Nicolas POV
“Morning, Alpha,” Mariana called from the kitchen as I entered the dining room. “Did you sleep
well?”
“You should rather ask if he slept at all,” Ronan chirped teasingly. He was casually sitting at the
breakfast table reading the daily newspaper.
Ronan’s words left me stunned. There was no way that Ronan could have heard us this morning, or
did he?
Ronan slid the newspaper aside, a wide grin painted on his lips as he slowly raised a taunting
eyebrow at me, waiting for my response.
“I slept fine,” I quickly said. “Thanks for asking.”
Ronan rolled his eyes, chuckled, and straightened the newspaper to continue reading.
I took my seat at the table, and Mariana’s granddaughter, Amelia, quickly came closer with a pot of
coffee.
“Did Luna enjoy the outing to the waterfall yesterday?” Mariana made small talk as she entered the
dining room with our breakfast.
“She did,” I replied, taking a sip of my coffee. “She couldn’t stop praising your food.”
“I am pleased that she liked it,” Mariana said while rearranging the chafing dishes on the serving
table. “You should let me know when you are planning to do so again.”
I nodded in reply.
“Is Luna still busy getting ready?” Ronan was setting down the newspaper when Amelia brought the
last dish to the serving table. “I am starving.”
“She ought to have finished long ago,” I said as I stood up.
“Alpha, wait! Let me go see what is keeping Luna,” Mariana said.
I stopped abruptly, uncertain whether I should allow Mariana to investigate Zara’s tardiness.
“Maybe she needs some assistance,” Ray chirped.
“I can provide some assistance,” I replied.
Ray huffed and rolled his eyes.
“Not if it has to do with girly things…” Ray stated.
“Oh,” I replied, catching on. “Maybe you are right.”
I gestured to Mariana with a nod of the head that she could go check up on Zara.
“You shouldn’t wait,” Mariana said. “Dish so long, before the food runs cold.”
I nodded in response and watched Mariana leave through the dining door.
“Shall we?” I asked Ronan, gesturing to the breakfast table.
He nodded, and we both rose to our feet.
Usually an omega will serve our food if we were to eat in the pack house, but here I enjoy serving
myself.
A smile appeared on my lips when Ronan removed the lids, and the delicious smells of bacon and
pancakes filled the air.
Mariana went all out this morning. She made sure that our bellies would be filled with a memorable
breakfast.
I inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of the freshly baked muffins, and my mouth watered to taste
them.
“What will we have first?” Ronan asked, licking his lips.
“I think I’ll start with the pancakes,” I replied and grabbed a bunch of them.
“You better leave some for Zara,” Ray growled.
I rolled my eyes at him, grabbed another plate, and stacked some on them.
“There!” I said. “Happy now?”
Ray huffed yet nodded his head, and I went on piling my food on my plate.
“What about bacon?” Ray chirped. “I am sure Zara likes bacon.”
“Do you want me to fix Zara’s whole plate?” I growled under my breath. I was unaccustomed to
serving others.
“Maybe you should,” Ray snapped. “She isn’t just anyone. She is our mate!”
“I know she is our mate!” I growled. “But she is also a grown-ass woman who is exceptionally late for
breakfast!”
“Is everything okay?” Ronan suddenly asked when he saw me frozen in anger.
“Everything is just rosy,” I spat angrily.
I grabbed a serving spoon from the table to scoop some scrambled eggs; however, in the heat of my
anger, I misjudged myself, and the scrambled eggs ended up on the floor instead of on my plate.
“Now see what you have just done!” Ray hissed, irritated. “You can’t even fix your own plate!”
“Oh, really?” I growled out of frustration. “As if you could do any better!”
“I can! Let me….”
“Alpha,” Mariana’s voice chimed from the door, and my gaze snapped toward her. I narrowed my
eyes when I saw the look on her face. She looked like she had seen a ghost.
I set my plate down on the table and asked, “Where is Luna Zara?”
“I don’t know, Alpha,” she stuttered nervously. “She wasn’t in her room when I got there.”
“Did you follow her scent?” I asked, rushing toward her.
“I tried,” she cried.
I didn’t listen to anything more Mariana said and rushed toward Zara’s room. She must be in there;
she can’t be missing.
I heard Ronan following me a couple of feet behind me.
I froze at the door. My heart is racing in my chest.
What if he took her?
“Then you’ll be able to pick up his scent,” Ray said. “Now open the bloody door so that we can find
her! You are wasting precious time!”
I inhaled deeply and pushed the door open. As expected, the room was deserted, and my gaze
swiftly moved over everything in the room, searching for any clue as to what had happened to her,
yet everything was still in its exact place as to when I left the room that morning.
Ronan rushed toward the balcony while Ray lifted his muzzle in the air.
“There are no other scents in the room, except for us,” he barked.
I took two long steps toward the bathroom and I opened the door. My gaze immediately fell on the
shirt Zara wore earlier.
Ray said as I picked up the wet shirt from the floor, “At least we know she got dressed.” The shirt
was damp.
My eyebrows furrowed. Something fell off. I quickly turned around and exited the bathroom,
heading toward the bed.
“What are you looking for?” Ray asked, seeing me ripping the blankets from the bed.
We both fell silent when the photo of Isabella landed on the floor at our feet.
For a few seconds I stared at it blankly, startled at what I saw.
“How the hell did this end up here?” Ray hissed.
I instinctively reached for my top inner pocket, which has been safekeeping Isabella’s photo for all
these years, but froze when I discovered it was empty.
“It must have slipped out of my pocket,” I replied and reached out to pick up the photo.
Zara must have found it; her scent was all over it.
I furrowed my eyebrows even more; the photo felt damp under my fingertips.
Was she crying?
Was she judging me that harshly? We never got around to talking about Isabella, and I assumed she
knew about my past.
My heart skipped a beat at that thought, and my hands began to shake.
“Goddess, I need to find her!” I muttered. “I must clear up this misunderstanding!”
Ronan came closer, his eyes wide and worried when he saw the photo in my hands.
My gaze met his.
“She hasn’t crossed the pack borders,” he answered my unspoken question. “The warriors are out
looking for her.”
I nodded and slowly walked toward the balcony. Her scent stopped at the balcony door.
I narrowed my eyes in confusion. Something didn’t make sense. How did she leave the room without
anyone seeing her?
“Call Levi,” I ordered. “Maybe she….”
“I already did,” Ronan replied. “He doesn’t know anything. He will inform us if he hears anything.”
Where the hell did Zara go?
****