Three days had passed since my death and Logan still hadn't bothered to look for me, the last time we argued about Aria, I crashed at my best friend’s place for a few nights and he probably assumed I was doing the same, he didn't even try to reach me.

Then Aria mind linked him, her voice trembling through the bond between them.

“Logan there's a storm coming tonight and I'm terrified can you come stay with me?”

I watched as Logan gripped his phone tightly, his claws coming out then retracting.

“Aria I'm mated, it's not appropriate for me to come over”

For a moment I thought he was being sensible, then he added, “Why don't you come over instead, My mate’s not home”.

Even Aria sounded surprised, “Logan are you sure about that? What if she shows up, we won't be able to explain ourselves”.

I scoffed at her fake innocence, that bitch knew exactly what she was doing.

“What do we have to explain? You are my oldest friend, my mate has no say in this”, he replied confident and arrogant.

“Besides she's not coming back.”

Aria paused, then asked, “How do you know.”

Then realizing she might have revealed too much, she quickly added, “I mean did she leave you again?”

Damon nodded, “Yeah, on our 10th anniversary I told her whenI was going to see you, she threw a fit.”

“It's exhausting, I choose her instead of you, but it's still not enough for her, unlike you Aria , you've always been there, you've never complained and you put with so much for me, I owe you”

I almost laughed, no sane mated wolf would celebrate their anniversary with an ex.

The day they celebrated, was the day I died.

Tell me Damon will you celebrate our anniversary or will celebrate the date of my death __

Aria wasted no time rushing to Damon, right when she saw him she threw herself into his arms.

“Damon the storm's getting worse and I'm so scared”, she cried

I rolled my eyes The night was always dark and I had never seen Aria so afraid of the dark before

Damon hugged her and patted in her back, “Don't worry I'm here.”

He showed how the candles he'd lit around the room, a calm atmosphere amidst the growing storm outside.

“With this,” he explained, “Even if the power goes out, we’ll still have light.”

Aria signed in relief leaning into him.

Please Spare me the sight.

As the Storm raged on Aria excused herself to freshen up, she disappeared into my room Raiding all my toiletries, my potions and supplies, after making a mess of things, she chuckled “Reyna wouldn't mind, she's not coming back anytime soon anyway”.

Watching from the mirror, I seethed Silently.

The thunder roared and when the lightning struck, my Figure flickered in the reflection Aria screamed calling for Damon.

He rushed in his instance kicking in as he grabbed her protectively shielding her with his body

“This feels risky, what if Reyna shows up?”

Damon shrugged, “I don't know.”

Lightning flashed, casting a sharp light across his face.

“Even if she does, she has no right to say anything if it weren't for her, we wouldn't have wasted all these years, we wouldn't have been apart for so long.”

His gaze darkened, “You don't need to worry about her, if she dies out there, all the more better, She's no fur of my back.”

Alright Damon Your wish has been granted Let's see if you are as indifferent as you claim to be.

Late at night, the pack’s investigation team was still grinding away on the case trying to find clues on what had happened to me. The packhouse was quiet, save for the occasional low growl or murmur from wolves on duty. Damon, the Alpha , called for a break, giving the exhausted wolves a moment to regroup. Logan, still in his human form, decided to grab a bite.

One of his packmates smirked, teasing him as he grabbed a chunk of raw meat from the packhouse kitchen. "Hey, Logan, how's it feel to be the Beta with the most attention from the she-wolves? Lucky isn't it, Shouldn’t your mate be delivering your midnight meal?”

Logan’s jaw clenched, and the meat hit the table with a thud. "Why bring her up? It’s irritating for goddess sakea."

Damon sensed the shift in Logan's mood, his wolf instincts picking up on the tension. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen Reyna around. She used to show up every night with something for you when you were on late shifts I believe that's why he mentioned it,"

Logan shot him a glare, his eyes flickering dangerously. "She wasn’t bringing it for me anyway, Damon, you ate most of it anyway."

"That's because you refuse to, and her dishes are delicious by the way",

"Yeah right, if you say so"

Damon’s tone grew more serious. “No, really, Logan. Is everything alright with your mate? She hasn’t been around lately. Is she… missing?”

Logan let out a low growl. “Missing? If she had some backbone to do that, maybe I’d actually notice, she’s like a shadow—always there but never really seen, always tailing me around,it’s been quiet for a few days, so let’s not talk about her.”

Standing just outside the packhouse, unseen but ever-present, I smirked.

The things he had no idea about.

My dear lovely mate, you won’t have to deal with me anymore. I’ve gone far beyond the bond we once shared.

Just then, one of the junior wolves rushed into the room, his breath labored, clearly shaken. “Alpha Damon, we’ve identified the remains!”

Damon moved to take the report, but the young wolf hesitated, his eyes darting between Logan and Damon. "I think... Beta Logan should see it first."

Logan frowned, his wolf rising to the surface as his instincts prickled with unease. “Why me? I’m not the one leading this investigation. Why show it to me?”

Damon scanned the report, his face going pale, the authority of an Alpha momentarily slipping. His voice was heavy as he spoke. “Logan... your mate—Reyna... have you been in contact with her lately? When did you last speak with her”

“Yeah,” Logan replied slowly, a sudden coldness creeping over him. “She sent me a message a few days ago. Why?”

That's a lie and he knew it.

Damon’s gaze locked onto Logan, his voice dropping to a near growl. “Has it been more than three days to be exact?”

Logan's eyes widened as realization dawned. He shot up from his seat. "What are you saying?"