ELIJAH'S POV

I had to call Hilda for help as I had been searching endlessly for Celeste. It was as if she had disappeared from existence, leaving no trace of her or Derrick.

"Thank you for coming again," I expressed gratitude to the high priestess as we walked down the hall to her room.

"It's no problem, Elijah," she mumbled, offering me a small smile, which I returned with a nod.

"See you tomorrow," I said, and she nodded before opening the door and retreating to her room.

I sighed as she closed the door, and once again my mind went to Celeste as I walked down the hall to my chamber.

Taking off my clothes and discarding them somewhere, I lay down on my bed with just my boxers, hoping to find Celeste as I drifted off to sleep.

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I had been trying to suppress my growls, but it was hard. Even the priestess had been attempting to use a location spell to track down Celeste's whereabouts for over four frustrating hours. I couldn't stop pacing, and Hilda was getting annoyed with me; I could see her eyes twitch whenever I paced around her or growled when another spell failed.

"You're distracting me, Elijah," she mumbled, her feet crossed as she sat on the floor of my very private study room – the second room that held the magic mirror used to teleport me to different packs and states.

"I can't help it," I mumbled back, sinking into one of the armchairs in the room. I watched as the candles surrounding the priestess illuminated her aging face, her brows squeezing together in concentration while she chanted.

As I kept looking at her face, I couldn't help but remember the promise I had made to her – a promise I sure as hell knew I would break. I just couldn't take any chances. Her daughter is dangerous, perhaps even more so than Derrick himself. She's as perilous as Derrick – if not more.

I sighed in frustration once more as yet another strand of Celeste's hair broke in half from another failed attempt.

"You're probably doing it wrong," I murmured, getting up on my feet and moving towards the magic mirror. She glared at me through the mirror with a scowl plastered on her face.

"No, I'm not doing it wrong," she said, offended by my words as she wiped the sweat that had formed on her forehead with the sleeve of her blouse. "A blocking spell has been placed on Celeste, making it hard to trace her location," she added, and by 'they,' she meant her daughter – another reason why I wanted to rip her daughter's head from her body, just like I did to Celeste's real mate.

I felt no remorse for what I had done that day. That individual deserved it. He had touched my Celeste. He had laid his hands on what belongs to me, and to top it off, he dared to disrespect me, his king, before those Alphas. I had to set boundaries; I had to make it clear that I was not weak, for I am King Elijah, after all.

I snapped my attention back to Hilda when she hissed out in frustration. "This isn't working," said the witch, getting up and pacing around the candles.

"There has to be another way," she whispered thoughtfully, looking at me. I sighed and glanced at the wall, lost in thought.

"What about the bond?" I asked her, giving her a glance from the corner of my eye.

"It won't work," she murmured, folding her hands around her chest and slumping down on the armchair next to mine.

I growled in frustration, running my hands through my thick brown hair, watching as one of the lit candles burned down the wax and dripped onto the wooden floor.

"I marked her," I whispered, still staring at the burning candles.

Hilda's head whipped to the side, her eyes wide as she stared at me. I could feel her gaze even though I wasn't looking at her.

"You should have told me that from the start," she hissed, coming to stand beside me. I gave her a confused look, waiting for an explanation. Then she sighed and picked up a small knife and a cup.

"You marked her, which means you two are linked together," she said, taking my palm in her hands and cutting the skin open with the knife. My blood dripped into the cup before my wound magically closed.

"But I thought that only happens when we've both marked each other?"

"Yes, but you are linked to her, which means we can find her because she bears your mark," the priestess mumbled as she entered the circle made with the candles, placing the cup of blood in the center before sitting in front of it.

Well, that makes sense, I thought, nodding even though her eyes weren't focused on me.

She began chanting again, and after a few minutes of reciting some words, she added a drop of my blood to the bowl of water in front of her. The blood started expanding until it looked like a map, and my eyes widened. It worked.

The priestess looked up at me and gave me a smile, but I was too focused on the glowing part in the water to return it. That's where Celeste had been held captive.

Hilda took out a plain sheet of white paper and carefully placed it on the bowl. The blooded map immediately adhered to the paper. I watched her meticulously lift the wet map and place it on the desk; she slid her right hand across the map and it dried up.

I moved closer to her, and we both stood side by side staring at the map. Two glowing parts were on the map – one, I guessed, representing me, and the other, Celeste. Hilda pointed that out, confirming my assumption.

I escorted Hilda back to her room as it was getting late. We both had dinner after the location spell was successful.

"Don't forget your promise, Elijah," she murmured when we arrived at the wing where she was staying. I nodded in response, and she gave me a tight-lipped smile.

Fuck, I'm almost reconsidering killing her daughter, but I can't. I know I'll be betraying her and her trust, but it's a risk I have to take.

Exhaling, I waited until her room door was closed before making my way out of the wing.

'Williams, the throne room. Now,' I mind-linked my most trusted soldier, and he responded with a 'yes, sire.'

I waited patiently in the throne room, pacing around with my hands folded behind my back. The door to the room opened, and Williams walked in.

"Sire," he uttered, and I nodded in acknowledgment. I stayed mute for a few minutes, gathering my thoughts. I had to plan this through; I could only trust a few people with this information, as I had a feeling there was a spy among the people in this palace. I also couldn't allow news of Celeste's disappearance to reach the media; it would cause havoc in the kingdom.

"Gather sixty trusted soldiers. The whereabouts of Celeste have been discovered," I murmured, pacing in front of the man.

"Only share this information with those soldiers, and ensure that word doesn't spread beyond all sixty-two of us," I said, now standing in front of him. "... Especially Cedric," I added in a whisper.

I believed that Williams understood the message as he left to carry out my orders. I retreated to my room to rest, my thoughts consumed by the anticipation of tomorrow's outcome.

Before drifting off to sleep, I prayed to the goddess that she would keep Celeste safe and that, hopefully, when I found her, she would forgive me.