Chapter 89

Arthur

Arthur is downright distraught. He hasn’t been able to focus at all. It has been three days since Almara has gone missing and Noah never returned home. He’s completely sure that Noah had something to do with her disappearance, but no one has found anything on where he could have taken her.

It’s like they just vanished off the face of the earth. He wasn’t sure what else he could do. He had followed every single lead that his pack had come up with and it had all led to a dead end.

He’d even gone to Sienna again. Arthur was desperate. He would have given anything, even his soul, to have Almara back at his side. Making a deal with the witch was the least he could do.

But the trip had been in vain. All Sienna had done was make him realize that Noah wasn’t a werewolf like he’d thought. Sienna had told him that if Noah wasn’t a werewolf, the potion would make him covet Almara even more than he already did.

Arthur felt guilty. This was all his fault. If he had just left well enough alone, then this would have never happened. He didn’t even know what Noah was. If he did find Almara, he had know idea what he was up against.

The days stretched on interminably, each one more suffocating than the last. The once familiar rooms of Arthur's home had become alien, their silence echoing his inner turmoil. He traced his steps, searching for any hint, any glimmer of hope that might lead him to Almara. But the air is thick with unanswered questions, and despair threatened to swallow him whole.

Almara, with her infectious laughter and unwavering kindness, had been the beacon of light in Arthur's life. Her sudden disappearance felt like the ripping of the very fabric that held his world together. She was his anchor, his confidante, and her absence left an aching void that no amount of searching could fill.

Noah had appeared in their lives like a tempest, bearing an air of enigma that unsettled Arthur from the start. There was something about Noah, a darkness lurking beneath the surface, that had sent shivers down Arthur's spine. It was as if he had brought with him a storm that threatened to upend their peaceful existence.

And once again it was Arthur’s fault that they had met at all. He had let the superficial nature of his family get in the way. Why should he have cared if Almara was a waitress? There was nothing wrong with it.

But deep down he knew it wasn’t because of his family. It had been his need to make her happy. He knew she wanted to be a painter. He knew that it was her dream to work in a gallery. And he had made it happen for her.

From the very beginning, Arthur had been hers. Ever since she had been there for him the night that Sofia had left. Even though he had thought Sofia was his mate, he had been drawn to Almara and he would have done anything for her.

Arthur had tried to be his usual self. He had tried to be cool and aloof. He had tried to make her hate him. She had fallen in love with him in spite of it all. And he had fallen for her. Now that he knew they were fated mates, it all made sense.

He had never actually pictured having the life he always wanted. He was sure that his dream of a family was long dead. Sofia had made it perfectly clear where she stood on the matter.

Then Almara had come into his life. His dreams had come roaring back to life with a terrifying force. It was the happiest Arthur had even been, even with the multiple attacks that had occurred.

Now that dream was threatened once again. Arthur was close to spiraling. The only thing keeping him afloat was that small trace of their mate bond. As long as it was there, Arthur knew she was alive.

Once again, he found himself at Noah’s house. He had been coming here every single day. Almara’s scent was still pretty strong here. He’d basically torn the whole house apart already, looking for any kind of clue.

When he entered the house, he was immediately hit with Noah’s scent. Every sense went on full alert. He had just been here.

Arthur followed the trail. It went around the entire house, going into every single room. He had the distinct feeling that Noah was playing with him. What else could explain it? Arthur’s hackles rose. If he ever got his hands on him…

The trail ended in Noah’s study. Arthur looked at all the books he had ripped from the shelves on the floor. He had been hoping one of them would lead him to a secret room behind the bookcase, but nothing had happened.

Nothing stood out to him as out of place. Well, more than it already was. Noah had led him on a wild goose chase. He was about to turn around and leave when he spotted something.

In a dusty corner of one of the bookshelves, Arthur found a weathered journal. He was one-hundred percent sure that he’d ripped every single book down. That definitely had not been there before. Noah had left him a present of sorts.

Arthur marched over and grabbed the book. Its pages were filled with cryptic writings, a testament to a mind teetering on the edge of sanity. The entries told a tale of obsession, of a love twisted and contorted into something unrecognizable.

With trembling hands, Arthur pored over the words, the truth unraveling before him like a macabre tapestry. It had become painfully clear that Noah’s intentions had never been benign. It had never been another man wanting his wife.

Noah’s love for Almara had warped into something monstrous. For whatever reason, Noah had wanted him to find the journal. Perhaps it was just another way to torment him. Which meant he knew that Arthur was coming into his house.

For the first time in days, hope began to bloom in Arthur’s chest. If Noah had been watching him the whole time, then he was somewhere nearby. Arthur only had to wait. With Noah’s increasing insanity, he would eventually make a mistake.

The journal had also given him the information he had been lacking. Noah had laid his plan bare for Arthur to see. Arthur now knew that Noah was a vampire, something he had never thought possible.

The last time he had ever heard of a vampire being sighted was when he was a child and the only reason he knew about it was because he had stumbled into one of his father’s meetings late one night. Apparently the leadership always kept vampire sightings a secret.

The thought of his wife becoming a vampire churned his stomach. He had just gotten her. He wasn’t going to lose her so soon. If he had to spend every waking moment in Noah’s house until then, so be it. He would do whatever it took to get his mate back home.