"The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides." - Audrey Hepburn

The anger inside of me kept building like deep water currents. All my life, I did everything right — everything they told me to do — and yet, I am in this damn mess. My whole body burned, fire lacing my veins and creeping up my spine. My wolf howled softly at the back of my head, feeling the loss of his soul, his mate. He couldn't feel her; we couldn't feel her.

Two days have passed. My wolf searched every square inch of the Academy and as far as we could go. But there was no sign of my Vivian.

My beast was near, I could feel the fur on my skin, my fingers slowly transforming into claws. I involuntarily shifted thrice these past two days. It has never happened to me. Involuntarily shifting is extremely threatening for us. It means that my beast is slowly overpowering my human side. The loss was too much for him. My beast was desperate to find his mate, desperate to smell her, desperate to feel her near him. I need to find her soon, I could not let my wolf overpower me completely. It will be fatal for my human side.

"My daughter has been missing for 2 days. We searched almost everywhere within the reach of this Academy but to no avail. That is why I am here right now."

We were outside the Academy grounds, listening to Alejandro who was standing at an elevated podium to address the reason why he called an emergency Academy meeting. Every time he opened his mouth I got angrier. Every word stung only fueling the fire that burned inside of me. Every sentence was like gasoline to it, my fists began to clench and my jaw rooted. My beast wanted their blood. It was their fault - all of it. If only we had a normal past, I could have marked her and then this would have never happened. She would have been mine. Ours.

"I request you all to help me find my daughter. Plea-"

I let out a loud and menacing growl. A growl which grabbed the attention of everyone present there. I walked towards the podium and looked straight at the faces of the four Alphas who caused this.

"Every person present in this damn Academy will search for Vivian or else I will end their life. I swear by the moon, I will end their goddamn life."

----

I was hiding in this place for 2 days. There was no sign of anyone near this territory - I was alone and safe. Over the course of these days, Tyler and Josh visited me twice to keep me updated about the state of the Academy and how everyone was doing. I also told them about my decision regarding leaving for someplace new soon, somewhere away from this entire territory, probably amongst the humans. Tyler did not take the last part very lightly. Well, in his words "Are you out of your mind? You want to live with humans? You won't survive a day amongst them. Vivian, think this through! I can accept you in my pack. Come live with us, no one will touch you." Whereas Josh's reply was.... suitable for someone like Josh. "Not that I disapprove of Tyler's idea, heck I'll open up a new spot just for you and crown you 'Queen' of my own pack until my mate shows up, but humans are pretty damn fun. I knew a girl called Lily. She was great, especially at sex. Humans are freaky, they even-"

"For goddess sake Josh, keep your mouth shut! What is-"

I interrupted them both, "Boys, I have made my decision. As much as I am grateful for both of you, I cannot go to any other pack. I need space. I need to leave this hell-hole where I was kept in the dark for my entire life and had my whole life planned out by others. Let me breathe for a while. I will come back, might even take up on your offer Josh."

Josh smirked, "I will always welcome you with open arms."

After a lot of bickering, Tyler finally agreed to my decision. Even if he hadn't, I would've left anyways. But since he and Josh were the only honest people left in my life, I wanted to part on a positive note.

Today was my last day here. Moreover, today, I will meet them both for the last time, until Goddess knows when.

It has been difficult two days but I managed to survive them. It was hard, I could feel my family reaching out to me through the pack link but I blocked them. I do not want to hear their explanations. At least for a while.

My wolf also retreated in the back of my mind, refusing to connect with me for a while. She was tired, she needed rest. We not only lost our mate but our family. Someone who we trusted, but they stabbed us in the back and toyed with our feelings.

Closing my eyes, I leaned towards the front door of the house. It has been too long. Tyler and Josh were supposed to be here hours ago, where are they?

As soon as I thought of this, Josh's familiar scent greeted my nose. Before I could open the door, he opened it from the other side and managed to hit me right in the forehead.

"Ouch, Josh, don't you know how to knock?"

"There is no time to talk; you need to leave, right this instant. Ethan is making everyone search for you and he is very close to this area even though it is very far from the Academy. I am hundred percent sure that he will find this place today. Therefore, you need to leave." Josh pushed me towards the back door.

"Use the back door; it is much safer."

I began to panic, what if he is already here?

"Is he already here? Where is Tyler?"

"I don't know, but he is why Tyler is not here. He is keeping him away from this place for as long as he can so you can leave because if he finds you, he will most definitely mark you since he is in his wolf form right now. He has shifted thrice in these two days involuntarily, his beast is in control of him."

Three times? That is insane. Usually, our human side is more in control, and it is very rare to lose dominance over your wolf side.

"Wait, let me grab my bag at least."

I quickly dashed towards the lounge to grab the bag from the sofa which Tyler brought from my room at the Academy. The bag had a few of my clothes and some money I had saved throughout my life which will help me get settled among the humans.

"Where did it go?" I looked around, frantically searching for it. My heartbeat increased with every second. Ethan was getting closer to me with each passing second.

"Found it!" It was laying on the chair next to the main front window which overlooked the lake. I quickly ran towards it and grabbed it but as I prepared to make a run for the back door, I paused to look at the calming view of the lake for one last time.

God, I'll miss this place. It is beautiful, I cannot believe Josh built it, his mate will be-

I felt it.

My blood hummed slightly, my bond feeling the presence of his other half. He was here.

Tilting my head towards the other side, I saw his beautiful, beautiful wolf. My heart ached. I was frozen to the ground, unable to move. And as if he knew, he looked up. His stormy grey eyes looked straight into mine. My wolf howled in pain, and that's when it hit me, he found me.

----

Five hours. I was searching for her for five hours but there was still no sign of her. My wolf was getting restless. I knew once we find her, he will mark her. I tried so hard to suppress my wolf all these years but now he had has enough. The consequences of the suppression and entrapment are very dangerous. My beast is overpowering me now. And he won't stop until he gets her.

"We checked this place five times, let us go home and think of a new plan. It will be better for us." My dad linked.

"I will not rest till I find her."

Where are you, Vivian? Where are you? My wolf tried to sniff the air to catch a whiff of her scent, but there was nothing as usual.

We moved forward, and that is when I saw it. There was a narrow path, a place which could be easily overlooked if someone didn't pay attention to it.

There was a weird itch gnawing at me, encouraging me to check the place out. Trusting my instincts, we dashed towards the path but were interrupted by Tyler.

"You father wants us to go back. Let's go."

I growled loudly at him. He did not move at first. I was about to pound at him but before I could, he walked away. As soon as he left, I continued on my path. I kept running and running to find any hint about Vivian. I prayed to Goddess to help me and that is when I smelled it.

Her smell. It smelt like walking in an open field where the flowers were letting off a slight hint of sweet, yet subtle, beauty of their scent.

After sniffing her mate's scent, my wolf got even faster. Eventually, we were at a glass-walled house which was secluded among trees, the lake flowing beside it, painting a calm and beautiful scenery.

The scent was extremely strong and fresh here. We knew she was living here. My wolf hurriedly ran closer to the house; the urge to hold our mate was getting unbearable. If she is here, we are never letting go of her ever again. While running for the door, we felt someone's heated gaze on us.

"Mate," my wolf whined.

We looked towards the direction of the gaze and made contact with the fiery brown eyes of our mate, our Vivian.

Found you, beautiful mate of mine.