Chapter 71: I Would Set You Free

TERESA.

I didn’t know for how long Sebastian had been at the door, but maybe enough to hear my conversation with Caroline. He sketched nothing, he just sat and listened, saying nothing.

And in fact, I had done nothing wrong. I did not tell lies, but the pure truth. Sebastian would mean my collapse if I continued like this. Still, without saying a word, he turned his back on me and left.

That really drove me mad. It was like he didn’t care about my pain. How could he care? He came, took what he needed, and turned his face from me without remorse.

“Terr, what are you waiting for? Go after him! I know you want to!” Caroline told me, waking me up from this strain that I couldn’t stand it anymore.

In fact, I didn’t even have to put up with it. Bash will have to listen to me. I got up, almost knocking down my chair, and headed for the door.

“I will not raise some kind of statue of him. Bash will hear me, even if it’s the last thing he does!” I thundered nervously after him.

Only no trace of him. Come on, Teresa, use your senses. And it was at that urge that I felt Bash’s scent so vividly. He had gone to the office where we had once had that meeting after finding out what family I had joined.

A lot has happened since then. Even I, who had judged them harshly, now did not know what species I belonged to. I followed him inside and closed the door loudly. I caught his attention. Perfect!

“Wow, but who do we have here?” Bash began ironically, still working among the papers on the desk.

He didn’t even look up to greet me. And since he knew it was me, he wouldn’t even look at me. I would not feel guilty about what I said earlier.

“Your darkest nightmare!” I returned the answer just as ironically.

To be honest, I didn’t even know if I cared if and how much he had heard from my conversation with Caroline.

I approached slightly, however, being vigilant of his movements. I didn’t want another situation like the one in the library. But it seemed to me that this was the silence before the storm. I focused on what answers to give him.

“So, you have formed a wonderful opinion about me in that pretty little head of yours!” he began coldly, looking up from his desk.

The blue in his eyes was like a glacier piercing me so deep that it hurt. I tried to avoid his gaze, but it was impossible. But I wasn’t even going to declare myself defeated and lower mine.

“You took care to make this reputation for yourself, so don’t whine in vain. It doesn’t suit you, mighty Sebastian!”

I had exceeded the limits of common sense, and I was aware of that. But who cared? Justice was on my side as long as he had the miserable audacity to use me like that.

“You didn’t say the same thing yesterday. Between sighs and moans, my dear Teresa!” he whispered and, approaching, he became the perfect target of my hand.

The mark on his cheek testified to his baseness and my dignity. I would not allow myself to be trampled by a man with macho grips. Because that’s exactly what it seemed to me now.

My slapping didn’t hurt him, not one bit. He turned his furious gaze again this time, and for the first time since I met him, I took a step back. Was I afraid of him? No way!

“Who gives you the right to speak to me like that, Sebastian Gallagher?” I shouted at him, fixing myself into a place not too close to him but not too far away, either.

“With every right to own you, doll face! Or did you forget the mark on your neck? Do you have such big amnesia?”

I was boiling with rage and instinctively put my hand to the scar on my neck.

“You can’t undo that, you know?”

His pride was greater than his ego. He was so cocky and sly in front of me that his ironic face demanded another slap. But I refrained. I would not go down so low. And yet I tried to reply.

“Do you think that a small and insignificant sign turns me into your possession? You are so mistaken, mister!”

I didn’t know how this thing worked with the connection between us, but I was convinced it couldn’t be that important. I was so confident that I took another step towards him.

“Are you so sure? Let’s put it to the test, shall we?”

This man was too sure that I belonged to him. I only read about it in books, but how true can it be? Then I saw him taking the letter-opening knife and with no warning, he made a rather ugly wound on his arm.

What was he waiting for now to heal him? He would have to wait then. I turned my back on him and just then, the connection settled in. As he lost blood, I felt more and more agitated. How was that possible?

I had felt this before when he got wounded in Wales, but I blamed my own wounds for it. Not this stupid connection. Then my condition worsened; I was dizzy, and when I looked at Bash, he was already in his chair, and collapsed. His face was white as a sheet of paper, and he struggled to keep his eyes open.

This man was incredible. How to self-mutilate and to put his own life in danger just to prove to me we were connected? Seemed like we really were.

“What are you trying to do? Get yourself killed? You have made your point, ok?” I admonished him, walking in his direction, trying to stop the bloodshed.

But I knew that the only solution was my blood. God, how could he hurt himself to lose so much blood? This man was really crazy.

“You know you don’t stop the bleeding like that, do you?” he asked, sighing as if using his last powers to stay awake.

Then I hurt my own wrist and gave him a few drops to drink. The wound on his arm closed under my eyes. “Do you now believe that I belong to you and you to me?”

The color had returned to his cheeks, but my anger had not yet passed. There was no way. When he became master on his own feet, he rose, towering over me. I blinked a few times, but this time I didn’t take any step back.

On the contrary, this discussion was not over, not even close. There were still many loose ends that I didn’t seem to be aware of. Mistakes made with or without intention pressed so hard on my soul that they did not let me breathe.

I wasn’t the type to blame others, but what he thought he had that right was outrageous. I rejected the idea of doing it for a noble cause with all my might.

“Okay, so you depend on me, that’s what I see,” I continued in the same ironic tone, putting my hands on my hips. “But does that entitle you to use me as a guinea pig in your experiments? No matter how good your intention was, you have no excuse!”

I had reached a sensitive point and could see his jaw clench, staring at me. And I couldn’t move anymore; I had fallen prey to the blue rage in his eyes. I could already see it turning into volcanic red and I burst out. “So, ok... get the wolf out of you to solve all your problems, because the human Bash doesn’t have that courage! Do you think a tame beast scares me?”

If until now he was angry, now he was fierce, mad. His eyes had caught fire, and his fangs were threatening to come out. However, nothing scared me anymore.

So, a gesture of indifference on my part was enough for him to propel me directly into the wall behind me. It was as if the house had shaken. I was no longer a fragile being.

The mark of my body had remained impregnated on the wall. His long fingers had whitened from the grip on my shoulders. I felt no physical pain, but rather a wave of deep anger that grew from within and almost exploded. “Is that all you got?” I tested his patience again, which was completely lacking anyway.

What did an extra comment matter? Nothing I did to him now compared to the pain he caused me in my soul. How he made me feel used, humiliated that my purpose was to foretell the long life of the demon in him and those like him.

To my surprise, he dropped me off. Only now did I realize he had lifted me slightly off the ground. I was shaking at the inability to do me justice.

He turned his back on me, facing the window. It was almost evening outside, and the moon was already dominating the sky. His claws receded, as did his fangs.

I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but I suddenly felt a resignation in him. Sadness replaced anger. Strange, but he was really sad. He then looked at me as if he were looking deep into my soul, leaning lightly against the desk.

“Look, there is a way to make this connection reversible, and knowing that you would want me to, I would do it. I would set you free. That is how much I love you, Teresa!”