Chapter 54

(**Irina**)

My entire body shakes as I wait for Sebastion to return home. The night passed by so slowly, and now the sun has advanced well in the sky. Every time I glance at the clock it seems like it has been hours, but in fact it has merely been a few minutes since I arrived at the manor. I tried to mind link him, only to crash into darkness. I can’t feel his emotions either, but since he closed the link between us, I am not shocked by that.

Yesterday he closed the bond so I couldn’t feel his emotions or for him not to feel mine. I understand why, but I don’t like it. This radio silence he is giving me is horrible. I would be angry if it were for any other reason than the mission he is on. I wanted to go with him but also didn’t want to leave Zasha. Sebastion told me it would be better for all of us if I stayed here while he went into Treadstone’s dungeon.

“I will worry about you while I am there if you go with us.” He told me before he left last night. Worry for my mental and physical safety is how he put it after he kissed me before getting in the car. After thinking about what he said, I realized he had a point about my mental state if I went with him.

Flashbacks of the first few days in captivity ran through my head all night. I paced the length of my father’s living room over and over. Zasha being with me calmed my nerves significantly. Watching her play with Jace made me smile. Sebastion dropped Jace off with me so we would all be in one place. The two of them clicked immediately, which made everything so much easier.

I think it is their shared emotional trauma. His over what Gia did to him. Zasha’s over living her life away from me. There is so much I want to ask her about what her days were like, but I know deep down that the time isn’t right. Figuring out my own issues needs to come first before I can even think to help her with what she went through. She slept through the night with no nightmares, so maybe Vicktor treated her better than he did all the others.

Sometimes I feel he treats her like a daughter. A sick feeling always settles in my stomach when I thought of his relationship with my child. I am her mother, and he had her father killed. To have him treat her like a parent would always make me want to scream in his face that he is not her father. No amount of toys, clothes, or dolls he bought her would ever change the facts.

Vicktor is not her father.

I would love to be a fly on the wall the day he learns she is missing. Rage when he figures out that he is no longer in control of my child to keep me in line. Fear as he understands I am no longer his puppet. I want to see him come to grips with the reality of his new situation. Eric is dead, Westley is clinging to life in one of Sebastion’s cells, and they chained Issac to a wall with silver. There are no more people he trusts to do his dirty work.

Now, with Sebastion and the others raiding the prisons, Vicktor is under attack on two fronts. The day he falls will be one of the happiest of my life. The day he dies will be the one worth celebrating. I would love to be the one to shove a knife into his heart. With all that is going on, I highly doubt I will get close enough to do the deed.

“Rinny, where is daddy?” Jace’s sweet little voice brings me out of my thoughts.

We are in the kitchen at the mansion. I brought both children with me to make breakfast while we wait for Sebastion. Looking out the window for the tenth time since we sat down, I tell him that Sebastion will be home soon. The moment I say the words, I feel like I just lied to him. A sense of dread has settled in the pit of my stomach.

What is taking them so long? They left Redwood an hour before sundown, which would give them twelve hours to complete their mission before sunrise. The sun has been up for two hours now, but Sebastion is still not home. Please, Moon Goddess, guide him home safely. Let nothing bad happen to him after we have come this far.

I have pushed him away only to pull him close again. The cycle continued until I pushed him too far. I felt the strength of his love the night we completed the mate bond. It was so intense that it brought me to tears. The depth of his emotions for me is something that I never once felt from Gustav. Not even after Zasha was born.

The level of love Sebastion shows me lets me know I am safe with him. Now I just need to work past all the shit in my head so that I can love him the way he deserves. Whole-heartedly. I love him and I am falling deeper in love with him every time he does something he doesn’t think I notice.

The clothes in my closet upstairs are all things I liked when were in the pack house storage room. He paid attention when I was browsing through all that was in there. A delivery came an hour ago that included a bed, dresser, and more toys than I have ever seen before. A dollhouse with furniture, dolls, and all the workings for a home. Crafts supplies, books, and a bookshelf. The books are all in Russian, which made my heart melt further.

When had Sebastion ordered all of that?

My dad and Pavel set that all up when it arrived. Sebastion thought of my daughter’s needs and happiness too. The only thing that would make me happier is if my family were setting it up in a room here in the mansion. The room I picked for us at my father’s house is too small for the bed, so they are just setting up her toys and bookshelf.

“Rinny, can we go play in my playroom?” Jace asks me, holding one of his little hands out to me.

Looking over at him, I smile as I take his hand to let him lead me upstairs. Zasha grabs my other hand as we walk out of the kitchen. When we reach the third floor, they each let go of my hands to race to Jace’s playroom. I can’t believe how he has brought my daughter out of her shall in just a single night. Her bright smile makes me believe I made the right choice.

I put my faith, future, and all my hopes in the right man. Sebastion has given me everything I never thought I would have again. My freedom, Zasha, and reuniting with my family. Why has he done it? Simply because I am his mate, and he wants to give me the world. He has done that just by giving me himself fully.

With him, Zasha, and Jace, my world is complete.

**The baby we will give him will make it complete.** Anya whispers in my mind, making me frown.

*Baby? What are you talking about? I am not pregnant. Am I?*

**Close your eyes, Irina, look deep within yourself.**

I walk into the playroom to find a place to sit, then I do as she tells me. Placing my hand over my belly, I close my eyes. At first there is nothing, but then after a few moments of listening I hear it. The faint flutter of life within my womb. My eyes fly open in shock. I am pregnant with Sebastion’s child. We talked about giving Jace a sibling one day, but I didn’t think it would be so soon.

**You got pregnant the night you came here after Vicktor told you he took Zasha to Paris. I just wasn’t when to tell you.**

That was the first night we had sex. That means I am a month along. I was pregnant when we raided to house to get Zasha. Holy shit, I need to tell Sebastion the good news. First, I need to see the pack doctor for confirmation. Excitement, hope, then fear flood my mind. What happens if he isn’t happy with the news?

Before I can think on it further, pain shoots through my mind, body, and soul as the mate bond breaks wide open. I can feel Sebastion’s pain, fear, and... lust. Wait, why is he feeling lustful? What the fuck is going on?

*Please help me, Irina. Don’t let her win. Don’t let her take me away from you.* His voice pleads to me through our mind link, causing fear creeping through me.

(**Sebastion**)

Aries shifts then bucks Fiona off his neck sending her into the wall beside him. His enormous frame filling the much too small room, making it cramped. Onyx eyes stare at her as she lays crumpled on the floor. Rage is all I can feel from him as I watch from the corner of his mind. I feel the same rage at what she just did to me.

Being forcefully marked by someone is one of the biggest crimes in the supernatural world. When it happens, the one who did the marking is often punished by being forced to go rogue. While the one who was marked may pick their mate. They place the new mate mark over the old to erase it, effectively breaking the original bond. This kind of thing doesn’t happen often.

Aries growls at Fiona when she tries to get up off the floor. Before he can attack her, the sound of boots pounding on the ground come from the hallway. Flint, Monroe, and one of the other doctors stand in the hallway. Monroe runs into the room to put his body between Aries and Fiona. Flint comes in and grabs a pair of basketball shorts off a small table.

“Shift back now. What the fuck is going on in here? We didn’t rescue her just so you could attack her, Sebastion.” When Aries made no move to do what he is told, Monroe puts all his Alpha power into his voice. “Shift now!”

Aries feels the power of the much stronger Alpha and yields to his command. I am shunted to the front of his mind as he gives me back control. I shift, grab the shorts Flint hold out to me, and fight the urge to bend down to check on Fiona. She is not my fucking mate, no matter what this feeling is. I refuse to accept it.

“Now, tell us what the fuck just happened while the doctor checks Fiona out for injuries.” His eyes bulge in their sockets when they see the red angry mark on my neck where she bit me.

My skin where her mark is feels like it is on fire. I raise a hand to touch but wince as I feel the jagged tears where her teeth were forcefully pulled from my skin. The flesh is torn, puffy, and raised up like a battle wound that just won’t heal. It is my body’s way of rejecting the mark that I didn’t want her to give me.

Looking at Monroe, I tell him what happened. He motions for me to go out into the hallway. I follow him but I don’t stop there, instead I head back up to the ship’s deck. I need fresh air, or better yet, I need to get the hell off this ship. My mate’s arms are where I need to be right now.

“How the fuck is this possible? You have a mate already. Not only that, but she is your second chance mate. Is the Moon Goddess trying to get you killed?” Flint demands from behind me.

“I have died once already. What is her plan by giving me another mate now?”

“That is an excellent question. One that, unfortunately, only she knows.” Monroe says as he steps up to the railing beside me.

“Is she ok? My wolf took over after she forcefully marked me. I let him out as my mind couldn’t handle what was happening to me.”

“Fiona is one very pissed off panther right now, but physically she will be fine. I think it would be a splendid idea if you and your men leave the ship. When I get to our destination, I will try to figure out what the hell is happening.”

“If she is my mate, I can’t let you take her.”

“I don’t think she is your true mate, but fine, I will bring her back with me. Hope you know what you are asking for by having me do that.”

“Honestly, all I know for sure is that I am drawn to her. I felt the same pull with her as I do with Irina. The sparks when she touched me proves she is my mate or something else. I don’t understand it at all.”

*Sebastion! What happened?* Irina’s soft voice fills my mind like a warm, gentle breeze. Calm settles over me instantly.

“I will leave you to speak to your mate, who I assume is linking you now.” Monroe walks away, leaving me alone at the railing.

After giving Flint a nod letting him know I am fine, he walks away.

*There is something I am going to tell you when I get home you won’t like.*

*No, tell me right now.*

*I want your arms around me so bad right now, Irina. What just happened is impossible. I need to feel you to know you are still mine.*

*Sebastion, please tell me what happened.*

*I want you to know that no matter what happens after this, that nothing between us changes. You are my mate. Do you understand? I love you so fucking much. The life we talked about will be ours, I promise.*

I can feel tears running down my face as I say all this to her. Somehow, my mind feels like I just lied to her, but in my heart, I know it will be just fine. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t give me a mate only to rip her from my arms to give me another. Would she?

*Bastion, what is going on? Why did I feel your lust coming through the bond?*

*The Moon Goddess gave me an unexpected gift tonight. She gave me another mate.*

*What? No, this can’t be real. Our bond is still there. It is still whole and alive. How is this possible?*

The pain, confusion, and fear I feel from her makes my heart break. I spin around to find Flint so we can get the hell off this boat. I need Irina. Only she can heal this pain we are both in.