Chapter 116

Hannah

“What the hell does he think he’s asking?”

“What the hell do you think you’re asking?” I repeated my wolf out loud; I narrowed my eyes at Henry. “You must be out of your mind if you think I’m going anywhere with you. I just had a baby, Henry. I have a family to think about.”

“You would be thinking of your baby by doing this, Hannah,” he pleaded. “Sebastian is dangerous. You know this. He can be a danger to both you and your new child.”

“You don’t know Sebastian the way I do,” I told him; “He wouldn’t hurt either of us.” As I said those words, I realized just how true they were. Sebastian might be struggling with his madness and there’s no known cure for it, but he wouldn’t hurt us. He loves us; he’s my husband and I need to stand by him. I just wished he was here so I could tell him that myself.

“Hannah…”

“I need to ask you to leave,” I said calmly, turning away from him to stare at the ceiling.

He was silent for a short while before he nodded and turned toward the door.

“I didn’t mean to overstep,” he said softly. “I just wanted to help.”

“You’ve done enough.”

It was because of him that my husband thought I was having an affair. If Henry hadn’t kissed me, the media would have never taken that picture and Sebastian wouldn’t have lost control in our bedroom as he did. I didn’t blame Sebastian for being upset; he had every right. I would be upset too. I was just as upset; when Emily told me that she was pregnant with Sebastian’s baby, I ran from his pack and went to Bluemoon.

I was startled when the door of the hospital room swung open, and Sebastian stood before me. He was breathless and something was lingering in his eyes that I didn’t recognize.

“What happened?” He asked, rushing toward my bed. “Arnold told me you were at the hospital, and I came as quickly as I could.”

“He’s worried for us,” Nora breathed.

“I had a baby…” I told him with tears in my eyes.

Seeing him before me brought out all these emotions I didn’t know I was holding in. I was so relieved to see that he was okay.

“You gave birth?” He breathed, sighing in relief.

“Her name is Wrenley,” I told him with a fond smile. “She was born a little early so she’s being examined by the doctors.”

“But she’s okay?” He asked.

“As far as I know, she’s fine,” I told him. He looked relieved to hear that. However, there was still something he wasn’t saying. “Nothing happened between Henry and me,” I found myself saying, meeting his eyes. I knew he was still upset with me.

“It didn’t look like nothing, Hannah,” Sebastian said in return; I could hear the irritation in his voice.

“I went to his house because he needed to speak about something. I didn’t go inside though. We sat on his front porch and while we were talking, he kissed me.” Sebastian stayed silent as he processed what I was saying. “The media captured the picture before could push him away.”

“I see,” he finally said after a long pause.

“I did push him away,” I said, placing my hand on his bicep. “It was way out of line for him to make a move like that. I expressed how I felt. Sebastian, I love you and would never do anything to jeopardize our marriage.”

He seemed surprised by my words; this was the first time I had ever told him that I loved him. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react, but I saw a loving gaze crossing his eyes. I could tell he was stifling a smile that was tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Now we have a little girl to think about and we need to do whatever we can to protect her,” I told him.

“I agree,” he said in return. “Which means I need the kingdom back on my side. I need them to not fear me for a monster and to respect me as their king.”

“What are you planning on doing?”

“I’m holding a meeting tomorrow in the town hall; it’ll be broadcasted live, but I’m going to answer some questions and give a speech.”

“They will eat you alive. Let me attend. I can help…”

“No,” he said firmly, cutting me off. “I need you to return home right away in the morning with our daughter.”

“Maybe if they saw her…”

“I’m not risking anything happening to either of you. The kingdom is angry, Hannah. It won’t be safe.”

“Sebastian, you’re my husband,” I reminded him. “I want to be there to support you.”

“I appreciate that, but it’s better if you just went home.”

I knew there was no changing his mind and the thought was irritating. But I didn’t argue anymore with him. Mainly because Dr. Davis was walking into the room holding a small baby wrapped in a pink blanket.

I exhaled excitedly as he brought Wrenley over to me. She nuzzled comfortably in my arms; she was so small and delicate. I touched her soft features and brought her to my face so I could kiss the top of her dark hair. She smelled of vanilla and baby powder. Her eyes were closed but I could tell she was awake from the movements of her arms. Sebastian sat at my bedside and peered over at the small baby. He had a fond smile on his lips, and he looked almost proud of himself for creating something so incredible.

Holding her was like holding onto my heart and I knew that I would do anything to protect her. I would do anything to protect our family.

“She’s incredible,” Sebastian breathed. “She looks just like you.”

“She looks like us both,” I said in return. As happy as I was to have her in my arms, worry still filled me. “We have to get a handle on your madness, Sebastian.”

He nodded in agreement.

“I would never hurt her. I hope you know that,” he assured me.

“I know.”

“She’s a healthy baby,” Dr. Davis said from the other side of my bed. He was finishing checking my vitals. “Small, but strong. Just like her mother.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You should both be able to leave in the morning,” he added as he made his way toward the door. “Get some rest.”

“Thank you,” I said to him before he left the room.

I looked back up at Sebastian who hasn’t taken his eyes off our daughter. I could tell he was going to be extremely protective of her. Which was good because she needed as much protection as possible. Sebastian had a lot of enemies and I worried for the safety of our little family every day.

“I’ll have a car come and get you in the morning,” Sebastian told me. “I’ll be at town hall early so I won’t be able to come myself.”

…

Wrenley slept in my room, and she slept for most of the night. I only woke up a couple of times to feed her. By the time I woke up the next morning, I felt much stronger. Now that I was no longer pregnant, I was able to heal quickly and be back on my feet.

Dr. Davis discharged us as he said he would, and we were finally able to return home. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous though. This was my first time caring for my daughter by myself; I didn’t want to screw anything up. I held her close to my chest as we waited for Lewis to arrive with the car. Once he got there, he opened the backseat of the car and I saw the carefully placed car seat.

“I took the liberty of putting the car seat in before I left,” Lewis said, bowing to me as I approached him.

“Thank you,” I said to him fondly as I placed Wren in the car seat and slid in beside her. Lewis got into the front seat and started driving from the hospital.

“We aren’t seriously going home yet, are we?” Nora whined from within me. “Sebastian is being literally thrown to the wolves as we speak.”

She was right; I couldn’t just return home without seeing him first. I needed to make sure he was okay and not being tortured by the kingdom.

“We need to make a stop.”

“Your highness?” Lewis asked curiously with a hint of worry. “I have orders to take you right home.”

“Change of plans,” I said, staring out the window. “Take me to the town hall. I wish to see my husband.”