Chapter 78

Sebastian’s POV

“But your majesty…” Arnold tried to protest, but Sebastian shot his hand up to silence him.

“I mean it, Arnold,” Sebastian said with finality in his tone. “You cannot kill him. You are to bring him to the king’s jail, and we will figure out what to do from there. That’s the proper way.”

“No offense but screw the proper way. He hurt my mate and…”

“He hurt a lot more than just your mate,” Sebastian told him, both his tone and eyes darkening.

He knew that the scarred man was involved in that brutal attack at the frat party as well. He didn’t just hurt Raya, but he killed a lot of those students. A lot of innocent students; not to mention put Hannah in harm’s way.

“He deserves the worst fate…” Arnold said under his breath; he knew better than to argue with Sebastian, but he also felt strongly about this matter.

“And he will get what he deserves. But you aren’t a murderer, Arnold. I won’t allow my Beta to become a murderer. Bring him to the king’s jail and we will deal with him the right way,” Sebastian ordered.

Arnold sighed but he didn’t argue.

“Fine,” he finally said after a long pause. Raya appeared soon after and joined the gentlemen in their conversation. “I’ll bring him back and we can deal with him properly. But I can’t promise I won’t be the shit out of him before I take him in.”

“I don’t blame you for that,” Sebastian said, peering over at Raya who looked uncomfortable. “I’ll send some warriors with you as extra protection.”

“Thank you, your majesty,” Arnold said, bowing.

He stood from his seat and took a hold of Raya’s arm. She gave him a sheepish smile, yet it didn’t reach her eyes. Sebastian figured she was nervous about going back to Bluemoon and encountering that monster that attacked her.

“Be safe,” Sebastian said as he also stood to his feet.

He began walking back toward Hannah’s room. His heart tugged at him painfully as he remembered how hurt she was as well. If only Arnold had waited a few moments longer and Jack would have been dead. Would it have been a good thing if Jack was dead though? Sebastian was the Alpha King and even though he had a reputation, he tried to run his kingdom with the utmost respect. Which meant he gave criminals a fair trial before deciding their fate.

Unless it was for self-defense. The madness he faces during the full moon makes it difficult for him to stand by those rules.

Sebastian thought about how Hannah was researching the moonstone scepter. She didn’t steal the scepter, but she knew about it this entire time and she has yet to say anything.

He opened the door to her room, and she was stared over at him with wide and curious eyes.

“How long have you known about the scepter?” He asked before he could stop himself.

Her eyes widened and she frowned, staring around his masked face.

“I found it before I left for Bluemoon,” she admitted, keeping her tone low.

“So, Magnolia spoke the truth,” Sebastian said, keeping his eyes locked on hers. “You knew about it before you requested the divorce.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “But I didn’t steal it. That wasn’t the reason behind requesting the divorce.”

Of course, he knew that. He found out who stole the moonstone scepter already and their reasoning behind it. But what he didn’t understand was how she could keep something like that from him. Why she was snooping through his belongings.

“I know,” he said. “Your stepmother and half-sister stole it.”

“What?!” She gasped.

“I just need to know why you were researching it, Hannah,” Sebastian said.

“Because I didn’t know what it was,” she said, staring down at her hands as she played with her fingers. “I didn’t know what it was for. I just knew I recognized it somehow. I thought maybe it was connected to your madness.”

“Why would you think that?” He asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Because of the power I felt when I touched it,” she answered.

“You touched it?” He asked, his heart stopping in his chest.

Sebastian knew of the energy that surged through the moonstone scepter; it was nearly impossible for someone weak to hold it. He was amazed that Amy and Naomi were able to get it out of the palace.

“I held it,” she said, meeting his eyes again. “It was difficult. It burned the palm of my hand.”

He stared at her hand in dismay for a moment before meeting her eyes again.

“It was stupid of you to touch it,” he murmured. “It’s a dangerous scepter and shouldn’t be held by just anyone.”

“I know that now,” she breathed. “But what I don’t know is why you have it. It belongs to the moon goddess. She’s the only one who can truly use it without injury. Why do you have it, Sebastian?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, keeping his tone even. “I don’t know why I have it. I just do. I think of it as a gift from the moon goddess.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she said in a breath. “The moon goddess wouldn’t just gift something like that. She knows how dangerous it would be in our world. If it got into the wrong hands…”

“It did get into the wrong hands,” he shot back. “But I got it back.”

“This time,” she said more firmly than he thought she was capable of. “But next time, you might not get so lucky. Next time, it could be used for evil, and then what would we do?”

“I need it,” he said, pulling his eyes away from hers and looking away.

“What do you need it for?” She asked, refusing to look away from him.

“It weakens me,” he admitted. “I need it to weaken me during the full moon.”

“There are other ways we can…” she tried to say but he held his hand up to silence her.

“Not like this,” he said. “The moonstone doesn’t help with my madness. But it does make it so I’m not as strong. If I’m near it during the full moon, I can’t do as much harm as I would without it. I bring it with me to the dungeon where I chain myself up and it keeps me from breaking through the chains. I need it to make me weak.”

“How did you even come across it?” She asked, eyeing him carefully.

“I don’t know,” he said, aggravation appearing in his tone. “I just did. It appeared out of nowhere. I knew it was meant for me.”

“When?” She asked.

“What?”

“When did you come across it?” She asked.

“When I returned from the battle years ago,” he answered, he was unsure why that mattered.

Her eyes widened.

“The battle that scarred you?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

He nodded once.

“And you don’t think that’s connected?” She scoffed, turning away from him with dismay written all over her face.

He fell silent for a long while; he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He just wanted her to stop obsessing over it the moonstone scepter. It wasn’t for her to worry about, and she had enough to worry about as is. She was in the hospital healing after almost losing her life.

He didn’t want to argue about it anymore. He sighed and made his way over to her bed, but she refused to acknowledge him there.

“Hannah…” he breathed, trying to get his attention. “I just got you back after I thought I lost you…”

She finally turned to him, meeting his eyes.

“I don’t think I can handle losing you. Seeing you on the ground, fighting for your life, my entire world was falling apart before my eyes,” he said softly.

It was true; when he saw her dying, he wasn’t sure how he was going to get on with his life. If he lost her, he would have lost his world. He wasn’t sure when those feelings started becoming so real to him, but he knew at that moment that he couldn’t lose her.

“Is that why you followed me to Bluemoon?” She asked, softening her tone. “Because you didn’t want to lose me.”

“That’s part of a reason, yes,” he answered.

“What’s the other reason?”

He ran the back of his thumb down her delicate and narrow features, making her tremble under his touch.

“My other reason…” he said, lowering his tone and gazing into her eyes. “Is that I love you.”