Lucien’s POV
"My lord... they took her."
James last words still haunted me, inside my head as I barreled across the forest, pushing my lycan form beyond limits that I never knew possible. Creaking branches broke under me, earth shook to the thunder of my tread as I ran for home.
The mate bond snapped at me like a physical chain, getting more and more desperate with ever mile travelled. Something was wrong. Devastatingly, terrifyingly wrong. I could feel Lena’s fear, feel her pain and confusion through the cord—something worse than all of that was also present: I could feel the bond between us itself weakening.
“Wait a minute,” I growled in the chilly night wind. "Just hold on, little princess."
Thoughts stormed through me as I ran. The first time I had seen her at that wedding, head h
