chapter 5
1568 Words
“Shadows of the Past”
Sebastian’s POV
The workplace seemed to have too calm air. I knew something had changed the minute Caleb entered with that expression on his face. He was not one to flaunt his cards too readily, but his stance and the slight narrowing of his eyes told me the game had evolved.
"Ariana's sure," Caleb muttered, slanted against the doorframe. Here is Lucas. Not far.
I fixed my gaze on the map on my desk—the complex geography of our country, the roads and boundaries I had learnt years ago. I ought to have realised he would go faster than predicted. Luca was hardly anything if not driven. But this was a move I had not anticipated at all.
Did she see him? Keeping my voice calm, I asked, knowing the fury boiled just below the surface.
Caleb said, "No," then "but she smelt him. "Are you aware of the strength of their relationship? She wouldn't be mistaken regarding something like this.
Sure. Their former mate's relationship was strong. That terrible link was what had originally set this catastrophe in motion. Always haughty, Luca is always seeking more. And misled by what she considered to be love, Ariana had slipped right into his hands. Till he had turned on her.
"Do you suppose he is here for her?" Caleb asked, his tone well controlled.
I let the idea go. Luca is here for one reason—power. For months he has been assembling supporters behind my rear. He believes he can seize the pack for himself and knock me down.
I stood as the chair scraped on the wooden floor. Years of simmering discontent inside me were finally spilling over. This is beyond a mere power fight now. It was personal. Luca had turned on me as his Alpha in addition to his father. Not anything I could pardon either.
But Ariana was much different—another matter completely. Full of wrath and anger, she had come to me, and I had seen something in her that reflected my own gloom. She wished Luca suffered as much as I did. And I had consented to her convoluted scheme for that alone.
Now, with Luca closing in, things were accelerating more quickly than I had projected.
"Where is she right now??" Already aware Caleb would have a response, I enquired.
"Out by the West Edge of the Estate," he said. "She wanted some air."
I laughed. "Air is. Alternatively, space to consider what she has become involved with.
Caleb shrugged. "She's hard, Sebastian." You are aware of that.
Tough does not mean ready for what is ahead. I grabbed my jacket and slung it on her shoulders. "Let us go."
Mania
The air had cooled by the time we arrived on the estate's west side. The wind had a sharpness about it, a reminder of how quickly the Highlands may get nasty. With her arms securely crossed over her chest, Ariana stood beside one of the stone pillars. I could see the strain in her posture, the way her body was coiled like a spring, poised to break even from a distance.
"Sebastian." Her speech was consistent as I walked up, but her eyes—those keen green eyes—showed something else. Not sure.
She said, "Luca's close," straightforwardly and directly.
I said, my voice echoing hers, "I know." "But we cannot act until we precisely know what he intends.
Ariana's jaw clenched, and I sensed she was stifling the tempest within her. She detested this—waiting, not in charge. One of the qualities about her I admired. I also realised, though, that impatience may kill us.
Her voice rising, "Do you really think he's just going to sit around and wait for us to make the first move?" she questioned. "Luca never has been that type of man. Sebastian, you are dangerous. He has always been dangerously inclined.
I moved toward her, staring right at her. And you believe I am ignorant of this? I have observed him from the day of birth. I am precisely sure of the type of man he is.
Ariana fixed my eye; with every breath, her chest rose and fell. She was furious and annoyed, and I could feel her feelings weighing down on me. But this went beyond Luca as well. She was also chewing something deeper, something more.
"You're not just worried about what Luca's going to do," I replied softly. You are terrified of confronting him.
Her eyes wavered with something—perhaps suffering. Remorse. I have no fear of him.
I recognised the truth even though I refrained from pressing the matter. Ariana had suffered, not only physically. More than any wound, Luca's treachery had wounded; now, with him so near, the wounds were opening. She sought retribution, indeed. She was, however, not ready to meet him once again. Not following all he had done.
Before I could say anything further, a man surfaced from the darkness. I stiffened right away, but not Luca. Someone I never would have anticipated.
Tall and thin, a woman with long silver hair gleamed in the last light of the twilight. Her eyes were frightening—bright, quite surreal. My heart contracted the instant I saw her.
Selene.
"What are you doing here?" My voice is colder than I had meant," I asked.
Ariana definitely sensed the tension as her eyes flicked between me and Selene. "Who is She?"
Selene grinned, but it was not a nice smile. That type of smile made you shiver down your spine. "I'm here to collect on the promise you made, Sebastian."
My blood cooled. Though I had assumed I would never have to see her once more, here she was reminding me of the one deal I had never wanted to close.
With a strained voice, I said, "I didn't think you would come so soon."
" Soon?” Selene slanted her head, her eyes shining. "Sebastian, it has been years. Did you suppose I would have forgotten?
Ariana moved forward, her eyes closing. " What promise?"
I did not respond to her. I cannot. Not now.
Turning my whole focus back to her, I added, "This is a private matter, Selene. You cannot just go in here and—
"Private?" Selene interjected, her smile getting bigger. "Oh, Sebastian. You know far better than that. In our type of work, nothing is private. Besides, your little conflict with Luca has made things really visible.
Ariana looked at me, obviously perplexed, but I still found myself unable to explain. Not local here. Not now. Not with Luca prowling just outside our area.
Selene approached nearer, her silver hair reflecting the light. "I produced what you requested. It is now your turn to satisfy your half of the contract.
My throat stiffened. Years ago, I had struck a bargain with her; I felt I could bury it in the past. But now that Luca is opposing me and Ariana is at my side, that deal was haunting me.
Ariana broke the silence with her words. "What did you pledge to her, Sebastian?"
I'm silent.
Selene had satisfied glows in her eyes. Tell her, Sebastian," said Tell her what you gave up.
I grappled with reality and then a protracted quiet. There was nowhere out of this to get. Not today.
At last, my voice almost above a whisper, I replied, "I promised her my loyalty." "For power, in exchange." Power is required to guard the pack.
Ariana's eyes became wide, and her demeanour betrayed incredulity. "You What?"
"I had no choice," I answered hurriedly, moving near her. Years ago, before anything, before Luca. I had pack protection to guard. She is here today to honour that vow as well.
The smile of Selene never changed. exactly.
Ariana retreated, wrath flickering in her eyes. "You lied to me."
"I didn't lie," I answered, speaking deliberately. "I didn't tell you since, until now, it didn't really matter. Selene and I have nothing in our agreement about Luca.
Ariana's hands closed into fists at her sides. "Everything you have done, hasn't it been about control? You still strive to control the circumstances today.
"I am trying to save us!" I snapped, my resentment at last bursting free. "This goes beyond just Ariana, too. It relates to the full pack.
She was, however, no longer listening. Her eyes betrayed the treachery, the way her confidence in me had broken. And I became aware for the first time of how far I had stretched her.
Her words sliced through the suspense. " Sebastian, you have till the next full moon. Your contract is invalid following that. We both also know what happens should you break an agreement with me.
She turned and vanished into the darkness with that, leaving me standing here bearing the weight of my history squarely on my shoulders.
Ariana hardly spoke a word. She simply turned and left, her footsteps lost into the evening.
And I started to worry whether I had just lost the one ally I still had.
Selene's unexpected arrival has sent everything into disarray and exposed a sinister secret Sebastian has been hiding. The stakes are higher than ever, and Sebastian has to balance his bargain with Selene as the time runs down, getting ready for Luca's imminent onslaught. With Ariana feeling deceived, Sebastian's hold on
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