Chapter Thirty-Two

KEAGAN'S POV ~

Emma's face drained of all color, her mouth agape in shock as she stood before the restroom door. My eyes moved to the right and I saw that she wasn't alone—Hector stood beside her, equally stunned, followed by a group of guests, both familiar and unfamiliar. 

Their eyes darted back and forth between the bloody scene and Sylvia, who was slipping in and out of consciousness.

Speaking of the devil.

Sylvia groaned and raised her head. Her eyes were closed, brows creased as she moved her hands blindly. Was she looking for me? Gritting my teeth, I inched a bit closer and emitted some pheromones so she could know how close I was. And immediately her hands moved to circle my neck. I stiffened as she pulled me closer, whining softly.

"Don't go Keagan," She whimpered in a slur, her face was so close to mine that her sweet breath fanned across my nose. "I'm so scared. Hold me."

My eyes widened in surprise.

I stared at her face, trying to discern if she was intentionally pulling me close, but she seemed entirely unaware, muttering something incomprehensible under her breath.

Perhaps I was losing my fucking mind. Sylvia moaned, making my neck go red and my cock to stiffen in my pants. Fuck! I tried to quickly push away from her but she was so strong that she locked her arms around my neck, holding me right in place. Fuck, I'd forgotten Sylvia was an Alpha who was strong, if not equally as strong as I was.

I had no idea how many times I swore countlessly under my breath, trying to pull off her. Deep down, I knew I could just pull away from her without a break of sweat but here I was, enjoying her scent, wanting to sink into her. Putting on a show for the onlookers that I was completely oblivious to what she was doing, whilst all I fucking wanted to was Sylvia. I wanted Sylvia with a veracity that fucking scared me. Why? Why did she have such an effect on me when no other woman had in almost eight fucking years since the death of my wife.

It wasn't even about how Sylvia looked. Yes, she was fiercely beautiful with lips that spelled SIN. But Sylvia Reynolds smelt perfect. She felt perfect. Perfect to own and hold. Like the missing puzzle in my life that's suddenly back in place.

Now that I was getting closer to her, I could tell the scent I'd perceived that first day had been a fluke. Whilst she smelt very similar to Jessica, there was a subtle, musky undertone of Oudh.

I inhaled her scent for the last time before forcefully pulling away in order not to rouse any suspicion before standing, making sure no part of her was exposed. 

Worry creased into me. This was the feeling of a strange possessiveness and it was no fucking good. 

As I stood up completely, dusting off the dirt staining my suit, I turned to see Emma's expression twisted into something entirely ugly. Her teeth were clenched, as were her fists, as she glared down at me. I shot an unbothered raised brow in her direction.

"Is she alright?" one of the guests asked. Everyone seemed to snap out of the shocked haze they had been in.

They attempted to approach Sylvia, but I halted them with a raised palm. "She's experiencing a splitting headache, and sounds are irritating her," I lied. "Call an ambulance," I instructed Hector, who quickly pulled his phone from his pocket.

The guests began to murmur, gathering around Leon, who was groaning in pain. Several of them took photos of him, and I made sure no one took a photo of Sylvia in her vulnerable state.

My teeth kept gritting as I observed her discomfort. From what I had smelled on her breath, she must have been drugged with a powerful substance.

Shit!

I wouldn't mind killing this asshole over and over again for putting her in this state. My eyes snapped toward the two men and a woman who had hurried in with a stretcher to take Sylvia away.

My fists itched to hold her, to comfort her, and to follow her to ensure she was alright, but I knew I had no damn right to do that. Emma was already glaring daggers at me.

"We need to talk, Keagan," Emma said as soon as the guests had dispersed, and the cops were taking statements from my Beta. I merely glanced at her before glaring hard at Leon and the first aiders surrounding him to stop his bleeding.

"You can speak," I said icily.

"You were brazenly holding another woman just like that, Keagan!" she growled in a low tone. "Right in front of other people, without thinking of the effect it would have on your reputation as a married man!"

My features hardened as a vein protruded from her temple. I could feel the eyes of the nearby cops on us.

Without saying a word, I wrapped my fingers around Emma's elbow and pulled away from the scene, and she complied without struggling.

Once I was certain we were out of earshot from the cops, I instantly released her wrists, watching as she gasped. My features twisted into a look of sheer irritation as I leveled my glare at her.

"You're so pathetic!" I lashed out. "Don't you even realize she survived an attempted rape? I saved her just in time, and this is all you have to say?"

She flinched, her eyes reddening as she sniffled and forcefully wiped away the tears streaming down her face. "Right!" she exclaimed. "You were staring at her like she was some porcelain doll! You let her hold you intimately while she moaned! Are you going to deny that you didn't enjoy it when you could have easily pulled away like you've been scathed?!"

A vein ticked on my forehead as annoyance clouded over me. I despised how Emma managed to irk me every single damn time.

I took a menacing step toward her, and she met me with a defiant look as I pointed at her. 

"Since when did you start thinking I cared about your opinion?" I asked eerily calmly, causing her defiant look to falter. "You can think whatever bullshit you want, Emma, but never try to—"

"To what?!" she cut me off, her voice filled with desperate anger. I glared with intense hostility, meeting her gaze. "I hope you won't feel awful when you see me getting intimate with some other man, Keagan! Stop giving me excuses! I'm done with it!" She screamed like someone losing her mind, but it was so odd, I wasn't perturbed in the slightest.

A glacial and dangerous smile touched my lips as I shrugged, indifferent to her words. "You can do whatever you want, Emma, no matter how slutty it may be. As long as my kids and I don't see it, we're good. Just make sure you don't stain my reputation and clean up any mess you make. If not..." I paused, the smile on my lips vanishing entirely. "you'd find a divorce paper next to you."

I issued the warning and then turned away from her without a second glance. A heart-wrenching sound escaped her lips, but I couldn't bring myself to care, let alone look back. 

Days turned into weeks, and I hadn't heard from Sylvia or her doctor. I was so occupied with office work and pack duties that I spent several days away from home, only managing to video call my kids most of the time, watching them go to bed before diving back into work yet again.

The moment the door opened to reveal Hector with piles of files, I looked up. "Have you heard anything about Sylvia?" I asked.

He sighed, approaching my desk and dropping the heap of files on the table.

"She doesn't have an agent anymore, and I don't know why she isn't coming over," I muttered again since Hector hadn't answered my first question.

"She's very sick, Alpha."