Chosen as the Cursed Alpha's Seventh Bride

Emilia’s POV

I waited until six o’clock, but Sebastian hadn’t returned home, and he didn’t call. He was the one who’d said we’d have dinner together tonight.

I thought he might have gotten too busy with work and forgotten, so I called him to remind him about our plans. No one answered.

I tried reaching him through the mind-link next, but it was blocked. Completely shut off.

My stomach twisted. Sebastian never blocked our mind-link. Not unless something was seriously wrong, or he was deliberately avoiding me.

I reached out to Fynn through the pack link instead.

"Fynn, is Sebastian still at the office?"

There was a pause before his voice came through, cautious and confused. "Luna? When I left for the day, Alpha Sebastian was still in his office. Why? Is he not home yet?"

"No, and he’s not answering his phone. His mind-link is closed too."

Another pause. "That’s... strange. Do you want me to go back and check on him?"

"No, it’s fine. I’ll go have a look myself."

I cut the link before he could protest and grabbed my keys.

The drive to the Simons Imperial Group building felt longer than it should have. By the time I pulled into the parking garage, the whole building was dark except for the security lights in the lobby. I’d been here plenty of times before under similar circumstances, so the emptiness didn’t bother me.

I took the elevator straight to the ninth floor and pushed open the door to Sebastian’s office. "Sebastian, are you here?"

No answer.

I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. A few seconds later, I heard a buzz of vibration coming from his desk. I walked over and saw his phone sitting there, its screen lighting up with my call.

Great. So he’d left without his phone. That was either extremely careless or extremely intentional.

I turned on the lights and sank into his office chair, telling myself he’d probably just stepped out for a moment and would be back soon. He wouldn’t leave his phone behind otherwise.

While I waited, I idly opened one of his desk drawers. And that’s when I saw it.

A sheet of sky-blue paper, folded into the shape of a crane.

I pulled it out, my fingers trembling slightly as I unfolded it. The handwriting was delicate and graceful, and I didn’t need a signature to know exactly who it was from.

The words blurred in front of me. My chest tightened, and for a second I couldn’t breathe.

"Emilia." Eve’s voice was sharp in my mind, her anger mirroring my own. "That woman."

"I know."

The letter slipped from my fingers and fluttered to the floor. I stared at it for a moment, my mind racing, before I grabbed my phone and reached out to Fynn again through the mind-link.

"Fynn, did Abigail Tanner contact Sebastian?"

His confusion was immediate. "What? No, Luna. Why would she..."

"The letter you delivered to him today. Who sent it?"

There was a long, heavy silence. Then, quietly, "Oh, Goddess. I didn’t open it. I just handed it to him. Luna, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know..."

"It’s fine," I cut him off, my voice steadier than I felt. "Do you know where their ’usual place’ is?"

Fynn hesitated. "I... I think I heard him mention it once. There’s a place near the university. The Pepper Mill, I think it’s called. A small restaurant near Silverlake University."

"Thank you, Fynn."

"Luna, wait..."I was about to cut the link when his voice came through again, urgent and worried. "Please don’t tell Alpha Sebastian I told you. I just... I don’t want that woman to come back and hurt him again."

"I understand."

I broke the connection, grabbed my keys, and headed for the door.

The drive to Silverlake University felt like it took forever and no time at all. My hands were tight on the steering wheel, my jaw clenched. Eve paced restlessly in the back of my mind, growling low and dangerous.

"If he’s with her..." Eve snarled.

"Then we’ll deal with it."

I circled the university district until I spotted Sebastian’s car parked outside a small, brightly lit restaurant, its flickering neon sign reading "The Pepper Mill."

I pulled into a spot across the street, took a deep breath, and got out.

Standing outside the door, I could see them through the window. Sebastian’s back was to me, but I could see her clearly. The woman sitting across from him.

Abigail Tanner.

So this was her. The woman who’d haunted Sebastian for three years. The woman who’d broken him so thoroughly that he’d spent years building walls around his heart.

She was beautiful. Undeniably, heartbreakingly beautiful. The kind of soft, fragile look that made a man want to be her hero.

No wonder Sebastian and Damien had both fallen for her.

"She’s nothing special," Eve growled.

"She’s everything he used to want," I thought back.

I pushed open the door and walked inside.

I didn’t go straight to their table. Instead, I sat down at the table right next to theirs and called to the owner, "One bowl of spicy Cajun pasta, please."

Sebastian’s head snapped around at the sound of my voice. For a moment he just stared at me, his face going completely blank, like his brain couldn’t process what he was seeing.

I could feel him staring at me, but I pretended not to notice and looked away. I just wanted to see if he had the nerve to talk to me in front of his first love.

He finally stood and walked over to me, his voice low and tight. "What are you doing here?"

I turned to look at him, my eyebrows rising. "Why? Is this place off-limits? Do you own it or something?"

His jaw tightened. "Emilia..."

"Sebastian?" Abigail’s voice was soft, uncertain. She’d stood and was walking toward us now, her eyes moving between Sebastian and me. "Who is this?"

Before Sebastian could say a word, I smiled and stood, holding out my hand toward her. "Hello, Miss Tanner. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Sebastian’s wife and the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack. My name is Emilia Taylor."