Chapter 182 Where It Began
Sebastian’s POV
"We will," Fynn said carefully. "But right now, Emilia comes first."
"Then speed up the investigation I asked you for."My eyes went cold. Every time I pictured the wounds on her body, I wanted to rip whoever did this apart with my hands."Everything about her background, her family, everyone who might have wanted to hurt her. Names. Proof. I want it yesterday."
"On it." Fynn started to go, then paused. "Alpha... you should call your mother. And Tiffany. They’ll want to know."
I nodded stiffly and pulled out my phone with blood-stained hands.
Not long after Fynn left, the doctor came out of the ER. I was on my feet at once.
"How is my wife?"
"I’ve treated the wounds. The physical injuries will heal. It’s the psychological trauma that will take time."
"What trauma?"
"Does the patient have claustrophobia?"
"Yes."
"That explains it. She’s suffered severe psychological trauma. She was likely humiliated or abused, over a long period, by someone she hated."
My hands slowly curled into fists. My voice shook. "When can I see her?"
"That depends on her recovery. Once she regains consciousness, you can visit."
"Alright."
Emilia was unconscious for a full day and night. And in the hours I spent waiting, I finally understood what she’d said to me days ago.
"Do you know how scared I was these past few days? I was afraid you’d never wake up. I was afraid you’d leave me like that..."
Now here I was. Afraid Emilia would leave me. The way Abigail had.
The next morning, Fynn came to the hospital. He glanced at Emilia, still unconscious on the bed.
"Alpha," he said quietly. "I found someone. He says he knows what happened to Emilia."
I straightened, instantly alert. "Bring him in."
Fynn opened the door wider, and a middle-aged man stepped through. The second he saw Emilia on the bed, his face crumpled.
"Oh God," he choked out, rushing forward. "Emilia. My poor girl."
I was on my feet, blocking his path. "Who the hell are you?"
The man looked up, tears streaming down his face. "I’m Chuck Lorris. Emilia’s uncle."
"Emilia’s uncle?"
I stared at the man in my hospital room, and it burned through me. I’d been married to Emilia for nearly six months, and I hadn’t even known she had an uncle.
What kind of husband was I?
"Yes." Chuck Lorris nodded, his voice thick. "I’m her mother’s brother."
I made myself breathe slow. "Then tell me everything about Emilia. Every detail. Don’t leave anything out."
Chuck wiped his eyes and sank into the chair beside her bed. His gaze lingered on her swollen, bruised face, and his own crumpled.
"Where do I even start?" he whispered. "My sister, Tanya... she was the strongest person I ever knew. And the unluckiest."
"Start from the beginning," I said quietly. Ryder paced in my mind, agitated.
Chuck took a shaky breath. "Our parents were witches. Powerful ones. Tanya took after them. She was far stronger than I ever was. But years ago, our parents crossed an Alpha from a southern pack. A brutal one, the kind who never forgives. We had to run. They took Tanya and me north, away from everything we knew, and we ended up here in Silverlake City, right on the border between the human district and the wolf territories."
"We had nothing," he went on. "No connections, no money, no pack. Our family had fallen far. And then, when Tanya and I were barely grown, our parents vanished one night. Just... gone. We never found out what happened to them."
Fynn shifted beside me, his jaw tight. I kept my eyes on Chuck.
"So the two of us had to survive on the streets," Chuck said. "Tanya was beautiful. Stunning. So she took work as a dancer in a nightclub in our district. I started working young too, whatever I could get."
I felt my hands curl into fists.
"Don’t misunderstand," Chuck said quickly. "Tanya had her limits. She never sold herself. Ever. The men at that club threw money at her, chased her, but she turned down every one of them. And because she was a witch, no one dared force her into anything she didn’t want."
"Then Henry Taylor showed up." Chuck’s voice turned bitter. "He was persistent. Chased her for a whole year. Showed up every night with flowers, with gifts. Told her he didn’t care that she was a witch. Promised he’d make her his Luna, his mate for life."
"And she believed him," I said flatly.
"She did." Chuck’s face twisted. "Tanya was strong, but she wanted to believe someone could love her. When Henry proposed, she said yes. He brought her back to Frostridge and introduced her as his future Luna. For a while, it was good. Tanya helped him run the pack. And his business, construction contracts, needed constant deals and negotiation. Tanya was brilliant at it. She closed deals he never could have landed on his own. His company grew. His pack grew. Everything looked perfect."
"Until it wasn’t," Fynn muttered.
"Until it wasn’t," Chuck echoed. "One day Tanya came home from a business trip. She’d just closed the biggest contract Henry had ever seen, and she rushed back early to surprise him."
"And she found Henry at the house with another woman. Dorothy Ryles. Henry told her Dorothy was his fated mate."
"That bond you wolves have," Chuck said bitterly. "Destined partners."
"He said Dorothy was already pregnant. That he couldn’t keep lying, that he wouldn’t let Dorothy’s child suffer for it. Then he told Tanya the truth. He’d never actually married her. While she was away on that trip, he’d married Dorothy in a formal ceremony, in front of the pack elders."
The room went quiet except for the soft beep of Emilia’s monitor.
"Tanya asked him why," Chuck whispered. "And Dorothy laughed in her face. Said, ’You’re just a witch. A dancer. You could never be a Luna. I’m his fated mate. I’m the right choice. You’re nothing but a mistress trying to break the bond.’"
"And Henry?" I asked.
"He said nothing. He just stood there and let her say it." Chuck’s hands shook. "Tanya looked at him, at his cold silence, and she understood his choice. So she walked out. Clean. Didn’t beg. Just left the pack with nothing."
"A few weeks later, she realized she was pregnant," Chuck said.