SAM
I didn’t sense it at first.
The compound gates closed behind me with their usual metallic groan. The guards stood at attention, heads bowed in respect. Everything appeared unchanged: meticulously clean and orderly, just as I preferred. Yet, as soon as I entered the house, I sensed something was wrong.
The air was empty.
I should have immediately noticed Lucy’s scent: warm earth, wildflowers, and a hint of her cat. Rio’s sharper, youthful scent should have filled the halls. Instead, I detected only the sterile smell of stone, oil, and faint traces of the triplets, who I knew were upstairs in their rooms.
I stilled.
My cat stirred uneasily within me. At first, he missed it, still dazed by the lingering energy of our hidden true mate. Now, however, Drake noticed the absence of famil
