Chapter 129 Fated From the Start
Emilia’s POV
There was no point in hiding it. He’d figure it out eventually anyway.
"I have a wolf now."
Sebastian went completely still. Then he pulled back to stare at me, his eyes wide. "What?"
"Yeah, apparently she’s been sealed away by some kind of force and your mark broke the seal or something." I shrugged, trying to play it cool even though my heart was racing. "Her name is Eve. She’s very excited about you, by the way. Won’t stop screaming ’mate’ in my head."
Sebastian’s face went through several emotions at once. Shock, joy, concern, and something else I couldn’t quite name. "You have a wolf," he repeated, like he needed to say it out loud to believe it. "Emilia, that’s... I know what you went through as a wolfless omega. I’m so happy for you."
The genuine happiness in his voice made my chest feel tight. But then his expression turned to curiosity. "How did this happen? The seal breaking, was it really just the marking?"
"Probably the mate bond," I said. "Some magical connection thing. Honestly, I have no idea how any of this works."
Sebastian pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me. "It doesn’t matter how it happened. What matters is that you’re whole now. You have your wolf. And you’re mine."
The possessiveness in his voice should have annoyed me. Instead, it sent a pleasant shiver down my spine.
But wait. There was something Eve had said. Something important.
I pulled back and narrowed my eyes at Sebastian, putting on a serious face. "Actually, I think we need to have a serious conversation, Mr. Simons."
He tensed immediately, confusion crossing his face. "What did I do?"
"Eve told me something very interesting," I said, poking him in the chest. "She said you’re my fated mate. Which means you’ve known this whole time, haven’t you?"
Sebastian’s face went carefully blank, which was all the answer I needed.
"You asshole!" I smacked his shoulder. "Why didn’t you tell me? Were you afraid I’d turn into some clingy gold-digger if I knew? Some scheming bad woman who’d trap the big bad Alpha?"
"No!" Sebastian caught my hands before I could hit him again. "It wasn’t like that. I just..." He paused, looking conflicted. "You know how much my family loves you. We were at each other’s throats back then. If they’d known you were my fated mate..."
I pushed him away and sat up, actually annoyed now. "So you kept something this important from me? Or was it because your heart was still full of Abigail?"
"Yes."
The single word hit me like a slap. I felt my expression drop, something cold settling in my chest.
That woman. Abigail Tanner. She’d been so lucky to have someone like Sebastian love her so much, so completely. And she’d thrown it away. She’d broken him and run off with his cousin, leaving nothing but a mess behind.
What kind of person did that?
Sebastian must have seen something in my face because he immediately grabbed my hands. "But that’s not true anymore. Emilia, you’re the only one in my heart now. Only you."
I wanted to stay mad. I really did. But the raw honesty in his voice, the almost desperate way he was looking at me... it was hard to hold onto my anger.
Besides, I didn’t want to spend our first morning after the marking fighting about his ex. That bitch didn’t deserve any more of our time or energy.
I sighed and cupped his face in my hands. "Yes, I am the only one now. So I’m going to do my best to love you from now on."
Sebastian pulled me against him, holding me tight. His chin rested on top of my head, and he took a shaky breath.
"I never expected the Moon Goddess would send you, an angel, to save me," he said, his voice rough. "I thought I’d spend the rest of my life in darkness. Thank you, Emilia. Thank you for pulling me out of that hell."
I pulled back and looked at him. "Angel? I’m about as angelic as a stray cat with an attitude. If anything, I’m a devil just like you. And for the record, you saved me first."
It was true. Before Sebastian, I’d been drowning in my own way. Trapped in a loveless home, treated like garbage by my own family. He’d given me a way out, even if he’d been an absolute dick about it at first.
Love was funny that way. It could destroy you or save you. It could be a poisonous thorn that poisoned everything it touched, or it could be the medicine that healed wounds you’d carried for years.
Sebastian was quiet for a moment, stroking my hair. Then he said, "This might not be the best time to say this, but I need you to know something."
I braced myself. Nothing good ever started with that phrase.
"I’m not perfect," he continued. "I have a lot of weaknesses. I’m probably not worthy of a perfect love. But I want it anyway. I want it with you." His arms tightened around me. "You know how hard it was for me to fall for you. How long I fought it. How much I struggled to let you in. So you can’t let me down, Emilia. I don’t know what would happen to me if I got my heart broken again."
There was something vulnerable in his voice that made my chest ache. This powerful Alpha, this man who ran a massive pack and a business empire, sounded almost fragile.
"Sometimes I envy Marcus and the others," he admitted. "They don’t take love seriously. They can dump someone today and get dumped tomorrow and it doesn’t matter to them. It’s easy. But I can’t do that. I can’t be casual about this."
I pulled back to look at him.
"That’s because they’re heartless idiots," I said bluntly. "A man without a heart can’t get hurt, sure. But what’s the point of living if you don’t have a heart? Don’t envy them, Sebastian. Just be yourself."
He looked at me for a moment, then kissed my forehead. "I love you."
"I know," I said, then smirked. "Eve can feel Ryder is really excited too."
He laughed. "Smart ass."
"You love it."
"I really do."
His words kept echoing in my head as we lay there together. Part of me wanted to tell him everything. All the secrets I’d been keeping. But something held me back.
We’d just started this. Our love was still new, still fragile. We needed time to build trust, to build a solid foundation. Dumping all my secrets on him now might be too much, too soon.