Fake Mating To My Ex's Powerful Enemy

Chapter 128: Chapter 128 Blood and Bruises

Christina’s POV

Sunlight came through the bedroom window and hit my closed eyes like a punch. 、My head hurt so badly.

I tried to move but couldn’t. The blankets were wrapped around me so tightly I looked like a burrito. Or maybe a dead body.

"What the..." I groaned, fighting to get free from the sheets. When I finally escaped, the movement made my head hurt even worse. "Oh god."

My mouth tasted like I had licked the inside of a whiskey bottle. My back was sore. My legs burned like I had been doing squats in high heels for hours.

"Akira?" I called to my wolf in my head, but she just whimpered back at me. She was suffering too.

The room smelled different. It smelled like clean sheets and expensive cologne. Hudson’s cologne. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Memories from last night came back in pieces. The whiskey. Hudson carrying me. Me... oh god, did I try to take my clothes off for him?

My face got hot, and it wasn’t because of my hangover.

I grabbed my phone from the table next to the bed. 8:12 AM. I groaned and dragged myself to the shower. The hot water washed away some of my embarrassment, at least.

I got dressed in clean clothes I found in the closet. They were all my size, of course. Hudson thought of everything. Just as I finished getting ready, my phone started buzzing.

"Ysolde," I answered. My own voice made me wince. "I’m never drinking whiskey again."

"Chrissy!" Her voice sounded terrible, like she had been crying. "Are you with Hudson? Tell him to come fast. Cassian is about to get killed. Emmett has gone completely crazy!"

I forgot about my hangover and held the phone tighter. "Wait, what? Slow down."

Ysolde was talking so fast and crying so much that I could barely understand her. Something about her brother Emmett finding Cassian at her place.

"He’s bleeding everywhere," she whispered frantically. "Please hurry!" Then she hung up.

I tried calling back right away. No answer.

"Shit," I muttered, running downstairs without shoes.

Hudson was sitting on the sofa in the living room with one leg crossed over the other. He held coffee in one hand and his tablet in the other. He looked fresh and neat in dark jeans and a fitted shirt.

His eyes found mine the second I got to the bottom of the stairs. "Something wrong?"

I explained everything quickly. Ysolde, Cassian, Emmett, and the call ending suddenly.

Hudson put down his coffee and stood up immediately. "Did she say where?"

"Lakeside Reserve. Her brother just bought her a villa there. They’re all at the house."

"We’ll take my car," he said, already walking toward the door.

In the car, I kept trying Ysolde’s number while Hudson drove. His jaw looked tight and angry.

"What’s Ysolde doing with Cassian?" he asked. His voice was controlled but tense.

I sighed. "She told me yesterday that after we left the bar, she called him for a ride home. He took her to the villa, and apparently..." I let my voice trail off meaningfully.

Hudson raised his eyebrow slightly.

"Emmett came back this morning without warning. He rang the doorbell. Cassian answered without a shirt. Emmett lost it and started beating him."

"Cassian and Ysolde?" Hudson shook his head a little. "I’ve never seen any sign they were together."

"Exactly! Every time they’re in the same room, they fight. And isn’t Cassian friends with Emmett? I thought she treated Cassian like an annoying brother."

I tried calling her again. It went straight to voicemail. My stomach twisted with worry.

"Damn it," I muttered. "What if something’s really wrong?"

Hudson reached over and squeezed my hand. His touch was warm and comforting. "I’ve known Emmett for years. He’s smart and calm. He’s not the type to kill someone."

"I hope you’re right."

He wasn’t driving too fast, but his car was powerful and we got there quickly. We pulled into Lakeside Reserve in less than thirty minutes.

Ysolde’s villa looked strangely quiet. All the blinds were closed. I rang the bell and called out, "Ysolde? It’s Christina!"

After what felt like forever, the door opened just a crack.

"Chrissy, thank the Goddess," she whispered. Her voice sounded rough.

Her eyes were swollen and red. Tear marks covered both cheeks.

I touched her face gently. Her skin was hot and blotchy. "Let us in. Tell us what happened."

We had barely stepped inside when I saw it. Dried blood streaked across the marble floor. The red trail went past the hallway and disappeared into the living room.

Cassian was lying on the sofa with his head tilted back against the cushions. Someone had put him in loose white clothes, but the collar was stained red. Blood spotted the fabric, especially down his left side.

His lip was split open. One eye was almost swollen shut. His chest barely moved when he breathed.

To Cassian’s right sat a man in a dark suit. He had rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. He was slowly wiping blood from a shiny silver watch.

His knuckles were raw and red.

Ysolde had once told me she would rather break both her legs than really make her brother angry. Now I understood why.

Hudson stepped forward and filled the room with his presence. He stopped in front of the sofa, looked at Cassian’s condition with one glance, and said in a voice that meant business, "He needs a doctor. Now."

Ysolde sniffled. "Emmett won’t let me take him to the hospital. He wouldn’t even let me open the door until you got here. I think he really wanted to kill him."

I turned to her. "What exactly happened?"

Her voice was more steady now, but her hands kept playing with the bottom of her hoodie. "Emmett showed up this morning without calling first. Cassian answered the door wearing just pants. Emmett went completely crazy."

I looked at Emmett. He hadn’t said a word since we got here. He just nodded at Hudson when we walked in.

"I don’t understand why this is such a big problem," Ysolde went on. "Cassian has been around our family. Our parents trust him. Emmett trusted him too. He even asked Cassian to watch me sometimes when he went on trips."

"I asked him to protect you, not sleep with you," Emmett finally said. His voice was ice cold.

Ysolde’s eyes filled with new tears. "He didn’t even fight back! Not once! You didn’t have to beat him until he fell down!"

She looked at me like she was begging for help. "I had to pull him to the couch by myself. I got him dressed while Emmett broke his phone into pieces. I couldn’t call anyone. I was too scared to try."

"So you called me," I said quietly.

She nodded, and her lips were shaking. "I didn’t even get to finish telling you what happened. Emmett grabbed my phone away."

Cassian made a low sound. His fingers moved a little.

"He’s losing too much blood," Ysolde whispered. Her voice was getting panicked. "What if he dies?"