Luther stood by the window of his office, one hand braced against the frame, the other clenched into a tight fist. The room was silent except for the ticking of the old clock on the wall and the low murmur of his beta, Cassian, flipping through reports.

Then Luther’s phone buzzed.

He snatched it up. “What?”

A breathless voice crackled through. One of the elite trackers. “Alpha. I found her.”

Luther’s heart slammed into his ribs. “Where?”

“The airport. She tried to buy a plane ticket but didn’t have ID, so they turned her away. She’s heading out now, looks like she’s trying for a bus instead.”

Luther was already moving. “Stay on her. Don’t approach. Don’t scare her.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

He turned to Cassian. “Call the executive airport. Tell them I’m coming, have the plane fueled and waiting.”

Cassian blinked. “You think she’ll get on a bus?”

“If she does, I’ll stop it.”

He grabbed his coat and headed for the door, voice sharp as he barked more orders. “Tell the tracker if she boards, he follows. Find out where it’s going and the route. I want a copy of the schedule in my hands before I hit the tarmac.”

Cassian stood slowly, eyes narrowing. “Luther, we’ve already spent too many resources on this. She’s one girl. You’re Alpha now. You have responsibilities—”

Luther’s stare stopped him mid-sentence. “She’s mine.”

Cassian scoffed. “You’re bonded to Gabrielle. You’re running off to bring back a feral mutt the whole pack saw as a basement punishment? She’s nothing.”

Luther stepped in close. “She’s mine. That’s all she ever had to be.”

“You didn’t care about her before,” Cassian snapped. “You ignored her, punished her, let her rot in the dark. Now what? You feel guilty?”

Luther’s jaw flexed. “No. I feel furious. That she ran. That she hid the fact that she could speak. That she made me feel this broken without her. That I didn’t see it sooner.”

Cassian shook his head. “And if she doesn’t want to come back?”

“She doesn’t get a choice,” Luther said, voice low and deadly. “She’s coming back. She belongs to me.”

Cassian stared. “And what? You throw her in chains again?”

“If I have to.” Luther’s voice dropped to a near growl. “Until she understands that she can’t leave. Until she understands that she belongs to me and only me.”

“Then you’re still a monster.”

“I never said I wasn’t.” Luther’s eyes flashed. “But she’s mine. And I’ll make her see that she’s not a thing, not a rat but mine.”

Cassian ran a hand through his hair. “The pack won’t stand for it. You know that, right?”

“She’s not for them to accept.” Luther turned for the door. “But she’ll be here with me. In my life, my house, and my bed.”

“And if she fights you?”

“She won’t because after bringing her back, she’ll be completely broken,” Luther smirked darkly. “That’s part of the reason I want her.”

“Gods, you’re unhinged,” Cassian muttered.

Luther’s smile vanished. “She ran because I trusted her. Because I thought she accepted her place in my life, in the pack, but obviously I was wrong.”

Cassian looked at him long and hard. “I don’t get what you see in her.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Luther said. “I’m still going to have her.”

He left without another word.