Chapter 180

[ 1,023 words ]

Sebastian’s POV

Three hours.

Tiffany had been searching for three hours and still hadn’t found Emilia.

I sat in that hospital bed, staring at my phone, telling myself it meant nothing. She was probably playing games. Women did that, didn’t they? Disappear to get attention. Make you worry. Make you care.

Well, I didn’t care.

“You’re lying to yourself,” Ryder growled in my mind.

“Shut up.”

But my fingers kept checking the phone. No messages. No calls. No answer to the mind-link.

Outside my window, the sky had gone from orange to purple to black. Still nothing.

“Sebastian.” Tiffany’s voice came through the mind-link, exhausted. “I’ve looked everywhere. Nothing. Her phone’s still off. I don’t know where else to check.”

My chest tightened. “Keep looking.”

“It’s been hours. Something’s wrong. We need to…”

“I said keep looking!” I cut the link before she could finish.

Ryder snarled. “Stop being a stubborn fool and admit you’re scared.”

I wasn’t scared. I was… concerned. She was my Luna. It would look bad if something happened to her. People would talk.

Yeah. That was it.

I lasted maybe another hour before Fynn’s mind-link slammed into me.

“Alpha. Emilia’s been taken.”

My blood went cold.

“What?” I was already throwing off the blanket, reaching for my clothes.

“A vendor on Sunrise Street saw it. She bought roasted potatoes, then a white van pulled up. Men grabbed her and dragged her in. She fought, but she didn’t stand a chance.”

Rage tore through me, so hot I could barely see. Ryder howled in my mind, clawing to get out, to tear apart whoever had laid hands on our mate.

“Where?” My voice came out barely above a whisper, but Fynn flinched like I’d shouted.

“We’re pulling camera footage now. And I already ran the plate from the vendor’s photo. It’s registered to Tommy Wilde, a low-level rogue, no pack. I’ve got his last known address.”

“Send it to me. I’m leaving the hospital. Have the car at the south entrance in ten minutes.”

“Alpha, you’re in no condition to…”

“Ten minutes, Fynn.” I severed the link and finished dressing, ignoring the sharp pull of barely-healed ribs.

Images flashed through my head. Emilia hurt. Bleeding. Calling for help and getting nothing but silence.

“We should have gone after her the second Tiffany couldn’t find her,” Ryder snarled.

“I know.” I slammed my fist against the wall. “I know, damn it.”

I’d let my pride get in the way. Let my hurt feelings cloud my judgment. And now Emilia was out there somewhere, and I had no idea if she was even alive.

Fynn was already waiting with the car. His face was grim.

“How far?” I asked as I slid into the passenger seat.

“Twenty minutes. Maybe less the way I’m driving.” He pulled into traffic, faster than legal.

“Should we call the police?”

“No. They’d slow us down with procedures and paperwork. By the time they finished asking questions, Emilia could be dead.” My voice dropped. “This is pack business now.”

Fynn swallowed. “Understood, Alpha.”

I pulled out my phone and started making calls. “Get me twenty of our best trackers. Enforcers ready to move the second we’re there.”

At the last red light before the freeway, Fynn glanced at me. “How many wolves do you want on this?”

“All of them.”

***

Tommy Wilde’s apartment was in the bad part of town, the kind of place where rogues and outcasts ended up because no decent pack would have them. Perfect for someone who made a living doing dirty work for people too cowardly to do it themselves.

I kicked the door open without knocking.

Tommy was sprawled on a stained couch, beer in one hand, chips in the other, laughing at some show on TV. He looked up, saw ten massive wolves filling his doorway, and dropped both.

“What the…”

Fynn grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall before he could finish.

“Let’s keep this simple,” I said, walking slowly toward him. My voice was calm. Controlled. Which only made it worse, judging by how wide Tommy’s eyes went. “Last night, you drove a white van. You and your friends grabbed a woman on Sunrise Street. I want to know where she is. Now.”

“I don’t know what you’re…”

I held up a hand, cutting him off. “Before you finish that lie, let me explain something. I’m Sebastian Simons. Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack. And the woman you took? She’s my Luna. My mate.”

The color drained from Tommy’s face.

“So you have two choices.” I stepped closer, right in his face. “Tell me where my wife is, and you walk away with all your fingers. Or keep lying, and I take them one at a time.” I gripped his hand, slow, letting him feel it. “Then the hands. Then the arms. And every time a bone knits back together, I’ll break it again. They snap easier the second time. Did you know that?”

Tommy was shaking now. “Please, I…”

“I can keep you breathing through all of it,” I went on, not letting go. “So this is the only time I’ll ask nicely. Where is she?”

“Wait! Wait, please!” Tommy was sobbing now, snot running down his face. “I’ll tell you! Everything!”

I didn’t let go. “Start talking.”

“It wasn’t my idea, I swear! I’m just the driver!”

“Then who grabbed her?”

“The rogues! I just drove the van, that’s it. I don’t know why they wanted her, I swear. They don’t tell a driver anything.”

“Then how do you know anyone hired them?” I pressed.

“Because when I was pulling out, I saw two women show up. Standing off to the side, talking to the boss. I didn’t hear anything, but… they were the ones paying. Had to be.”

Two women. My mind raced.

“What did they look like?”

“I only got a quick look. An older one, maybe fifty, fancy clothes, lots of jewelry. And a younger one, twenties, blonde. Pretty, but… mean pretty, you know?”

Dorothy Ryles and Linda Taylor. Had to be.

“Where did they take her?”

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