Desperation.

The car speeds through the winding roads under the pale moonlight, the mansion long behind them.

Kieran grips the wheel with iron determination, his eyes scanning the dark forest lining either side of the road.

Jun sits stiffly in the passenger seat, arms crossed, his unease filling the silence.

He's tried to press Kieran for answers, but the Alpha has given nothing away.

"You're driving too fast," he mutters, gripping the door handle.

Kieran doesn't respond.

"Kieran!" Jun snaps, louder this time. "Do you even know where you're going?"

Kieran's jaw tightens, but he doesn't take his eyes off the road. "I'll know when we're there."

Jun groans, running a hand through his hair. "You're impossible. You can't just drive around in the middle of the night hoping Ace will magically appear. That's not a plan."

"It's more of a plan than you have," Kieran growls.

Jun's frustration boils over. "You haven't even told me what's going on! How do you know Ace is out here? Why would he come in places like this? Forests?! Really? Why are you acting like this is some personal crusade?"

Kieran slams the brakes, the car skidding to a halt on the gravel shoulder. He turns to Jun, his eyes blazing. "You don't understand, and I don't have time to explain it to you. Either help me or stay out of my way."

Jun stares at him, caught off guard by the raw intensity in Kieran's voice. "Fine," he says finally, his tone clipped. "But if we don't find him soon, you're going to have to start talking."

Kieran doesn't respond. He pulls back onto the road, the tires kicking up gravel as they accelerate into the night.

°°

Hours pass, and the forest grows denser, the shadows deeper.

Kieran follows every faint lead—disturbed leaves on a roadside trail, the faintest scent of something familiar—but each one ends in frustration.

He can't feel the bond , the connection.

Jun tries to keep up, but his patience is wearing thin. "This is pointless," he mutters as they comb through yet another patch of trees. "He could be anywhere. Hell, he might not even want to be found."

Kieran freezes at the words, his wolf bristling at the implication. "Wether he wants to be found or not, we have to find him," he says firmly.

"If only you never showed up, all these wouldn't be happening now, we were fine , happy with each other!" Jun says frustration laced in his voice.

But that just stirs Kieran's wolf. Someone talking like that about their mate angers it. Kieran tries to push it's growls away.

"Enough." Kieran's voice is low and dangerous, silencing Jun instantly. "You keep whining about unnecessary things."

Jun exhales sharply, but he doesn't argue. He can see it in Kieran's eyes—the determination, the desperation. Whatever this is, it's more than just duty.

°°

The night drags on, and exhaustion begins to creep in. They've searched miles of forest and empty roads, but there's still no sign of Ace.

At some point kieran feels it , and when he follows it , Ace is not there. At some point he feels like he was there just a moment ago.

Kieran parks the car at the edge of a secluded trail, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. He stares out into the darkness, his mind racing.

"Maybe we missed something," Jun says quietly. "Maybe we should go back, start over."

Kieran shakes his head. "No. He's out here. I can feel it."

Jun gives him a skeptical look. "Feel it? Feel it how? What does that even mean?"

Kieran doesn't answer. Instead, he gets out of the car and starts walking toward the trail.

"Kieran, wait!" Jun calls after him, but the Alpha doesn't stop.

As the hours stretch into the early morning, the weight of their failure begins to settle over them.

Kieran stands at the edge of a cliff overlooking the forest, his chest heaving with barely contained frustration.

He's never felt this powerless before.

Every instinct in him is screaming to keep searching, to not give up, but the reality is sinking in: Ace is gone, and Kieran has no idea where to find him.

Jun approaches cautiously, his usual bravado tempered by the sight of Kieran so visibly shaken. "We'll find him," he says softly, trying to sound reassuring.

Kieran doesn't respond.

In his mind, the bond flickers faintly, like a candle struggling against the wind. It's there, but it's too weak to guide him.

Not yet.

Meanwhile,

In the elders' private chamber, Lila delivers the promised sketch of Ace.

Her voice is soft but persuasive as she outlines the importance of their mission.

"The longer he's out there, the more danger the pack and Kieran are in," she says, her tone tinged with urgency. "We have to act quickly."

The elders nod in agreement, their resolve solidifying.

As they prepare their team to search for Ace, Lila steps back, her lips curling into a satisfied smirk.

She doesn't care who finds him first—Kieran or the elders.

Because either way, she'll make sure she gets what she wants from Ace, and she'll end him , which will just make her work easier.

Kieran without a mate is already weak. His pack with a weak alpha is nothing. The way she would deliver her plans keep changing, but the destination don't change.

She still wants to ruin these packs that saw her like a curse! They treated her like she was some kind of dangerous disease , even her own pack and parents.

Even if now they respect her as Kieran's mate. She still feel the need to teach them a lesson.

°

At first, she wanted Kieran__the powerful alpha to make a wrong decision, accepting soul swap, so that the goddess gets angry with him , curse him and his pack and even forsake him.

But since it didn't happen, her plans have taken another route. Take Ace's powers and add to her dark magics , kill him, leave Kieran helpless and weak without a mate.

"That goddess won't feel pity on him in anyway since he was the one who started it, he made a wrong choice by disrespected her mating partnership, claiming he doesn't want a male mate , and brought me in his life . Having strong pack gone, the other's will be a piece of cake!"