---- Chapter 10 LAURENCE POV: The silence in the mansion was a living thing. It was heavy, suffocating, and it pressed in on me from all sides. The house that was once my fortress now felt like a tomb. Her scent was gone. That was the first thing my wolf noticed. The faint, subtle fragrance of rain and wild herbs that always lingered in the air, the scent | had taken for granted, had vanished completely. It was as if she had been erased. | charged up the grand staircase, taking the steps two at a time. | threw open the door to our bedroom. It was neat, sterile, and empty. | tore open the doors to the walk-in closet. My heart gave a painful lurch. The dresses were still there. Rows and rows of pale pinks and whites, the expensive gifts | had bought for her, the costumes | had forced her into. For a wild, insane moment, | felt a surge of relief. She hadn't taken my gifts. She would be back. Then | saw it. | walked to the far corner of the closet, to the small space where she kept her own things. It was empty. The ---- few pairs of black jeans, the dark, comfortable sweaters, the simple boots she loved-they were all gone. She had taken everything that was truly hers. And she had left behind everything that was from me. Like garbage. The truth hit me with the force of a physical blow. She wasn't playing a game. She wasn't coming back. | fell to my knees on the plush carpet, a ragged sound tearing from my throat. And for the first time, | felt it. The gaping, ragged wound in my soul where our mate bond used to be. It was a void. An absolute emptiness that sucked all the warmth and light from the world, leaving only a cold, unbearable agony. My wolf howled within me, a desperate, lonely cry for its other half. The next morning, the pain was a physical weight on my chest. It was then that the Mind-Link from my father slammed into my consciousness. It wasn't a request. It was a summons, backed by the full weight of a former Alpha's power. "Get to the council chamber. NOW." His rage was a palpable force, a storm crashing against my already shattered mind. | dragged myself from the floor, my body aching as if I'd been in a brawl. | forced myself to shower, to dress, to put on the mask of the unshakable Alpha. When | entered the council chamber, the ten elders and my father were waiting. Their faces were carved from granite. ---- "You fool," my father snarled, his voice low and dangerous. "You let a woman, an Omega, bring this pack to its knees. Our family has led Black Moon for five centuries, and you have made us a laughingstock in a single week." The oldest elder, Marcus, stood up. "The other packs know of the rejection. They see our market instability. They smell weakness, Laurence. An Alpha who cannot control his own mate cannot be trusted to lead a pack." He pointed a trembling finger at me. "You will find the girl. You will bring her back, and you will force her to retract this rejection. If you fail, we will initiate a challenge for the title of Alpha. The pack comes first. Always." | stood there, listening to their threats, their ultimatums. | nodded, projecting an aura of calm control | did not feel. | would find her. | had to. But as | walked out of that chamber, a terrifying question echoed in the hollow space where my soul used to be. Was | doing this to save my pack? Or was | doing this because the thought of living with this agonizing emptiness for another second was a fate worse than death?