Alpha Nathan's POV.

"Isabella! Wake up, sweetheart. Please open your eyes for me," I kept pleading with her as I held her protectively between my arms throughout the entire long night.

I didn't even allow myself to blink or get a single moment of sleep, even though I knew I had to travel somewhere urgently first thing in the morning for important pack business that couldn't be postponed.

She finally opened her tired eyes slowly, looking up at me with such exhaustion written across her beautiful face.

She looked absolutely drained and weak. Of course, she had thrown up violently multiple times throughout the night, which had left her completely depleted.

I had absolutely no idea what had suddenly happened to her health, but she had become so incredibly sick out of nowhere.

Her normally warm skin looked frighteningly pale, almost ghostly. She was sweating profusely as if she was trapped in the middle of a terrible nightmare, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't manage to wake her up from whatever was tormenting her.

But I absolutely had to wake her before leaving for my trip.

She looked at me with confused, unfocused eyes as if she wasn't fully aware of her surroundings or what was happening.

Then she took a deep breath and said weakly, "Oh, is that really you, Nathan? I feel so strange and disoriented."

I nodded and leaned down to give her a gentle morning kiss on her forehead.

"Yes, it's me, and you worried me more than you'll ever know. I think you really need to get some proper rest and eat some nutritious food until I come back from my business trip."

She suddenly sat halfway up in bed, supporting herself on her elbows, and stared at me with shocked, frightened eyes.

"What did you just say?" she asked frantically. "Coming back from where exactly? Where are you going, Nathan?"

She glanced around the room frantically and rubbed her face with shaking hands.

"Nathan, please don't leave me here all alone. Please, I'm begging you. Let me come with you wherever you're going."

"Stop! Isabella! Just stop this right now," I said, raising my voice slightly out of frustration.

Watching her behave like a frightened, cornered cat who was desperately looking for an escape route made me feel angry and helpless at the same time.

I stood up from the bed and walked over to where she was sitting, then I gently pulled her trembling hand into both of mine.

"Isabella, what is wrong with you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and soothing. "Why are you acting like this? Talk to me."

I was genuinely trying to calm her down and get her to relax a bit.

She looked completely uneasy and agitated, as if her mind was puzzled and racing with worried thoughts.

It was obvious that she wasn't okay mentally or physically, but unfortunately, I absolutely had to go to my company headquarters for at least some crucial business meetings that had been scheduled for weeks.

I simply couldn't take her with me everywhere I went, especially not on official pack business.

Unless she was officially my mate with all the proper ceremonies completed, and that was still something that seemed far away from the reality we were currently living in.

She begged me with a low, broken voice and teary eyes that broke my heart, "Please take me with you, Nathan. Please don't abandon me here."

She clutched my shirt desperately like a scared child clinging to their parent.

I gently patted her head, feeling completely unsure about what I should do about her overwhelming worries and fears. "Babe," I started to say, then stopped myself.

I swallowed hard and sighed deeply, then I carefully cupped her soft cheeks in my hands and forced myself to draw a reassuring smile for her benefit.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to you while I'm gone, I promise."

She whined instantly, tears streaming down her face. "I'm not worried about my own safety, Nathan, but I'm terrified about yours! What if something happens to you?"

"What?" I narrowed my eyes and almost scoffed at the idea. "Why would you think that? I'm the Alpha of this pack. I'm strong and capable. What could possibly be wrong, Isabella?

Please be straightforward with me and tell me exactly what you're thinking. I really have to leave now for this business trip, and it might end up lasting for two full days if the negotiations go longer than expected."

I was already running late and felt mentally exhausted from staying awake all night watching over her.

All I wanted was to at least catch a brief nap during my flight to help clear my head.

Her overreacting was becoming truly unnerving to me, and I was struggling to understand why she was so panicked.

Her father didn't know who she really was, so there was no immediate danger there.

Alpha Kwan was supposed to be my best friend and ally, and he would never intentionally do anything harmful to her.

And if he somehow figured out that Isabella was my real, true mate, well, we'd deal with that when it happened.

My Beta Ethan and my Luna would never dare have the guts to hurt or harm her in any way!

They knew me well enough to understand that I would become absolutely murderous if they tried anything. I would kill them without hesitation if they touched her.

She gulped nervously, then managed a weak smile for my benefit.

"It's okay, I guess," she said quietly. "I think I'm just feeling worried and anxious since I met my father yesterday and everything became so complicated."

She leaned over and kissed my cheek gently, and I turned her face toward mine to give her a deep, passionate kiss on her lips. I hummed playfully, "Mmm, you always taste so good."

I helped her settle back down comfortably in bed and kissed her forehead again tenderly.

"You should try to get some more sleep while I'm gone," I told her gently. "I'll tell the servants to come check on you regularly and serve all your meals here in the room so you don't have to worry about anything.

If you need anything at all, anything at all, just call me on my cell phone and I'll answer immediately."

She nodded obediently, but I could see that she still seemed troubled and annoyed by the whole situation.

"Okay, I will," she agreed reluctantly. "Please take care of yourself out there, and come back to me safely."

And with that, I finally left for my trip, though my heart was heavy with worry about leaving her.

It was supposed to be only a simple one-day, two-night business trip to France for some routine pack alliance meetings.

But something completely unexpected happened while I was there, and I couldn't get back to her as soon as I had originally planned.

I tried calling Isabella on her cell phone multiple times throughout each day, but she never once picked up any of my calls, which was extremely unusual for her.

Then I called my Beta Ethan to check on the situation, and he told me that she was apparently okay and that she hadn't left her room at all since I'd been gone.

I initially thought that she was just angry at me for leaving her behind, and that was all there was to it.

But then a deeply disturbing text message came to my phone that night, sent from Isabella's cell phone number: [I'm sorry]

And when I immediately tried calling her back after reading that ominous message, her cell phone was completely switched off.

I had absolutely no idea what could have possibly happened while I was away, but I was completely certain that I had to cancel all my remaining meetings immediately and take my private jet back home to Isabella as fast as possible.

The flight back took me several long, agonizing hours during which I couldn't think about anything else but getting to her.

Everyone at the pack house was shocked and confused when I arrived back home all of a sudden, especially since my Beta and my Luna had called me several times during my trip, and I had specifically told them that I wasn't planning to return soon.

I rushed through the pack house, ignoring everyone who tried to approach me along my path, and I shouted her name desperately, "Isabella! I'm back home! Isabella, where are you?"

But I received no reply to my calls, which filled me with dread.

Instead, I heard terrible screams and sounds of distress coming from the direction of the garden.

I immediately stormed outside to see where she was and find out what was going on.

But what I discovered made my blood run cold: there she was, tied to a large tree in the backyard with thick, rough ropes, half-naked and exposed to the elements, with painful scratches and bruises covering every visible inch of her body.

She was blindfolded and clearly in agony.

I rushed toward her as fast as my legs could carry me to untie her from her bonds.

She was breathing heavily and irregularly, and the moment I freed her, she collapsed to the ground like a broken doll. "Isabella! What happened to you? Isabella, talk to me!"