Chapter 243. Non-Existent

Valen’s POV

“Beta?” I scowled in the witch's basement after descending the last step of the stairs.

Thick tension greeted me. One built on apprehension and fear.

They were as scared as a kitten that had just noticed the shadow of a dog’s tail lashing against a white wall. I could feel the weight of their trepidatious stares pressing against me. Their fretting, whispering thoughts practically radiated off them like static.

Zeus growled low and ferociously in my chest, unsettled by the hangdog silence. The implication of guilt hung heavily in the air.

My anxious eyes roamed every inch of the space, skipping through the bookshelves, futons, chairs, and stone tables seeking the one woman that my soul ached for. Seeing no trace of her, my longing hammered our bond with impatience.

An outburst climbed up my throat to be lashed out, only to be hindered when Venus flew at me. I swallowed the impending words. She gripped the front of my bl