Damon's POV

The room was too quiet.

The kind of quiet that made my wolf restless.

I sat behind the long wooden table, papers scattered across it, pretending to read reports I couldn't make sense of. The ink bled together, black smudges and empty words. I hadn't slept in days. My hands ached from clenching. My chest hurt worse.

Aria was gone.

No trace. No scent. Just... gone.

It had been a week, maybe more. The days blurred together, stretching into something that didn't feel like time anymore. ...