Chapter 181 I’ve Got You
Sebastian’s POV
"The old building by Fourth Mile River! North side! I just drove there and left, I never went in! I didn’t touch her!"
Beside me, Fynn gave a small nod. Truth.
I let go of his wrist and stepped back. He sagged against the wall, gasping.
"Please," he whispered. "Don’t tell them I talked. Those rogues... they’ll kill me if they find out."
I looked at him once, and he went silent.
"Pray my wife doesn’t have a single scratch on her," I said quietly. "Because if she does, the rogues won’t get to you first. I will. And if you run, there’s nowhere on this earth I won’t find you. Clear?"
"C-clear," he stammered.
We left him there, shaking.
As soon as we were in the car, Fynn sent a mind-link to the team. "Fourth Mile River, north side. Abandoned building. All units converge now."
I leaned back, trying to hold down the rage burning through me. Ryder was howling for blood, demanding we shift and tear apart everyone involved.
"We’re coming, Emilia," I whispered. "Hold on. Just hold on."
The abandoned building rose up ahead, dark against the early morning sky. I was out of the car before Fynn fully stopped, already searching for any trace of Emilia’s scent.
"Spread out," I ordered. "Search every room, every floor. She’s here."
We swept through the building, Ryder’s instincts pulling me across the main floor, through the rubble.
Then I smelled it.
Blood. Thick and metallic, so strong I could taste it.
My heart stopped. The scent was hers. Emilia’s blood.
"EMILIA!" Her name tore out of my throat. "EMILIA, WHERE ARE YOU?"
The team picked up the call, voices echoing through the building. "Luna! Luna, can you hear us?"
I followed the scent, Ryder howling in my mind, clawing at my control. It led me down a narrow corridor, growing stronger with every step, until it stopped at a heavy iron door at the end.
Then I heard it. A weak scraping sound, like fingernails against metal. The door shuddered.
"Emilia!" I was at the door in seconds, gripping the handle. Locked. "EMILIA!"
A broken whimper came from inside, so quiet I almost missed it.
My hands were already shifting before I decided to, bones cracking as my fingers stretched into razor-sharp claws. Ryder surged forward, lending me his strength.
"Get back from the door!" I shouted. "Emilia, move away from it now!"
I waited three agonizing seconds, then drove my claws into the lock. Metal shrieked and tore. I ripped the whole assembly out and kicked the door open.
The stench of blood rolled out.
The room was pitch black, windowless. I could barely see, but I didn’t need to. My wolf senses filled in the rest.
Emilia lay crumpled just inside the doorway, one hand still raised, like she’d been trying to reach the door. Blood had soaked through her shirt, dark and wet across her back and sides. Her face was swollen, one cheek puffed up and bruised where she’d been struck, but it was her body that had bled.
The mate bond screamed in my chest, a pain so sharp I staggered.
"No. No, no, no..." I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands hovering over her, afraid to touch her, afraid I’d make it worse. "Emilia. Emilia, look at me."
Her eyelids fluttered. One eye was swollen half-shut, but the other cracked open, just barely.
"Sebastian..." The word was barely a breath.
That single word broke something in me.
"I’ve got you." My voice cracked as I slid my arms beneath her, so careful. "I’ve got you now. You’re safe."
She whimpered when I lifted her, and the sound cut straight through me.
Ryder was going insane, howling for blood, for the death of everyone who’d done this. I wanted it too. I wanted to tear them apart with my bare hands.
But first, I had to get her out. Had to get her safe.
"Look at me," I whispered, holding her against my chest as I stood. "Stay with me, Emilia. Just stay with me."
Her good eye focused on me for a moment, and I saw the pain there, the fear she was trying so hard to hide.
"Hurts," she breathed.
One word. Just one broken word, and my control shattered.
"I know. I know it hurts." My vision blurred. "I’m sorry. I should have found you sooner. I should have protected you. I’m so fucking sorry."
Through the bond, I felt echoes of what she’d been through. The terror of the dark. The pain of every lash. The despair when she thought no one was coming.
Every second of it was like a knife in my chest, and I couldn’t take any of it away.
"Sebastian." Fynn appeared at my shoulder, his face tight. "We need to move. Now."
I nodded once, not trusting my voice, and carried Emilia out into the grey morning light.
The team had cleared a path to the car. I slid into the back seat, still holding her, refusing to let go.
"Drive," I growled at Fynn. "The pack hospital. Now."
The car lurched forward. I barely noticed. All my focus was on Emilia, on the shallow rise and fall of her chest.
"Stay with me," I kept saying, pressing my lips to her forehead. "Don’t you dare leave me. You hear me, Emilia? Don’t you fucking dare."
Her fingers twitched against my chest, so weak I almost missed it. Like she was trying to tell me something.
"She’s strong," Ryder said quietly. "Our mate is strong. She’ll survive this."
"She shouldn’t have to," I snarled back. "She shouldn’t have gone through any of this."
The pack hospital appeared ahead. The second the car stopped, I was out, carrying Emilia through the doors. Pack physicians were already waiting, and they rushed her onto a gurney the moment they saw us.
One of them pulled back her shirt to check the wounds and went pale at what he saw. He didn’t say it, but I read it on his face. Whoever had done this hadn’t just wanted to hurt her. They’d wanted to break her.
I laid her down, finally, my hands shaking as I let her go.
They wheeled Emilia away. I stood there under the lights, my hands still covered in her blood, and felt the rage settle into something cold.
Fynn appeared beside me. "Sebastian... don’t lose your head. Not now."
"I want them dead," I said, my voice calm. "Tommy. The rogues. All of them. Hunted down and torn apart."