Chapter 157
Lirael
He stayed for hours. Made himself useful by reviewing our security protocols and pointing out weaknesses, by suggesting supply chain improvements that would cut our response time in half. At some point, Aria brought in tea, and I watched my second-in-command try very hard not to stare at Sebastian sitting in our shabby meeting room, completely absorbed in logistics spreadsheets.
"Your boyfriend is terrifying," she whispered when Sebastian stepped out to take a call. "In a hot way, but also in a 'could absolutely murder me' way."
"He's not my boyfriend," I said automatically, then paused. "I mean, he's... we're..."
"Together?" Aria supplied helpfully. "In love? Defying literally every social norm?"
"All of the above," I admitted, watching through the window as Sebastian paced while talking. Even from here, I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way he kept glancing back like he couldn't stand being separated even by a wall.
"Well, whatever you want to call it," Aria said, "he's completely gone for you. The way he looks at you when you're not watching? Like you're the only real thing in his world."
She wasn't wrong. I could feel the weight of Sebastian's attention even when he wasn't in the room.
When he finally returned, he didn't go back to his chair. Instead, he moved behind mine, hands settling on my shoulders. "Marcus says the supply network will be operational by Monday," he murmured, thumbs working at the knots of tension in my neck. "And I've authorized emergency funds for any equipment you need. Just send him a list."
"Sebastian, I can't ask you to—"
"You're not asking," he interrupted. "I'm offering. There's a difference."
He stayed until three o'clock, when his phone rang with what sounded like an increasingly frantic Marcus. I could hear the assistant's voice even from across the room—something about a board meeting and shareholders and "sir, they've been waiting for forty-five minutes."
"Tell them to wait longer," Sebastian said, not taking his eyes off the tactical map. "I'm busy."
"Sebastian," I said, fighting a smile. "You should go. I have work to finish here anyway—"
"I'll come back at five-thirty to pick you up," he interrupted, finally standing and reaching for his jacket. "We'll have dinner at the estate—"
"I'm going to be working late," I protested. "There's still so much to—"
"Then I'll bring dinner here," he said smoothly. "Marcus can pick something up. You need to eat, Lira, and left to your own devices, you'll survive on coffee and stale pastries."
"I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself," I said, but it came out weaker than intended because he wasn't wrong.
"Humor me," he said, cupping my face and pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Let me take care of you. Even if it's just making sure you eat something that isn't sugar and caffeine."
"Fine," I said, because I'd completely lost the ability to deny him anything when he looked at me like that. "But nothing too fancy."
"Noted," he said, then kissed me properly—a deep, thorough claiming that left me breathless when he finally pulled away. "Five-thirty, little moon. Don't make me come looking for you."
"Wouldn't dream of it," I managed.
Aria waited approximately thirty seconds after the door closed before bursting into laughter. "Oh my god," she gasped. "You two are disgusting. Adorable, but disgusting. Does he always—"
"Yes," I interrupted, slumping back in my chair. "Every day. Multiple times a day. It's exhausting."
"It's sweet," she corrected. "In a possessive, slightly terrifying way." She grinned. "I approve."
---
The pattern continued for the next twenty-three days, and somewhere around day five, I stopped being surprised when Sebastian appeared at increasingly random intervals. He'd show up at lunch with elaborate meals. He'd materialize in the afternoon with fresh supplies of the moon-blessed salve, insisting on checking my ankle even though it had healed within the first week. He'd arrive at closing time to drive me home.
"Your motorcycle is a death trap," he said on day seven. "You're not getting on that thing until I've had it completely rebuilt with proper safety features."
"It's a motorcycle," I said, exasperated. "It's supposed to be dangerous. That's the entire point."
"The point," he countered, backing me against my desk, "is getting you from place to place alive. And until I'm satisfied that your bike won't explode if you hit a pothole, you're riding with me."
"You're being ridiculous," I said, but I was already threading my fingers through his hair.
"You love it," he murmured against my mouth.
By day fifteen, my staff had stopped looking surprised when Sebastian appeared. They'd started setting out an extra chair in meetings, keeping his preferred tea stocked, automatically CCing him on tactical updates. Aria started referring to him as "your werewolf" with such casual familiarity that I'd given up correcting her.
"The high council is freaking out," Selene informed me on day eighteen. "They can't decide if you're committing political suicide or pulling off the alliance coup of the century."
"I'm not pulling off anything," I said. "I'm just... seeing someone. It's not that complicated."
"You're seeing Sebastian Blackwood," she corrected. "Alpha of one of the three most powerful werewolf clans. The man who literally declared war on his own father to protect you. That's not 'seeing someone,' Lira. That's a political statement."
"Then let them be political about it," I said, more sharply than intended. "I don't care what the council thinks. Sebastian is... he's mine. And I'm his. And that's all that matters."
Selene's expression softened. "I know," she said quietly. "And for what it's worth, I think you're good for each other. Terrifying and probably doomed, but... good." She paused. "Just be careful, okay?"
I wanted to argue, to insist that nothing would go wrong. But Selene's warnings echoed too closely to my own fears.
When his father and the establishment demand he choose between you and his clan, he'll choose them.
Except he'd already chosen me, hadn't he?
They can always ask for more, the cynical voice whispered. And eventually, there will be a price even love can't pay.
---
On day twenty-three, I woke to Sebastian's phone buzzing, the special ringtone he'd assigned to Marcus for emergencies. I felt him shift beside me, reaching for the device.
"This better be important," he growled, voice rough with sleep. Then, after a pause: "I see. Yes. Proceed as planned. I'll be there in two hours."
He hung up and immediately tried to pull me closer. "Go back to sleep," he murmured. "It's early."
"What's happening?" I asked, because I recognized that particular note in his voice.
"Nothing for you to concern yourself with," he said, which was absolutely the wrong thing to say.
I turned in his arms to face him. "Sebastian. What's happening?"
He was quiet for a long moment. "The extraction," he said finally. "The one we've been planning. Marcus got confirmation that the security window opens today, and if we don't move now, we'll lose our chance for another month."
I was suddenly, completely awake. "Black Reef? You're going to Black Reef Island today?"
"We," he corrected. "You're coming with me, obviously. Unless you'd rather stay here? I can handle the tactical side if you—"
"Don't be ridiculous," I said, already pulling away to reach for my clothes. "Of course I'm coming. Just let me call Selene and—"
"Later," he said, catching my wrist and pulling me back down. "We have time. The helicopter doesn't leave for two hours, and I was thinking..." His hand slid up my thigh, intent clear. "...we could take advantage of the privacy. Maybe go for that walk in the garden you keep refusing—"
"Sebastian." I tried for stern but it came out breathless as his mouth found the sensitive spot below my ear. "We don't have time for—"
"We have exactly enough time," he murmured, rolling us so I was beneath him. "And I want you relaxed before we head into danger."
"I'm always thinking about you," I admitted, then gasped as his hand found bare skin. "You've made it impossible to think about anything else."
"Good," he said, and kissed me deep. "That's exactly how I want it."