Chapter 62

(**Irina’s POV**)

A loud thud waked me from sleep, causing me to sit up to look around the room. The bedroom is dark except for the small sliver of light coming from under the bathroom door. My instincts kick in when I realize Sebastion isn’t in the bed with me.

The pain I feel coming from him has my feet on the ground fast. I rush across the room, push the bathroom door open, then drop to my knees as I see Sebastion passed out on the floor. He was fine when I fell asleep after we made love. What caused him to pass out?

I shake him to wake him up, but he is unresponsive. His heart high and erratic. Panic grips my heart the longer I try to wake him. I get up and run to the only person I can think of for help. I am not a member of the pack yet, so I don’t have access to the pack mind link. My only option is to get help from someone in the house.

The noise of my fists pounding on Arianna’s door is louder in my ears than I know it really is. After a few moments, Flynn, who looks at me with a very grumpy expression on his face, yanks the door open. When he sees that it is me, his face changes into concern instantly.

“What happened? Is it the kids? Are we under attack?” He asks in rapid fire.

“Sebastion....” I try to tell him, but fear for my mate has me turning on my heel to run back to our room.

As I run, I can hear Flynn and Arianna calling after me. They are following me, so that is all that matters right now. When I get back to the bathroom, Sebastion is still on the floor. I fall to my knees again to shake him awake.

Again, there is no response.

I can feel the hysteria building, but I shove it down as I hear Arianna come into the room behind me.

“What happened?” Flynn asks. He moves around us both so he can kneel at Sebastion’s head to check his vitals.

“I was asleep but was woken up by a loud thump. I assume that was him falling. When I got in here, he was like this. He isn’t responding to me at all.”

“I called for Finn to come help get Sebbie to the hospital.” Arianna places her hand on my back as she speaks.

Her simple act of kindness was all it took for the damn to break on my control. I let the tears flow freely as I hold Sebastion’s hand. His large palm is calloused, yet smooth in most places. He has done physical labor in his life. He is a warrior, strong and vital. There must be some explanation for why he is not waking up.

The next few hours are a blur as I wait by his bedside for him to wake up. The doctor does not know what happened. Every test that they did on Sebastion came back normal. His heart rate stabilized to a steady rhythm. It looks like he is merely sleeping.

I know there is more to it than that. I pointed out the mark the damn panther left on him. That baffled the doctors and nurses. None of them have ever heard of someone being marked twice like this.

The mark is healing, which is a bad sign to me. It means he is accepting her. Anger spikes in me at that thought. What did I do wrong to have him accept the mate mark of another woman? After last night, I thought everything was going to finally be fine between us.

We got to know each other for the first time since we met. Not just the basic details of where I am from and who my family is. All that stuff we talked about in the first few weeks of our relationship. This was a more in-depth dive into each other’s lives.

I learned he hates peas, the color yellow, and the sound of people chewing with their mouths open. Over the course of our relationship so far, I have learned so much about him. Last night I learned so much more.

Would the Moon Goddess punish me for being confused about what I wanted for so long? Is that why she allowed Fiona to mark him? Because I didn’t assert my claim on him in a more obvious way? My anger turns to sadness as I ask myself all these questions. I put the blame for what is happening now all on myself.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, but I jolt awake when I feel a warm hand running over my head. I look up to see Sebastion staring at me with a confused look on his face. He frowns at me when we make eye contact.

“Why would you think I was accepting Fiona?”

His voice is low and hoarse sounding. The hand on my head moves to grip mine as I reach for him. Tears sting my eyes as I hold back the urge to climb up in the bed with him. He must have sensed what I wanted to do because the next thing I know I am pulled out of my seat and crushed to his chest.

“I belong to you, Irina. No one else has a claim on my heart but you and our children. Please get that through your head.”

I move so I can look at his face. What I see there makes all my doubts and fears vanish. The love shining in his eyes makes everything I was feeling seem silly now. This man loves me. My amazing Alpha mate only has eyes for me. This is all unfamiliar territory for me.

“I am sorry I doubted you.”

“I am kinda getting used to it. It isn’t a good feeling to constantly be doubted by my mate.”

Before I can respond to him, there is a knock on the door of his hospital room. Arianna opens the door a second later then enters the room with a nurse coming in behind her with a tray of food. The food on the tray makes my mouth water, reminding me I haven’t eaten since dinner last night. As I look at the clock on the wall, I can see that it is now noon.

I slept for three hours.

“The food is for you, Luna, but know that I see Sebastion is awake I will bring more.” With that, the nurse leaves the room after she places the tray on the roll-away lap table.

“You scared the crap out of everyone, Sebbie,” Arianna tells him.

She grabs a spare blanket off the shelf, then covers us up with it before taking a seat. Sebastion reaches out for her as she sits down. She takes his hand and squeezes it.

“What happened? All the tests they ran came back normal.”

“It is the mark from Fiona. It is fading and I think she is fighting it. Irina is an Alpha female. Her mark was there first and I have a guess on what is happening.”

I look at him with a questioning look for him to continue his explanation.

“When I talked to Morty about all this second mate mark business, he mentioned something to me. He said that because Irina is an Alpha, her mark is more dominant that Fiona’s. He claims that the more time we spend together to strengthen our bond, the weaker hers will get until it fades completely.”

“Then explain why you passed out last night?” Arianna’s voice is full of concern for her brother.

“I woke up to a sharp pain in my neck, so I got up to go look at it. That was when I noticed it was healing. I am not sure what happened after that to cause me to pass out. One thing that I am sure of is that in order to understand more about what is happening we need to talk to Fiona.”

The thought of her makes my anger spike. Jealousy like nothing I have ever felt before grips my heart. The urge to wrap my hands around her throat makes a growl rumble in my chest. Arianna looks at me with sympathy, while Sebastion looks at me with surprise. He rubs his hand up and down my back to soothe me. It isn’t helping, but I know he is right. We need answers about why this is happening. Answers that maybe she can give us.

“I don’t want her here, but if that is what needs to be done to get answers, then I will trust your judgement.”

“I don’t want her here either, Irina. I am drawn to her, and I don’t want that. Aries wanted to kill her after she marked me. He is territorial with you and Anya. Our mate bond is fully complete so he will try to hurt anyone who threatens the sanctity of a mate bond. Even someone who thinks she is our mate.”

Fear grips my heart as he says that. Would Aries take control of Sebastion if Fiona tries to make a move on him? I had thoughts of harming her, but those thoughts were out of jealousy. I don’t think I would really hurt her. Aries might kill her if she becomes a threat to our bond.

To me, Fiona is already a threat. Not in the same way that Vicktor is but a threat all the same. I thought I would have a mate all to myself. Learning that I was sharing Gustav with my brother after all these years made me hopeful that Sebastion would always be mine alone.

Fiona is a threat to my future.

“It is time I take the role of Luna.” I blurt out as a thought from last night pops into my head. “I am not a part of this pack officially. Yes, I am your mate, but I don’t have a place here. When you were in trouble last night, I had to run across the mansion for help. I had no access to the pack link to call for help.”

“That is my oversight. Are you sure you want to step up as Luna? You were very adamant about not wanting the role. We can just induct you into the pack like we are planning to do with your family.”

“You are right. It was something that I didn’t want at the time. However, after last night and sitting here by your bedside for hours, I think it is time I step into my rightful place.”

The look on his face is nothing short of amazed at what I said. I can tell that I surprised him, and from the way Arianna is blinking at me, I can tell she is equally shocked. The smile she gives me lets me know she is alright with what I want.

“When do you want to have the Luna ceremony?” Sebastion’s voice is thoughtful as he asks.

“What if we do it on Friday? That will give us the rest of the week to plan it all out. We can have an enormous bonfire later that night with a barbeque, too. We could do the induction of her family before then the Luna Celebration after they are officially a part of the pack.” Arianna suggests.

“That sounds perfect,” Sebastion says.

I nod my head in agreement, then make a mental note to talk to Arianna later about it all. We also need to discuss the idea of bringing in more teachers like we talked about. For now, all I want is food, a shower, and to check in on my kids.

Arianna gets up to leave as the nurse returns with another tray of food. “I am going to make lunch for all our little ones. Zasha is with Callie in her room with paints. Jace is with Flynn baking cookies. He is showing genuine interest in cooking. It excited Flynn having another man in the kitchen with him.”

After she and the nurse leave, the room falls silent. Sebastion pulls the rolling table with our lunch on it over the bed. He scoots over so I can sit next to him rather than lay on him while we eat. I can tell by the tension in his shoulders that he has something to say.

“What is on your mind?”

“Are you stepping into the Luna role because you want to or are you doing it to solidify your position in my life?”

“Both if you want the truth.”

“Fiona is not a threat to you.”

“But she is. The moment she marked you against your will, she became a threat to not just me, but to us. There is something at play here that neither of us are seeing, Sebastion. My fears are valid. You passing out last night, my inability to contact anyone for help, and this strange woman asserting herself into our lives are all things to worry about. Not to mention the looming threat still over our heads in the form of Vicktor Treadstone.”

“I just want you to be sure of this because I won’t let you back out once it is done.”

“I know that I have given you plenty of reasons to doubt my commitment. For all of that, I am so sorry. This choice is one that I am making now because I know it is the right thing to do. I want to be by your side for the rest of my life. With that comes the responsibility of being your Luna.”

“My mother is willing to keep the Luna duties until you are ready.”

“Yes, but with her duties to the council, it is time for the pack to have a Luna who is always here.”

“I know, but are you really sure this is what you want?”

“Very,” I tell him.

I put my sandwich back on the plate, move the table out of the way, then straddle his lap. Placing both my hands on his cheeks, I kiss him softly on the lips. Before it can spiral into something more, I get off him so that I can leave.

“I am going to go take a shower, get dressed in something more comfortable, then come back. Eat your lunch while I am gone.”

“Will you bring me one of Flynn’s chocolate chip cookies when you come back?”

The hopeful look on his face reminds me of Jace. I laugh as I leave the room, telling him I will bring him a cookie when I come back. Between him, Jace, and Zasha, my family is addicted to sweets of any kind. I think of the baby we are having and shake my head. Maybe he or she will be different.

What will this baby be? A sister for Jace and Zasha or a brother? For me, as long as they are healthy, that is all that matters. I am just excited to have Sebastion’s child. A child that I never thought I would have.

Thank you, Moon Goddess, for this blessing.