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“Bout fifty feet. I’ll take the side entrance. Probably not a bad idea to do a final sweep through his study before submitting myself to whatever fresh hells waiting for me in the basement.”

“Want me to send over some backup, just in case?”

“No. Like I said the other night, I’d have heard heartbeats even through the basement walls if there was anyone down there. Wherever the missing Omegas are, it’s not here.”

I stop at the sliding glass door leading into Varenthrall’s bedroom and double-check for signs of life. Not even the staff are on site tonight. There’s nothing but the faint, muffled sound of Idril’s heartbeat coming from the other end of the estate.

I focus harder and a feeling of awe sweeps through me. I’m not only feeling my heartbeat in my chest. I can feel hers, too. Right alongside my own.

Fuck, that’s so weird. This Bond is not normal at all.

I slip into the house and directly into Varenthrall’s room. A quick sweep verifies that, nauseating attempt at dark Gothic decor aside, everything looks the same. After a pass through his side drawers, bathroom, and closet, my gaze lands on his bed.

Yeah. Hard pass.

I’m just gonna hope he isn’t keeping the other half of that list under his pillow for safekeeping.

“Clear. Moving down the west wing hall and into the study.”

The pull in my sternum is damn near burning now. It’s frantic. Full of urgency. There’s an overwhelming sense of anxiety that I know is coming from Idril.

The anxiety disappears, replaced by confusion.

For some reason, that makes me smile. Irrepressible fondness for my sweet Omega makes me slightly light-headed. Fates, is this what love feels like?

I do my best to shake it off, disengaging the lock to Varenthrall’s study and crossing toward his desk. I search through the drawers as my mind spins with questions.

The air’s stale in here. It makes everything seem weighted, like room is getting smaller.

“You check the cryo-freezer?”

“No. Don’t want to waste time. No idea how long he’ll be gone.”

Dax hums, then asks, “You okay? I’m getting some… It feels like residual confusion coming through the Bond. What’s happening?”

Damnit. That’s not my confusion he’s picking up. It’s Idril’s.

Not only am I feeling her through our Bond, but somehow, my packmates are getting echoes of her emotions through me.

How is that possible?

“All good,” I reply, keeping my voice light. “Just something about random vials of magic blood that raises my blood pressure.”

I feel Dax’s disbelief, but he doesn’t push.

Smart.

If he pushes me right now, I might snap and tell him the truth—that I’m about ten seconds away from saying fuck the mission and racing straight to Idril. The closer I get, the more sure I am that there’s no Fatesdamned way I’m leaving tonight without her.

Fuck the consequences. The Bond is yanking and pulling and screaming in my chest, and I know—I fucking know—I can’t leave her again.

I don’t know how I ever thought I could. The first time I left her was hell. Now⁠—

Now I’m sure I’ll physically fall apart without her.

All I need to do is find the other half of that list.

Then, Idril is mine.