved her. From the moment I let her slip from my care, I knew I would bend rules, break beliefs, and cross limits I once swore I would never touch.
For her, I would rebel against everything I was.
I met rival after rival, but none of it distracted me. None of it mattered. She was the only thing that did. My purpose was simple: find her, bring her back, return her to where she belonged.
I loved her enough to swallow my pride, to abandon my own selfish wants—if it meant seeing her again, feeling her presence, knowing she was safe.
I believed my devotion would only grow stronger with time, especially knowing she was the reincarnation of the Goddess of Abundance.
I never returned to Juno.
I never stopped tracking her.
I never allowed myself to rest.
I feared that the moment I slowed down, she would vanish again—and this time, I would never catch up.
And yet… I couldn't ignore the truth anymore.
Compared to Theo.
Compared to the other kings.
I had spent the least amount of time with her.
They had mated with her.
They were bonded to her.
They shared something physical, something instinctual, something real.
All but one.
Me.
The doubt crept in quietly at first—then loudly, relentlessly.
Did she even want me, when she had rejected my intentions from the very beginning? What was the point of formally claiming her, marking her, when she had already given pieces of herself to everyone except me?
Was I even needed?
The questions piled up as we searched, gnawing at me from the inside. But no matter how loud they became, none of them were strong enough to make me stop.
My heart wouldn't allow it.
Between the kings, our power was evenly matched. Skill for skill. Strength for strength. None of us could easily defeat the others.
What I lacked… was her.
Each time she slipped further from our grasp, my faith weakened. My uncertainty sharpened. And I hated myself for how much I resented sharing her—how suffocating it felt to love someone who did not belong solely to me.
I was an alpha. I was meant to choose one mate, not compete with half the rulers of this world for her affection.
I understood her beauty was rare. Incomparable.
I understood my rivals would gladly kill for her.
They were just as greedy. Just as desperate.
But what did she want?
Was this how she wanted to be loved? Split, claimed, torn between devotion and desire? And where did I even stand in all of it?
Aron understood her.
Rocco worshipped her.
Talon sacrificed himself for her.
Even Theo had shared something deeper with her than I ever had.
Was I failing her?
I envied them. I never said it aloud—but I did.
The only thing that kept me moving were the stories whispered about her—how she shattered Mariner's Bay's curse, how she burned the bats with power unseen in this world.
And the rumors of Shelley from the Bunny Tribe.
I couldn't ignore the similarities. Her strength. Her compassion. Her recklessness. The way she left her mark everywhere she went.
She was nothing like the helpless girl I found in Juno's forest. And yet… she was the same girl who collapsed in my arms when I tried to mate with her.
We followed dead end after dead end until Aron caught her scent.
That was when it truly hit me.
He could sense her faster than I could.
Rocco felt her presence everywhere.
Talon understood her emotions instinctively.
And me?
I froze.
Still, my body moved. My feet carried me forward even when my heart faltered.
We followed the trail—from foxes, to nomads, to the edge of a battlefield where elks clashed violently with hyenas.
Heat rolled toward us—unnatural, suffocating.
Then I heard it.
A fawn crying.
Calling her name.
Begging her to stop.
I had never seen power like that before.
She stood at the center of it—burning, radiant, terrifying.
I couldn't move.
Rocco summoned water.
Talon stirred the wind.
Aron calmed the chaos.
They moved as one.
I did the only thing I could—I killed every hyena I saw. Fast. Clean. Efficient.
Then she fell.
She collapsed to the ground, shaking, crying, writhing as if her body were tearing itself apart from the inside.
I stepped toward her—
Too late.
Rocco reached her first.
Talon brushed her face.
Aron held her hands.
There was no place left for me.
She looked up.
Her eyes met mine.
And in that instant, the agony vanished from her expression—replaced by relief, by recognition.
Then she lost consciousness.
I stayed where I was while they cared for her.
I wanted to shove them away. To claim my place. To scream that I belonged there too.
But what right did I have?
She had never chosen me.
I was losing. I knew it.
And yet… even knowing that, I couldn't walk away.
I would fight for her until she rejected me again. And even then, I knew—I would still come back.
How much of this could I endure?
I didn't know.
For now, all I felt was relief.
She was alive.
And that was enough.