Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 221

DAMIEN’S POV

The room spun. The walls closed in. I couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

Then tike a switch flipping.

Rage burned through the panic, white-hot and sharp.

snatched the phone off the floor, fingers shaking so bad I almost dropped it again.

I hit Matte’s number again.

He answered immediately.

“What the fuck do you mean you’re sorry?” I snarled into the line. “I asked you to watch my mate! I told you-eyes on her every second! What part of that did you not understand, Matteo?”

His voice came through tight, careful, like he was talking to a bomb about to blow.

“We don’t know how to explain it, boss. We got played.”

“Played?” The word tasted like acid. “You had one job.

One. Fucking. Job.”

“We did, sir. We had eyes on her the whole time. But… it wasn’t her.”

My blood turned to ice.”What?”

A long, heavy pause.

“We followed your orders. You said don’t get too close.

Stay back. Blend in. So we did. We watched from a distance

—two blocks, parked cars. We never lost visual. But….they used that against us.”

My grip on the phone was crushing. It was a miracle l hadn’t broken it.-

“They had a decoy,” he continued, voice low and grim. “A fake Rose. Same height. Same hair. Same clothes. She walked out the side exit, limping, same backpack. We tailed her all the way to the parking lot. Sat on her for two hours while the real Rose…

He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to.

“They switched her,” I whispered. The words felt like broken glass in my throat.

“Yes, sir.”

Rage and terror slammed into me at the same time-two tidal waves crashing together in my chest. My vision tunneled. My wolf howled so loud inside me I thought my skull would split.

Rose.

Alone

Scared

Taken.

The thought of her—my mate, my everything-out there with strangers, hurt, confused, maybe crying for me…

I wanted to fall to my knees and scream.

I wanted to tear the city apart brick by brick until I found her.

But I couldn’t break. Not now.

She needed me strong.

I forced air into my lungs. Forced my voice steady.

“I don’t give a fuck about your excuses. Bring me my mate.

Now.”

“We’re on it, sir. Every tracker, every resource. We’re turning this city upside down.”

The line went dead.

I threw the phone onto the bed. It bounced once.

“Fuck.”

The word ripped out of me.

The drive back to the human city was the longest of my Life.

Every red light felt like a personal insult. Every slow driver made me want to rip their door off. My hands shook on the wheel. My heart slammed so hard I thought it might explode through my ribs.

Rose.

My Rose.

Scared. Alone. Maybe hurt.

The images kept flashing —her tied up, crying, calling for me. Strangers touching her. Threatening her.

I slammed my fist into the dashboard. The plastic cracked.

When I finally screeched into the driveway of our house, Matteo was already there-standing on the front steps,face pale, shoulders tense.

I was out of the car before it fully stopped.

My fist connected with his jaw before he could speak.

He staggered back, blood on his lip, but didn’t fight.

“I told you to watch her!” I roared, grabbing his collar and slamming him against the wall. “I told you not to let her out of your sight! And now you don’t know where the fuck she is?!”

“I’m sorry, boss,” he rasped. “I failed you.”

I wanted to hit him again. Wanted to tear him apart.

But I couldn’t waste time.

I released him, breathing hard, chest heaving. My wolf was shaking with fury, ready to rip free.

Matteo straightened, wiping blood from his mouth. He led me inside without another word.

The security room was already lit up-screens showing every angle of the campus. One feed froze on Rose walking out with a girl, limping.

I stared at it, heart in my throat.

“Why the fuck is she limping?”

Matteo swallowed. “Something happened at school today.”I turned slowly. “What exactly are you talking about?”