by M. E. James
She whimpered in terror.
"Good-bye," Sebastian said, his voice echoing in her head as well.
A massive werewolf tackled Jake from the right, knocking him to the ground. Jake screamed in pain before falling on his back. Still, Sebastian kept biting every inch of the other wolf he could reach. At first Jake continued to writhe, but then, after one last pained howl, he was silent upon the ground. At that moment, Emmy knew that Jake was dead.
Everything went still. Not even a bird sang its song. Sebastian turned toward her, his eyes sad. He didn't come nearer, but as she held his gaze, something incredible happened—in his large eyes, she saw him. This was the man who cared for her, the man who was the father of her child. She wouldn't pretend that she liked him as a beast, but the fear she felt disappeared.
At least, until she looked down and saw Mary Lou's bleeding form.
"Oh, my God, Mary Lou!" Emmy screamed.
In a matter of seconds, Sebastian's chestnut fur became golden skin and his green eyes went back to gray. Soon he stood naked in front of her.
"Oh, Emmy." Sebastian looked down at Mary Lou. For the first time ever, Emmy thought that the woman looked her age.
Emmy's teeth chattered as she met his eyes. He leaned down and checked her pulse.
"She's not dead." Sebastian shook his head. "But we have to get her to a hospital. Now."
Emmy nodded, frightened to the core.
Chapter Ten
Two hours later, Emmy and Sebastian stood in the ICU. She was shaking, but not from cold. No, she was shaking because she was terrified that she was going to lose her best friend.
"You said a dog attacked her?" Dr. Smithfield asked as he jotted down something on a chart.
Emmy exchanged looks with a fully dressed Sebastian and nodded.
"A big dog." Sebastian motioned with his arms.
"I see." Dr. Smithfield wrote something else.
"Will she be okay?" Oh God, please, please let her be all right.
"The lacerations on her side are deep, but with proper care, I think she'll be okay." Dr. Smithfield nodded.
"Thank God." Relieved, Emmy sank into a chair. She'd never been more grateful that the hospital waiting room had seats.
Groaning, Sebastian sank down into the chair beside her.
"The nurse will let you know when Ms. Parkinson gets out of surgery," Dr. Smithfield said. "It'll be a couple of hours until there's any news."
"Thank you."
The man left. In the silence of the waiting room, Emmy bowed her head and buried her face in her hands. All that had happened had begun to catch up with her. After all, tonight had been the worst night of her life. As she cried, Sebastian wrapped his arms around her.
"Are you in pain?" Sebastian rubbed her back. "Do I need to talk to the doctor again? He said that your head is all right and that the baby is okay, but it might be good to have him look at you again."
"It's not that." She buried her face in his chest. "I almost lost you and the baby. Oh, Sebastian, I just can't believe what happened. I just can't."
She pulled back, her bottom lip wobbling.
"I know, sweetheart." He ran his hand over her tear-drenched cheek.
"Do crazy people always come after you?" she whispered. "Because I can't take this."
"I've been in a pack my entire life, but I've never seen this happen before," Sebastian said. "Jake is just a psycho."
"A psycho who almost made mincemeat out of us." She could still imagine Jake sinking his teeth into her flesh. "I just wish this had never happened."
"It'll be okay." Sebastian squeezed her shoulder.
Emmy bit her bottom lip. "But what about Mary Lou? I know the doctor said that she'll probably be okay, but those bite wounds were so deep."
"That woman is made out of tough stuff." Sebastian stroked her hair. "Trust me, she'll make it."
"She is pretty tough." Emmy nodded. "I think she could survive an explosion."
Sebastian nodded. "Yeah."
"Or a nuclear holocaust," Emmy continued.
Sebastian stared at her.
"She would even survive a flesh-eating virus," she said.
"What are you doing?"
"Making a list." She shrugged awkwardly. "It makes me feel better."
"Oh." Sebastian paused, then joined in. "Well…she'd survive an atomic bomb."
"Or even the end of the world." Emmy forced herself to grin, even though her heart ached.
A small smile crossed Sebastian's face too, though his eyes were dark. "Indeed. She would just float around in space. The woman is so tough that she wouldn't even need a suit."
"Who cares about subzero temperatures and no gravity when you're Mary Lou?" Emmy shook her head, remembering all of the times the woman had surprised her.
"Indeed." Sebastian paused. "But now I'm out of things Mary Lou could survive."
"That's okay," Emmy said. "I'm not sure what's worse than the end of the world anyway."
Both of them were silent for a moment.
"You know, I can't believe she protected me like that." Emmy never thought that anybody would care about her that much.
"She must really love you." The man nuzzled her hair.
"And she probably felt guilty about leading Jake to me." Despite the fact Mary Lou had helped Jake, she knew that her friend was a selfless person.
"That, too." He squeezed her hand.
She stared off into space, picturing the moment when Mary Lou had protected her from an angry werewolf. The thought made her heart ache.
"Do you know who else loves you?" Sebastian asked.
Her eyes widened. "Who?"
"Me." Sebastian pressed his forehead against hers. "Will you ever forgive me for not being honest with you? I promise that there will be no more secrets between us."
Her breath caught. Despite some of the lingering pain she felt due to his secrecy, she knew that she loved him. On top of that, he'd earned her trust. After all, if Sebastian couldn't be trusted, then he wouldn't have come save her. Tonight she may have experienced something horrible, but the events had shown her one thing—Sebastian was willing to put her life before his own. He'd kneeled before the enemy, just to ensure her safety. And while she knew the image of Sebastian as a werewolf would haunt her for a long time, the way she felt about him was undeniable.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, too. And I've already forgiven you for not telling me. Will you forgive me for running away? I know that it was the wrong thing to do."
"There is nothing for me to forgive. I understood why you ran." He sighed as she melted against him. "You didn't know werewolves existed. Of course you'd be terrified."
As she searched his face, relief whisked away some of her terror. "Thank you."
"Mmm-hmm." He traced her bottom lip with his finger. "Do you really love me?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation.
Sebastian let out a sigh of relief as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. The man captured her lips. Instead of the fierce kisses he usually gave, this kiss was warm and sweet like melting chocolate on her tongue. His embrace was intended to protect, love, and comfort, and during that moment, it did just that. While his tongue tenderly swept the inside of her dark cave, his fingers roved everywhere—over her back, her hips, and her sides. By the time he pulled away a moment later, she discovered that some of the tension had drained out of her. It was as if Sebastian's kissed had healed her wounds.
The man smiled and then placed his head against her stomach. "I love you too, you know. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of this, but I promise that Daddy is going to protect you from now on."
His sweetness drove a sigh from her lips. "You're going to be an excellent father."
"God, I hope so," he said. "It's the most important thing to me, even more important than being the Alpha."
"I think you're going to do just fine." Emmy wrapped her arms around him.
****
Jake raced after Emmy, howling her name. She screamed as she tore through the woods. If she didn't flee, then her baby would die. No matter what, she couldn't let that happen. She had to escape, had to save her child.
"I'm going to kill you," Jake said, his voice echoing in her head.
She leaped over a log, but Jake was right behind her. He snapped at her leg. Yelping, she toppled to the ground. Jake hovered above her, his white teeth glistening from the blood of an unknown victim. His sinister snarl looked almost like a horrible smirk. She put her hand in front of her stomach, trying to protect the child.
"No, not my baby." She screamed as he leaned close. "Not my baby."
"Sweetheart," Sebastian said.
"Not my baby." She thrashed. "Please, God, not my baby."
"Sweetheart, wake up." Sebastian shook her.
Emmy's eyes flew open as she gasped. She was breathing heavy as she looked around. Where was she? The lights were bright, and it was too damn cold. Already, a chill had begun to seep into her core, making her shiver.
"Are you okay?" Sebastian cupped her cheek. "You were crying in your sleep."
Finally, she came back to reality. She was in the hospital waiting room. No wonder she was so cold. Hospitals were always chilly. She breathed a sigh of relief and pressed her hand against her chest. Thank God. Her baby was going to be okay, and so was she. Still, she had to worry about Mary Lou. Because she'd passed out, she had no idea what was going on.
"Is there any news about Mary Lou?" She went rigid in her seat. "Did I miss something? Is she okay?"
Sebastian soothed her by rubbing her back. "I would have woken you up if someone came. There isn't any news yet."
"Damn it all." Her shoulders slumped. "I wish I knew what was going on."
"I know." Sebastian nodded. "But Mary Lou will be all right. Remember that the doctor said so."
Emmy chewed her bottom lip and nodded.
"Were you dreaming about Jake?" When Sebastian mentioned the other man's name, he squeezed her shoulder.
The fact she'd had a nightmare filled her with shame. "Yeah."
"Don't worry. He's gone," Sebastian said. "My brother already burned his carcass."
"Your brother?" Emmy craned her neck, half wondering if she'd see him sitting somewhere.
"He's been texting me the news," he said.
"Did he know I was kidnapped?" She wondered why he didn't come help during the situation with Jake.
"Yeah, he knew. In fact, my brother was the reason I didn't come pick you up on time." Sebastian's balled his fists. "Jake tied up my brother and then called me. I thought I was finally going to kill him and be done with it. Little did I know it was a diversion. I showed up, but there was nobody there but Zeb. He wanted to help—boy, was he pissed about getting trapped twice—but I wasn't sure I could risk bringing him along. After all, Jake told me to come alone. He could have hurt you if I disobeyed him."
"Jake could smell your brother." She nodded, remembering the way that Jake had sniffed. "He would have known if he was around."
"Exactly." Sebastian looked pleased. "You're getting used to this."
"Hey, I'm a werewolf's mate, what can I say?" She laughed, but it sounded high-pitched and hysterical.
Once again, heavy silence fell. Emmy wasn't sure how long the two of them remained quiet, but soon, a blonde woman in scrubs entered the waiting room. She met the woman's blue eyes. Please have news, please have news, she chanted inside of her head. Luckily, the woman smiled at her. Smiling was good, right? Emmy reasoned. A person wouldn't normally smile when delivering bad news. Well, unless that person was a twisted narcissist like, say, Jake. And really, how many twisted narcissists in the world could there be?
As she debated her theory, the woman walked over.
"Are you waiting for the results of Ms. Parkinson's surgery?" the woman asked.
No, she was just sitting around in the hospital for kicks…Of course she was waiting for the results of her friend's surgery.
"Yeah," she said.
The woman's grin widened. Okay, that was a very good sign.
"Her surgery went well," the woman said. "She's a real trooper."
Sebastian beamed. "I told you so."
"Oh, thank you God." And thank you, doctors and nurses. Hell, thank you janitor for being so damn sanitary.
"Right now, she's still recovering from surgery," the woman said. "But if you come back tomorrow during visiting hours, you'll be able to talk to her."
Happy butterflies exploded in her stomach. Mary Lou was going to be okay, Jake was dead, and Sebastian was at her side again. Unable to contain herself, she gave Sebastian a massive kiss.
"I'm glad I made somebody happy today." The woman beamed, then turned to leave.
Emmy stared after her. "Everything is fine."
"See." Sebastian nodded. "I knew she would be okay."
For a long time, Emmy swam in a sea of happiness. Unfortunately, after being chased down by a killer werewolf, exhaustion won out over her joy. Her shoulders slumped, and even her excitement wasn't enough to keep her energized. Like usual, Sebastian noticed.
"You know what, why don't we go home?" Sebastian stood up and offered her his hand.
"But Mary Lou…" Emmy bit her bottom lip.
"Mary Lou is fine." Sebastian squeezed her hand. "You, on the other hand, are in desperate need of some rest."
"I want to be here when she wakes up." She cast a nervous glance at the door.
"I swear to God I will have you back here first thing in the morning," Sebastian said.
She hesitated.
"Think about the baby." He looked pointedly at her stomach. "You need to rest for our child's sake."
Though she stood up, she frowned at him. "You're going to keep using the fact I'm pregnant against me, aren't you?"
The man tugged her forward a step, still as smug as ever. "A man has got to do what a man has got to do."
Emmy rolled her eyes and then followed him.
****
Home. What a wonderful word. Emmy sighed as she flopped on the bed and lay on her back. She was in her pajamas, and her hair was damp after her shower. After flipping off the light, Sebastian toppled into bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. There was something melodramatic about lying in bed as if nothing had happened. It was as though she'd never been hunted down by a monster, never feared for her life.
And it was as though she'd never learned that Sebastian was a werewolf.
As she stroked his arm, she realized why that was. Sebastian was still the same inside. And while she'd never forget that he was a werewolf, he would remain the man she cared about. Yet despite this train of thought, when she nestled into his arms, she couldn't manage to sleep. It was strange how she was exhausted, yet now that she was finally in bed, her brain was working overtime. She scowled, loathing her own mind.
"You're squirmy," Sebastian said.
"Oh." She blinked. "You noticed?"
"Of course I did." Sebastian opened his eyes. "What's the matter? Are you scared?"
"I don't know." Emmy sighed.
Sebastian propped himself up on his elbow and studied her as if he could see the reason behind her insomnia written on her forehead. "You don't know?"
"I guess it's just that there's so much going through my head," she said. "In the hospital, I'd become so preoccupied staring at the clock that I fell asleep. Now it's different."
"There's a clock here." He stared pointedly at her alarm clock.
"Somehow it's not the same." She flipped over onto her other side.
To this, Sebastian said nothing.
"I'm being stupid, aren't I?" Emmy shivered.
"You aren't being stupid." Sebastian held her close.
"I don't know about that." Once again, she writhed. "And I sure wish I could sleep."
"Do you want me to hum?" He breathed into her hair.
"Excuse me?" How would humming help her fall asleep?
"My mom used to h
um to me when I was a kid," Sebastian said. "It works ten times better than any sleep aid you can buy."
"Somehow I doubt that."
"That's only because you haven't heard it." He oozed confidence from every pore, like always.
She sighed when she realized that she was caving. "Oh, all right. But there's no way this humming will ever make me conk out."
"Believe me, my humming is magical." Sebastian kissed her cheek. "It can do anything."
Though she was tired and cranky, she managed a small smile. "Uh-huh. Let's hear it, then. I'm ready to be impressed."
As Sebastian held her, he began to hum. His voice was deep and mellow. As she shut her eyes, she swore she could feel his voice as much as she could hear it. Well, I'll be damned. His humming really is magical. She sighed as warmth ebbed through her.
Fifteen minutes later, Emmy fell asleep.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Emmy rushed into the hospital, feeling rested but full of fire. Sebastian walked beside her, his expression sheepish.
"So much for being here first thing in the morning," she muttered.
After Sebastian's humming had put her to sleep, she'd slept and slept. Before she knew it, it was noon. Unfortunately, she'd also had to deliver a quick call to her parents to let them know she was all right as well. After all that, she wasn't even sure what time it was.
"You needed the rest." Sebastian led her over to a receptionist. "I'm sure that Mary Lou was fine without you for a little while."
"Still if Mary Lou woke up alone, then she must have been confused." Emmy winced, realizing that she was going to have to find a way to explain everything to her friend.
"Maybe she's not even awake yet," Sebastian said hopefully.
She sighed. "I sure hope not. I'd like to be there when she first wakes up."
After giving her a charming grin that chilled some of her inner flame, Sebastian glanced down at the young, brunette receptionist. The girl did a double take at the sight of handsome Sebastian, and something large and angry roared, "He's mine!" inside of Emmy. Still she didn't have to worry about Sebastian. The man didn't pay attention to the woman's doe eyes.
