Chapter 162

Chapter 162

{Ronan's POV}

Sleep dragged me under like a tide, but it was not the kind that soothed. It was heavy, it made my thoughts slow, and filled it with images that twisted into something I could not control.

‘What is this?’

I stood in a gray haze, there was no clear cut where the sky started or ended. It felt like I was floating, but at the same time standing on solid ground. My sense of self blurred.

I turned from side to side, but it looked like this space stretched on forever.

I tried to move forward then… I saw her.

She was little more than a silhouette, her hair drifting as though caught in a breeze, her figure slowly pulling away from me.

“Lisa,” I called out, my voice carrying across the vast emptiness.

She did not answer.

“Lisa!” I screamed, louder this time, as my throat tightened with panic.

That was when she answered… not with words, but with a cry. It sounded dreadful… filled with desperation.

The scenes changed, and now she reached for me, her hand stretched forward, but no matter how fast I moved to grab her, she kept sliding farther and farther from my grasp.

A low growl rumbled beside me, and I turned. My wolf stood there, hackles raised, eyes glowing with fear and urgency. He did not wait for my command. He bolted after her, and my chest clenched with the understanding that this was not only a dream. Something told me this was more.

I ran after him, my legs carrying me across the endless ground until the haze broke apart and a clearing opened before us.

Lisa lay on the ground.

I dropped to my knees beside her, my breath coming in ragged bursts as I lifted her face.

“Hey… I'm here.”

She was covered in blood. So much blood. It stained her temple, her lips, her neck. Her eyes fluttered half-closed, but when I pressed my hand to her chest, I felt nothing. No heartbeat. No warmth. No no no.

It can't be.

“No,” I gasped. “No, not you. Please, not you.”

The silence swallowed me. Broken a moment later as my wolf howled.

The sound jolted me awake.

My eyes snapped open, and the first thing I noticed was the emptiness of the bed beside me. Cold sheets where she should have been.

“Lisa?” I whispered.

The memory of her words stabbed through me like a blade as I came to my senses. She had drugged me. She confessed to it…  She had said she was doing it for… for me?

My chest tightened, fury and fear crashing into each other. I sat up, only to stagger as a pounding headache ripped through my skull, the aftermath of the drug making every breath feel like a battle. But none of that mattered. I had to find her. I needed to be sure it was just a misunderstanding.

If something was bothering her, why didn't she tell me? Had I been too distant?

I pushed myself up and stormed out of the room, my voice already tearing through the halls. “Where is Lisa? Lisa?”

I would've called for Sean, Colt or Damon. But each of them was occupied somewhere else.

Two of my men appeared shortly, stiffening under my glare.

“She said she had an early appointment at the hospital,” The one to my right explained quickly. I couldn’t even remember his name. “She left before dawn, Alpha. She wanted to get there before the rush.”

“An appointment?” I repeated. “You let her leave? Alone?”

The one to my left flinched. “She told us it was routine. S-she usually leaves on her own, so we didn’t ask much else.”

I roared, the sound shaking the walls. “You idiots!”

They both lowered their heads, but I already regretted it. This was not their fault. Lisa was stubborn. She would have found a way regardless.

“Search for her. Now. Check every road, every hospital. Track her down before—” My words cut short as I fumbled for my phone.

I called her. The line rang a couple times, only to get sent to voicemail.

My pulse raced as I remembered something… I had set her phone to share her location every couple of hours, a precaution she had rolled her eyes at. Thank the moon I had.

I opened the tracking system, my hands steadying, only when I saw her last ping… it was the bus station not too far from here.

“Bus station?” I muttered. Why the hell would she be there?

I bolted for the parking lot, the men scrambling behind me as I tore out onto the road. The world blurred past, my wolf pacing inside me, just as worried for her as I was.

The bus station was busy, sure. But there was no sign of Lisa. Even her scent had gone cold…

I approached the clerk behind the counter. Showing her a picture of Lisa.

“Oh, yes. She was just here… but she didn’t wait for the bus because of a delay.”

“Thank you.”  I said, but I cursed under my breath. That only made things harder.

Wasting little time, I drove on, each passing mile stoking the fire in my chest. I had no map. No idea where to go, or where to stop. But as fate would have it, I came to a screeching halt.

Up ahead, there seemed to be flashing lights, probably an accident. That meant someone might've seen her.

As I approached the wreck. The state of things became clear. There was no way she used this route, she had to have headed back.

Police cars blocked the road. A cab lay overturned against a rock, its hood twisted, smoke curling into the sky.

I almost turned back. Almost. But my wolf’s voice thundered through me.

I slammed the brakes and jumped out, my boots crunching against gravel as I strode toward the wreckage. Two officers turned, holding up their hands. “Sir, stay back. We can't let anyone through.”

But I paid them no mind. Because my senses were working overtime to find her.

A moment later. I found her. She lay on the ground, barely pulled from the wreck, her hair matted with blood, her body still.

Time seemed to stop around me.

The officers moved to block me, and failed. I rushed forward, dropping to my knees, cradling her face in my hands. Her skin was cold, only the shallow rise and fall of her chest betrayed any signs of life.

One officer shook his head. “Oh my… I’m sorry. But she's lost too much blood. The ambulance is on its way, so you have to lea—”

“Shut up,” I growled, my wolf rising dangerously close to the surface.

I scooped her into my arms. Her weight pressed against me, fragile and terrifying.

“Sir, you can’t—”

I lifted my head, my gaze burning into them.

My eyes glowed, my teeth bared. A low snarl ripped from my throat. They froze, terror flashing across their faces. One stumbled back, the other stammered something incoherent.

“Out of my way,” I ordered.

They obeyed.

I carried her toward my car, my wolf urging me onward. Every step I prayed. Every breath I begged.

“Stay with me, Lisa. Please.”

My phone was already at my ear, my voice breaking as I barked into it. “Johan. I need you now.”

The line crackled with his startled voice, but I did not wait for his questions.

“Lisa’s hurt,” I said. My grip tightened on her as I laid her gently in the backseat, covering her trembling body with my jacket. “She’s lost lots of blood and she's unconscious. Be ready. I’m bringing her in.”

The engine roared as I sped away, my knuckles white on the wheel.

I would not lose her. Not now. Not ever.