Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 144

Kael’s POV

She was gone.

I scanned the corner again. Then the entire ballroom. Then every shadow, every alcove, every possible hiding spot.

Nothing.

Aria had vanished.

*Where is she?*

Fenrir stirred. Agitated. *Find her. NOW.*

I was already moving.

The crowd parted around me. Wolves stepping aside. Bowing their heads. Doing everything except getting in my way.

Good. They were learning.

"Alpha Blood Crown!"

A voice. Female. High-pitched. Eager.

I didn’t stop.

"Alpha, wait!"

A woman stepped into my path. Red dress. Dark curls. Smile that promised everything I didn’t want.

"I was hoping you might have another dance available?" She batted her eyelashes. "I’ve been watching you all night. You’re such an incredible dancer."

"Not now."

I walked past her.

"But Alpha--"

"I said NOT NOW."

The command rolled out before I could stop it. Alpha voice. Heavy with power.

She flinched. Stepped back. Her face went pale.

I didn’t care.

Aria was missing.

Nothing else mattered.

I pushed through the crowd. Searching. Scanning. My eyes jumped from face to face.

Blonde. Brunette. Redhead. None of them her.

Where the hell was she?

The bar.

She’d been at the bar earlier. I’d seen her retreat there after our dance. Had watched her order drink after drink while pretending not to notice.

I changed direction. Cut through the dance floor.

The bar appeared through the crowd. Long. Elegant. Lined with bottles and glasses and...

No Aria.

I moved through the ballroom systematically. Checking every corner. Every table. Every shadowy alcove where someone might hide.

People tried to stop me. Tried to talk to me. Tried to get my attention.

I ignored them all.

Let them stare. Let them whisper. Let them think their Alpha had lost his mind.

They weren’t wrong.

I HAD lost my mind.

Three years ago, when Aria disappeared.

And I was NOT going to lose her again.

I checked the dining area. The lounge. The terrace. Every possible location a person could go.

Nothing.

Nothing.

NOTHING.

My chest was getting tighter. My heart was pounding too fast.

*Calm down,* Fenrir growled. *You’re no good to her if you lose control.*

I took a breath. Forced myself to think.

Where would she go?

If she was as drunk as I suspected... if she’d wandered off somewhere... if someone found

No.

I couldn’t think like that.

I needed to find her.

NOW.

I headed toward the back of the venue. The private areas. The places most guests wouldn’t go.

A hallway stretched out before me. Dim. Quiet. Doors lining both sides.

Storage rooms. Offices. Places where things happened that weren’t meant for public eyes.

My jaw tightened.

I started checking doors.

First one: empty.

Second one: locked.

Third one: some catering equipment.

Fourth one:

I pushed it open.

And froze.

Two people.

A man and a woman.

Pressed against the wall. Clothes disheveled. Lips locked in a passionate kiss.

The woman’s dress was half undone. The man’s shirt was completely open. They were so wrapped up in each other they didn’t even notice me.

They jumped apart. Eyes wide. Faces flushed with embarrassment and fear.

"A-Alpha!" The man stammered. "We were just..."

I didn’t hear the rest.

I was already slamming the door shut.

My stomach churned.

What if someone had drugged her tonight and do something like this with her?

What if she was alone somewhere, unable to fight back, unable to scream, unable...

I forced my legs to move. Faster now. Checking doors. Scanning hallways. Calling out her name in my head even though she couldn’t hear me.

I turned a corner.

And there it was.

The restroom door.

Women’s restroom. At the end of the hall. Light spilling out from underneath.

I started toward it.

CRASH.

The door burst open.

A body slammed into my chest.

The impact was sudden. Unexpected. Soft warmth colliding with my frame.

My hands came up automatically. Ready to push away whoever had just crashed into me.

I looked down.

Dark hair. Messy and disheveled.

Silver-gray eyes. Unfocused. Glazed.

Flushed cheeks. Red nose. That expression of someone who was definitely, absolutely, completely wasted.

Aria.

She blinked up at me.

I bent down and scooped her up.

One arm under her knees. One arm around her back. Lifting her like she weighed nothing.

Because to me, she did.

"What are you..." She squeaked. "Put me DOWN!"

"No."

"Kael!"

I started walking.

Back down the hallway. Toward the main ballroom. Toward the exit.

She didn’t struggle anymore. Just lay there in my arms. Her head resting against my shoulder. Her eyes half-closed.

The murmurs started the moment we emerged.

Quiet at first. Then louder. Spreading through the crowd like wildfire.

"Is that...?"

"The Alpha..."

"He’s carrying someone..."

"Who IS that?"

Walked straight through the center of the ballroom. Past the staring faces. Past the dropped jaws. Past the Luna candidates who were watching their chances walk right out the door.