Red Alert – 1

Sebastian’s POV

Why the fuck did this happen to her? Why would someone do this? Had there been warning signs I missed? Was she in danger without my knowing it? These questions hammered my brain while Damien drove like a madman through traffic.

If she’d been in danger and I hadn’t noticed, hadn’t done a damn thing to protect her, I’d never forgive myself.

“Is she alive?” I asked, terrified of his answer.

She had to be. She had to be.

Damien shot me a sideways glance. “I don’t know much, but I know she’s alive.”

I knew Damien, as Gamma, had a special connection with the Luna, but given Thea’s unique status, I wasn’t sure if that bond still functioned. From the footage they’d shown on TV, whoever was after Thea wanted to make sure she died. Make sure she had no chance of survival. I didn’t know the extent of her injuries, but I knew at least two bullets had hit her.

“Do you know where they took her?” I asked, my voice so fucking rough I barely recognized it. I’d been so focused on getting to her that I hadn’t even asked where to go. I just needed to be with her.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I called to confirm. They told me she was taken to Moon Bay General,” he answered.

At least they had the brains to send her to the best werewolf medical center here, with the top doctors and special equipment for dealing with non-natural injuries. But then my heart squeezed for a moment—that was also where Derek had died.

I tried to calm my heartbeat. Tried to breathe through the panic that was nearly drowning me. But it was too fucking hard. I kept praying to the Goddess, knowing I wouldn’t have a moment’s peace until I knew she was safe.

Red Alert – 1

“She’ll be okay, Sebastian,” Damien said after a minute or two of silence.

I wanted to have confidence in that, but I couldn’t. She might survive, but what about the baby? Not only had she been shot, but the impact when she fell to the ground couldn’t have been good for the pup in her belly. If she survived but the baby died in the process, she’d be shattered. I knew Thea. That kind of loss would destroy her. It might be the end of her.

“Can you go any faster?” I commanded.

It felt like we were moving at a snail’s pace. Time was crawling. Why was it always like this? Like slow motion.

“I’m already going as fast as I can, Sebastian.”

“Not fast enough. I need to be with her,” I told him desperately.

Why couldn’t he understand that I needed to be there now? What if she woke up with no one beside her? She needed me.

When I first felt that dread, heard my wolf’s warning, I should have trusted my instincts and listened to him. I should have dug deeper and made sure all my loved ones were protected. I didn’t, and now Thea was paying the price.

“Any idea who might be behind this?” Damien asked.

I knew what he was doing. Trying to distract me, so I wouldn’t focus too much on the negative shit.

“Graves,” I growled the name with hatred. “Only he has a motive.”

If it was him, then he’d won. He’d succeeded in destroying me and getting his revenge. Nothing could hurt me more than this.

“What about Leo? You need to tell him,” Damien added.

Fuck. I’d completely forgotten about him. He was going to be so fucking heartbroken. He loved his mom so much, and this was going to gut him.

“What am I supposed to tell him? How do I face him and tell him his mother was shot? Tell him I failed to protect her?”

I felt an avalanche of emotions trying to suffocate me. I couldn’t break down now. Leo needed me, and so did Thea. My feelings would have to wait until I could process them.

“This isn’t your fault, Sebastian. There’s no way you could have predicted this.”

I wished that were true, but the guilt was too strong. I should have listened to my gut.

I stayed silent because there was nothing to say. A few minutes later, we arrived at the hospital. I didn’t wait for Damien to park, just jumped out while the car was still moving and rushed inside.

“Thea Sterling,” I practically shouted when I reached the nurses’ station.

“Alpha Ashworth,” one of them nodded and gestured to me, “this way please. She was brought in about ten minutes ago and is in the emergency room now.”