Chapter 5

The steady hum of voices is what woke me up. I blinked my eyes a couple of times before everything came into focus. That's also when I registered the pain. I frowned, confused at first, then everything came crashing down: the men at my cottage and the attack. The last thing I remembered was hearing Sebastian's thunderous roar.

"She's awake."

I turn to see Claire standing next to Sebastian. The look of concern was enough to tell me all was not well. Sebastian, on the other hand, just looked immaculate—no hair out of place, his usual cold mask on.

“How are you feeling, Renny?” Claire asked me.

“Like I've been run over by an overspeeding train... how long have I been out?”

I knew we were at the hospital; the smell of antiseptic gave it away. I hated hospitals. They were mostly gloomy, sad, and grief-stricken.

“Two days,” Sebastian answers tersely, his voice gruff.

"What the hell, two days! And how come I'm still in pain? Shouldn't I be healed by now?” I fired the question at no one in particular.

It was really uncommon for a werewolf to be in the hospital for that long. We usually healed quickly, so I was supposed to be up and about days ago—as in, a few hours after that horrible incident.

“The doctors said that your wolf is weak. Why didn't you tell me what was happening to you and Blue? Why did you keep it from me?” Claire says the last part in a snarl.

The moment she tells me that, I check on Blue. She's asleep, but I still try calling her. She doesn't answer, though, so I let her continue sleeping; she needed it.

Sebastian doesn't say anything, just takes a seat, crossing one leg over the other, occupying the space like he owned it.

“I didn’t want you to worry. You already had so much going on with Mason; I didn't want to add to your worries. Besides, it will be taken care of soon,” I mumble, unable to meet her eyes.

“I'm your best friend, Lauren, we don't keep such things from each other. I would have been there for you regardless. You're a part of me just like Mason is. Losing you would kill me,” she says with tears in her eyes.

This was why I didn’t want to tell her. Claire has always been the soft one—the one who feels more, the one who takes everyone's burdens and carries them herself. I honestly believe she’s an empath. Regardless of that, I love her, and I love that she would have taken my problems as if they were her own. We may not be related by blood, but our bond was unbreakable.

“I know and I'm sorry. I just thought I was protecting you from the inevitable while I tried to find a solution,” I grasp her hand in mine, hoping that I can communicate without words where I was coming from.

I've never been good with words, nor have I ever been good at communicating my feelings, but Claire just got me in a way that even Darren never did.

“Fine,” she grumbles, still pissed off. “But let this be the last time you keep me in the dark. On that note: when the fuck were you going to tell me about your mating?”

The last part comes out as a shout, and it makes me wince, both from the headache and also because she was probably going to kill me now. Couldn't Sebastian have waited for me to tell her myself?

I glare at the man in question, but he just smirks. Bastard.

“I wanted to, but the right opportunity just never came up. We started seeing each other when I was away and we just wanted to keep it quiet for a while. Keep it from the media until we were both ready for people to know. When I came back, we could no longer stay apart and we decided to mate. I guess people do bond over pain, because that's how we fell in love.”

I keep my voice smooth, sickeningly sweet, and full of love. I even looked at Sebastian with love to make it believable when all I wanted to do was scoff. I almost snorted when he reflected the same love-sick look back at me.

Damn. Someone should nominate us for an Emmy Award for our outstanding performance.

Claire must have believed the act because she pounced on me, hugging me so tight that I let out a painful yelp. I hated lying to her, but I had no choice. I couldn't break Sebastian's terms. My and Blue's sanity depended on it.

"Sorry, sorry... but I'm so happy. Sebastian is definitely an upgrade from that fucker,” she says, a look of disgust distorting her features when she refers to Darren.

"He's your alpha, Claire. Give him some respect,” I say jokingly.

She snorts. “Respect my ass.”

I chuckle at that. This is another reason I love Claire: her loyalty knows no bounds. She would cross the devil himself for my sake, and I would do the same fucking thing.

She checks her watch before looking up at me. “Shoot! I have to go and check on Mason, but I'll be back later, okay?”

I nod my head, already feeling tired and drained. If this is how humans felt when they got sick or injured, then it honestly sucks.

She hugs me again before whispering in my ear: “I'm really happy that you found another man, but I'm going to keep a close eye on him. I won't risk you getting hurt a second time by a guy.”

She kisses me on the cheek before turning to Sebastian.

“Make no mistake, alpha beast. If you hurt Renny, I will hunt you by your balls before cutting them and shoving them down your throat. Powerful or not, I will end you,” her voice is dangerously low, making me shiver.

Sebastian just snorts, as if Claire had said the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. He doesn't say anything, and they have a stare-down before Claire smiles big, says goodbye, and leaves.

Now that she’s gone, I become nervous for some reason. Maybe it's because of the silence that descends, or maybe because I was now alone with Sebastian, or probably because of the intense way he was staring at me.

“Thank you for saving me and bringing me to the hospital,” I break the silence.

"How do you know it was me?” he asks, smirking.

I roll my eyes at him. “I heard your wolf. Besides, only you and Claire know where I live, and Claire's wolf roar doesn't shake the fucking ground.”

He doesn't say anything, just continues staring at me, which makes me squirm on the uncomfortable bed.

"Do you know who those men were?” he asks after some time, the playfulness gone, seriousness taking its place.

“No. I have never seen them in my life.”

He nods at my answer contemplatively, the wheels in his mind turning as if he were trying to piece something together. Just by the way he behaved, I could tell an idea had already formed in his mind; he just needed more information.

“Tell me everything that happened,” he commands, proving that I was right about him needing information.

So I tell him. I recount everything from the beginning, leaving no details behind. I'm still shaken by all that happened—still feel the pain of being kicked by three grown-ass men, still feel the fear when they said they were going to rape me before killing me. By the time I'm done, I'm shaking. I literally have to keep reminding myself that I'm safe and okay, that I survived.

“I looked into them, but they're not part of any pack. They're rogues. So the bullshit about trespassing was a cover-up. They were sent after you, meaning...”

"Someone wanted me dead,” I finish for him, and he silently nods.

If I was shaken before, I was completely terrified now. That someone would go to those lengths to get rid of me was shocking.

"What happened to the men?” I ask, afraid of the answer. A part of me wants them to be dead, but the other wants to see them suffer—tortured.

“I killed them,” he answers deadpan, with no remorse.

I nod at him, relaxing a little bit. At least I'll never have to deal with them ever again.

“We have to move our arrangement up. The longer you stay alone, the easier it will be for whoever it is to kill you. You need the protection my name offers,” he tells me deeply before continuing: “I'll bring the contract tomorrow for you to sign. We will have the church wedding for the humans’ sake, and then after the reception at night, we can have the mating ceremony.”

At first, I was stunned. I felt like everything was moving too quickly, but then I reminded myself that I almost got killed. I was also running out of time, if Blue being weak was any indication.

"When will the wedding slash mating ceremony take place?”

“In two weeks. It will be a full moon, and that will give you enough time to recover. I'll have the media announce our wedding date tomorrow, is that okay?”

There really wasn't much to think about, so I agreed. Mating ceremonies are usually done during the full moon. It's the time when we feel closest to the Moon Goddess and also when our wolves are strongest.

Sebastian left about thirty minutes later after we had hashed out all the details. My head was pounding. I really needed to sleep, but I had one more thing to do.

Searching for my phone, I found it on the bedside table. I took it and sent a message:

[I want to see Krystal.]

My near-death experience opened my eyes to reality. I couldn't continue keeping her at arm's length. Even if my brain reasoned it was for her own good or that my heart still hurt, I needed her present at the ceremony. She is my daughter, and I didn't want to go through it without her.

My phone pinged immediately. That was quick, I think to myself.

[Done.]

I thought he would refuse, so I was actually shocked when he agreed. I didn't think about it too much, just content that I would see Krystal. With that thought, I fell into a peaceful slumber, praying and hoping that nothing else would go wrong.