Chapter 119 WHAT IS MINE
RAGNAR’S POV
I see him leave.
That is the only part that stays with me.
Not the crowd or the whispers, not the way every wolf in the square stiffens the moment I arrive,
No.
It’s him.
Sebastian.
He's walking away with him.
My jaw locks so tightly it aches in my mouth.
The bond reacts instantly, violently, like something inside me is clawing to be let loose and chase after them.
Mine.
The word echoes through my skull, raw and cold.
Mine.
And yet–
He didn’t say it.
Sebastian didn’t deny it either, he just… stood there.
He let another Alpha wrap an arm around him.
He let another man claim him in front of the entire pack and he didn't even deny it.
My fingers twitch at my sides.
I could go after them right now, I could end this and rip out Dax's throat
But I don’t move.
I stand there, rooted in place like a tree while everything inside me fractures.
“…Alpha?”
The soft voice cuts through the storm in my head.
The voice sounds cautious and annoying, bringing me out of my reverie.
Lila.
I don’t look at her, I don’t trust myself to do so without doing something I will regret, she's an elder’s granddaughter.
My gaze is still fixed on the path Sebastian disappeared through even long after he’s gone.
As if staring hard enough will bring him back to me, it doesn’t.
“Alpha, you shouldn’t worry so much,” Lila continues, her tone shifting into something… gentler and warmer.
“He’s just an Omega,” she says lightly. “And if he’s already moved on so fast like that, then maybe–”
“Stop talking.”
The word leaves me cold and sharp and she falls silent immediately.
Good, but not for long.
“I just mean…” she tries again, sounding even softer now. “You deserve better than someone like that.”
Someone like that. She did not just refer to Sebastian as “someone like that”.
My vision darkens slightly at the edges.
Better? She said,
My chest tightens painfully.
“You don’t need him,” she continues, her voice gaining a strange kind of confidence now that I’m not immediately shutting her down.
“There are others who would gladly–”
A light hand touches my chest tentatively.
How presumptuous.
Something inside me snaps and my hand shoots out before I even consciously decide to move.
I grab her wrist hard
Really hard as there’s a sharp crack instantly.
Lila gasps, a strangled and broken sound as her knees nearly buckle beneath her.
The bone gives way too easily under my grip.
Too fragile. She's the “better” one for me and yet she's easily breakable.
“Ah! Alpha–!”
Her voice trembles with pain and fear as her other hand comes up instinctively to try and pry mine off.
It doesn’t work as I tighten my hold just slightly.
It's not enough to shatter even more but it's just enough to remind her.
“Do not touch me, ever in your pathetic existence.” I say quietly.
My voice is low and controlled but she's not mistaking it for anything safe.
Her breathing turned shallow and panicked.
“I– I’m sorry–!”
“And do not,” I continued, cutting her off smoothly, “ever contact me through the link like that again.”
Her eyes widen and even through the pain, fear floods her expression completely now.
“Even if it’s an emergency and you're dying,” I add, my gaze finally dropping to meet hers.
There’s nothing warm or human in it.
“Next time,” I say softly, “I won’t stop at your wrist.”
Her lips tremble.
“I–I understand, Alpha,” she stammers quickly, nodding too fast. “I won’t–I swear I won’t–”
“Good.”
I release her as she stumbles back immediately, cradling her injured arm against her chest like it might fall off.
Her face is pale and her eyes are wide with fear.
Pathetic.
He looks nothing like the proud wolf her family and ancestors stand for.
She looks like prey.
And for a split second–
Something in me wants to finish it all. I want to snap her neck just to silence the noise.
To vent at the rage clawing its way through my veins.
So I turn away before that thought can take root.
The square is quieter now with the wolves watching me.
Of course they are.
They always are, it's suffocating.
But no one speaks or rather no one dares to.
Good.
I start walking calm and composed like it all doesn't affect me but each step feels heavier than it should.
Like something is dragging behind me or rather like something has been taken from me.
Like something is missing.
I feel… wrong.
I grit my teeth, pushing it down and forcing it into silence.
Not here, not now.
I don’t stop until I reach my quarters and not until the door shuts behind me with a solid, final thud.
I stand there for a moment, staring at nothing for a bit, taking in the silence,
Then I move.
Pacing around with my hands at my hair.
The room suddenly feels too small and too tight against my very tall frame.
My thoughts are louder now that I'm alone, crashing into each other without order or restraint.
Why?
That question rises first.
Why would he do that?
Why would Sebastian stand there and let another Alpha claim him in public?!
Why would he go along with it?
My jaw tightens again.
Unless…
No!
I cut the thought off before it can fully form.
Well… unless he wanted to.
The idea sits there heavy on my mind anyway, unwelcome.
My hands curl into fists.
No, that doesn’t make sense.
The bond…
The bond doesn’t lie.
I felt him as mine and so did he. He wanted me.
My chest tightens sharply.
Then why?
Why didn’t he say anything?
Why didn’t he deny it?
Why didn’t he look at me?
A low growl rumbles in my chest with frustration at that last thought.
Because I would have said it. I would have stepped forward and ended it right there.
Claimed him in public and consequences be damned.
So why didn’t he?
“Because you didn't acknowledge it either.”
The voice is quiet and calm.
The infuriating and reasonable voice of reason I did not need right now.
Yurik.