Chapter 4: A Faint Thread (Owen POV)

I stood at the edge of the forest, heart hammering as the silence pressed in around me. Her scent, faint and fleeting, was the only trace she'd left behind. It wasn't much to go on, but it was enough to keep me rooted here, my wolf snarling impatiently in my mind.

She's close.

The bond hummed faintly beneath my skin, pulling me forward and taunting me with the knowledge that she wasn't far. Yet for every step I took, it felt like she moved two steps further away, disappearing deeper into the trees.

I wanted to shift, to let my wolf take control and hunt her properly, but something stopped me. She was a rogue, skittish and wary, and chasing her as a predator would only make her bolt. No, I had to be careful. Deliberate.

I sucked in a breath, willing my frustration to settle. Her scent lingered in the air, wildflowers and earth, with a sharp undertone of fear that made my wolf growl in protest. She was afraid of me-or maybe afraid of what the bond meant.

Sabine.

The name was etched into my mind now, as though it had always been there. It didn't matter that we'd exchanged no words, that I didn't know the sound of her voice or the depth of her gaze. I knew her.

Or at least, I knew she was mine.

The meeting I'd abandoned felt like a distant memory, unimportant in the face of this discovery. The other betas would be furious, no doubt, especially after the months of preparation that had gone into today's summit. But how could I explain what had happened?

"Sorry, I had to leave because I scented my mate."

The excuse would sound ridiculous, even if it was the truth. But I didn't care about their opinions right now. Sabine was all that mattered.

I began to pace, the soles of my boots crunching softly against the underbrush. Every instinct screamed at me to move, to follow her trail, but I forced myself to think. Rogues were survivors, accustomed to living on the fringes of society. She would know how to cover her tracks, how to disappear. If I wasn't careful, I could lose her for good.

But why had she run?

The question gnawed at me, a thorn in my thoughts. Mates were supposed to recognize each other, to feel the pull and understand its significance. I'd seen it in her eyes, even for that brief moment-the shock, the disbelief. She had felt it too.

So why did she look at me like I was a threat?

I clenched my fists, frustration bubbling beneath my skin. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Meeting your mate was meant to be a moment of clarity, a connection so profound it left no room for doubt. Instead, I was chasing shadows, trying to make sense of a bond that felt fragile and incomplete.

She's rogue-born, I reminded myself.

That explained some of it, at least. Rogues didn't trust easily, and for good reason. They lived in constant danger, hunted by packs that saw them as threats or outcasts. For Sabine, the bond must have been an unwelcome complication, something that upended the careful balance of her life.

But that didn't mean I would let her go.

I stopped pacing and tilted my head back, inhaling deeply. Her scent was faint now, but it was there, threading through the air like a beacon. It led away from the town, deeper into the woods, where the shadows grew longer and the trees pressed closer together.

"Sabine," I murmured, the name a quiet promise.

She was mine. Not in the possessive, entitled way some wolves claimed their mates, but in the way the bond demanded. Her absence already felt like an ache, a hollow space that refused to be ignored.

My wolf growled, restless and impatient, urging me to move. But I hesitated, my mind racing with questions. Why had she come to the town in the first place? Rogues rarely ventured into human settlements unless they were desperate or reckless. From what little I had seen, Sabine was neither.

Was she running from something? Or someone?

The thought made my chest tighten, a surge of protectiveness sweeping through me. If she was in danger, I needed to know. I needed to find her, to make sure she was safe.

But how?

The bond wasn't as strong as it should have been. I could feel its pull, but it was faint, like a thread stretched too thin. Was it because she was rogue-born? Or was she blocking it somehow?

I shook my head, shoving the questions aside. They didn't matter right now. What mattered was finding her.

I turned back toward the town, scanning the dimly lit streets below. The forest stretched behind me, vast and quiet, but I couldn't afford to search blindly. Sabine was clever, resourceful. If she didn't want to be found, she'd make it difficult.

Still, I had an advantage. She might know how to survive, but she didn't know me. She didn't know that I wouldn't give up, that I would follow her to the ends of the earth if I had to.

"Run if you need to," I said quietly, as though she could hear me. "But I'll find you."

Because that's what mates did.

The forest loomed ahead, dark and endless, but I didn't hesitate as I stepped forward. Each step felt heavier, the weight of the bond pressing against my thoughts. I would comb through every inch of this place if I had to.

Sabine was closer than she thought.

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