Chapter 33

Hannah’s POV

“I appreciate that you are helping me with this research,” I told Dr. Davis as we sat down at the library.

He held a couple of hot cocoas in his hand, and he handed me one.

“Extra cream, just how you like it,” he said with a smile.

I couldn’t help but laugh and took the drink without hesitation. I have been craving one of these for weeks and was glad to finally have one. As I sipped the drink, I searched for a couple of books I read the last time we were there. I’m sure there’s more information that I missed.

Dr. Davis grabbed a couple of books that I didn’t recognize, he looked at my curious gaze and grinned.

“I was curious,” he explained. “I think there’s something in here we could use.”

I pulled out my notebook and started taking notes. I glanced over at the book that Dr. Davis was reading. There was a picture of a big white and fluffy flower that reminded me of a piece of unbuttered popcorn.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the flower. “It’s beautiful.”

He looked at the flower and then the description.

“It’s a jasmine sambac flower,” he answered. “It’s said to help calm anxiety and help with sleep.”

“Where can I find something like that? That could be useful,” I told him.

“I’m sure you can get it at the florist,” he responded.

I nodded and wrote down: Jasmine Sambac flower.

He read silently for a little longer and I could see the wheels turning in his head as he got into the book. He had a timid frown on his face, and I peered over at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It says that wolf madness could often be psychological,” he said. “It stems from pain that is so great that it makes wolves lose their mind. But often the pain isn’t actually there. Could that be the case with your wolf king?”

I frowned and thought about how when I saw Sebastian’s face, there weren’t any scars on it. My face reddened at the thought. He was so angry with me when I brought it up to him. He thought I was making fun of him. Could he really believe he was disfigured?

“What could cause something like that?” I asked.

He scanned the book a little more.

“Magic,” he told me, his tone darkening. “But it’s unclear as to what kind of magic and who possesses such a thing.”

I shuddered at the thought of someone, or something, holding such powerful magic that could make Sebastian, or any wolf for that matter, lose their minds. I didn’t want to believe there was something like that in this world.

I shook my head, trying to brush the thought out of my mind.

“Let’s leave that on the back burner for right now,” I told him. “Let’s just figure out how to help him.”

He nodded, but he looked uncertain. I continued reading the book I had, ignoring his expression until I started getting annoyed with the look, he was giving me.

“Can I ask you a question?” He finally asked, sounding almost unsure. I didn’t answer, but I looked back up at him with a frown and nodded once. “Why are you with someone like that?”

“Excuse me?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. Why was he asking such a question?

“Who does he think he is?” Nora asked, sounding offended.

I ignored her and continued staring at Dr. Davis.

“I’m sorry to be so forward. But you are a sweet and beautiful woman, Hannah. The wolf king is vicious and could eat you alive. It’s an unlikely pair and I don’t see you two ending well together. What made you want to marry him?” He asked.

He was serious.

I wasn’t about to tell him that I was forced to marry Sebastian by my family. I wasn’t sure how much I could tell him, but I definitely wasn’t going to tell him the truth. I felt a knot forming in my stomach before I answered, Nora was uneasy.

“There’s more to him than you know,” I told him, turning away to look back at my book.

That answer didn’t seem to satisfy him, and he looked back down at his book with a timid frown.

“I would like to just focus on our research if that’s alright?” I told him, peering over at him. I tried to keep the worried expression off my face, but I didn’t want to further the conversation.

I felt a familiar presence washing over the library and my entire body tensed at that moment. Nora perked up as the scent of Sebastian filled our nose. I breathed in his musk and tried not to appear nervous in front of Dr. Davis, but I worried that Sebastian was going to be angry as soon as he saw me.

The library was already quiet, but it seemed like the few people that were occupying the library had their breaths held as Sebastian strolled through the aisle and made his way closer to me. I turned slightly and my eyes widened.

His eyes were dark and through his mask, his face was unreadable. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking but his eyes were locked on Dr. Davis. I noticed he was clenching his fists tightly to his sides, and then unclenching them as he tried hard to maintain his composure.

Was he going to lose his cool in the library? It was a public setting, and it wouldn’t look good.

I stood to my feet quickly, trying to keep my body from trembling violently as he neared me. He stepped in front of me, separating me from Dr. Davis.

“Hannah…” Sebastian breathed, he kept his tone low, and it sounded oddly calm. I didn’t respond to him; I knew I didn’t need to respond to him at that moment. “We are going home.”

Dr. Davis was practically shaking in his skin; the color in his features draining entirely as he locked eyes with Sebastian.

I didn’t argue with him. I quickly shut my books and brought them back to the shelf. As I walked away, Sebastian pulled his eyes from Dr. Davis so he could watch me. There was a flash of something in his eyes I didn’t recognize.

He must have been so angry.

“He’s hurting,” Nora whispered. “We hurt him…”

“We didn’t do anything,” I said in return.

“To him, it seems like we did.”

As I returned to his side, I gave Dr. Davis an apologetic smile before grabbing the rest of my belongings. I wrapped my arm around Sebastian’s arm to keep him close to me. I was hoping my nearness would help keep him calm. He seemed to relax slightly, which made me sigh in relief.

He said nothing more as we turned from Dr. Davis and walked out of the library. Lewis was waiting in the car parked out front and I stopped Sebastian before he got into the car.

“Wait,” I said to him, trying to halt him.

He paused and turned to me, and I saw the scarlet of his eyes peeking through his mask. I shuddered in my skin as I met his gaze.

“You aren’t to be seen outside the hospital with him again,” Sebastian seethed.

I dropped my gaze and stared at my feet; my hands falling to my sides. I wasn’t going to argue with him, but I wished he understood why I was doing this. I knew he wasn’t going to listen to me though. He didn’t care about what I had to say, and my heart tugged painfully knowing that information.

“Okay,” I told him. “I’m sorry.”

He turned to go into the car, but I grabbed his arm without thinking much about it. He tensed and shot a look at me.

“Hannah…” he warned, his voice darkening.

I said nothing as I sucked in a sharp breath; I stood on my tippy toes and pressed my lips firmly into his. After a moment of his hesitation and shock, I felt his body relaxing and he kissed me back.