A Wolf's Oath (42 page)

“
Damn straight. You caught it, you deal with it.”

“
That’s fair enough. Are you willing to finish chopping those
vegetables for me?”

“
I don’t see why I shouldn’t,” she laughed, pulling away from
his embrace and returning to the kitchen.

Anna had watched the interaction between Erica and Sebastian
from the kitchen and though she was happy that her friend was
managing to smile despite her situation, she couldn’t prevent a
scowl appearing on her face at who was generating the response. As
Sebastian approached her, fish firmly in hand she tried to
rearrange her face into a friendlier visage, if the scowl he was
directing at her was anything to go by, she had failed. He moved
past her, refusing to acknowledge her presence and the atmosphere
for the night was set. She didn’t like him and he didn’t like her,
there was no need to try and hide that fact.

Sebastian got to work quickly, cleaning the fish and
beginning to prepare it for consumption. His eyes were glued to the
fish as he tried to pretend that Anna wasn’t in his immediate
vicinity but he couldn’t help but wonder what she had said to Erica
in the time he’d been away. He didn’t think that they had been gone
long, but it was dark now and it had been light when they had set
out so maybe he was wrong.

“
Now that you’re not holding that disgusting fish,” Erica
began, looking up from her task of cutting vegetables to eye her
siblings. “Go and have a shower and change your clothes. Smelly
children don’t get fed. Anna, do you mind keeping an eye on them so
they don’t get into any trouble.”

“
Sure,” Anna agreed, moving away from the kitchen to coral
Dylan and Wyatt down the hall.

Erica watched them leave but the distraction cost her. Her
finger began to throb and she realised that she had cut herself
with the sharp knife. The scent of blood captured Sebastian's
attention and he was instantly by her side.

“
Erica, are you ok? I smell blood.”

She brought the finger to her mouth, trying to smile while
soothing the small injury with her tongue. “I’m fine Sebastian,
honestly.”

“
Let me see,” he demanded, waiting expectantly for her to
present him with the finger.

She popped it out of her mouth and showed it to him. “See it
was nothing serious, just a small nick. In fact it’s so small that
you can’t even see it. There’s no need to get worked up over such a
small cut and just a little bit of blood. Are you squeamish or
something? Is that it?”

“
I don’t like it when you’re hurt. The sight and smell of blood
doesn’t bother me, it’s only when I know that it comes from you
that I worry.” The memory of Erica bleeding heavily in his arms
resurfaced and he couldn’t seem to dislodge it. It was as though he
were back on that hard pebbled beach, soaking wet and cradling her
ice cold body close to his while blood continued to flow from the
large gash on her head with no indication of stopping
soon.

Sebastian seemed to have frozen and Erica wasn’t sure of what
had caused it or how to bring him back to her. His skin seemed to
be paling before her eyes and he was staring intently into space.
Had the sight and smell of her blood affected him that badly? She
placed her hand against his bare cheek, trying to draw him back to
her through touch. “Sebastian, are you ok?”

The sound of her voice pulled him out of his memory into the
present. Immediately taking in the concerned expression on her
face, he was quick to reassure her. “I’m fine. I should get back to
the fish, if we’re going to be eating tonight.” He turned from her
and returned to the task at hand.

The fish didn’t take long to prepare and cook and soon enough
they were all seated around the dinner table. The children might
not have noticed it, oblivious to anything other than the game they
were playing between themselves, but it was impossible for Erica to
be unaware of the tense atmosphere that existed between Anna and
Sebastian. She still couldn’t understand why it was there, these
two people were important to her; they should get along. Anna was
picking at her food, studiously avoiding looking at Sebastian who
was glaring intently at her. Erica squeezed his knee beneath the
table, silently grabbing his attention. He turned to face her and
she smiled pleadingly before turning her head in Anna’s direction.
The message was clear.

I can be civil to the woman,
Sebastian decided.

So long as she does nothing to endanger our mate, I’ll even
try to restrain myself from physically harming her,
his wolf added.

How magnanimous of you,
Sebastian
laughed.

I think so. Initially I actually wanted to tear her throat
out not just throw her out. You’re mellowing me
Sebastian.

Remembering the wolf’s aggressive thoughts since he had met
Erica and his own increased willingness to resort to violence on
her behalf, Sebastian chuckled.
I
sincerely doubt that. If anything you’re changing me.

I have nothing to do with it,
the
wolf stated, pleading his innocence.
It’s
all her.

“
So Anna,” Sebastian began, doing his best to keep his tone
even and unaggressive. “When did you get here?”

“
A while ago,” she responded ambivalently.

“
Any particular reason for your visit?”

“
No.”

Erica groaned at the stilted conversation that was occurring
between the two.
Maybe silence was best
after all.
“Anna, did I tell you,
Sebastian's teaching me how to sculpt?”

“
No. Are you any good?”

“
No,” Erica laughed. “I’m terrible actually. I’m so bad that I
can’t even sculpt a twig out of wood. But Sebastian, Sebastian's
really good at it. You should see some of the things he’s made.
They’re beautiful.” She smiled before a frown appeared on her face
as a strand of hair fell into her face. “Stupid hair, sometimes I
think that I should just cut the whole lot of it off,” she cursed,
reaching for the hair band on her wrist and tying it up into the
familiar mess Sebastian was accustomed to.

Anna turned to Sebastian, struggling to smile at him while
inwardly seething as a result of Erica's praise of him. “Maybe
another time.”

Sebastian felt slightly disappointed at the disappearance of
the long strands and Erica's remark unwillingly drew a question
from his lips. “Why do you keep it so long if it bothers you so
much?”

Her hands didn’t stop moving and she answered his question
automatically with no conscious thought on her part. “Well, my
mother always said that a lady’s hair was her pride and joy and so
I guess I keep it this long in her honour. Besides, it’s not that
bad. There are days when I love having it this length, I only get
frustrated with it on rare occasions.”

Anna had watched the easy exchange between the two with
narrowed eyes. It was aggravating that Sebastian could draw out
memories from Erica's mind without so much as a second thought when
she couldn’t do the same. While she had been aware of it before,
seeing it with her own eyes was angering. “Eric, you remembered
something,” she applauded.

“
I guess I did,” Erica shrugged. Apparently the memory wasn’t
as much of an achievement as Anna had thought it would
be.

Erica returned to eating the fish on her plate and Anna began
to feel increasingly uncomfortable. “I should probably start
heading home, Michael will start to worry.” She stood and Sebastian
rose from his seat in response.

“
I’ll see you to the door,” he stated casually, moving towards
it and expecting Anna to follow. He opened the door and held it
open as Anna approached him. “So Anna, is there anything that you
need to tell me about your conversation with Erica?”

“
I don’t see how the conversations between my best friend and I
are any of your business,” she responded, her grip on her bag
tightening.

Frustration filled him and Sebastian could feel elements of
the change wash over him. There was a sharpness to his teeth that
hadn’t been there before and he knew that his eyes were now
undeniably amber. Leaning down, he allowed Anna to see the changes,
she was well aware what they meant. “Erica is my mate,” he
whispered. “Everything about her concerns me. If you’re going to
continue to behave like this then I don’t want you around her any
more.”

“
You can’t stop me from seeing her,” Anna hissed
angrily.

A single eyebrow lifted, silently mocking Anna’s claim. “Is
that so?” Reaching down, Sebastian wrapped his hand around Anna’s
wrist and physically lifted her from the ground. Carrying her out
of the house, he deposited her outside, turned around and walked
into the house, closing the door behind him as though nothing had
occurred.

Anna irritates me, but what she said shouldn’t have warranted
that reaction. It was a little too severe,
he rationalised before realising what his short fuse meant. He
breathed deeply trying to calm himself and revert the changes that
had taken place.
I can’t let Erica see me
like this.
Finally, assured that there was
nothing out of the ordinary with his appearance, he walked through
the house towards the back door. Opening it, his gaze was
automatically drawn skywards and there it was, the source of his
irrational anger. The full moon was nearly upon them. It had been
so easy to forget that he had a deadline but he couldn’t get away
from that fact now.

I don’t see what the problem is,
his
wolf began.
She’s far more open to our
advances now. There will be no problem in claiming her.

It isn’t what she wanted,
Sebastian
reminded him.

Well it’s what I want. I’m in your mind; it’s what you want
too.
As he read Sebastian's intentions, the
wolf growled.
No! Not again.

I want her to come to me fully aware of the consequences. I
don’t want to claim her because I was taking advantage of the
situation. She won’t be forgiving if that happens.
I’ve made up my mind. We’re running
again.

“
Sebastian, is something wrong?” Erica asked having
successfully snuck up on him. She wrapped her arms around his waist
and held his body close to her, relishing the feel and smell of
him.

“
Nothing’s wrong sweetheart. I just remembered that I have some
business to take care of tomorrow so I’ll be gone most of the
day.”

“
Oh.”

“
Will you be ok with the kids alone?”

“
I managed fine before I met you, I’ll do fine without you for
a few hours. You worry too much. Now come back and eat your dinner,
it’s getting cold,” she mock scolded.

He turned within her arms, kissed her soundly before pulling
away from her. “I just need to make a quick phone call and then
I’ll come and help you clean up ok?” She nodded and he closed the
door behind him before walking into his office, shutting the door
firmly.

He reached for the phone and dialled his brother; he was
going to need his help again. The phone was ringing for mere
seconds before Ryan answered. “Ryan, it’s Sebastian. I need you to
do me a massive favour.”

“
Fine.”

“
You don’t even know what it is.”

“
And since when has that ever stopped me from agreeing to help
you? Besides, I’m racking up the favours you owe me. Remember, when
the time comes you won’t ask even a single question and so far I
count two of these unrestricted favours. So what exactly do you
need me to do this time?”

“
Meet me tomorrow in the woods behind the cabin and I’ll
explain everything.”

Chapter Forty

“
This can’t be happening,” Anna muttered as she paced the long
length of her bedroom. She had just returned from Erica's cabin,
the journey wasn’t that far, but the location had likely been
chosen precisely because of that. It was far enough away from the
clans that no wolves would be near but close enough that should
assistance be required, it would be quick in arriving. Her room was
large, filled with heavy, expensive furniture and decorated in rich
colours as was befitting a woman of her status. Her surroundings
however, no longer provided her with comfort, her mind was in
turmoil and the luxury that she had lived with her entire life did
nothing to ameliorate the sensation.

Erica's current situation weighed heavily on her; it was all
she had thought about in the last few days. It baffled her mind
that Erica was prepared to throw away all of her memories for a
life with
him.
It
would never work of course but the fact that Erica was willing to
do it jarred her to the bone. The only people that her friend had
ever been willing to sacrifice anything for were her siblings.
Erica was as fiercely protective of Dylan and Wyatt as any mother
wolf would be with their own cubs. Coming second place to children
had never bothered Anna before, she was like an aunt to them
anyway, but coming a distant third to Sebastian set her teeth on
edge. The interaction between them was maddening, if she had been
forced to watch it for even a second longer, she would have
snapped.