spanng="EN"(Eleonora’s POV)

spanng="EN"A mechanical voice crackled through the phone: “Tomorrow at noon, Drake’s Hollow, five million in cash.”

spanng="EN"Theodore’s voice was raw with emotion. “Let me see her. I need to confirm she’s still alive.”

spanng="EN"But the line went dead.

spanng="EN"I watched my son clutch the phone with trembling hands. His eyes held a desperate gleam that terrified me more than any enemy we’d ever faced.

spanng="EN"“Theodore, don’t go yourself,” I pleaded, stepping closer. “If it were a real k********g, they would have demanded a ransom long ago. This call is highly suspicious.”

spanng="EN"He wasn’t listening. His gaze was fixed on some distant point, lost in his obsession.

spanng="EN"“Call the pack enforcers,” I continued urgently. “Let them handle this. You’re walking into a trap.”

spanng="EN"Theodore finally looked at me, but his eyes were hollow. “I don’t care if it’s a trap. If there’s even the smallest chance she’s  there…”

spanng="EN"“Theodore, please-”

spanng="EN"“Prepare a helicopter,” he barked at The Alpha’s Sentinels. “And get the money. Five million in cash.”

spanng="EN"The sentinels exchanged worried nces but obeyed immediately.

spanng="EN"I grabbed his arm. “This isn’t the calcting Alpha who handled ric’s k********g attempt. You’re not thinking clearly.”

spanng="EN"He shook me off with surprising gentleness. “Mother, I have to try. I can’t live without her.”

spanng="EN"The helicopter’s rotors began spinning outside. Theodore walked toward the door without looking back.

spanng="EN"This wasn’t my son anymore. This was a man on the verge ofplete copse, driven by desperate love and crushing guilt.

spanng="EN"As the helicopter lifted off, I made a difficult decision. I pulled out my phone with shaking fingers.

spanng="EN"“The people you found for mest time,” I said, my voice firm despite my fear. “Arrange for all of them toe. I need to pick the one who looks the most like her.”

spanng="EN"(Theodore’s POV)

spanng="EN"The designated location was an abandoned warehouse by a river in Drake’s Hollow. The deste spot offered no cover, leaving me dangerously exposed.

spanng="EN"My sentinel captain stepped forward. “Alpha, let me go in your ce. This feels wrong.”

spanng="EN"I clutched the case of money tighter. “No. If she’s in there, she needs to see me.”

spanng="EN"The warehouse loomed before us, its broken windows like dead eyes. I walked inside alone, my footsteps echoing in the empty space.

spanng="EN"Two masked rogues emerged from the shadows. Their scents were unfamiliar, but their postures screamed danger.

spanng="EN"“Where is my mate?” I demanded.

spanng="EN"They pointed to a small room at the back of the warehouse. Through its grimy window, I could see the river flowing below.

spanng="EN"I walked to the window and held the case out over the water. “I want to see her safe and sound, or you won’t get a single cent.”

spanng="EN"The rogues tensed, but before they could respond, a voice called out from the room.

spanng="EN"“Theodore, I’m here.”

spanng="EN"My heart stopped. That voice–it was unmistakably Olivia’s.

spanng="EN"Without thinking, I dropped the case into the river. “Go fetch it yourselves.”

spanng="EN"The rogues scrambled out the window and into the water below. I rushed toward the room, my pulse thundering in my ears.

spanng="EN"Hope bloomed in my chest for the first time in months. She was here. She was alive.

spanng="EN"But the room was empty of Olivia.

spanng="EN"Instead, a frail old she–wolf was tied to a chair. On another chair sat a single white lily–Olivia’s favorite flower.

spanng="EN"“Help me…” the old woman cried, her voice weak and trembling. “The young she–wolf just escaped. I can lead you to her.”

spanng="EN"My hands moved to untie her bonds without hesitation. Any lead to Olivia was worth pursuing.

spanng="EN"In that instant, the old woman’s supposedly bound hand shed free. A silver dagger plunged deep into my stomach.

spanng="EN"Pain exploded through my body as blood sprayed across the room. She pulled the de out and lunged again.

spanng="EN"“Old wolf, I’ve avenged you!” she screamed.

spanng="EN"I caught her wrist, the brutal truth crashing down on me. This was a trap. There was no Olivia.

spanng="EN"“Where is my mate?” I choked out, blood filling my mouth.

spanng="EN"The old woman cackled with pure hatred. “I don’t know where she is, but I know where you’re going! The moon goddess’s judgment!”

spanng="EN"Her face twisted with rage. “You sent my grandson to the Warden’s Post and caused my old mate to die of a broken heart, so you can join him!”

spanng="EN"Elder Corbin Drake’s mate. The pieces fell into ce as she lunged again.

spanng="EN"I crushed her hand with immense Alpha strength. The silver dagger ttered to the floor, and she copsed unconscious.

spanng="EN"Staggering out of the room, I clutched my bleeding abdomen. The silver burned through my flesh like liquid fire.

spanng="EN"My sentinels had subdued the two rogues. Hope had curdled into pure, unadulterated rage.

spanng="EN"I dragged one of the rogues up and unleashed all my pent–up agony. My fists became a bloody blur as I roared, “You lied to me!”

spanng="EN"I knew the voice was a recording–I’d recognized background noise from Isadora’s mating ceremony. But I had desperately wanted to believe it.

spanng="EN"The rogue, terrified, screamed the motive. “The Drake family of Drake’s Hollow! You ruined us because of ric’s affair! He just made a small mistake that all Alphas in the world make!”

spanng="EN"The words struck me like a physical blow.

spanng="EN"“You cheated yourself,” the rogue continued hysterically. “What right do you have to do this to us!”

spanng="EN"My foot came down, breaking his hand. The rogue shrieked in pain.

spanng="EN"“You lunatic! No wonder your mate left you! You deserve it!”

spanng="EN"The final words shattered me. All strength drained from my body.

spanng="EN"I copsed into a pool of my own blood, my vacant eyes seeing only Olivia’s pure, beautiful face before everything faded.

spanng="EN"The harsh lights of the pack infirmary swam above me. I was shivering, an intense cold seeping into my bones.

spanng="EN"The silver poisoning from the dagger made my healing slower than usual. Every breath was agony.

spanng="EN"As the moonlight herb–based anesthesia began to pull me under, my blurry vision focused on a face that was almost, but not quite, real.

spanng="EN"A she–wolf with Olivia’s voice and gentle features leaned close. “Theodore, let me take care of you from now on.”

spanng="EN"In my delirium, my hand shot out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into a desperate embrace.

spanng="EN"(Eleonora’s POV)

spanng="EN"Outside the window, I sighed in relief, turning to Caleb. “Thanks to you; for finding a she–wolf who looks so much like Olivia.”

spanng="EN"My words had barely settled in the air when a piercing scream erupted from within the infirmary room.