••• Damien's POV •••
The lights were too bright. The walls of the conference room felt like they were pressing in on me, suffocating. This was the room where Victoria once stood in command—sharp, calm, radiant in her power. And now, that energy was gone. The emptiness was unbearable. Every second without news scraped against my skin like knives. The only sound was the ticking of the wall clock. It made me want to rip it down.
I paced the length of the room for what felt like the hundredth time, claws flexing, shoulders tight with fury. Why haven’t they found anything? Noah had been gone for too long. Felix and Olivia were gathering intel. Liam was running satellite scans. And yet… nothing. No leads. No trail. No Victoria.
I slammed my fist onto the table. Again. The sound echoed
