Chapter 24
Rhianna’s POV
The first thing I felt was soreness. The good kind — the kind that made my entire body hum in memory of the night before.
I blinked against the morning light streaming through the curtains and realized I was still naked under Sebastian’s sheets.
For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, my cheeks heating as flashes of last night hit me. The way he’d kissed me like he was starving. The way his hands had held me down like he never wanted to let me go. The way I’d…
My breath caught.
I had moaned Hardin’s name.
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could erase the memory. Sebastian hadn’t said anything at the time — maybe he hadn’t even noticed, maybe it had been too soft — but my wolf wouldn’t let me forget.
I was still mentally fighting with myself when I heard the shower running.
Sebastian stepped out of the bathroom a few moments later, a towel hanging low around his hips, water dripping from his hair down his chest.
I swallowed hard and quickly looked away, pretending to focus on the blanket.
He walked over, crouching in front of me so I had no choice but to meet his eyes.
“Morning,” he said softly, his voice gentler than I’d heard in weeks.
I nodded. “Morning.”
He reached out, brushing my hair back from my face. “You okay?”
I nodded again, though my chest felt tight.
He let out a slow breath and sat beside me, the mattress dipping under his weight. “I meant what I said last night,” he murmured. “I’m sorry, Rhianna. For everything. For Brittany. For the things I said when I was angry. For not standing up for you when the council called you weak.”
I bit my lip, feeling tears prick my eyes.
“I’m going to fix this,” he said firmly, tilting my chin so I couldn’t look away. “Nobody is ever going to step over you again. I’ll stand up to the council myself if I have to. You deserve better than what I gave you, and I’m done failing you.”
My chest ached as his words sank in — this was everything I’d wanted to hear from him for so long.
“And Brittany?” I asked softly, afraid of the answer.
“I’ll be civil with her for the baby’s sake,” he said honestly, “but nothing more. I don’t want her, Rhianna. I want you. Only you.”
I blinked hard as a tear slipped down my cheek, and he leaned in to kiss it away.
We sat there for a long moment, just breathing each other in, before he pulled me into his arms and held me against his chest.
“This,” he whispered into my hair, “is what I should’ve been giving you all along. And I promise you — it won’t be like before. I won’t lose you again.”
I wanted to believe him. And maybe a part of me already did.
For the rest of the morning, we just lay there, talking about little things — the pack, the upcoming council meeting, plans for the future. He teased me gently, making me laugh, and for the first time in a long time, it felt like we were really us again.
But when he finally left to handle pack business, the guilt came creeping back.
Because no matter how much I wanted Sebastian’s love, no matter how good it had felt to have it again…
I couldn’t stop hearing Hardin’s name in my head.
And remembering the way I had moaned it — loud enough to echo in my own ears — while Sebastian was buried inside me.
My face burned, and my stomach twisted with shame.
I pulled on a loose hoodie and leggings, grabbed my phone, and slipped out onto the back porch. I needed air — and Tia.
She answered on the second ring, her voice groggy. “Rhi, do you know what time it is?”
“Yes,” I said quickly. “And I don’t care. I need to talk to you.”
That woke her up instantly. “Okay, spill. What happened?”
I hesitated, then whispered, “I… stayed the night with Sebastian.”
There was a beat of silence, then a squeal that made me jerk the phone away from my ear.
“You WHAT?!”
“Tia, shh!” I hissed, glancing back at the house to make sure no one could hear me.
“You can’t just drop that and tell me to be quiet,” she said, her voice full of barely-contained excitement. “Did you two—”
“Yes!” I cut her off, my face heating. “We… we did.”
“Oh. My. Goddess.” She sounded way too pleased. “Finally! Was it good?”
“Tia!”
“What? It’s a valid question!”
I groaned and pressed my hand to my forehead. “It was… it was everything I wanted. For so long. He was sweet, and careful, and… it felt like he was finally mine again.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“It should be,” I whispered. “But Tia… I moaned Hardin’s name.”
There was dead silence on the other end.
“Oh. Ohhh.”
“Yeah.” I sank onto the porch steps, pulling my knees up to my chest. “What is wrong with me? I should be happy right now, Tia. I got everything I wanted — Sebastian is trying, he’s promising to change — but I can’t stop thinking about Hardin. About how safe I felt in his house. How he makes me laugh even when I want to be mad. How he—”
“Rhianna,” Tia interrupted gently, “you’re confused. That’s all. You’ve been through a lot lately, and Hardin has been there for you when Sebastian wasn’t. It’s natural to feel something for him. It doesn’t mean you love him.”
“Doesn’t it?” I whispered.
“No,” she said firmly. “It means you need to slow down and figure out what you want before you burn yourself out. And maybe… talk to Sebastian about how you feel. Not about Hardin specifically — unless you want drama — but about what you need from him.”
I exhaled slowly. “You’re right. I just… I don’t want to ruin this. Not when it finally feels like he’s really trying.”
“Then don’t ruin it,” Tia said gently. “But don’t lie to yourself either. Whatever you feel for Hardin — you need to face it eventually. Either ways, Im forever team hardin.”
"shut up Tia"
I bit my lip though my heart still felt heavy.
When I finally hung up, I sat there for a long time, staring out at the woods.
For the first time in years, I had Sebastian’s attention, his love, his promise to fight for me — everything I thought I’d ever wanted.
So why did my heart still ache for something… someone… else?