The silence was the loudest thing in the room.
Ryker stood in Jenna’s old quarters, untouched since she vanished. The same gray blanket she used to curl under still rested at the foot of the bed. Her scent lingered on the pillow, faded but not gone. That soft blend of crushed lilacs and wolf pine that used to ground him.
Now it haunted him.
He stared at the space on the bed and tried to remember the last thing she said to him. Something cold. Something distant.
He deserved that.
He deserved worse.
Outside, the Villa was restless. Whispers ran like wildfire: The Luna’s gone. Ryker lost his mate. The Lycan Alpha took her. They didn’t say it to his face, of course. But he felt their doubt like needles under his skin.
He’d lost her.
Again.
Exhausted, Ryker sat slouched on the high-bac
