Dean's POV
Something was wrong—terribly, dangerously wrong.
The mate bond I shared with Elena was thrashing, pulling at me with an urgency I had never felt before. It wasn't just the usual ache of distance, the usual rage of knowing she was fucking someone else.
This was different.
This was panic.
I clenched my fists, my fangs itching to descend as I paced the room, trying to steady my breathing.
What the fuck is happening to her?
The pain in my chest tightened—sharp, suffocating. I grabbed at my heart, growling in frustration. I had already been dealing with Kane's shit, his emotional breakdown because of her, his fucking darkness infecting her through the mate bond. And now this?
I stopped pacing and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to focus on the bond, to feel her more clearly.
And what I felt sent a cold chill down my spine.
Hunger.
But not just any hunger. This was unnatural, parasitic. It was like she was feeding off something—or someone.
And then it hit me.
Ace.
