Page 25 of Married to the Wolf

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“Obey—” her father began, but Sebastian held up his hand. The man fell silent.

The girl began to sob. One minute she was angry and defiant. The next she was a little child curled on the bed with her knees drawn to her chest. Sophia’s heart ached seeing her pain, and she wondered what was going on.

Sebastian dropped to his knees and stroked her tangled hair. “Let me in?”

She nodded but didn’t stop weeping. Their gazes met, and Sophia couldn’t see Sebastian’s with his back to her, but the girl’s transformed. They went from the common hazel to golden. The dark pupils dilated. All sound snuffed out of the room. Sophia figured Sebastian read the girl’s mind. It was the most amazing thing she had

ever seen. Although she couldn’t hear, to know they communicated in such a way blew her mind.

At the end of the session, Sebastian leaned down and kissed Katie’s hair. He whispered something to her Sophia didn’t catch, but in an instant all of Katie’s trembling ceased. She settled more comfortably on the bed, and her eyelids grew heavy. Seconds later she slept.

“What did you do just now?” Sophia asked when he rose.

“I pressed her to rest,” he said.

“Pressed her?”

He appeared distracted as he glanced at Alex. Sophia knew he’d given an order to the man because Alex swung toward the door and walked out. The other two men joined him. Katie’s father must not have been in on the mind talk because his head swung as he looked from Katie to Sebastian and back again. At least Sophia wasn’t the only one in the dark.

Sebastian moved them both to the hall, and the father followed. He waited in silence although Sophia was sure he longed to question Sebastian. Her husband stroked her arms and kissed her briefly.

“I’ll see you back home,” he said. “I have business to take care of.”

“Sebastian, what did she say to you?”

His gaze cut briefly to the father then back to her. “First, when I said I pressed her, I mean as her alpha I can encourage her to rest with my…let’s call it ability. It helps when one of my people are emotionally distraught.”

“Okay, I understand that.” She spoke calmly, but she was impressed. “What’s been going on with her?”

“We’ll speak later.”

“Sebastian.”

“Later, Sophia.”

He shuffled her out of the house and into the car, which they arrived in. All the way to the mansion, she sensed Sebastian’s agitation. Something told her whatever the girl said had upset him. That meant it wasn’t just teenage angst. He intended to go out and solve whatever the issue was. Sophia rubbed her arms, getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Katie’s father had said she fell in with humans. Did Sebastian plan to do something to them? She’d seen the pain on that young girl’s face, but Sophia was human, and she couldn’t stomach the thought of Sebastian turning the pain onto her own people.

They arrived home, and Sebastian saw her inside with an order to Ava to keep her safe. Then he and his Guard walked back out the door. Sophia shoved the curtains aside at the door, expecting to see her husband and his men climb into the car. Instead they strode toward the trees at the property’s edge. When they passed out of sight, a wolf’s howl filled the air.

Chapter 7

Sophia’s phone buzzed, and she yawned as she peered at the display. The message was simple. “I’m going to call in thirty seconds.”

She hardly had time to do more than frown at Jack’s words before he followed through.

“Hello?” she whispered and tiptoed to the door of her bedroom. There were no sounds from the other side. “Are you nuts, Jack? You didn’t even give me much time. Sebastian could have been here.”

“My people have told me he’s out tonight.”

She grumbled. “If you’re that good at tracking his movements, then you should know when he’s alone too.”

“He’s never alone. That’s why I need you. Did you try to get him to go off with you?”

She hesitated. All that filled her mind was what Sebastian might be doing right then and if it involved hurting humans. “Do you know what he’s up to tonight?”

“No.”

---