Chapter 12 Bound By Love: Confronting Loss And Challenge

• The news hit Ryder like a bolt of lightning, leaving him paralyzed with shock and grief. Elijah and Jessica, his beloved siblings, had been abducted. The weight of the revelation felt like a crushing force upon his heart, and he crumbled to his knees in the desolate chambers of his castle. Silent tears streamed down his face as he struggled to process the magnitude of the loss.
• In the midst of his despair, Evangeline, his devoted mate, entered the safe room of Vampire's Palace. Her heart ached as she witnessed Ryder's pain, the sight of him in such anguish tearing at her own soul. She approached him gently, her footsteps barely audible against the cold stone floor. Her eyes welled with tears as she saw the mighty Vampire King, a pillar of strength to many, now reduced to his knees, broken by grief.
• "Ryder," she murmured, her voice barely a whisper, but it was enough to pierce through the haze of his sorrow. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of pain and helplessness.