Chosen as the Cursed Alpha's Seventh Bride

Sebastian’s POV

I paced back and forth in Kaito’s office, checking my phone for what had to be the hundredth time that hour. Still nothing. No messages. No missed calls. No word from any of Kaito’s men.

"Where the hell is she?" I muttered, dragging a hand through my hair.

Kaito watched me from behind his desk, his expression somewhere between amused and concerned. "Sebastian, my men are the best. If she’s on this island, they’ll find her."

"It’s been hours," I shot back. "Hours, Kaito. She could be anywhere by now. She could be..." I let it drop, not wanting to finish that sentence.

"Relax. She’s probably holed up in some hotel, enjoying room service and making you sweat."

I wanted to believe that. I really did. But something in my gut told me Emilia wasn’t the type to sit still when she was angry. She’d do something dramatic. Something reckless. Something that would give me a heart attack.

"Maybe she didn’t even come to Japan," I said. "Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she went somewhere else entirely."

"You doubt your own instincts?" Ryder’s voice rumbled in my mind, and I could practically feel him rolling his eyes. "I can sense Eve. She’s here. They’re both on this island."

I stopped pacing. "You’re sure?"

"As sure as I can be. The bond’s faint because she’s blocking us, but it’s there. She’s here, Sebastian. Stop panicking and trust me."

I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself. If Ryder could sense Eve, then Emilia was definitely here. That was something, at least.

"If these guys don’t find her soon," I said quietly, "I’m going out there myself."

"In this weather?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. "You’ll freeze to death before you find her. The wind’s too strong. Even if you caught her scent, it’d be scattered in seconds."

"I don’t care."

Kaito sighed and shook his head. "You’ve got it bad, my friend."

"Tell me about it," I muttered, sinking into the chair across from him.

The minutes dragged like hours. Every time my phone buzzed, I lunged for it, only to be let down by some useless update. No sign of her. It was driving me insane.

Then, just as the sky outside turned pitch black, Kaito’s phone rang.

He answered, listened a moment, then looked at me. "One of my men says a miner spotted a woman matching her description about two hours ago."

I shot to my feet. "Where?"

"Near the base of the mountain."

My blood ran cold. "The mountain? Which mountain?"

"The one north of here. The big one."

Kaito frowned. "What the hell is she doing on a mountain?"

But I knew. I knew exactly what she was doing.

The Snow Diamond. That ridiculous, sparkly, powdery snow she’d read about in some travel magazine. She’d mentioned wanting to see it once, back when we were planning this trip. Of course she’d go chasing it now, in the middle of a blizzard, just to spite me.

"She’s going to get herself killed," I said, grabbing my coat.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Kaito stood, blocking my path. "Where do you think you’re going?"

"To find her. Where else?"

"Not in this weather, you’re not. It’s a death trap out there. Let my men handle it."

"Your men couldn’t find her for six hours!" I snapped. "I’m not sitting here while my wife freezes to death on some mountain because she’s mad at me!"

Kaito studied me a long moment, then sighed. "Fine. But I’m coming with you."

"You don’t have to."

"Sebastian, your wife is missing on my turf. If something happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself. Besides, you’ll get lost without me."

I wanted to argue, but he had a point. I had no idea where I was going.

"Fine," I said. "Let’s go."

The mountain was even worse than I’d imagined.

The wind howled like a living thing, driving snow into my face so hard I could barely see three feet ahead. My boots sank deep into the powder with every step, and the cold cut through my coat like it wasn’t even there.

"Emilia!" I shouted, my voice barely carrying over the storm. "Emilia, where are you?"

Nothing. Just the wind and the snow.

Kaito and his men fanned out, each taking a different path up the mountain. But within the hour I’d lost sight of them completely. The storm was too thick, the visibility too poor.

"Emilia!" I called again, my throat raw. "Emilia, answer me!"

Still nothing.

"She’s out here somewhere," Ryder said, his voice tense. "I can feel Eve. She’s close."

"How close?"

"I don’t know. Just... close."

I gritted my teeth and pushed on, my legs burning from trudging through the snow. My mind raced through every worst-case scenario. What if she’d fallen? What if she was hurt? What if she was trapped somewhere, unable to move?

"This is your fault," Ryder growled. "If you hadn’t gone to see Abigail..."

"I know!" I snapped. "You think I don’t know that? I screwed up, okay? I get it. But yelling at me won’t help us find her."

Ryder went quiet, but I could still feel his anger simmering under the surface.

I tripped over a hidden rock and went down hard, my hands sinking into the snow. For a moment I just stayed there, kneeling in the cold, gasping for breath.

"Emilia," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Please. Please be okay."

I pulled out my phone, hoping for a signal, but the screen was dead. No bars. No connection.

"Damn it!" I threw the phone into the snow, then scrambled to grab it right back.

I couldn’t give up. Not now. Not when she was out here somewhere, probably cold and scared and alone.

I forced myself up and kept walking.

"Emilia!" I shouted again, louder this time. "Emilia, if you can hear me, say something! Anything!"

The wind answered with a low, mournful howl.