Heart pounding.
She’s gone, I manage to transmit the words through our Pride bonds. Rough as they are, barely human.
“I know,” he says.
No—you don’t, I reply, another growl slipping in.
She’s gone.
My Tiger surges again, desperate to break free, to run, to hunt.
Hunter’s gaze hardens.
“I need to take you in, son.”
The word son hits.
Grounds.
Just enough.
Because beneath the instinct?
Beneath the chaos?
There’s still a part of me that knows.
If I lose control here?
I don’t just risk myself.
I risk her.
And that?
That I can’t allow.
Not even like this.
Not even with everything in me screaming to tear the world apart until I find her.
My Tiger chuffs, and the Neta dips his chin.
“Alright, let’s get him back to the Pride House.”
Chapter 20
Hadley
I don’t wake up gently.
There’s no soft stretch, no lazy smile, no warm, sleepy moment where I roll into Rob and pretend the world doesn’t exist.
Nope.
Instead, I wake up to my phone vibrating like it’s possessed.
At first, I ignore it.
