And this time, they didn't even have a storm or a frozen river to explain her disappearance.
Just an empty room, an abandoned phone, and a scent trail that ended inexplicably in the middle of the estate gardens.
By midnight, the last guests had departed, offering sympathetic condolences that felt horribly premature. The estate was in full crisis mode, pack members coordinating with allied packs, security experts analyzing what little evidence they had, and trackers trying to pick up any hint of where Dakota might have gone.
Maya sat in her father's study, still wearing her engagement dress, watching as Richard worked through yet another round of calls.
"No one's seen her," Thomas reported, entering with exhaustion evident. "We've contacted every pack within a hundred miles, every neutral territory. Nothing. It's like she just ceased to exist the moment she left the great hall."
