Chapter 148

Logan

My phone buzzes twice—hard and fast—before I even look at the screen. That kind of alert only means one thing: emergency. My skin runs cold and the blood in my veins turns to ice. I slowly reach for my phone and the screen illuminates with a soft and subtle glow.

The moment I read the message, my stomach drops.

She’s gone.

I stand so fast I knock my chair over. Papers scatter from my desk as I grab my phone, already dialing while I head out of the office. My voice is sharp, panic bleeding through.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” I yell into the phone as I push through the chaos of my office.

The workers stare at me like I am a mad man. They move out of the way as soon as they see me, jumping out of my path so they do not feel the fire of my wrath.

“She slipped out during the rotation. Window through the garage. She took your car,” Sergeant Hale’s voice crackles through the line, out of breath.

“My car? I have my…” my voice falls quiet.

Shit. My old sedan. The car I refused to let go. I shove the door open with my shoulder, heart pounding so hard I can barely think. “How the hell did you let this happen!?”

“We didn’t see it, Alpha. She timed it perfectly. She’s not stupid,” Sergeant Hale says with slight panic in his voice. He’s trying to cover up for his own damn mistakes. The coward.

What he said about Emily is true. She isn’t stupid. She’s too damn clever for her own good. Fortunately for me, she is desperate right now. It gives me an edge.

“Find her,” I snarl, pressing the elevator button repeatedly, even though it won't come any faster. “I want roadblocks set up. Drones in the sky. Search the city—search everything.”

“Yes, sir—”

I hang up before he finishes and call Daniel next. He picks up on the second ring.

“Logan? What’s going on?” Daniel sounds confused.

“She’s gone, Daniel,” I bark. “Emily ran. She’s headed for Wanda.”

“She did? Do you know where?” Daniel’s tone turns serious.

“No. That’s why I’m calling you. You worked with Madame Wanda before. You know her patterns. Give me something,” I rush out of the elevator as soon as the doors open.

“She doesn’t have patterns. She moves constantly. No one keeps track of her because no one can.” Daniel’s tone is calm but I hear the concern underneath. “Wanda’s not the type to leave breadcrumbs.”

“She gave Emily an address. There has to be something—some place she’s used before. A cottage, a safe house — anything!”

“I’ll dig. But it won’t be easy. She doesn’t exactly keep a travel itinerary,” Daniel sighs.

“Then I want every area she’s been associated with flagged. And cross-reference that with places Emily’s mother used to go. Old territories. Vacation homes. Safe zones. All of it.”

“I’ll get on my men on it. I’m sorry this happened.”

“Yeah, well, there’s not much you could have done to stop it,” I hang up again, jaw tight, hands shaking.

This isn’t happening. This is my worst goddamn nightmare unfolding in real time.

I try calling Emily. The phone rings once, then goes straight to voicemail. I hang up and call again. And again. And again. Nothing. I try texting.

Logan: Emily, please. Come home. I just want to talk. Tell me where you are.

Logan: I’m worried. I’m scared. Please, Em.

Logan: I love you. Please talk to me.

Nothing. No response. No read receipts. No dots. No hope.

My wolf claws at the surface, restless and wild. It wants to rip the steering wheel in half. It wants to shift and run until I find her by scent alone. But I can’t do that in the middle of the damn city. I have to keep it together.

I slam my foot on the gas and tear out of the underground parking garage, tires squealing, engine roaring like it knows this isn’t just a drive — it’s a hunt.

“She could be anywhere,” I mutter to myself, my hands clenched so tight on the wheel my knuckles are white.

Minutes pass as I drive. I could be on the road for hours and still not find my wife, the love of my life. It is all my fault, anyways. I was the one who pushed her. I caged her in the name of protection.

I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping her safe. Giving her space while still keeping her close. I thought if I showed her how serious I was, she’d listen. She’d stop chasing ghosts and witches and whatever else Wanda whispered into her head.

In the end…all I did was drive her farther away. Now she’s out there all alone and vulnerable. Possibly walking straight into danger with no one to stop her. No one to shield her.

No one but herself…that’s what terrifies me most.

When Emily believes in something, she doesn’t stop. Not even when it hurts. Not even when it destroys her.

I call Hale again. He picks up after the first ring but I don’t give him the chance to speak, cutting in before he can.

“Any sign?”

“Not yet. We’re checking every exit road. The plate’s already flagged. If she crosses any traffic cam, we’ll get a hit,” he doesn’t sound convinced, though.

“She’s too smart for traffic cams,” I growl. “She’ll go rural. Off grid.”

“We’ve got drones sweeping the outskirts of the city. We’ll find her, sir, I promise.”

“You better,” I bite out. “Because if she gets to Wanda, we might not get her back.”

Hours Later…

I don’t go home. I can’t sit in that house while the clock ticks and she gets farther and farther away. I need to move. I need to do something.

I head for the northern edge of the city—where the trees start thickening and the hills rise like quiet sentinels. The last time Emily talked about peace, she said it wasn’t in the city. She said it was “where the noise stops and the sky breathes.”

Those were her words. Maybe they mean something now. Maybe that’s where she’s going.

The sun is already starting to set, casting long shadows across the road as I drive into the hills. The silence in the car is unbearable, so I call again. One last attempt to contact her. Straight to voicemail. I grip the phone so tight it creaks.

“Emily,” I say, voice low, rough. “Please. Just call me back. Just… let me know you’re safe. I don’t care if you’re mad. I don’t care if you hate me. I just want to hear your voice.”

I don’t say I love you. Not because I don’t mean it, but because it feels useless right now.

She knows I do. She knows that I would do anything in my power to bring her back to me. She just doesn’t believe it’s enough. Not anymore.

I end the call and drop the phone in the passenger seat. The trees blur past me in a tunnel of green and gold, but my mind isn’t here. It’s back in that bedroom. Back at the door she locked me out of. Back at every moment I tried to hold on to her too tightly, thinking love meant control.

It doesn’t. Love means trust and I broke that the moment I locked the door behind me when I left for work. Now all I can do is fix it—if I’m not too late.