Chapter 14

Sebastian's POV

For the next few days, after Sebastian spoke to the elders, he started noticing Hannah hasn’t been around often. She avoids eating meals with him, keeps her head down when they pass one another in the palace, and she even bathes and sleeps after he’s already sleeping.

“She doesn’t smile anymore,” Eric complained from within him. “That light in her eyes is dying.”

He was right, since the other night, Hannah hasn’t smiled. Now whenever she looked at him, all he could see in her eyes was fear. It was like she was waiting for him at any moment to snap and lose control.

“That’s not our problem,” Sebastian hissed in return. “She’s the one who’s been lying to us. She’s the traitor and deserves whatever happens to her.”

“Then why did we come to her rescue when Alpha Steven was berating her?” Eric asked.

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

“I already answered that question. Alpha Steven was abusing his powers as alpha. As the king, we can’t stand for something like that.”

“You lied to her,” Eric muttered. “You told her you were just walking by. But we sensed she was in trouble.”

“So what?” Sebastian said angrily. “It doesn’t change anything. She betrayed us.”

“Did you learn nothing from the elder? She said you are blinded by the misunderstandings, and you gifted by Hannah’s presence. If we care about the kingdom, we need to keep her close.”

“And we will,” Sebastian said, trying to keep himself together. “But we also need to keep cautious of her. She could be dangerous.”

Hannah was the first woman to be able to make him feel something other than agitation and anger. She had the opposite effect on him and calmed him. When he heard Alpha Steven saying such terrible things to her, something snapped inside of him. He couldn’t stand hearing someone speaking foul of his luna. He had to put the anger he felt for her aside for a moment so he could address the problem at hand.

He hated that an alpha in his kingdom was treating their daughter so poorly. The thought tugged at him painfully as Hannah’s sorrowed expression ran through his mind.

He decided to push the thought out of his mind and get some rest. Hannah was taking a bath as a way to avoid him in their bedroom. It didn’t matter; Sebastian didn’t want to see her anyways. He was worried about what he would do if he did see her.

He threw his shirt on the ground and stripped to his boxers as he slid into bed. The sounds of the water in the bathtub made their way into the bedroom. He groaned and turned over in bed, allowing sleep to overtake him.

The middle of the night came quickly as Sebastian woke up around the same time every night. 2 am. He could never go through a night without having to go to the bathroom. He looked over at the corner of the bed that is usually occupied by a sleeping Hannah. He sighed as it was empty for the third night in a row.

Hannah hasn’t been wanting to share the same bed with him, but because he still needed her close, she decided she would still remain in the room. He breathed in deeply as her scent filled the room and calmed his wolf down.

He leaned over his bed to see Hannah curled up on the ground with a thin blanket wrapped around her small body. Sebastian stood from his bed and nearly tripped over her still body. She slept like a log and remained undisturbed by him.

He rolled his eyes and walked to the bathroom. Once he returned, he was going to step over her and get back into bed. He wanted to ignore her and just sleep alone for the rest of the night. But there was something about her sleeping body that tugged at Sebastian’s chest.

“We can’t just leave her there,” Eric complained, annoyingly.

“Stupid girl,” Sebastian muttered as Hannah stirred in her sleep.

She appeared to be having a bad dream and tears escaped through her closed eyes, rolling down her round face.

“Why do you have to be so… you…” he muttered, keeping his voice low as he bent down to her.

He placed his fingertips at the temple of her head and traced the outlining of her features. He tucked her brown hair behind her ear and rubbed her upper cheekbone with his thumb. Her delicate skin tingled under his touch. Her perfectly plump lips were hanging open and he could smell the saliva that lingered in her mouth. He traced her bottom lip with his thumb; all he wanted at that moment was to kiss her.

He leaned down gently and pressed his lips gently against hers. It was a quick kiss, but it enlightened something inside of him that made his heart beat rapidly. Her lips were soft against his and she tasted so sweet.

He pulled away from her and scooped her small body into his arms. Her head fell onto his shoulder, and she let out a small sigh as she nuzzled against him. He placed her gently in bed, sliding in beside her, placing the blanket gently over her body.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around her, and she used his broad chest as a pillow. She snuggled closer to him, taking in his scent and her body was relaxed almost instantly. He too felt much calmer and not as angry. He hated that she could do that to him; it meant she was dangerous.

Hannah wrapped her leg around him and kept her body pressed against hers. After a few moments, they were both sleeping.

Hannah’s POV

I woke the next morning in Sebastian’s bed. I wasn’t expecting to wake up in his bed considering I fell asleep on the floor beside his bed. I’ve been spending the last few days avoiding him. I didn’t want to continue angering him to a point of him actually killing me. I feared for my life living around him and he made it clear that I meant nothing to him.

I thought there was a small breakthrough where he was starting to trust me and open up to me. But I must have been wrong; he was just as cold as he’s always been. I don’t know what I did to deserve such treatment.

I lifted my head off his chest, and he was still sleeping soundly. I scrambled off the bed, confused as to what happened last night. I pressed my fingers to my lips, feeling the shadow of his mouth against mine. My cheeks flushed and my fingers trembled against me.

Did he kiss me?

The ghost of his large wolf hands around my throat still remained. My neck was swollen for the last few days and today seemed to be the day it was getting better. I rubbed the nape of my neck delicately as I remembered him cutting off my air supply. I saw nothing but hatred in his eyes; he was daring me to continue talking. He wanted to kill me at that moment.

Tears filled my eyes, and I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

He was so cruel to me.

I slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I needed to get away from him. As I went into the bathroom, I turned the cold water on in the sink and splashed my face gently.

I sighed as the cold water hit my features and cooled down the heat that was rising into my face. I glanced up at the mirror and stared at my reflection, gasping in horror.

My entire mouth was bright red and swollen, as was a portion of my face. I felt around my face; I had to have been dreaming. This couldn’t be real life. I went to bed last night and everything was fine. What happened to make my face look like this?

I blinked a few times and adjusted my eyes to the mirror once again. My face was a complete mess.

Had I eaten something I was allergic to?