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Kidnapped, once again.

Except this time, no matter how scared I become, I promise myself that I’m not going to reach out through the bond for Augustus’s help.

Chapter 34 - Augustus

I should remain calm.

The party twinkles around us. So much grandeur and happiness and celebration. There are too many people here for me to make a scene.

My reaction to this news from Noemi should not be to push to my feet, past her, and to the guards standing at the edge of the party. It should not be to bark orders and demand action. It should be to remain completely and totally serene.

If Mylah were just another omega, a captive like I’ve been claiming to my counsel for so many weeks, then I would brush off the news. I would focus on my party.

Maybe I would ask some questions—for example, how does Noemi know Mylah’s name? How does she know my fated mate, other than the smell of her on my skin? Did she go seeking her out?

Further, how did Mylah know that Aurora was being kept in her room? And how long have the two of them been preparing an escape plan together?

If I were capable of controlling myself, of acting like a real alpha king, I might quietly and calmly instruct a guard to go check and ensure the validity of the sentiment. I would take Noemi’s hand in mine, calm her, and wipe the tears from her eyes.

Instead, I’m pushing through the door on the far end of the party, leaving behind both Zade and Noemi, all my friends. Every guest at the party. I’m allowing everyone in the pack—and several important political allies outside of it—to watch me fall into a full, complete panic.

If I was in control, if Mylah was just another omega, if—

But none of those things are true. Mylah isn’t just another omega. And, apparently, I am not able to control myself when it comes to her being in danger.

I run through the stone hallways of the castle. My feet slam against the floor, and my wolf begs to be let out. Insists he can make the trip faster. Guards run behind me. Others follow. I can’t be bothered to look and see who it is.

Mylah is the only thing I can think about.

When I arrive at Aurora’s room, she’s crying next to her bed. The balcony door is open, letting in the howling wind and sheets of snow. My sister holds a sopping wet pile of sheets in her lap, the moisture leaking out onto her satin nightgown, making it look like she’s soiled herself.

She will have, by the time I’m done with her.

So much like me. Dark hair, dark eyes. Brother and sister raised in the same place, but by very different circumstances. Aurora is my sister. Maybe it was wrong to lock her up like I did—maybe I’ve been treating her poorly for longer than I realized.

But she let Mylah go. She has something to do with my mate getting out of this castle, going into the night. Alone. For the second time now, Aurora has put Mylah’s life in danger.

“Where is she?” The words roar out of me, flying through the air with spittle from my mouth. I take Aurora by the arms. “Where is she?”

A moment later, Brack and Denvil are on either side of me, pulling Aurora out of my arms before I completely lose my cool. They take her, set her down on her undressed bed. If it were anyone else interfering—guards, maybe—I would have thrown them off.

As it is, I don’t even look at my friends. I just stare daggers at my sister, furious. This is not even the first time she’s done something like this. Put Mylah in danger.

Aurora stares right back at me, tears streaming down her face. Snot leaking from her nose. Her chest shakes with panicked, violent sobs. I should care more about the fact that my sister is feeling like this, but I don’t. The only thing occupying my mind is the single-minded objective of finding and protecting my mate.

“Where the fuck is she, Aurora?” I wait three seconds, and when my sister continues to sob, I compel her, “Tell me!”

“I don’t know!” Aurora cries, throwing her hands in the air. Tears are streaming down her face, sobs wracking her body fully. She breathes hard, in and out through her nose, the sound a rough rattling. “She came in here sick, throwing up, told me about you—” Aurora throws me a disgusted look that makes me want to kill her.

I feel blinded by the rage. By the urgency. My entire body is vibrating out of my control.

“—and then she went out the fucking window! I think she might have fallen down there, but I can’t see through the snow—”

I’m running again, out of Aurora’s room and into the hallway, down the stairs—it’s taking too long. I should have just jumped out the fucking window myself. I would have, if I didn’t think it might impact my ability to find her. To track her.

My guards or advisers must be doing a good job of keeping everyone at the party, because none of the diplomats come wandering out into the halls to see what the Northern alpha king is up to. I sprint through the main hall, the echoing of my own footsteps joined quickly by three others behind me.

“Augustus!” one of my friends—maybe Denvil—calls, “Just stop for a second—”