A Wolf's Oath (47 page)

“
Ryan?”

“
How did you know that? I thought you snuck out.”

“
No. I left with his full knowledge and awareness. He’s not a
very good actor, or maybe I just know you too well.”

“
What gave him away?”

“
Honestly? I knew something was wrong the first time I kissed
him.”

“
You kissed him?” Sebastian snarled, his mind easily distracted
from his questions as anger thrummed through his veins.

“
Well I did think he was you at the time,” she shrugged. “I was
happy to see you. It’s not my fault that you decided to send your
brother home in your place.”

“
What did he do?” he demanded, his rage increasing as he
imagined Erica within the arms of someone that wasn’t him. The
mental imagery was distinctly unwanted and his arms tightened
around her as though to keep her with him while imaginary arms
tried to take her away.

“
He didn’t do anything,” she sighed, trying to reassure
him.

Her attempt to pacify him backfired stupendously. “He just
let you kiss him? Let you touch him? He didn’t try to pull
way?”

“
Well…” she stuttered, unsure of what exactly she should
say.

“
I’m realising that I’m a very jealous man Erica. I don’t like
the idea of you touching other men. Please don’t do it
again.”

“
It’s not as though you can talk,” she scoffed. “When Alex came
to visit, she was all over you. I’m just as jealous as you are. If
I can’t touch other men then it’s only fair that you can’t touch
other women.” Just remembering the way Alex had touched Sebastian
was angering her and her eyes filled with amber. Sebastian was hers
and she wanted everyone to know it. She lowered her head to his
neck breathing in deeply before placing a string of kisses against
the warm flesh.

Sebastian tensed as soon as he felt the sharp sting of her
fangs against his skin. Erica might not remember what she was but
her body did and apparently she was determined to make her presence
known. It was rare that a female wolf marked a male but it was
possible, a sign to the world that the female was just as
possessive as the male. The sharp kisses stopped when he stopped
talking and so he carried on, the muscles in his neck pressing
against her lips as he spoke, silently encouraging her to bite him,
to mark him, to claim him. “I don’t want to touch any other women.
You’re the only one I want.”

At his declaration, her fangs sunk deep, embedding themselves
into his flesh as her tongue moved across his skin, engraving her
initial into his skin. He howled as pleasure racked him and he
pulled her away from his neck, uncaring of the tearing of his flesh
as her fangs cut through his skin. Dragging her face close to his,
he pulled her body even closer to him, kissing her into silence
before proceeding to show her exactly how much he desired her
alone. As desire clouded his thoughts, it became impossible to
think and the all important question of how she had discovered his
identity slipped silently away into the night.

Chapter
Forty-Four

For the second time in as many days Erica's sleep was restful
and rejuvenating. Her dreams were peaceful, amusing even as her
mind recollected the events that surrounded the morning she and
Sebastian had returned home. After a night filled with mind blowing
sex, her clothes had been torn beyond repair and Sebastian had
insisted she take his rather than walk through the woods naked.
Though she had been clothed, he had refused point blank to let her
walk into the house when his brother was within its walls. She had
laughed at his visible possessive streak but he hadn’t found it
amusing. His face had remained stoic while peals of laughter were
ripped from her. When the chuckles had subsided she had agreed to
his request and waited outside for him to return with clothes for
her to wear. Dressing outside in the frigid air had been an
experience, one she hoped never to repeat. The only thing that had
made it even slightly tolerable was the look of desire that had
been clearly etched onto Sebastian's face. The impulse to tease him
rode her strongly and she couldn’t resist swishing her hips and
exaggerating each movement of her body as she attempted to seduce
him. His eyes had gradually shifted to amber, the bizarre shade no
longer concerned her she had become very accustomed to it during
the night. The colour now created feelings of excitement and
anticipation within her for when his eyes changed from brown to
amber, deliciously wonderful things were about to happen. He had
reached for her, unable to prevent himself from doing otherwise but
she had moved out of his reach.

Laughing she had ran into the house, Sebastian eagerly
chasing after her. He had caught her easily, lifting her from the
ground and kissing her soundly. His smile invoked one of her own
but his laughter had died quickly, an aggressive growl slipping
from his lips. She struggled against his grip trying to see what
had caused him to become so angry but his hold on her had only
tightened in response. Turning her head she managed to catch a
glimpse of Ryan standing shirtless in the hallway and his anger
became clear. She tried to sooth him, but her attempt had failed.
He finally released her and forced her behind him before striding
over to his brother and punching him squarely in the jaw. The look
of confusion on Ryan’s face was priceless. A growl began to rise
from Ryan’s chest as the pain sunk in and she had thought that they
were going to come to blows for a moment but then Sebastian had
started talking. As he chastised his brother for kissing his mate,
Ryan’s anger quickly died and a sheepish look replaced the
aggression that had been imprinted on his face. Ryan had left soon
after the confrontation, grumbling the entire way.

The memory caused a small laugh to escape her lips as she
moved closer to the warmth of Sebastian's body. His arms curled
tighter around her body, holding her as close to him as possible.
After the night in the woods they had both agreed that there was no
point in them sleeping in separate beds and as his heat seeped into
her, she was infinitely grateful that he had come round to seeing
things from her perspective.
Yes,
infinitely grateful,
she decided,
remembering the previous night and how Sebastian had made love to
her until she was beyond exhausted. Her limbs were heavy and her
muscles deliciously sore. He shifted slightly, exposing the bare
skin of his neck to her gaze and she frowned in confusion at the
elegant ‘E’ etched into his flesh, surrounded by what looked like
teeth marks. Her slow thoughts came to an abrupt halt as his thigh
slid between her legs, pressing intimately against her. A low moan
slipped past her lips and she purred in satisfaction, rubbing her
core gently against him as her exhaustion once again caught up with
her, forcing her eyelids to close.

*****

Anna watched as Erica slept in Sebastian's arms blissfully
ignorant of the crime he had committed against her and her anger
increased exponentially. The fact that they were now comfortably
sharing the same bed confirmed her worst fears; Sebastian had taken
advantage of Erica's memory lapse when the moon was full.
Poor Eric,
she hiccupped
trying to prevent tears from falling.
When
she gets her memories back, she’s going to be inconsolable. I can’t
believe he would do something like this. It just proves my point,
he’s a true bastard. Don’t worry Eric, I’m going to take care of
him for you.
That they were sharing the
same bed did present a problem to Anna’s plan but she couldn’t back
out now.
Let’s just hope that he’s a heavy
sleeper.
She decided, knocking firmly
against the glass pane. Erica shifted slightly in bed while
Sebastian remained oblivious and Anna breathed a sigh of relief.
She knocked again, harder this time and Erica's brows drew together
as she struggled against the hold of sleep. Resisting the urge to
knock incessantly in case she accidentally woke Sebastian, Anna
spaced her knocks until Erica's eyes finally open.

Her friend’s blue eyes locked with her own and she waved her
over. Erica stared at Anna confused as to why she was there but she
began to do as Anna requested. A predatory growl rumbled through
her chest at the thought of Anna seeing Sebastian half naked and
she slipped from the bed taking care to ensure the duvet remained
covering him. Thankfully she managed to leave the bed without
waking Sebastian and moved down the hall. Running to the front
door, Anna waited for Erica to arrive. The door opened and Erica
stood at the entrance staring at the small woman on her doorstep,
her eyes still heavy lidded.

“
Anna, what are you doing here?” she croaked, the effects of
being unexpectedly woken very much evident.

“
I’ve come to get you silly,” Anna laughed entering the house,
her hazel eyes sparkling with mischief.

“
For what?” Erica groaned, wishing that she could return to her
warm bed.

Warm Sebastian,
the mysterious voice
corrected in a purr.

Erica smiled, silently agreeing with its amendment. The bed
might have been warm but she wouldn’t have been half as desperate
to return to it if Sebastian were elsewhere.
All of a sudden I’m not feeling tired anymore. When I get rid
of Anna, I’m going to go back to bed, wake him up and seduce him.
I’ll only be satisfied when I don’t have the strength to leave the
bed. His stamina is amazing. He literally loved me into
unconsciousness last night.

And you can’t wait for him to do it again. Neither can I. Get
rid of Anna quickly.

Unaware of Erica's mental musings, Anna continued. “We’re
throwing a surprise party! Come on get dressed so we can head out
and make the preparations.”

She groaned loudly at Anna’s reason for waking her criminally
early.
It might take me longer than I
thought to get rid of her.
“I don’t want to
throw a party Anna, I want to go back to sleep. It’s still dark
outside for crying out loud.”

“
So you don’t want to throw a party?” Anna mused.

“
No!” Was the emphatic response.

“
Not even if the party is for Sebastian?” Anna could tell that
she instantly had Erica's attention. Her eyes opened, shaking off
the last remnants of sleep, she stood up straight and her gaze was
riveted to her face. Though using Sebastian as a pretext to get
Erica out of the house was part of her plan, it didn’t dull the
sting that the simple use of his name was enough to rouse her
friend and garner her attention. “I knew that you probably weren’t
aware of it so I came to tell you that it’s his
birthday.”

“
He didn’t say anything.”

“
He wouldn’t. He has always been insistent on not telling you
anything about your life before the accident. He probably didn’t
want to pressure you.”

“
It does sound like something Sebastian would do,” Erica
agreed, her lust beginning to simmer down. “But why are you
throwing him a party? From what I’ve seen you two don’t like each
other.”

Anna winced at the remarkable accurate assessment. “It’s true
that we have our disagreements Eric, but what you said to me the
other day really affected me. You said that you didn’t care about
getting your memories back.”

“
I don’t,” Erica inserted calmly.

“
Which is fine with me, if that’s really what you want to do.
But you’re going to need supportive friends and family around you.
I’m your best friend, Sebastian is your fiancé and that means we’re
going to be spending a lot of time together. It doesn’t make sense
for us to be openly hostile towards each other especially when we
both want the same thing when it comes to you. I thought I’d extend
the proverbial olive branch and try to mend the fences between us.
It’s the least I can do for you Eric. Besides, the way I see it,
this is an opportunity for you, one that we can’t just let pass by.
If you’re going to just give up on your past memories, then you
need to meet everyone in his life and yours all over
again.”

Erica eyed her friend for a moment letting the words sink in
before she leapt forward and embraced the smaller woman in a fierce
hug. “Thank you Anna. I don’t know how I would have managed it if
you two were constantly at each other’s throats. You’re both
important to me, I want you to get along.”

Guilt crept up Anna’s spine but she squashed it quickly.
“Well if you want that to happen then I suggest you get dressed,
quietly, so we can sneak out and get started. You don’t need to
dress up, I’ve got clothes and all that you need for the party at
my home.”

“
Thanks Anna, give me five minutes and I’ll be ready to go.
Could you do me a favour?” Anna nodded automatically. “Write a
quick note to Sebastian telling him that I’ve gone round to your
place. He worries if he doesn’t know where I am,” she laughed
before dashing down the hall and entering her old
bedroom.

A pad of paper sat on the table beside a few pens and Anna
glanced briefly at them before tearing a single sheet off the
notepad. She eyed the piece of paper with disgust confused at her
friend’s concern for Sebastian. She was demonstrating the sort of
concern that she felt towards her own mate.
It’s not natural,
her mind hissed.
Sebastian had clearly done a very good job in convincing Erica that
they were meant to be together. Grabbing a pen, she scrawled a
brief note, another step to the successful completion of her plan,
confident after decades with Erica that her handwriting was similar
enough to that of her friend’s that Sebastian wouldn’t notice a
difference. She walked into the kitchen and placed the piece of
paper on a counter before walking back to the living room. True to
her word, Erica was back in a little under five minutes, fully
dressed with flushed cheeks that silently communicated the speed
with which she had prepared.