by Sydney Marie
I change out of Fiona’s clothes and into my own. Hopefully, Marina has been thanking her until I get the opportunity to do so myself.
My eyes turn to the small clock resting on the bedside table—one I am very familiar with from last night, as we constantly stared at each other, and I wonder if it has been twenty minutes.
When I hear Sebastian enter the house, I hurry towards him. “Did they find Henry? Is he okay?”
“They haven’t found him, not yet,” he mutters and sits down on one of the couches in the living room.
His head rests tiredly in his hands, and I watch him closely, feeling slightly guilty.
“I-I told him to come inside, but he insisted on going for a walk. Maybe he just needs some time alone or—”
“This is not your fault.”
I close my rambling lips after his brief, dull comment. Is he worried, or scared, or panicked? How am I supposed to tell how he is feeling if he continues to talk so flatly with words consisting of no emotion whatsoever.
“I’m sorry this has happened,” I tell him. “You must be so worried.”
“He must have gone far,” he murmurs, almost to himself. “Evangeline, did you ever notice anything near your grandmother’s house. Anything that may seem odd or suspicious?”
“Well, maybe. I told your brother that I used to feel like something was watching me. I always thought I was paranoid or maybe that it was an animal, like a deer…You know what? It was probably nothing. It stopped a few months ago anyway.” I take back my words, not wanting to make a big deal out of nothing.
“No, no.” He grabs my hand and sets me down beside him.
The small action makes my heart clench for a second.
“What did you think it was, really?”
“I don’t think this will help.”
“If not to help Henry, then tell me because I am interested,” Sebastian says. “When did you feel like someone was watching you?”
“Well, when I would go outside and walk around, just enjoying the scenery, I guess. Sometimes I would hear a quiet rustle or footsteps, but really, it could have been an animal.”
It could have been the Moon Goddess for all I know. Why would any rogues be interested in me?
“It only happened when I was not shifted,” I add on.
“If you were shifted, you would’ve been able to track them, uncover them.” Sebastian glances to the side, and I quickly pull my hand out of his grasp, grabbing his attention.
“It was months ago. Really, you shouldn’t think too deeply about it. Knowing myself, it was likely a deer.”
His lovely eyes look directly into mine, and I want to look away, but something inside of me is holding on. Both sides of me know how handsome he is and how quickly he can make my knees weak and send my heart fluttering miles away. These thoughts are so new to me—something only Sebastian can cause me to think. He has control over me, and half of the time, I love it, and I want to please him. The other halfm though, fears of being taken over even though it is clear that it is coming.
“Lay with me tonight,” he says smoothly without a knot in his voice.
I breathe out. “What if I say no?”
“You do not want to say no, Evangeline. I can see it in your eyes.”
Immediately I look away, but he holds my jaw, turns my head to face him and connects our eyes once again.
“Until you say what you’re thinking, your eyes are the only way I can tell how you feel,” Sebastian says. “You are nervous, anxious—”
“Stop. Please.”
I close my eyes, blocking him from reading me any longer.
I become confused when he does not let go of my jaw because I am expecting him to do so. Before I can open my mouth once again, I feel his lips on my hot, colored cheek. I flinch. The sensation surprises me, as I never thought an action so simple could affect me so much. My head spins, and a delightful tingling feeling erupts on my skin. He takes his lips off me, yet I still feel his warm breath fanning my cheek.
The warmth leaves me, and I open my eyes. The once filled space in front of me is now empty, along with the room.
My cheeks are shades of pink and red, even more than before. What a kissing bandit.
In my gushing fool of a state, my eyes widen when the front door opens, and Andrew comes rushing inside. He notices me, nods, and continues on his way down the hallway, and I’m assuming to Sebastian’s office. That must be where the bandit ran to. Darn him for leaving me looking like such a red-faced klutz.
Taking my mind away from my embarrassing appearance, I try to think if there is a reason why Andrew hurried in. Does he do this often or has something happened?
Chapter 7
“I can’t just barge in. They are talking, and I was not invited.”
“But you are the luna now.” My wolf tries to convince me.
“Hardly,” I mutter. “I’ve only been here for a few days. The position can’t just be mine.”
“It is simple, and he explained it too. Once the alpha finds his mate, she is the luna, his equal.”
“It can’t be that sim—”
“Evangeline?”
My eyes gaze steadily upwards and land on my mate, as he is standing in the doorway, and I can see Andrew just behind him. Though I feel it, there is no time to be embarrassed.
“Did they find Henry?”
“Yes, people are bringing him in, any minute now.” He hesitates at first, most likely wondering why I am standing outside the office door for no apparent reason, though I had a reason.
It was a good, simple, structured reason until I got to my own head and suddenly began to doubt my position.
“He’s alright?” A smile curves from my lips, and Sebastian leads me down the hall with them, making me feel important.
His hand lightly touches the small of my back, causing me to now focus on two things at once.
“Henry, he’s—”
“He’s a little scratched up, and from what I’ve been told, very exhausted.”
My eyes reluctantly peer up at his striking face, reminding me of the offense he committed only moments ago. Darn his sensational lips.
“W-what do you mean he’s scratched up? Someone hurt him?”
Andrew follows directly behind us, and Sebastian swings open the front door, letting a soft gust of autumn air blow past my face, lifting the strands of hair from my shoulders. Just on the other side of the door is a small group of men—men I am assuming to be guards. Henry is stumbling along with assistance on both sides of him.
My shoulders drop.
“Bring him upstairs, will you,” Sebastian orders. “I have the doctor on his way.”
The crowd slowly conquers the staircase and brings Henry into one of the spare rooms, the one across from mine. Sebastian clears most of the guards, and they obediently leave the house.
One guard stays behind, and Sebastian does not waste another second before gathering more information. He questions him and asks things like “Where did you find him,” “Has he said anything about what has happened,” “Was there anyone else with or around him,” and others. I do not dare interrupt, yet I keep my post beside Henry as he lies on the bed. I gently scoop his hand up into mine.
Henry looks at me and smiles. “Y-you’re a sweet girl. Tell me, how did you end up with my brother as a mate?”
I hold back my laughter.
Sebastian’s attention turns to us at the sound of Henry’s voice. He asks the last guard to leave, and soon enough, it is just the four of us, Sebastian, Henry, Andrew, and I.
Sebastian sighs. “Tell me you remember what happened.”
Henry attempts to sit up, but he does not make it too far. Oddly, his brown eyes land on me again, gazing right into my own.
“It’s you.”
“Of course…Evangeline,” I tell him, not fully understanding what he needs.
Henry shakes his head. “They asked about you.”
His grip on my hand tightens.
“What do you mean they asked about me?”
Sebastian steps in and takes control of the situation.
“Henry, who asked about Evangeline?”
His gaze falls straight. “I don’t know who they are. I-I have never seen them before.”
“How many were there?”
“Three, maybe four.”
Not a person comes to my mind, not even a guess. Deep down I am hoping it was my parents, but that does not explain Henry’s minor injuries and the two or one other people. It is a silly idea, but I cannot help myself. I do not know more than ten people, and the majority of them Henry would have recognized. The only conclusion that I can draw in my head is that these people are strangers, and they are looking for me, a stranger to them. Their purpose? Now that is the real question.
“I don’t know who they could be. I don’t know many people,” I say to Sebastian, then look back at Henry. “Was there a woman, a couple?”
Henry shakes his head, debunking my unlikely theory.
“I’ll set up groups to search the area. Maybe they’ll find someone or something. Andrew, in the morning, collect around ten guards and be ready by the north…” Sebastian walks with Andrew out of the room as they continue to discuss.
Henry lets go of my hand and tries to shift his position.
“It wore me out, running from those people,” he weakly says, trying to look for comfort.
“You shifted?”
“Yes, and so did they. I…I thought they were never gonna give up.”
I study his face, seeing the fatigue in his droopy eyes and slow movements. He must have been frightened, and I do feel guilty now, much more than before. Henry said these people asked about me, and that has to be the only reason they bothered him unless they were the bad rogues. I do not know much about bad rogues, but I am sure I have no connections to them.
I stay with Henry until Sebastian enters the room with the doctor, the same man who bandaged my head after my accident. The doctor notices my presence and smiles before tending to Henry. Sebastian leads me out of the room so Henry can have his privacy, and I watch until the door closes.
“He’ll be alright?”
“Of course,” Sebastian says absently. “They are only minor.”
“So, what are you going to do? I mean, do you think I’ll ever know who was looking for me?”
Sebastian glances down at me. “You should get to bed. It’s late.”
***
I go to the spare room and change out of my clothes and into my pajamas. My mind keeps reminding me of Sebastian’s question from earlier. Will I lay with him tonight? As divided as I have been, I argue with myself while brushing my teeth and combing out my hair. I continuously glance at myself in the mirror as I lay out the good and bad that can come from it. He asked me to lay with him, meaning, only sleeping. Or was it all to poke fun at me, and he actually didn’t mean anything from the question at all?
I lean against the counter and tilt my head back after tossing my brush to the side of the sink. While attempting to clear my mind, I hear the bedroom door open, and my eyes shoot to the half-open bathroom door. I swallow and silently push the door open inch by inch, slowly revealing the sight of Sebastian looking out the window. My lips run dry.
“Yes?”
Not startled, he turns to face me. “I was wondering when you would be ready.”
“Ready?” I repeat.
“For bed.”
A short, brief sigh slips from my lips. “I didn’t say yes.”
“And you didn’t say no,” he says while drifting closer.
“Well, I can’t sleep in the same bed with you.”
His fingertips drag along the bedding.
“You can’t sleep without me either.”
“You enjoy this, don’t you?”
“Enjoy? Very much. But I also enjoy sleeping, which is something you weren’t doing much of last night.”
“And you were?” I question him, trying to keep some authority.
Sebastian only saunters closer. “No, Evangeline. I am asking you to sleep in my bed.”
“I kno—”
“No, you do not. If you did, we would already be asleep.”
The quick walk to his bedroom is the longest, most untimely walk I have ever taken. My feet seem to grow heavier with every step as if all my worries are slowly falling on them and piling up. Unlike the past times, Sebastian is behind me as I hesitantly lead. I feel his eyes on me, watching my every move when I slip through the open door and amble further in.
“Deep breaths,” I chant to myself, needing to collect my thoughts.
My head is dizzy as my eyes roam over the bed, keeping an eye on it, fearing that the sheets will wrap around my ankles and drag me in.
Darkness floods around me at the sudden sound of the lights being switched off. Immediately, I look back to the door, and his silhouette stands in front of it, waiting a moment before sinking into the darkness.
I can barely see him as he glides to the bed and throws back the blankets, stripping it and revealing the silky sheets I saw once before. They glisten dully in the streaks of moonlight pouring through the windows, resembling some sort of ocean. Waves flow through the sheets as Sebastian submerges himself in the bed.
I stand alone, not sure what to do and what to think. My breaths are steady, and I calmly walk towards the empty side. Mimicking his movements, I cautiously pull back the covers and climb onto the bed. My heart beats heavily, so intensely that I can hear the pounding in my ears. The silk sheets are soft against my skin, and it only takes a moment to find a comfortable position.
I stay completely still and find myself holding my breath, and when I have the urge to breathe, I do it very quietly.
“Evangeline,” Sebastian mutters, “please, relax.”
“I-I’m relaxed,” I whisper back and grip my pillow.
My eyes close after hearing no reply, though he does reply, just not verbally. I suddenly hear shuffling, and I jump slightly when his hand abruptly touches my arm. At first, the action surprises me, but when the relaxing and calming sensations course through my body, I understand why he did what he did. Something as simple as his touch already has my muscles loosening, my breaths steadying, and my eyes naturally falling close. My body seems to sink into the bed.
***
My eyes land on Henry after I push my way through the door.
“Sebastian already came in?” I ask, and he sets down the book in his hands.
“Yes, he asked me more questions earlier. They should be out looking by now.”
Sebastian did not tell me that Henry’s ankle is sprained, but it is. I was getting ready for bed when the doctor left, missing the results of the analysis. Henry looks much better today than he did last night though, much more alive as I can see the hints of satisfaction returning to his eyes.
“So, Henry. The people…What did they look like?”
“Well.” He thinks for a moment, keeping me on the edge of my seat. “They all looked built, almost like a guard would. I’m not sure. It’s hard to remember details.”
I nod. “And you said there were no women.”
“No, I can remember that. Why do you want to know if there was a woman?”
“Oh, just curious I guess. I thought maybe I might know them, but it’s obvious now that I don’t.”
Henry’s eyes gaze out the window, watching something that I cannot see.
“You slept with him last night.”
Startled by his blunt statement, I felt my cheeks heat up.
“Who…How—”
“I could tell. Sebastian looked well rested today, unlike yesterday. Both of you, really.”
I stay quiet, and his eyes fall back to me.
“Ever since you showed up, I’ve been wondering what it would feel like to have a mate. If I won’t be able to sleep, or if she’ll need me as much as I’ll need her.”
“It’s a weird thing but assuring. At least I know I won’t be alon
e. Before all this, I wondered what I would do after my grandmother died. If I would try and find my parents or move on by myself. It’s a relief really because the idea of being alone scared me. She’ll need you as much as you’ll need her, and if she’s anything like me, maybe she’ll need you more,” I tell him.
“Where are your parents, Evangeline?”
I can still recall the look on their faces when they dropped me off at grandmother’s house. I was sad yet relieved. Maybe they were happy that I was now safe, or maybe they were happy that I was no longer their problem. My mother told me that she was going to come get me when things were safe again.
She placed both of her hands on my cheeks and looked me straight in the eyes. Her hands were cold but soft.
“You’ll be okay here,” she said. “When things are better, Daddy and I will take you home.”
She and my father disappeared into the trees, and I felt cold and alone. For the first few days, I spent my time sitting on the porch, waiting. Grandma would tell me to come inside or play around the house, but I did not move from my spot on the second step. The Moon Goddess would come to me frequently back then. She must have known that I felt abandoned, as she would try to distract me as she did in the attic. I could not be distracted.
“I don’t know where they are,” I said after remembering the day they left me at my grandmother’s.
“Why is that?”
I do not know what it is. Maybe it is the welcoming look in his eyes or the accepting sound of his voice, but I tell him everything. I tell him how the Moon Goddess comes to me, how my parents hid me away, and how I was sent to live with my grandmother. I tell him everything. There is no fear of judgment from him, no pressure to impress him. Henry is a rare person, one that makes you feel accepted and understood. Henry is a friend.
Chapter 8
The trees are tightly knit, and I weave through them while reaching out and feeling the coarse bark underneath my palms. The moss is soft and damp yet leaves my hands dry when I pull them away and rub my fingers together. Rays of light cascade down through the trees, creating intricate designs on the forest floor, and when I step onto the patterns, the light shines on my feet. During it all, the dense scent of rainfall tickles my nose.