Chapter 354 A Long-Distance Babysitter
Emilia’s POV
“Paris,” Sebastian said.
I grinned. “Oh, excellent choice. Paris. City of love, city of wine, city of regrettable late-night decisions. Maybe he’ll stumble into some whirlwind romance while he’s there.”
Sebastian groaned. “Don’t even joke. If Tiffany hears a whisper of that, she’ll bring the house down.”
He shook his head. “Last time I asked Fynn to meet with another company’s CFO, who happened to be a woman, Tiffany got it into her head, through Goddess knows what rumor mill, that I was pimping my own Beta out. She was convinced I’d arranged some sordid little setup, trading Fynn’s body for a business deal. I didn’t get a moment’s peace for a week.”
I laughed, the memory rushing back. “Oh, I remember that disaster.”
We found a French restaurant, ate, traded jokes, and filed the whole Fynn-and-Tiffany saga away as a bit of passing office drama. Then we went back to burying ourselves in work.
I should have known better.
By the time we got home that evening, the pack house had descended into chaos.
Mila met us at the door, a scrap of paper trembling in her hand. She held it out, and I read Tiffany’s looping, hasty scrawl:
I’ve gone to Paris.
Titus was pacing the foyer like a caged beast, fury rolling off him in waves. “She’s got a perfectly good education waiting for her and she runs off to Paris? What in the Moon’s name is she thinking?”
Sebastian and I exchanged one look, and the same cold understanding dropped into both of us at once.
We retreated to our room. The second the door clicked shut, he rounded on me.
“Did you tell her Fynn was in Paris?”
“Are you out of your mind?” I shot back, hands on my hips. “Why would I? We can’t even get the man on the phone. You think I’d send Tiffany halfway across the world, all alone, with no one to look after her? I may be many things, Sebastian, but I’m not a monster.”
He had the grace to look chastened for half a second before he yanked out his phone and dialed.
It rang. And rang. Nothing.
“Pick up, you useless…” He cursed under his breath. “Fynn, you absolute coward. He’s screening my calls.”
He thrust the phone at me, scrolling to another number. “This is his private line. You try. Maybe he won’t recognize it.”
I took it and hit call.
Two rings, then a wary voice. “Hello?”
My heart leapt. “Fynn. It’s Emilia. Listen carefully. Tiffany got on a plane. She’s flying to Paris to find you. You need to track her down the second she lands.”
“What?!” Papers rustled, and a chair scraped. “Is she alone? Tell me she’s not alone.”
Sebastian snatched the phone clean out of my hand before I could answer, pressing it to his ear with a growl that rattled the windowpane.
“Yes. Alone.” His voice dropped to that low, dangerous register that made grown wolves flinch. “Fynn, I am warning you. You will be gentle with her. She’s still unwell. Don’t you dare provoke her, don’t say a single cutting word, and you will get her home safe. Do you understand me? Fail, and your little vacation is over. Permanently.”
I heard Fynn’s muffled grumble crackle through the speaker. “My vacation ended the moment you called. Fine. I’ll be the world’s most devoted babysitter.”
Sebastian jabbed the end-call button and tossed the phone onto the bed.
I sank down onto the mattress and let out a long, slow sigh. “You know, Sebastian, I think I finally understand why Tiffany and Fynn could never actually make it work.”
He turned, frowning. “Why?”
“Because it’s painfully obvious.” I ticked it off on my fingers. “If they ever got together and had so much as one little argument, you would beat the man to within an inch of his life. And the real cherry on top? You’d still be his Alpha and his boss afterward. Imagine the office morale.”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t about me being overprotective. Tiffany isn’t like you, Emilia. You’re strong. You’re fearless, you bite back, you stand on your own two feet. She isn’t built that way. Her life is hanging by a thread as it is. If she finds Fynn and he says one careless, cruel thing to her, it could shatter her completely.”
“Love doesn’t take orders, my love.” I met his eyes. “Tiffany already knows Fynn and Willow are finished. She was always going to act on that eventually. You stopped her today, sure. But can you stop her tomorrow? And the day after that?”
“I’ll do everything in my power to stop her,” he said grimly.
“Then you’re only fooling yourself.” I shook my head. “That’s not protection, Sebastian. That’s a lack of faith in your own sister. If I were you, I wouldn’t let Tiffany run from her own heart. I’d tell her to chase it, head held high. As long as she gives it everything she’s got, then even if she falls flat on her face, she’ll still be the bravest girl in any pack.”
He was quiet for a long moment. Then he dragged a hand down his face and let out a breath that seemed to carry the weight of the whole evening.
“If she recovers,” he said softly, “if she gets well and stays well, then I swear I won’t stand in the way of anything she wants to do.”