Chapter 8

Hannah's POV

Hannah's POV

“I should go,” Amy stammered nervously as she brushed past us and exited the bathroom at a quick pace.

I felt my face heating up as Sebastian continued to stare at me, amusement clear in his eyes.

“I can explain,” I said softly; humiliated that he caught me speaking of his bed skills.

A low laugh erupted from his throat as he made his way closer to me. What was he doing in the girl’s room anyway?

Before I could open my mouth to ask, his hand was pressed against the wall behind me and his firm body was pressing against mine, pinning me to the wall.

“What other skills of mine do you like?” He asked, his voice husky.

My breathing was caught in my throat.

What was he asking me right now? Was he being serious?

“He smells so good,” Nora whispered, mesmerized by his nearness. “You want to kiss him, don’t you?”

“We can’t…” I said to her; but she was right. His scent was so intoxicating and empowering. I wanted to press myself against him and feel the tenderness of his lips against mine.

“Oh, but we can…” she whispered in return.

Sebastian was staring at my lips like he could read my thoughts.

Soon, he was kissing me. The softness of his mouth only grew more intense, and I could taste his saliva mixing into my mouth. He tasted so sweet, and it was comforting. My heart pounded against my chest rapidly and my body trembled against his. Nora felt so calm and happy at that moment. I just wanted to melt into him.

His tongue traced my bottom lip hungrily. Nora was quietly begging him for more; pleading with him to not stop. But he pulled away; leaving my wolf crying. I kept my eyes closed as I was still breathless and processing what just happened.

“Are you going to compliment my kissing skills as well?” He asked; his tone was husky but I could hear the humor behind his words.

I opened my eyes and stared at his playful eyes as he pulled further away from me. My wolf whined painfully, and I had to work to calm her down silently.

He was finding humor in my discomfort and embarrassment. He was being an asshole.

“Excuse me,” I muttered, shoving past him. I was surprised he let me go so easily. He stood behind me, watching me as I stalked towards the bathroom exit.

I bet Amy would have hated me so much for marrying Sebastian. She probably believed she's the only one who deserved the best of everything - she always does.

Maybe she'll find a way to take away what she thought belonged to her？So what？

I'm not afraid of her.

…

“Hannah!”

Going back to the ballroom, a familiar voice interrupted me when I was about to enjoy a glass of wine.

It's Thomas. I frowned at my ex-boyfriend.

He walked to me quickly with his arms spread out.

Splat!

My hand went across his face quickly; I watched as he stumbled backward, shocked at my sudden movement.

“I know you are only lashing out because you still love me,” Thomas said with a chuckle as he rubbed his sore jaw. “It mustn’t have been easy to find out about your sister and me. I’m sure it hurt worse for you to hit me than I felt to be hit.”

“Fuck off” I felt sick.

I began to walk away but he grabbed my arm firmly, halting me in place.

“Hannah, my love. Be reasonable… you must understand…” he tried to say, but I stopped his words quickly.

“I mean it, Thomas. Quit badgering me or I won’t hesitate to tell the world of the small pencil you got hidden in your pants.”

His eyes widened and his jaw nearly fell to the ground.

“What?!” He said loudly, releasing my arm quickly.

He was stunned and his face was turning red. It took everything I had not to laugh at him right then and there. Before I could say anything more, Nancy, Amy’s best friend appeared out of nowhere. Her large brown eyes glanced between the two of us suspiciously; this wasn’t something I wanted to deal with right now.

“What’s going on?” She asked, staring directly at Thomas.

“Hannah was trying to seduce me!” Thomas quickly said.

"For what?" I sneered and looked down,"I'm not interested in your small...stuff"

Just then, Amy appeared behind Nancy.

Her face reddened just like Thomas'. She was furious and walked away with Nancy following closely behind her.

"Amy, I can explain. Please..."

Thomas chased Amy pathetically like a puppy dog chasing a bone.

…

I was relieved to return to the palace; it didn’t quite feel like home yet, but then again, nowhere felt like home. I haven’t had a home in a very long time; not since my mother died and my brother was taken away from me to live in a hospital. I haven’t been able to see him because the doctors have strict orders not to let me into his room. Those orders have been made by my father and stepmother. They were doing this to punish me and to keep me on their tight string.

Nora was eager to be alone with Sebastian. I flushed at the thought of the last time we were in his room alone together. He tried to force himself upon me and I thought he was going to kill me.

“You know a lot of women die when they are around me,” Sebastian surprised me by saying while he loosened his tie.

I stared at him blankly, not sure where he was going with that or what he wanted me to say.

“Most women I’m with can’t stand to be around me for more than 3 months. The ones that are here for that long, die,” he continued speaking.

I felt the walls closing in on me; I swallowed hard.

“Okay…?” I said softly, trying to maintain steady eye contact and not let him see that I was nervous.

“I think you should stick around for a while and close by,” he said, meeting my eyes. “That way I don’t need to deal with another woman.”

“Oh…” I breathed; I still wasn’t sure what he was saying or what he was asking.

“I think you can help solve my pain,” he spoke again, and I felt my heart nearly stopping in my chest.

“Solve your pain?” I asked. I know the full moon makes him irritated, but I didn’t know it caused him actual pain. I wondered if the scars around his face hurt him. There was a lot about wolf madness I wasn’t aware of.

“It seems your saliva and your scent soothe the pain and make me less…” he paused to think of his next set of words. “Irritated.”

I felt my cheeks redden; I had to admit that I didn’t hate his scent either. My wolf practically went crazy for it.

“So, what do you need me to do?” I asked him, staring up at him curiously.

“I need to be around you at least 5 hours every day and kiss me often,” he told me. “I need to feel your nearness and have your scent with me. I need your saliva.”

My eyes widened at his words. Nora grew even more excited from within me, and I tried to calm her before she exploded.

Considering we were going to be sleeping in the same room every night, which would be more than 5 hours, I figured that was extremely doable.

As for the kiss…

Neither Nora nor I hated that idea.

“Okay,” I said after a pause. “I agree.”

“What about you?” He asked, eyeing me carefully. “Is there anything you want? Or something I can do for you?”

I was surprised by his question, but I already had an answer for him.

“Yes,” I told him, hesitantly. “I want my brother.”

He rose his eyebrows.

“Your brother?”

“He’s been in the hospital, and I haven’t been able to see him. My father made that impossible. The doctors won’t allow me to enter his room.”

“Would it make you feel better if he wasn’t in the hospital?”

“He needs constant treatment, or he’d die,” I answered sadly, breaking eye contact to stare at the ground.

“Hannah, we have the best doctors on palace grounds at all times. There’s nothing he can get at the hospital that he can’t get here,” Sebastian told me, cocking his head to the side.

“You can do that?” I asked, my cheeks flushing. “You can get my brother out of the hospital?”

“I can,” he answered. “And I will.”

I sniffled as tears ran down my face; I tried hard to control my emotions but was failing miserably. He used his calloused fingers, which suffered years of battle, to wipe away the tears on my cheeks.

I smiled into his hand and stared up at the masked man before me.

“I think I should do something for you right now,” I held my breath and my cheeks were on fire.