---- Chapter 29 Damien POV: | chartered the fastest griffin available, a magnificent beast whose powerful wings ate up the miles. The journey back that had taken me weeks on foot was covered in a single, frantic day. All | could think about was Alaric's words, the sliver of hope he had given me. | landed in the clearing behind the Alpha house and stormed inside, my mind a whirlwind of righteous fury. "Lyra!" | roared, the Alpha Command in my voice making the very walls tremble. The house was silent. And it was disgusting. The air was thick with the smell of rotting food and stale alcohol. Dirty plates were piled high on the dining table, crawling with flies. Clothes were strewn across the floor, and a mountain of trash overflowed from a bin in the corner. This was not the home of the neat, delicate woman who had cried on my shoulder. This was the den of a slob. A cold realization hit me. | had never seen Lyra clean. There was always an Omega servant scurrying around, tidying up after her, a servant Lyra had treated with casual cruelty. It was all part of her act. ---- | was about to tear the house apart looking for her when a small, timid figure appeared at the top of the stairs. It was the Omega nanny, looking exhausted and terrified. In her arms, the pup was whimpering weakly. "Alpha," she whispered, her eyes wide. "She... she's been gone for days. She just left. She said she was going out and never came back." My rage cooled into a block of ice in my gut. She had abandoned her own child. "Is the pup alright?" | asked, my voice strained. The nanny shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "He's not well, Alpha. He feels warm. |... I've been taking care of him, but I've had no rest. She... she didn't even leave me any food." She hadn't been paid. She was starving, exhausted, and still caring for the child of the woman who had abandoned them both. The injustice of it all was suffocating. | had turned my back on my pregnant Mate, my true Luna, for this... this monster. "Go to the kitchen," | told the nanny, my voice softer. "Eat whatever you can find. | will handle this." She scurried away, clutching the sick child. | closed my eyes, focusing, reaching out with my mind. | hadn't linked with Lyra since I'd left. Now, | pushed all my ---- power into the connection, a silent, furious summons. "Lyra. Where are you?"