The Desperate Search

**Dimitri**

The morning arrived with a heavy sense of foreboding, as if the very air was laden with bad omens. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, a sensation that began to form in the back of my mind the moment I woke up. Angel’s words from the previous night echoed in my thoughts, and the image of her, determined to visit her old pack, wouldn’t leave my head.

Angel.

I knew I had been hard on her. I knew that my need to protect her often bordered on control, but I couldn’t afford to be complacent, not with Lucian lurking, waiting for any opportunity to strike. Her safety, and our son’s, was all that mattered to me. And yet, there was a part of me that blamed myself for pushing her away, for letting my concern turn into coldness.

Then I felt it. An absence. The silence that would normally be comforting now felt deafening. Angel. I knew, even before checking, that something was wrong.

I raced through the halls of the mansion, my steps quickening to a near run as I searched for any sign of her. Every wolf I passed couldn’t hide the worry in their eyes when they saw my unease. When I finally reached Angel’s room, I threw the door open with force, my heart pounding.

The room was empty.

Panic began to rise in my chest. I called out for her, my voice echoing in the empty space, but there was no answer. I rushed to the closet, only to find some of her clothes and belongings missing. She had gone. Alone.

My mind began to whirl, thinking of the possibilities. She had disobeyed my orders and gone to see her family, despite the dangers that surrounded her. I knew she was stubborn, but I never thought she would risk so much.

"Leonardo!" I shouted, my voice full of urgency.

My beta appeared within seconds, his expression worried when he saw how agitated I was. "What’s happened, Dimitri?"

"Angel is gone," I replied, my voice grave with a mixture of fear and anger. "She left alone, without protection. We need to find her before something happens."

Leonardo’s face paled. He knew as well as I did how dangerous it was for Angel to be out there alone. "I’ll gather the wolves and organize the search immediately," he said, already moving into action.

I followed Leonardo, my mind racing with possibilities. I knew Lucian wouldn’t hesitate to use Angel against me. He knew how much I loved her, how much her safety meant to me, and that made her the perfect target.

As the wolves gathered, preparing to scour the forest and the surrounding territories, I tried to stay calm. I needed to be rational, to think clearly, but the thought of Angel alone, vulnerable, somewhere where Lucian could find her, was tearing me apart inside.

When we finally set out, each wolf took a different direction, each of them knowing that this search was a matter of life and death. I took the route leading to Angel’s old pack, hoping to find some sign of her along the way.

The forest seemed darker than ever, each shadow, each sound, seemed to hide a threat. I called her name several times, my voice getting lost among the trees, but there was no response. Frustration and desperation began to take hold of me. I couldn’t lose her, not now, not when so much was at stake.

As I pressed on, thoughts began to invade my mind, eating away at me from the inside. What if I hadn’t been so strict with her? What if I had allowed her to go with an escort? What if my own actions had pushed Angel straight into Lucian’s hands?

I couldn’t afford to fail. I couldn’t lose Angel to him. I continued searching, my heart beating with a force that seemed to echo in my ears. Every minute that passed without a sign of her increased the panic, but I couldn’t stop.

"Angel!" I called out again, my voice nearly hoarse from shouting.

Finally, when I was about to lose hope, I heard a sound. Movement in the trees. My entire body tensed, the alpha instinct within me ready for any threat. But what emerged from the shadows was one of my wolves, his face serious and marked by exhaustion.

"Dimitri," he said, his voice heavy with sorrow. "We found something."

My heart sank. "What is it?" I asked, my voice tense.

He didn’t respond immediately, but he handed me an object. When I looked down at my hand, I felt a chill run down my spine. It was one of Angel’s bracelets, one that I had given her a long time ago. It was stained with blood.

"She was here," the wolf said, his voice almost a whisper. "But it looks like Lucian took her."

The rage inside me burned like fire, mixed with an overwhelming sense of guilt and despair. Lucian had her. And I knew he would use Angel to try to destroy me, to try to achieve his goal once and for all.

But he didn’t know who he was dealing with. I wasn’t going to rest, I wasn’t going to stop until I found Angel, until I brought her back home where she belonged. Lucian had struck the first blow, but the battle was only just beginning.

With one last look at the forest ahead of me, I promised myself that I would do whatever it took. Lucian would pay for this, and I would bring Angel back, no matter the cost.