Chapter 69

Phoenix

I speed towards my uncle's office building, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles are white. The anger and helplessness I feel are like a raging storm inside me, threatening to pull me under. It's suffocating, overwhelming like I'm fucking drowning, and Selene is the only one who could pull me back to the surface.

The last time I felt anything close to this was at my mom's funeral. I was just a kid then, scared and heartbroken, relying on her to shield me from my father. But in the end, she was gone, and I had to fight my way back alone, clawing through the grief, anger, and loneliness. I swore I'd never let myself be that vulnerable again.

But, now as an adult, I've allowed myself to become dependent on someone else once again. I've let Selene in so deep that the thought of losing her rips me apart in ways I didn't think were possible. Losing my mom was a wound that never fully healed, and now that Selene is gone too, I feel like that wound has been torn open all over again.

I can't imagine facing the world without her. In such a short time, she has literally become my everything. The thought of living without her, of going back to a life where she isn't by my side, is fucking unbearable.

I burst into Luke's office, barely stopping myself from breaking down the door. He's already on the phone, barking orders, his expression a mix of worry and determination. His eyes snap to mine, and in that moment, I see the same fear in his eyes that's already tearing me apart inside.

"I'm on it," he says, muting his phone while he speaks to me. "We're going to find her, Phoenix. I won't let anything happen to her."

His words should make me feel better, but they don't. Not when every second that passes is another second that Selene is in danger.

As he continues barking orders on the phone, I pace his office, my mind reeling. My wolf is restless, pushing at the edges of my control, ready to destroy anything and anyone who stands in the way of us getting her back.

Luke finally hangs up, and when he looks at me, his face is set in a grim mask. "I've got my best people on it. We'll have all of the available resources looking for her."

I hear him, but his words are muffled, like we're in two different dimensions. It was like this when I lost my mom too, it felt like I was lost in a world of grief all by myself.

His words filter through the chaos in my mind, but they're distant, like we're separated by a thick wall of glass. It's the same numbness I felt when I lost my mom, that hollow, disconnected feeling of being adrift in a sea of grief with no one to bring me back to shore.

My mind keeps replaying the horrifying scene of Selene's abduction, the image seared into my brain like a brand. The way Kate drove the syringe into Selene's neck, the fear that flashed in my little wolf's honeyed eyes before they rolled back, her body crumpling to the floor. Then, Kate's evil smirk as she dragged Selene's unconscious body into the elevator, like she was disposing of trash.

Why?

Why did she take her from me?

Why do something so fucking extreme? What did Selene do to deserve that?

My chest heaves with a roar that rips through me, the sound raw and primal, filled with all the anguish and fury I can no longer keep inside. My first slams into the wall beside me, the impact travelling up my arm, but it's nothing compared to the pain tearing through my entire being.

As I rear back for another hit, Luke is suddenly behind me, his arms wrapping around me, pinning my arms behind my back. "Stop, son," he urges, trying to break through the red haze clouding my vision.

"She's gone, Unc," I rasp, my voice breaking. "She's gone and I'm never going to see her again."

My little wolf...so alone and terrified.

"That's not true," he insists, his grip tightening as if he can hold me back through sheer force of will. "We're going to find her and bring her back to you."

Suddenly, Jordan and Jamie stride into the room, their expressions stoic. Their presence pulls me back from the brink, just enough to focus.

"We came as fast as we could," Jamie says, his tone brisk, but there's a flicker of concern in his eyes as he looks at me.

Sighing, Luke releases me, and moves to sit on the edge of his desk, his wary eyes trained on me.

"Do you guys really believe both Kate and Zack are working with the Devils?" Jamie asks, leaning against the giant hole in the wall that I caused.

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense. I'm sure we would've heard something by now about it," Jordan adds.

"Well, if they are, we need to be careful," Luke says, his voice low and stern. "The Devils are dirtier than any terrorist organization. Rushing out will get Selene killed, along with everyone else volunteering to help us."

His words hit like a bucket of ice. As much as I want to tear through the city until I find Selene, I know he's right. The Devils are ruthless, and if they're involved, one wrong move can get her killed.

And it would be all my fault.

"Besides, we don't even know if they're involved," Jordan says folding his arms over his chest.

I don't believe that. We saw Zack come out of their hideout.

That asshole is definitely involved with them.

"That's right," Luke muses, stroking his beard as he begins to pace, his heavy boots thudding on the floor. "And there's still one major question...how did Kate get mixed up with someone like Zack in the first place?"

The room falls into an uneasy silence, the tension thickening. We're in the dark, fumbling for answers, and every second we waste could mean the difference between life or death for Selene.