"Look, Elias. Everyone's watching us."
She leaned close to my ear during a turn and whispered.
I guided her through a standard spin, my tone cool. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"
She laughed, clear as a bell. "You caught me. Yes, I want everyone to know I'm the woman by your side."
The dance continued, drawing more spectators to the edge of the floor.
They whispered their admiration, speculating about Liv's identity. I even caught a camera flash from somewhere in the crowd—probably a paparazzo who'd snuck in, snapping photos of us dancing. Tomorrow's headlines would no doubt be more tabloid gossip about me.
Normally, I would be worrying about how to explain these rumors to Serenity afterward. But now that she wasn't by my side, now that I no longer needed to explain the gossip, I felt lonelier than ever.
Liv seemed to sense my distraction. She suddenly rested her head against my chest, melting into my arms. This went beyond dancing. The onlookers gasped in surprise.
"Elias, do you know how happy I am right now?" Liv looked up. Her brown eyes sparkled under the lights. "When will you finally make me your true mate?"
The question came suddenly, yet I had been expecting it.
From the moment Liv returned from the dead, this question had hung between us, unresolved.
She had asked many times. It was her only wish. And I had agreed to repay her with a grand mating ceremony to make up for everything she'd suffered while saving me.
Now I couldn't say I had changed my mind. But I did want to delay as long as possible.
So I couldn't answer her right away.
"Liv, I—" I began after a moment of thought.
But before I could finish, a tearing pain exploded in my chest. Not pain. Something worse. Emptiness. A void. The massive hollow left behind when something vital suddenly vanishes.
Serenity.
It was Serenity!
I realized the source of this agony. The mental link between us had been severed without warning, like a taut string snapping, leaving only a piercing buzz and suffocating silence.
"No!"
I couldn't answer Liv's question anymore. I shoved her away hard, so hard she stumbled several steps.
The music stopped abruptly. Everyone froze, confused about what had happened.
"Elias?" Liv clutched her arm, her face full of shock and hurt. "What are you doing?"
I had no time to explain.
Only one thought consumed me now. Find Serenity. Immediately.
Because a mate bond never breaks for no reason. The only causes are death or the brink of death.
Either way, Serenity was in extreme danger.
I turned to leave, ignoring Liv's crying and calling behind me and the guests' whispers.
But I couldn't make it out of the ballroom. Alfred had appeared onstage at some point. He released his dominance as the former Alpha, forcing everyone in the venue to face him and stop whatever they were doing—including me. He held a microphone and announced loudly, "Good evening, everyone. I apologize for interrupting, but I have something I must announce tonight!"
The room fell instantly silent. Everyone waited for Alfred's words.
