For a week the prince had searched for her. The creature that he had once been a shadow to was nowhere to be found, and he didn't know what to do without her. Taikon had joined a pack solely because of Aphrodite. Her open demeanor and the beauty in her empathetic nature had drawn him to her and convinced him that no place she called home could ever be considered bad. When she had gone missing, he had feared that Donovan had taken her captive, prisoner to the Saints, he was terrified she might be tortured and killed.
It was eventually the smell of her corpse that told him of her fate. Just past the Otatso Wetlands, her body was hidden under a large shrub. He had found her laying down in a rather peaceful position, her head resting on her paws. A wound was on her back foot. Two marks told him that it had been a snake, and her scrunched expression told of the pain and anguish she had gone through while fighting its poison. All the herbs in the world could not save her; the wound itself had a green paste that had turned an abhorrent brown, dried out from almost a week before.
Her stillness... He had nudged her, knowing well that she would not move. Her body had been nearly mummified from the heat.
On his way home, he'd vomited twice, tears streaming down his cheeks. He felt ill from the smell of her body. He felt ill from the loss. He couldn't believe that such a simple, stupid creature had killed her. It didn't make any sense. It had to be intentional. It had to be a dream.
When Taikon reached the borders of Whitebark Stream, he let loose a very long, angry, anguished, lingering howl. It was to tell his pack mates that something terrible had happened, that Aphrodite had been found. He could not fit what he had seen into the message. On the borders, he burst into a sob, the reality of it at last hitting him.

What might have been, had she gone on to live another day? What adventures would they have had? What new things would she have told him that might help him deal with his ongoing and never-healing grief for Cella? The reality of the world being that much emptier without Aphrodite was cold and cruel. He felt the weight of the unjust truth fill him with anger. There would be no one that could help him through this. It was Cella's death all over again. Despite having become a new member of the family at Whitebark, in that moment he felt very alone, forsaken to an eternity of despair.
As Artyom approached, Taikon did his best to stifle his ugly sobs, taking a breath so that he might relay the news more efficiently. He looked up at his leader's gaze, tawny ears flattened behind him, his eyes telling almost everything Artyom needed to know. When her name was spoken, tears welled again and spilled down his face, though he kept himself from so much as a whine. He looked down.
I found her collapsed past Otatso... she had passed days ago, he said. He allowed a long moment of silence to pass between the two white wolves. There was no apparent foul play. I'd worried.. about Donovan. But she. It was a snake, his words broke apart there, and he licked around his lips, feeling nausea threatening again.

Nature can be cruel.
Taikon's nose twitched. Part of him was almost angry that it appeared as though Donovan had nothing to do with Aphrodite's sudden death. He wanted to blame someone, anyone. He could blame himself for not being there with her, but he knew that he would not have known how to handle a snake bite any better than she had. The heat in his chest looked for a scapegoat. There had to be a reason for this to have happened. Things weren't this random, were they?
As Artyom spoke of Donovan, Taikon narrowed his eyes. He had heard only snippets of information about the goings on of the region. He had a low opinion of the rogue male ever since Aphrodite had confided in him and told him of the physical abuse she had suffered because of him. He had tried to let it go, for the healer had told him she wished Donovan no ill will. Now, though, Donovan was a new reason to be infuriated, and that was enough for Taikon.
I have only heard rumours of the formation of the Saints with him as their leader. Is there more? Being new, Taikon was out of the loop and did not know of Dawn's attack, nor of Seelie Court's foundation and plea for backup against the Saints.