Page 65 of Taken Off Camera
“Gabriel!” Phoenix gasps, scandalized.
“What?” Gabriel shrugs. “It’s nice to know Perfect Sebastian has his dark side. Family dinner will be less boring tonight.”
“I like the cam boy,” Milo announces to the room at large. “Anyone who can put Sebastian in his place is welcome here.”
Saint tenses beside me, his protective instincts flaring.
“This isn’t a social call.” I face the security camera again. “Sebastian! Stop hiding behind your family and face me!”
A new set of footsteps sounds from the corridor beyond the staircase, and my heart hammers as I recognize Sebastian’s cadence.
He emerges from the shadows, and the sight of him knocks the wind from my lungs. Dark shadows sit high on his cheekbones, and his hair stands in disarray as if he’s been running his hands through it for days. The scars on the left side of his face stand out starkly against his pallor.
He stops several feet away, staring at me with an expression of raw desperation. “Micah, please calm down.”
The anger I’ve been nurturing for five days erupts in a flash of white-hot rage. “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down! You don’t get to disappear and then act like I’m the unreasonable one!”
Sebastian flinches as if struck, his shoulders hunching. “I deserve your anger.”
“You deserve a lot more than that.” I advance on him, forcing myself not to react to the pain in hisexpression. “Ignoring everything else you did, you bugged my apartment without permission.”
“I can explain,” Sebastian says barely above a whisper.
“Oh, this should be good,” Milo murmurs, settling in to watch the show.
Sebastian glances at his family members before his focus returns to me. “Can we talk somewhere in private?”
“No.” My fingers curl into fists at my sides. “You don’t get privacy. You lost the right when you put cameras in my bathroom.”
Sebastian’s face flushes with color. “I didn’t—” He stops, swallowing hard. “The bathroom camera was for the window. The fire escape outside your bathroom is a security risk. I never activated the internal view.”
“Oh, well, that makes it all better,” I snap. “Because you’ve been so honest about everything else.”
Sebastian’s face crumples, the stoic mask slipping to reveal genuine anguish. “Micah, what happened during your Heat… I lost control. I Marked you without permission. I took advantage when you were vulnerable.”
“So you ran?” The words come out softer than I intended, betraying the hurt beneath my anger.
“I panicked.” Sebastian takes a step closer, his hands outstretched in supplication. “I woke up and realized what I’d done, and I couldn’t face you. I was ashamed.”
Saint scoffs beside me. “You left him alone with a stalker.”
Sebastian’s attention snaps to Saint, his expression hardening. “I had people watching his apartment. He was never unprotected.”
“Could have fooled me,” Saint counters. “Your boy got another delivery two days ago. Photo, threats, the whole package.”
Sebastian freezes, the blood draining from his face. “What?”
Saint folds his arms. “Guess your security isn’t as good as you think it is.”
“He knows my real name now.” I hug my elbows. “And he wants me back on camera.”
“No.” Sebastian’s scarred face twists with fury. “You’re not giving in to his demands.”
I blink away the threat of tears. “Not sure you have a say in what I do anymore.”
He swallows hard. “I deserve that. But, please, I need to know you’re safe, baby.”
The pain on his face cuts through me, and despite my resolve, I shuffle toward him. “Then don’t leave me alone, silly Alpha.”
