"Yes," Nikolai said, and the admission seemed torn from somewhere deep inside him. "What I didn't know, what I hadn't bothered to check because I was too focused on the strategic benefits, was that Elizabeth had gone to visit her father that week, something she did occasionally to maintain family ties."
Laura's hand flew to her mouth as understanding crashed over her.
"She was there when the attack came," Nikolai continued, his knuckles going white around the ribbon he still held. "The attackers killed her father and both her brothers and half the pack before anyone knew what was happening, and Elizabeth... Elizabeth disappeared in the chaos."
Rain lashed against the windows, echoing the storm in Nikolai's eyes.
"Some said she died in the fighting," he said quietly. "Others claimed she
