If You Find Her, You Find My Heart

Chapter Forty-Seven: If You Find Her, You Find My Heart

Evric’s POV

The room felt too big. Too quiet. Too empty.

Even though I already knew she had gone, I still looked around like a madman, hoping maybe I’d missed something. Maybe I’d open a drawer and find her bracelet, or catch her scent in the sheets, or hear her laugh from down the hall.

But all I heard was silence.

And all I felt was pain.

I gripped the window frame and looked outside. The wind was cold this morning. The sky was cloudy. My breath fogged up the glass, but I didn’t care. My chest was too tight to breathe right. Every second that passed made the space where Selene used to be feel even more hollow.

I couldn’t stop thinking about her—how she used to look at the door before she spoke, how her fingers fidgeted when I stood too close, how her voice always sounded like she was holding something back. I thought I had time. I thought she’d learn to stay.

But I was wrong.

And now she was gone. With him.

I turned away from the window and snapped my fingers sharply. A guard rushed in. “Gather everyone,” I said, my voice low and cold. “Every single guard. Warriors. Scouts. Call Sasha too.”

He nodded and ran out.

I paced the floor, anger boiling in my blood. Not just at her, or even at Ronan. But at myself. How could I not see it? How could I miss the signs? She never smiled around me the way she smiled around him. She never softened when I touched her. She only endured me.

I thought I could change that.

But she had already chosen.

It wasn’t me.

The doors opened again. Sasha entered first. Her long black coat brushed the floor as she walked in, and her sharp eyes met mine with fire.

“They’re truly gone,” she said. “Both of them.”

I nodded.

She didn’t try to comfort me. Sasha wasn’t one to offer useless words. She knew pain like I did. She knew what it felt like to lose someone before you even had the chance to hold them properly.

“I’ll help you find her,” she said simply. Her voice was steady, but I could see the determination in her eyes. “I also don’t want her to go and seek somethings, something that could make me lose the position”

More guards began to fill the hall. One by one, warriors and scouts lined up, some just waking up, others already armed. I stood before them all, trying to keep my voice calm.

But my heart was breaking inside me.

“She left,” I said, looking over the crowd. “And she didn’t go alone. The male Ronan the one you were meant to keep locked up, he is gone too.”

Gasps filled the room. Whispers spread like fire.

I raised my hand. “They planned this. Right under our noses. They used our kindness, our silence, our trust.”

I paused. My throat felt tight, but I forced the next words out.

“Selene meant something to me.”

That shocked them more than anything. No one had heard me say it before. Not out loud. But I said it now, because they needed to know what this meant to me.

“She is not just a prisoner. She is not just a girl. She is—” I stopped. My chest ached.

“She is the only one who made me feel something real in a long time. I didn’t know it until now. And I may never have the chance to tell her. But I will find her.”

I looked around the hall slowly. “And whoever finds them first—alive, unharmed—will become the next Beta of this house. I will honor that with my life.”

The guards straightened. Their eyes widened. Some looked at each other in disbelief.

“That’s a promise,” I said.

Sasha stepped forward. “I’m going too,” she said. “I’ll lead one of the hunting parties.”

“You’ll lead mine,” I said.

Her eyebrows rose slightly, but she nodded.

We didn’t waste time. The moment the meeting ended, the warriors scattered in groups. Horses were brought out. Supplies packed. Maps unrolled. Trails marked.

I changed into my dark riding gear and strapped a blade to my hip. I didn’t speak much. I couldn’t.

All I could see in my head was her face.

Selene.

Running.

Not from danger, but from me.

That thought made my hands tremble.

Why couldn’t I be enough?

I led Sasha and four others into the woods, following broken twigs and faint scents. Her trail was weak, almost like she had been careful—like she knew I would follow.

My heart twisted again.

She didn’t want to be found.

And yet, I had to find her.

I rode in silence, the wind biting at my face, the forest whispering around us. The further we went, the more desperate I felt.

Did she think I would hurt her?

Did she believe I would chain her again?

I wouldn’t.

I would’ve let her go if she had just asked. If she had just looked me in the eye and said it, I might’ve opened the gates myself.

But she didn’t trust me enough to do that.

And that cut deeper than anything.

Hours passed. We stopped to search old cabins, to sniff through wet soil, to ask passing traders. Nothing. Nothing but the sound of the forest and the ache in my chest.

Sasha rode beside me in silence. For a while, she didn’t speak. But then, she looked at me and said quietly, “You loved her.”

I didn’t answer.

But she already knew.

“She was never meant for someone like you,” Sasha added. “But I understand why you wanted her.”

I nodded slowly. “Because she was the only one who never feared me. Not truly. She looked at me like I was just… a man.”

“And you are,” Sasha said.

I shook my head. “Not to her.”

We rode further into the trees. My hands were stiff. My eyes burned. The thought of Ronan touching her, holding her, kissing her—made me feel like I was burning from the inside.

But it wasn’t just jealousy.

It was heartbreak.

She didn’t belong to me.

But somehow, I belonged to her.

And now she was gone.

I don’t know how long we rode after that. Maybe hours. Maybe more. But all I know is this:

I won’t stop until I find her.

Not to punish her.

Not to hurt her.

But because I need to see her face one last time.

Even if she never returns with me.

Even if she chooses him again.

I just want her to know—

She was loved.

And even if it means losing her forever—

I’ll carry that truth alone.

For the rest of my life.