Chapter 5

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About three things I was absolutely positive. First, my readers were awesome. Second, there was a part of them -and I didn't know how big that part might be- that loved my book. And third, I  unconditionally and irrevocably loved that the support they gave me.

And random Twilight parody quote! (Honestly, I don't really like Twilight, but I'm not hatin' on anyone that does).

Early update because you all reached the vote goal last chapter! Sorry this chapter is short...I would have written more, but honestly it was a good place to end and I felt like there was so much in here. 

Continue to vote and comment, because 1. You would be awesome and 2. It would make my day. ...Please?

Awesome cover on side = Romane10. 'Nuff said.

25 votes this time?

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 I didn’t put up much of a fight. There wasn’t really a point. If Sebastian wanted to kill me, he could have done it a while ago or he was more than capable of doing it now. He had a good ten inches on me, at the very least, and it wasn’t like I was some taekwondo-jujitsu master. 

If anything, I followed him desperately, my overworked brain dulling my sensibility and making me almost act what I would assume to be like a drunk. I wanted nothing more than to be back in his arms. They were so comforting, they made me feel like the world wasn’t crashing down around me. 

It was only a few entranced moments before he stopped, his grip tightening on my wrist slightly to keep me - and I got the feeling himself as well - from grabbing onto his shirt and drawing myself in near.

“Come on, Taryn. You need to focus right now.” Sebastian said gently. “Can you open your door?”

“Huh? Door? Yeah…” I murmured, shuffling around in my pockets before taking out a key. After trying probably four times to align the key properly to the lock, Sebastian wrapped his larger hand around mine and guided it to the lock. “Oh, right…” 

The door opened without a sound and we were greeted with a dark house.

I started to take a step inside, stumbling slightly and making Sebastian pick me up in a bridle position. 

I didn’t struggle.

In actuality, I pressed myself closer, inhaling the scent of forest mist that covered him like a fog as he walked.

“Taryn?” Sebastian’s voice sounded far away. 

“Taryn, I’m going to set you down now.”

Sebastian’s arms lowered me onto a soft bed and slid them out from under me, the bed dipping as he sat down. His hand stretched out and he brushed his fingers across my bloodied and scabbed cheeks, so light that it felt like air. Without saying anything, he got up and left my range of blurry vision. Instantly I felt an almost heart wrenching loss. 

I started struggling to get up but my tired body stayed firmly lying on the bed.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay Taryn. I’m still here.” His voice calmed me down instantly as he sat down on the bed again. He held something in his hand and reached towards my face again, hesitating a the last moment. “This might hurt a bit.” 

Something cold and wet touched the cheek covered in blood and I gasped, trying to move away from the stinging. Sebastian kept the wetness over my cheek as his other hand grasped the crook of my neck, where the shoulder began to merge, holding me still. The flashes of vision that sharpened into focus revealed his pained expression, as if he was the one feeling what I was.

“I know, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He whispered until the pain ebbed away and I melted into the bed as he pulled the wet object off of my cheek, grabbing a new one from the nightstand next to my bed and leaning in closer, this time dabbing my cheek with precise movements, wiping the blood off my cheek with what I now realized was a wet rag. 

Honestly though, my mind wasn’t paying attention to the dull stinging on my cheek anymore. 

It was on the hand on my neck.

Sebastian’s hand had loosened its hold and now was as light as a feather, his thumb rubbing soft circles on the sensitive flesh. 

I didn't know how much time had passed, but it was much too short. 

Before I knew it, he was drawing back and standing up. “I have to go, Taryn.” He whispered, turning around.

With a speed I didn’t know I possessed in the half-conscious state I was in, my hand shot out and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. “Please don’t go.” I whispered, almost too quiet to be heard. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“I’m afraid of what will happen if I stay.” Sebastian said.

“Please.” If my brain even registered that what he said was correct, I couldn’t bring myself to think it was strange. At least, not at the moment.

He stayed silent for a long time, until I was positive he was going to say no. However, after the stretch of time, he sighed and relented. “Okay.”

I expected him to sit back down in his original position, but he surprised me by going to the front of the bed and lifting the top half of my body up, sitting on the bed, and lowering me back down. Now, I was laying half on top of him, my head using his shoulder as a pillow while he wrapped his arm loosely around my stomach.

For just a moment, my body stiffened, my mind remembering that physical contact was a big no-no for me. Then the thought faded away and I melted into his arms. 

“Go to sleep, Taryn.” Sebastian said softly, his chin resting on the top of my head as his arms shielded me from the rest of the world and myself.

For the first night in so long that I couldn’t remember when it had happened, my eyes drifted shut and I fell down into a sweet sleep.

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*Sebastian POV*

Taryn fell asleep within moments. 

She lay in my arms, breathing softly and letting me hold her like I was her lifeline.

I almost felt guilty. I knew that it was only the mate bond and her exhausted state permitting me to be the shoulder to cry on that she hadn’t had in a long time. 

At the same time, I was almost thrilled. My mate may have only let me in because she was in a delirious state of mind, but the fact that she sought comfort from me made me immensely happy. 

Taryn shifted in my arms and I snapped back to attention, seeing her face twisted in pain, and realized just how tight my hold on her had gotten. Instantly I released the pressure on her.

I had to leave.

I didn’t want to, but if I stayed longer, I didn’t know what I would unintentionally do. Just thinking about what my pack mates had done to her made my blood boil.

Reluctantly, I slid my way out from under her small body, making sure not to jostle her awake. She didn’t move a muscle until I lowered her back to the bed, where she curled up into a tight ball to make up for the sudden absence of warmth. I ached to touch her again, to wrap her back in my arms, but I held back, knowing if I did, I wouldn’t leave, not for anything.

I tried not to think that she was here alone. I didn’t know where her parents were, but there was the scent of two cars in the driveway, other than my own. Taryn apparently didn’t own one. One of the scents was a day older than the other, and the other had probably left that morning. It wasn’t likely they were coming back for a while. 

Before I could talk myself out of it, I was out of the house, staring at the now closed door in the dark. 

“Get in the car, Sebastian.” I said aloud, forcing myself to turn away and unlock the car. “She’ll be fine. She’s survived eighteen years without you, she can survive more.”

I pulled out of the driveway, already wishing that I hadn’t left.

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