Chapter 95

Hannah’s POV

I hadn’t slept a full night in what felt like a long time, but I was finally able to sleep. Maybe it was because Sebastian was allowing me to return to school, even if it was online courses. Maybe it was also because I finally had a small group of friends and didn’t feel as lonely. Whatever it was, I was glad to be able to get a little bit of sleep.

Sleeping beside Sebastian didn’t hurt as well; his body was so warm it was like sleeping beside a heater. He enjoyed sleeping with his arms wrapped around me so he would be close to me. I didn’t dislike being close to him; as worried as I was about this pregnancy and about being around him, I couldn’t deny that Nora felt her calmest when she was near him. His scent was like chocolate, making my heart flutter and my mouth water.

He was so deliciously perfect that I found it difficult to keep my distance from him. There’s been a lot of fear when it comes to my relationship with Sebastian. Especially since I found out I was pregnant and discovered how terrible my mother felt in her relationship with my father. It was because he forcibly marked her just like Sebastian had done to me. My mother felt she didn’t have a choice and she was automatically drawn to him because of that mark.

I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s the reason I felt drawn to Sebastian.

I shuddered at the thought.

By the time I woke up the next morning, Sebastian was gone. Valerie had breakfast for me in the dining hall. I wasn’t hungry, but if I didn’t eat word would get back to Sebastian, and he would be upset with me. He didn’t like it when I go all day without eating.

Once I finished my food, I made my way to the back door of the palace; I told Henry that I would meet him in the rose garden this morning. I was a bit apprehensive about seeing him behind Sebastian’s back. I knew he would be angry if he found out. I thought a lot about what I was going to say to Henry, and I knew I needed to end our friendship. It wasn’t going to be easy.

“Oh, good morning, Hannah,” Raya said before I reached the back door.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was a mess. I eyed her carefully, humor dancing in my eyes.

“Did you have a good night?” I asked her, raising my eyebrows and trying to keep the smile from tugging at my lips.

Her face grew even redder, and she looked startled by my question; I noticed there was a tooth mark on the back of her neck and my eyes widened.

“He marked you?” I gasped.

Her hand instantly reached to the back of her neck, and she touched her newly placed wolf mark.

“Yes,” she admitted. “Last night… when we….” Her words trailed off.

She didn’t need to finish her sentence; I threw my arms around her and embraced her tightly.

“Oh, Raya,” I breathed. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you,” she giggled. “It’s surreal. But it feels right; you know?”

I didn’t. Mainly because my mark was forced, and it didn’t feel right at all. But I was so happy she found her fated mate and that they were happy.

“I should get back to him,” she said. “I was only grabbing something to eat.”

I waved my goodbyes to her as I went out the back door. I was surprised that Henry was patiently waiting for me in the rose garden. We never established a time to meet up, so I wasn’t expecting him to be here already. But there he was, sitting on the stone bench in the center of the rose garden, patiently waiting for my arrival.

He smiled broadly as he saw me approaching; he stood up quickly and met me the rest of the way.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” he said.

I looked up at him, knowing I had to do this.

“We need to talk about something…”

“I’m sorry if I got you in trouble,” he said, interrupting my words. “It’s just not often that I’m able to make a friend. I work so much that I don’t really have time for anything else.”

“You do other work besides being the gardener at this palace?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Yes,” he answered. “I work in a couple of different places around the kingdom. So, I can make as much money as I can. It’s just been really hard.” My heart tugged at his words.

I could tell there was more to his story that he wasn’t saying, and I felt weird bringing up ending our friendship.

“So, how’s snowball?” He asked as we slowly walked through the garden.

“I checked on her before bed last night and she seemed good,” I told him. “Dr. Conway is keeping watch of her in the infirmary. I’m not going to bring her through the rest of the palace until she is more healed and stable.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” he agreed. “It looked like it pained her to walk. She’s in good hands with you caring for her.”

“I appreciate that,” I said kindly; he was so nice it pained my heart to have to stop talking to him.

“There’s something off about him. Sebastian is right. We should be wary.”

“I will end the friendship,” I assured my wolf. “But now might not be the best time.”

“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor,” Henry said, bringing my attention back to him.

I glanced up at him, surprise clear on my face.

“Why didn’t you?” I asked.

“It takes up a lot of time. I don’t have the money for the education or the time for internships,” he answered. “But maybe someday I will.”

“Do you enjoy healing?” I asked.

He shrugged.

“It would be useful if I knew how to heal,” he said in return. “It’s something I would like to learn.”

“I think it’s something you should learn if it interests you,” I told him. “I can always see if Dr. Conway could use some extra help in the infirmary. He might be able to help you.”

“You’d do that for me?” He asked with a fond smile.

“Of course,” I told him.

I noticed how kind his smile is, and it made my heart happy knowing that I could make someone smile like that. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw Sebastian smile. He was always so angry or concerned or upset about something. Stress consumed him daily and oftentimes I felt helpless.

“Henry…listen…”

My words were stopped by the sound of my phone ringing and buzzing in my pocket. I grabbed it and my heart sank when I saw that it was Dr. Davis.

Was something wrong with Liam?

“Hello?”

“Hannah, you should come to the hospital right away, it’s Liam,” Dr. Davis confirmed my fears, and I felt a knot forming in the pit of my stomach.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” I asked quickly, meeting the worried eyes of Henry.

“Liam’s heart stopped.”