Chapter 55

Hannah’s POV

The last time I was at a carnival was with Sebastian. We had a good time; eating food he never thought he’d consume. Going on rides and laughing. It was fun until we ran into Amy, and we got into an altercation over the fact that she went to see my brother.

That was one of the better days Sebastian and I had. Since then, everything started slowly coming down and he wasn’t the same person. I felt sad thinking about it, but I had to brush the thought out of my head.

The carnival on campus was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. They managed to get an entire Ferris wheel and a couple of other rides as well.

It was the first day off we’ve had all week and it was much needed. Raya went to the carnival as well, but she went with a few other friends while I went with Conner. I could tell he was excited about this carnival, and I didn’t want to let him down.

Even I had to admit that he wasn’t bad to look at, but he was very young looking. He always gave me this lopsided grin and tousled his own hair between his fingers, giving it a messy look.

As we walked through the carnival, in the corner of the shadow region, I thought for a moment that I saw Sebastian. Even Nora was tense as we met the familiar scarlet eyes of the wolf king. My breathing got caught in my throat and even though we were outside, it felt like there was no air to breathe. The area was filled with his familiar scent; it was like wrapping me in a warm blanket and tugging me toward him.

My body trembled in fear, and I bit my bottom lip hard to keep from crying.

But just as soon as I saw him, I blinked, and he was gone.

Once I could no longer see him, his scent was also gone.

“What is wrong with us?” I asked my wolf.

She stayed silent, unsure of how to answer me.

“Are you okay, Hannah?” Conner asked, eyeing me carefully.

I tore my eyes from the area I thought I saw Sebastian in and looked up at Conner. There was concern in his gaze and I found it kind of sweet. I smiled up at him and nodded.

“Yeah, sorry,” I said.

He gave me a crooked grin and draped an arm around my shoulder. This was the first time he’s done something like that, and I felt a little uncomfortable. I tried to wiggle further away, but I think he got the wrong idea, and he only pulled me closer to him.

He nuzzled his face against the top of my hair.

“I’m so glad you agreed to go out with me,” he whispered against me; the warmth of his breath touching my features and sending a chill down my spine.

I managed to pull away with him, my face flushed, and gave him a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah, I’m having fun,” I told him, trying to keep the tension out of my words. I looked around, trying to avoid his eyes. “Have you seen Raya?”

He frowned, but eventually looked around as well. We both spotted Raya towards one of the food vendors and we went straight toward her. She was laughing and eating with some girls that I recognized from the hospital.

“Hannah!” She said happily as I approached.

I wrapped my arm through hers and pulled her away from the crowd so we could be alone.

“He thinks it’s a date,” I whispered to her.

She laughed and looked over at Conner who was watching us from a distance.

“Isn’t it?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. “I mean, you two came here together.”

“As friends,” I told her. “I don’t want to date him.”

“Why?” She asked, surprised by my words. “He’s so hot.”

“Hot?” I couldn’t help but ask; I wanted to laugh.

I wouldn’t consider Conner hot; Sebastian was hot. He was the definition of hot. If only Raya knew the truth, she would understand there was no comparison. But I couldn’t tell her the truth; Sebastian and I were separated, and I had to stop thinking about him like that.

But part of me couldn’t help it.

Sebastian really was hot; he was even hotter without his mask. Not that he’d ever take it off in front of me on purpose.

“I just don’t want to date,” I told her, trying to keep my tone low.

“Then, be honest with him about it,” she told me.

I sighed; I knew she was right. I had to be honest. At least as honest as I could be. I nodded and thanked her for the advice. As we turned back to walk in his direction, I paused.

He was gone.

…

Sebastian’s POV

Every day.

Every day Sebastian would see Hannah and he couldn’t look away from her. She was making friends and she was smiling for the first time in weeks. He never thought he would ever see her smile like that again, but she looked genuinely happy.

She still thought of him often though and he could feel it. Her wolf searched for him in crowded areas, and they could sense him when he was nearby. The mate bond was a lot stronger than he thought it would be.

Hannah worked hard and he admired her for that, but she was also distracted because of how much pain he had caused her. He could feel her every sense and every emotion and it pained him knowing he was the one who did that to her.

He wanted to run to her and make himself known, but he feared she would only pull further away. He couldn’t handle it if she demanded a divorce again.

Not that he would ever sign those papers.

Sebastian followed Hannah to the campus carnival; she was attending it with a guy and that was infuriating for him. He clenched his fists as he watched the two of them together.

He almost made himself known to her; it got far enough to a point where she met eyes with him. But he managed to get away after seconds.

The guy was rubbing his face against her hair; he was getting too close to her, and he needed to put a stop to it.

“He’s alone,” Eric hissed. “That’s our chance…”

Before Sebastian could stop himself, he was grabbing the guy by the shoulders and pulled him towards the shadows of the carnival. He had to keep himself hidden; Hannah couldn’t know that he had followed her. She would never trust him again if she knew the truth.

The guy looked terrified, but he didn’t say anything as Sebastian pulled him away. His entire body shuddered violently as he was faced with the wolf king. His eyes widened in shock, and he stammered, but Sebastian held his hand over the guy’s mouth and told him he needed to keep quiet.

“Stay away from her,” Sebastian hissed.

The guy looked genuinely confused for a moment as he met Sebastian’s eyes.

“Hannah…” Sebastian clarified. “Stay away from Hannah. She isn’t yours to have.”

The guy’s breath grew shaky, but he nodded quickly.

“Yes, your majesty,” the guy said.

So, he did recognize Sebastian after all.

Sebastian scoffed and released his hold on him.

“Next time, I won’t be as nice,” Sebastian threatened.