Chapter 318

DEREK’S POV The knock on my door came hard and urgent — two sharp raps followed by Kael’s voice. “Derek. She’s gone.” At first, I didn’t even process it. I’d been bent over my desk, drowning in maps and reports, trying to pretend that the walls weren’t closing in. But then the words hit me, and I was on my feet before I knew it. “What did you just say?” Kael didn’t flinch, though his jaw was set tight. “Aurelia’s gone. She left the pack.” The room fell deathly silent. For a second, I couldn’t breathe. “That’s impossible,” I said flatly, shaking my head. “She was under guard. No one comes or goes without my approval.” “Apparently, she does,” Kael snapped. “Your guards said she went to rest. They didn’t check again.” His voice softened then, and that was somehow worse. “She was suffocating, Derek. You pushed her too far.” The guilt hit me before the words even finished leaving his mouth. Because he was right. Every wall I built around her in the name of protection had only turned into an