Zayne’s POV
The bond screamed me awake.
Not pain exactly. Not fear alone. It was worse than both, a hollow ripping sensation, like something vital had been torn out of my chest while I slept. I bolted upright, my breath ragged, my heart slamming so hard it shook my ribs.
Aurora.
The space beside me was empty.
Cold.
I reached for her instinctively, her hand sweeping across the bed, as if she might be hiding in the sheets, as if this were some cruel dream. Her warmth was gone. The faint pulse of her presence, and the quiet hum I’d grown used to—was flickering like a dying flame.
“No,” I whispered.
I was on my feet in seconds, pulling on clothes, already moving.
The mansion was too quiet. Wrongly quiet. My steps echoed as I stormed through the hallways, every instinct screaming dang
