Chapter 266

[ 1,030 words ]

Emilia’s POV

I couldn’t stop pacing the bedroom, wondering how the dinner between Lily and Scott was going.

After circling the room for what felt like the hundredth time, I gave up and called her.

She picked up. “Hey.”

One word, and my stomach dropped. Her voice was hollow, scraped clean of everything.

“So? How’d it go? Are you two still together?”

“No. We’re not.”

My heart clenched. “Lily. Did you tell him?”

“Not exactly. But he already knew.”

“And? What did he say?”

The second the question left my mouth, I wished I could snatch it back. If there’d been even a sliver of hope, she wouldn’t sound like the ground had been pulled out from under her.

“He turned me down.” A pause. “Said you’re the only one he wants.”

“Lily, I’m so sorry—”

“Don’t. It’s not on you.” A shaky breath crackled down the line. “Honestly, it’s better this way. At least now I know. No more sitting around waiting for something that was never coming.”

“Where are you? I’m coming to you right now.”

“No. I just… I need to be by myself tonight, okay? I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll swing by first thing—”

“Emilia.” A wet little laugh. “Tomorrow’s your first day at the new company. Go knock it out of the park. Don’t you dare show up late because of me.”

I opened my mouth to argue, then swallowed it. Maybe she really did need the space. Some wounds you have to sit alone with before anyone else is allowed near them.

“Okay,” I said softly. “But you call me the second you want company. I mean it.”

“I will. Night, Em.”

The line went dead.

I was still frowning at the screen when Sebastian strolled out of the bathroom, his hair damp.

“What’s with the face?” he asked, casual as anything. “Somebody die?”

“I think I made a mess of things tonight.”

“Do tell.”

So I did. The whole thing, start to finish. When I got to the part about Scott turning Lily down, Sebastian let out a scornful snort.

“He really thinks he’s some kind of prize, doesn’t he? Turning down a woman like Lily. Please. She’s miles out of his league.”

I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t that I disagreed on the Lily front. She was worth ten of most men. But Scott? Scott was decent. Kind, steady. He didn’t deserve to be trashed like this.

“You’ve got some ancient grudge against Scott, that’s the only reason you’re tearing him apart. For your information, half the pack back at Hanson Group would’ve walked into traffic for a smile from that man.”

“Two kinds of people fantasize about Scott Hanson,” Sebastian said, ticking them off on his fingers. “The blind, and the clinically delusional.”

“And I think you’re the delusional one. You don’t have to launch a full character assassination just because you’re jealous.”

His eyes narrowed. “Remind me. Whose mate am I, exactly? Why is it every single time, you jump to defend that guy? Last time he and I nearly came to blows, you took his side too. Do you have a spine of your own or do you just borrow his?”

“That was months ago and you’re still nursing it.” I turned on my heel, done with the argument. “Where’d you hide my supplements?”

“No idea.”

“You hid them and you have no idea? What, we’ve got a ghost in the house now?”

“Then I guess the ghost knows.”

“Sebastian.” I planted my hands on my hips. “Hand them over. I have to take them on schedule.”

“Why?” His arms crossed over his chest, that infuriating smirk tugging at his mouth.

“Because I want a pup. Sooner rather than later.”

I didn’t bother hiding it. Some part of me had started aching for it in a way I didn’t fully understand. Maybe that was Eve stirring underneath my skin, my wolf, still new and strange to me, but hers was a longing I could feel in my bones.

Sebastian standing over me, all towering height and that maddening confidence.

“You want a pup,” he murmured, “then you come to me. You honestly think a handful of pills is going to make that happen? Without me in the equation, sweetheart, you can wish on every star in Silverlake and nothing’s coming of it.”

“It’s not all down to you, you arrogant wolf. My body needs preparing too. Now cough up the supplements.”

“You don’t need them. I’m your supplement.” He said it with a completely straight face. “I’ll give you the pup and I’ll get your body right at the same time. Experts agree, a good marriage is the finest tonic a woman can have. And the best part? I’m all natural. Zero side effects.”

“Right. And free of charge,” I deadpanned.

“Exactly. So put your resources to good use instead of choking down herbal nonsense from a bottle.”

Before I could fire anything back, he bent, hooked an arm under my knees, and swept me clean off my feet. I let out a yelp as he kicked the bedroom door wider, carried me through, and knocked it shut behind us with his heel.

Then he dropped me onto the bed and pounced.

“Sebastian—no—stop it!” I gasped, but he’d already found the spot on my ribs, and I dissolved into helpless laughter, twisting and rolling across the mattress, trying to escape.

“Come on. Say it.” Sebastian’s grin was wicked, hovering over me. “Do you or do you not want to make full use of this natural resource?”

“Yes—okay—yes, please!” I choked out, my face aching from laughing so hard.

He’d just leaned in, close enough that I caught that scent of mint and cedar that always made my head go soft, when a phone started ringing from the floor.

I pointed at the suit jacket he’d tossed aside earlier. “That’s you, hotshot.”

He groaned, rolling off me. Reaching down, he fished the phone from the jacket pocket and squinted at the screen. Unknown number. He answered anyway.

“Yeah? Who’s this?”

Silence.

He almost hung up when a woman’s voice slid through the speaker.

“Sebastian. It’s me. It’s Abigail.”

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