Chapter 159 CHAPTER 159
Sebastian did not slam the door when he came home. That alone should have warned them.
Richard Moore was already waiting in the sitting room.
He stood near the window, arms crossed tightly over his chest, shoulders rigid. His wolf was close to the surface - Sebastian could feel it, hear the faint, warning growl vibrating through the bond of blood between them. Lydia sat on the edge of the couch, hands folded in her lap, worry etched deep into her face. Her eyes flicked up the moment Sebastian stepped in.
“You were with her again,” Richard said flatly.
Sebastian stopped just inside the doorway. He did not deny it. He did not apologize.
“Yes,” he said. “I was.”
The growl grew louder.
Richard turned fully now, his eyes flashing amber. “How am I supposed to make you heir of this pack,” he demanded, “if you can’t follow one simple instruction?”
Sebastian clenched his jaw. “You didn’t give me a choice.”
“I told you to stay away from Sarah,” Richard snapped. “I told you it was the only way to even begin repairing what we did to the princess. The only way Silverpine survives this.”
“I never agreed to that,” Sebastian shot back. “You decided it for me. You promised things in my name without asking me.”
Richard took a step forward, his wolf bristling. “I did it to protect you.”
“No,” Sebastian said bitterly. “You did it to protect yourself.”
The words landed hard.
Lydia rose slowly, her hands trembling. “Sebastian, please…”
But Richard had already lost his grip. His wolf surged forward, fury breaking through restraint. In one swift, uncontrolled movement, his hand lashed out.
The slap echoed through the room.
Sebastian staggered back a step, heat blooming across his cheek. For a moment, the world blurred - not from pain, but from disbelief. He tasted blood where his teeth had cut into his lip.
He did not lower his eyes.
“If you think staying away from Sarah will save you from the princess,” Sebastian said quietly, his voice shaking despite himself, “it won’t.”
Richard froze.
“What did you say?” he asked.
Lydia gasped softly. “Sebastian… what do you mean?”
Sebastian laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She’s already started.”
Richard’s brow furrowed. “Started what?”
“You really don’t see it?” Sebastian asked, his frustration spilling over. “What do you think made me sick? What do you think made Kael disappear? You think it just happened?”
Lydia’s hand flew to her mouth. “Sebastian, where are you getting this from?”
“From the truth,” he insisted. “Princess Lisa - Cindy, whatever she calls herself - she’s never going to forgive us. This pack treated her like she was nothing. Do you really believe she’d acknowledge the bond after that?”
Richard shook his head sharply. “This is nonsense.”
“She’s using it,” Sebastian continued, voice rising. “Using the bond to punish me. That’s why I got sick. That’s why I felt like I was dying. That’s why Kael left. She used her Lycan powers, or magic, or whatever it is she has, and when she left, she left something behind.”
Lydia clutched Richard’s arm. “Richard…”
“No,” Richard said firmly. “Enough. This is paranoia.”
Sebastian turned to his mother, desperation flaring in his eyes. “A few days ago, she sent me a note at school. Told me to meet her. I went to apologize - on your behalf. On the pack’s behalf.”
Richard’s eyes widened. “You did what?”
“She cornered me,” Sebastian said, his voice dropping. “In the locker room. I don’t remember everything. I just remember waking up half-naked, confused, my head pounding. And afterward? She acted like nothing happened. Like I didn’t exist.”
Lydia let out a broken sob. “Oh, moon above…”
“And you think she’s going to forgive you?” Sebastian demanded. “She’s planning our downfall. You just haven’t seen it yet.”
Lydia collapsed into Richard’s arms, shaking. “What are we going to do?” she whispered. “What if he’s right? What if she cursed us? What if this started with Sebastian because he rejected her?”
Richard held her tightly, his face pale. For the first time, doubt flickered across his expression.
Lydia pressed on, “Sebastian got sick right after she left. The timing… it fits.”
“No,” Richard said, though his voice lacked conviction. “That’s not how royalty works. If they wanted to punish us, they’d do it openly. They don’t have to use magic - or whatever to punish the pack.”
“But she’s not like them,” Sebastian said quickly. “She wasn’t raised in the palace. She doesn’t follow their rules. Do you really think she’s bound by the same laws? If she wanted to do it her way…” his voice trailed in exasperation.
Silence fell heavy between them.
Lydia looked up at her husband, tears streaking her cheeks. “Richard, please. Call the council. Let them decide. We can’t ignore this.”
Richard closed his eyes, torn. When he opened them again, the anger was gone, replaced by something far more dangerous - uncertainty.
“Go to your room,” he told Sebastian quietly. “I need to think.”
Sebastian nodded stiffly. He turned away, then hesitated, another thought tugging at his mind.
Leonard and Mara’s faces flickered through his mind again - their stiff smiles, the fear he hadn’t been able to explain.
“There’s something else,” he began. “Leonard and Mara…”
“What about them?” Richard snapped.
Sebastian swallowed.
This isn’t the time, he told himself.
You’re overthinking it.
He shook his head, forcing the thought away, and continued upstairs.
He never noticed the movement outside.
In the bushes lining the edge of the house, a shadow shifted.
Sarah stood there, perfectly still, her presence masked, her breathing slow and controlled as she listened to every word that had been spoken inside. The raised voices. The doubt. Lydia’s fear. Richard’s hesitation.
A slow smile curved her lips.
It had worked.
Sebastian had done exactly what she needed - planted the seed, turned suspicion away from her and aimed it straight at Lisa. At the bond.
Sarah’s smile widened, eyes glinting with quiet triumph.
Let them fear her, she thought.
Let them doubt her.
She slipped back into the trees without a sound, already planning her next move.