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"Where the hell have you been?" His eyes dropped to Maya's neck, widened briefly, then returned to his brother's face. "Never mind. I know exactly what you've been doing."

"What's happened?" Kieran's voice shifted instantly to command mode, making several young rebels straighten instinctively.

"Father is gone," Malcolm said, his voice tight. "Vanished during dinner at High Elder Thorne's home. No warning, no trace."

Maya felt her breath catch. Her scientific mind instantly calculated the timing—exactly when Kieran's teeth had pierced her skin, when their mate bond had sealed permanently.

"When?" Kieran demanded, his hand tightening protectively around Maya's.

"About an hour ago," Malcolm replied.

Lena stepped forward, her violet eyes fixed on Maya's neck. "The same time your mating completed," she whispered. "That can't be coincidence."

Maya felt everyone's eyes shift to her, their gazes a mixture of awe and suspicion. The knot of anxiety that had begun forming in her stomach tightened. Was their union somehow responsible for the Alpha's disappearance?

"The human hunter operatives," Kieran muttered, pulling Malcolm and Maya aside. "Father's secret allies. Could they have turned on him?"

Malcolm frowned. "Or someone from the rebellion faction that discovered his betrayal?"

"Or enemies we know nothing about," Maya added, keeping her voice low. "Your father seems to have been playing a much deeper game than either of you suspected."

Kieran's jaw clenched, the scar on his temple whitening. "I'll need to call an emergency meeting with the High Council soon, but not yet." His silver-blue eyes darkened. "First we need information—real information, not political posturing."

Maya pressed closer to him, suddenly aware of how their joining had irrevocably altered not just their bodies and the land, but potentially the entire power structure of the shifter world.

"What happens now?" she asked, feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable.

Kieran's arm wrapped around her, pulling her against his side in a gesture both protective and possessive. "Now," he rumbled, his voice pitched low, "we find my father—and discover exactly what our mating has unleashed."

Maya squinted at the red-gold sunlight filtering through ancient pines as their small convoy approached Moon Hollow. Her body ached from the all-night search, her muscles protesting after hours of trekking through unfamiliar terrain. Despite Kieran teaching her tracking techniques—harnessing her newly awakened shifter senses to detect scents and subtle trail signs—they'd found nothing of Alpha Alaric Silvercrest.

He had simply vanished without a trace.

"Any news?" she whispered to Kieran as the imposing stone structure that housed the High Council came into view.

He shook his head, his jaw tight with tension. "No. Nothing from the eastern scouts either."

The mate mark on her neck throbbed in response to his distress, their bond transmitting emotions like electrical currents between them. She reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. His fingers laced through hers instantly, a gesture that still surprised her—how naturally their bodies sought connection.

"How are you holding up?" Malcolm asked, falling into step beside them. Dark shadows circled his eyes, his usual diplomatic polish dulled by exhaustion.

"I'm fine," Maya answered automatically, then corrected herself. "Actually, I'm terrified. I've gone from wildlife biologist to wolf shifter to potential Alpha's mate in... what, one week? And now we're walking into a meeting with the most powerful wolf shifters in the territory who probably think I'm responsible for all this, especially after I escaped from that medical facility."

Kieran's arm snaked possessively around her waist. "They can think whatever they want. You're mine now. You're protected."

The primal claim in his voice sent a shiver through her that had nothing to do with fear.

Damon appeared from the tree line ahead, his expression grim. "Council's assembled. All seven elders."

"That was fast," Malcolm murmured.

"Too fast," Kieran agreed, his eyes narrowing. "Someone wanted this meeting to happen immediately."

Inside the council chamber, seven austere figures sat in a semi-circle on elevated stone chairs. Maya tried not to fidget as their penetrating gazes swept over her, lingering on the fresh mate mark.

"Former Silvercrest heir," the central elder addressed Kieran, "you've called this emergency session during a time of unprecedented crisis."

"As you know, my father is missing," Kieran stated, his voice resonating with authority that made the hairs on Maya's arms stand up. His silver-blue eyes flashed as he surveyed the room. "As his next viable successor, I request temporary appointment as Alpha of the Silvercrest pack until he's found."