Chapter TwoThe Promise:Sebastian
1998 Words
Sebastian had always believed that some promises were too sacred to break.
Especially promises made to God.
He had been twelve years old when he learned that lesson.
It had been an ordinary evening.
He and his mother had been returning home from an event, talking about nothing particularly important. Sebastian remembered his mother’s laughter more than anything else.
She had been telling him something, and he had been pretending not to listen because he was more interested in looking through the window.
Then everything changed.
A flash of headlights.
A deafening sound.
Metal crushing against metal.
Glass breaking.
His mother’s scream.
And then—
Silence.
Sebastian opened his eyes slowly.
For a few seconds, he couldn’t understand where he was.
His head hurt.
His arm stung.
There was blood on his forehead, and his clothes were torn.
But he could move.
He could breathe.
He looked toward his mother.
“Mom?”
She didn’t answer.
“Mom?”
His voice became louder.
That was when he saw her.
She was badly injured.
There was blood everywhere.
Sebastian remembered trying to reach her, crying and calling her name until someone pulled him away from the wreckage.
He remembered the ambulance.
He remembered the flashing lights.
He remembered holding his injured arm while repeatedly asking the paramedics if his mother was going to be okay.
Nobody gave him an answer.
At the hospital, everything became a blur.
Doctors rushed his mother away.
Nurses moved quickly around him.
His father arrived.
His older brother arrived.
Everyone was talking.
Everyone was frightened.
But Sebastian couldn’t hear most of it.
He was twelve.
He didn’t understand medical terminology.
He didn’t understand why doctors looked so serious.
He only understood one thing.
His mother was dying.
He sat in the hospital corridor with his father and brother for what felt like hours.
Eventually, a doctor came out.
Sebastian watched him approach.
His father immediately stood.
“Doctor?”
The doctor removed his mask.
“We’ve done everything we can.”
Sebastian’s heart dropped.
His father stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
The doctor hesitated.
“Your wife’s injuries are extremely severe. Her condition is critical.”
Sebastian’s hands began shaking.
“Can you save her?”
The doctor looked at him.
It was the way the man looked at him that scared Sebastian the most.
“We’re doing everything possible.”
“But can you save her?”
The doctor didn’t answer immediately.
“At this point, we have to wait and see.”
Wait.
Sebastian hated that word.
Wait.
He didn’t want to wait.
He wanted someone to save his mother.
He wanted someone to tell him everything was going to be okay.
But nobody could.
His father sat down again, placing both hands over his face.
His brother looked toward the ceiling.
Sebastian couldn’t stay there.
He stood.
Nobody noticed him leaving.
He walked down the hospital corridor until he found a small chapel.
It was a Catholic hospital, and the chapel was quiet.
The lights were dim.
There was a crucifix at the front.
Rows of wooden pews stood empty.
Sebastian walked inside.
He had never felt so small.
He slowly approached the altar.
Then he dropped to his knees.
And he cried.
Not quietly.
Not politely.
He cried like a frightened child.
Because he was one.
“God…”
His voice broke.
He wiped his face with both hands.
“Please.”
He looked toward the crucifix.
“Please don’t let my mother die.”
His shoulders shook.
“I don’t know what else to do.”
He bowed his head.
“I don’t know how to fix this.”
His tears fell onto his hands.
“But You can.”
Sebastian had grown up believing in God.
He had prayed before.
He had gone to church with his family.
But that night was different.
That night, he wasn’t praying because someone had told him to.
He was praying because his mother’s life was slipping away.
“Please save her.”
He took a shaky breath.
“If You save my mother…”
He stopped.
He didn’t know what to promise.
Then the thought came to him.
“I’ll give You my life.”
Sebastian’s voice became steadier.
“I promise.”
He looked toward the crucifix again.
“If You let my mother live, I’ll become a priest.”
He swallowed.
“I’ll serve You.”
Another tear slipped down his cheek.
“I’ll spend my life helping people.”
He pressed his hands together.
“I promise.”
The chapel remained silent.
But Sebastian continued praying.
For hours.
He prayed until his knees hurt.
He prayed until his eyes became swollen.
He prayed until he eventually fell asleep on the pew.
And sometime before dawn, someone found him.
It was his older brother.
“Sebastian.”
Sebastian opened his eyes.
His brother was standing over him.
“Mom’s awake.”
Sebastian froze.
“What?”
“Mom’s awake.”
Sebastian stood so quickly that he nearly fell.
“She’s okay?”
His brother smiled.
“She’s alive.”
Sebastian covered his mouth.
For several seconds, he couldn’t speak.
Then he looked toward the crucifix.
And he whispered,
“Thank You.”
That promise became the foundation of his life.
His mother survived.
It took months.
She needed extensive treatment and rehabilitation.
There were difficult days.
There were frightening days.
But she lived.
And Sebastian never forgot what he had promised.
At fourteen, he finally told his parents.
“I want to become a priest.”
His mother stared at him.
His father was silent.
Then his father shook his head.
“No.”
Sebastian had expected that.
“Why?”
“Because you’re fourteen.”
“I know.”
“You don’t know what you want yet.”
“I do.”
His father sighed.
“You have your entire life ahead of you.”
Sebastian looked at his mother.
“Mom almost died.”
His mother lowered her eyes.
“I prayed for her.”
His father looked at him.
“I promised God that if she survived, I would give my life to serving Him.”
His father’s expression changed.
Sebastian continued.
“I know what I promised.”
His father didn’t immediately agree.
Instead, he gave his son one condition.
“If you still want this when you’re older, then I’ll support you.”
Sebastian nodded.
“And I want you to get an education.”
“I will.”
“Something outside the church.”
Sebastian smiled faintly.
“Okay.”
That was how Sebastian ended up studying business while simultaneously preparing for a life in the Church.
At fifteen, he formally began his journey.
He became an altar server.
He learned the traditions of the Church.
He assisted during Mass.
He helped prepare the sanctuary.
He attended formation and religious studies.
He spent countless hours learning about Scripture, theology, pastoral care, and the responsibilities that came with serving a parish.
The priests noticed him.
So did the parishioners.
Sebastian wasn’t loud.
He wasn’t attention-seeking.
He didn’t try to impress anyone.
He simply served.
And somehow, people remembered him.
By twenty-two, Sebastian had become one of the most beloved young men in his parish.
He had also graduated from college with a degree in business.
His father had gotten his wish.
Sebastian had another profession.
Another skill.
Another possible future.
But nothing had changed.
His heart still belonged to the Church.
He was now in the final stages of formation.
In three months, if everything went according to plan, Sebastian would be ordained a priest.
He was ready.
He had been ready for years.
He lived a disciplined life.
His days began early.
Prayer.
Mass.
Study.
Parish responsibilities.
Charity work.
Counseling.
Visiting families.
Helping organize donations.
Assisting the elderly.
Supporting people who had nowhere else to turn.
Sebastian had a gift for listening.
People trusted him.
They would sit with him and tell him things they couldn’t tell anyone else.
And Sebastian never judged them.
He listened.
He prayed with them.
He encouraged them.
Sometimes, that was all someone needed.
His appearance only added to the attention he received.
Sebastian was beautiful.
Not in an intimidating way.
His beauty was soft.
He had a delicate, almost graceful appearance that contrasted with the strength of his character.
He wasn’t particularly tall.
He had a petite, slender build.
His hair was usually neatly kept, and his most striking feature was his eyes.
Blue.
Clear.
Beautifully blue.
People sometimes joked about them.
Especially the older women in the parish.
“Father-to-be, those eyes are going to cause trouble.”
Sebastian would simply smile.
“I hope not.”
His brother found the jokes hilarious.
“You know you’re basically the parish’s handsome celebrity, right?”
Sebastian would shake his head.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“Sebastian, half the church knows you as the handsome young man who is always helping Father.”
Sebastian would laugh softly.
“You’re ridiculous.”
His brother would grin.
“I’m your older brother. It’s my job.”
Sebastian usually wore simple clothing outside the church.
But inside the parish, he was often seen in the appropriate clerical and liturgical attire for his role as a seminarian and altar server, depending on the occasion.
When he served at Mass, there was something almost serene about him.
He moved quietly.
Respectfully.
Never rushing.
Never seeking attention.
He knew when to speak.
And he knew when silence was more important.
The Archbishop had noticed him years ago.
So had the priests who worked with him.
One priest in particular had taken Sebastian under his wing and helped guide him through formation.
“You have a gentle heart,” the priest once told him.
Sebastian smiled.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”
“It is,” the priest replied. “Provided you remember that being gentle does not mean being weak.”
Sebastian never forgot those words.
Because he understood them.
He knew what strength was.
He had seen it in his father.
He had seen it in his brother.
But he had also learned that strength could look like patience.
It could look like forgiveness.
It could look like staying beside someone when everyone else had walked away.
And perhaps that was why people loved him.
Sebastian was calm.
Even when the parish was chaotic.
Even when people argued.
Even when someone came into the church angry.
He rarely raised his voice.
He didn’t need to.
There was something about his presence that made people settle.
On one particular Sunday morning, Sebastian stood near the entrance of the parish, helping distribute food packages to families in need.
“Thank you,” an elderly woman told him.
Sebastian smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
She held his hand.
“God bless you.”
“And you.”
She walked away.
Sebastian watched her for a moment before returning to work.
He didn’t know that his life was about to change.
He didn’t know that the promise he had made at twelve years old would soon collide with something he had never considered.
Something that could challenge everything he believed about his future.
Because Sebastian had spent ten years believing that his life belonged entirely to God.
He had planned it carefully.
He knew where he was going.
He knew what he wanted.
He knew what he had promised.
And he believed nothing could change his mind.
He was wrong.
Because there was a world beyond the walls of his parish.
A world filled with wolves.
Alphas.
Mates.
Ancient bonds.
And a powerful Alpha named Kai who had spent eleven years searching for the one person the Moon Goddess had chosen for him.
Sebastian had no idea that their paths were already moving toward one another.
And when they finally crossed…
Neither of their lives would ever be the same again.
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