(Alexander's POV)

My hands clawed desperately at the rocky ground beneath me, completely consumed by grief that felt like it was eating me alive from the inside.

I had never known how terrified I was of losing her until this very moment. Only now, when I realized she might never come back, did true fear engulf me completely.

I knelt there by the rushing water, stripped of all my usual Alpha King authority. I couldn't control anything anymore, not even ...