Chapter 40

Hannah’s POV

It felt like the last couple of days, with Sebastian, meant nothing to him. I thought we were finally making progress with our relationship, but it must have just been me.

I kept my head down, trying not to cry in front of my colleagues and patients. The time couldn’t have passed quickly enough. But as soon as it was time to leave, I was out the door. I allowed Nora loose as we ran through the kingdom and towards the palace. Lewis was waiting outside of the hospital, but I didn’t want to ride home with Sebastian. I wanted to be alone with my wolf for a little while.

I allowed her to feed before we returned to the palace. We felt stronger than ever, and I felt a wave of energy coursing through me. I was surprised that Sebastian hadn’t returned yet, but I tried not to seem too bothered as I entered the foyer.

I was greeted by the butler who bowed at my presence. I was never going to get used to that. A couple of servants also stopped to bow at me as well and I felt my face flushing from embarrassment.

“Good evening, your majesty,” Caroline said with a smile as she walked toward me. “You must be hungry. I have dinner prepared for you in the dining hall.”

“Thanks,” I said to her. “I’ll eat a little later,” I told her as I walked towards the grand stairs.

My wolf had just fed, and I personally wasn’t feeling well enough to eat. I knew she was worried because I felt her eyes lingering on me as I walked away. But I was too exhausted from the day to give her a proper explanation.

I made my way towards the bedroom and laid down on the bed. I sighed out the stresses of the day and I felt Nora growing antsy with anticipation for Sebastian to return. I tried to calm her down, telling her that Sebastian doesn’t care that much about us returning home early. But she didn’t believe me.

His scent from that morning still lingered in the room; I still smelled a little bit of Emily, and it was infuriating. I wanted to run away and scream or something. But I had to keep my calm; I couldn’t lose control of Nora.

I stared over at his bedside table and frowned as I realized he was a bit different than mine. They were both rustic antiques with smokey-colored wood and gorgeous decals. But his had a little golden lock on it.

I tilted my head as I stared at the lock.

What’s he keeping in there? I wondered to myself.

I slid over to his side of the bed and tried to open it; but of course, I couldn’t because it was locked. That rose suspicion with not only me but with Nora as well. She didn’t like that he was keeping something from us, and I felt uneasy wondering what it could be.

I felt around the bedside table; I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I knew I would know it once I found it. My fingers felt around the undercarriage of the table until it hit something small and smooth.

I tugged at it and heard a ripping sound. It was tape.

I pulled it more to release whatever it was holding, and a key fell into the palm of my hands. I stared at the key with dismay for a long while; I thought about opening the drawer. But if Sebastian found out, he would be so angry with me.

There was this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me I had to find out what was in this drawer. I couldn’t smell him nearby, so I knew I had some time before he returned home.

I slid the key into the keyhole and unlatched the lock, pulling the drawer open.

I gasped when I saw what was inside.

It looked like a thin black wand with a dark blue crystal-type ball on top of it. The black wand had leaf-like decals that expanded out, reminding me of wings and a part of it stemmed around the blue crystal holding it into place.

Upon touching it, I felt a surge of energy going through the palm of my hand. It almost felt like an electrifying shock, and it startled me enough to drop the wand back into the drawer. I stared at my hand and saw a small, reddened mark on my palm as if it had just burned me.

“What the hell is that?” I said out loud, shocked at what had happened.

Nora felt uncertain and she was worried as well. I knew she wanted me to shut the drawer, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off the wand.

I grabbed my phone, which was charging on the nightstand, and took a couple of pictures. I soon closed the drawer and locked it, placing the key back where I found it before Sebastian returned home.

I shuddered as I remembered the weird feeling the wand gave me. I went over to my laptop, which sat on the little desk in the corner of the room and started typing the description of the wand in google.

I stared as the description was bold on my face.

A moonstone scepter.

It was known to be one of the most powerful things this planet had ever had. I gasped as I realized how much power I held only moments ago.

No wonder it hurt to touch. I said to myself as I stared down at my hand.

It is said that the moon goddess is the only one powerful enough to hold such a scepter and to use it properly. She’s the rightful owner of this scepter.

So, what was it doing at Sebastian’s bedside table?

I decided to click out of it quickly before Sebastian returned home. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the truth. It’s not like I could just ask him about it; it would only anger him anyway.

But I couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with his scars.

While I had my computer open, I decided to do a little more research on the wolf madness. I grabbed my notebook nearby and began taking some small notes. I wasn’t sure how long I was researching, but I felt a wave of tiredness after a while.

I found it hard to keep my eyes open.

…

Sebastian’s POV

Sebastian returned home and he could already smell Hannah all over the palace. He sighed relief knowing she was there. He was determined to talk to her about what happened at the hospital. He didn’t want her to think he was angry with her or choosing Emily over her. That wasn’t the case at all; but with the hurt expression on Hannah’s face, he knew she was getting the wrong idea.

Caroline greeted him at the door with a curtsey and she looked a bit worried. He said nothing to her, but he stared at her until she started speaking.

“Good evening, your majesty. Dinner is prepared in the dining hall,” she said softly. “The Luna Queen hasn’t eaten yet. She said she would eat later, but she hasn’t come down.”

“She hasn’t eaten?” Sebastian asked, his voice rising, making Caroline tense.

Caroline nodded once, confirming. Her body visibly trembling.

Without saying anything more, Sebastian rushed past her and towards the grand stairs. Eric was getting wound up wondering why Hannah chose not to eat when she returned home. It wasn’t like her to skip a meal.

Had they upset her so much that she’s starving herself?

He barged into their bedroom, his heart racing at a lightning speed. He paused as he saw Hannah bent over her laptop with her eyes closed. He rushed towards her until Eric stopped him.

“She’s sleeping,” Eric informed him. “She must be exhausted from today…”

He was right; Hannah was sleeping soundly at her computer. He sighed relief knowing that she was okay. Their conversation would have to wait until the morning. He went to lift her to place her into bed when he saw some familiar words on her laptop screen.

He paused as he read the laptop.

“Wolf madness?” He said to his wolf, raising his eyebrows. He scrolled through her computer for a moment, realizing that she was researching ways to cure and tame his wolf madness.

He stared at the sleeping woman with admiration filling his mind. A smile tugged at his lips. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing in front of him.

Then he saw her notebook.

“She’s been researching ways to help us…” Eric breathed.