Page 48 of The Awakened Wolf

“Why? You already discovered my secret identity.” His tone was teasing, but his eyes gave away his lingering uncertainty.

“And I bet you saved the day, didn’t you?” I cupped my palms around his face, stroking his fine cheekbones. I could see it, now that I knew—the faint resemblance to his genetic sire—but I saw his mother more, and Max, too, in the way he spoke and gestured.

“It was a team effort.” Sebastian ducked his head. “But yes, I did my part, and we pulled it off without a hitch. Mostly.”

“Mostly?” I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the rooftop cough I’d fallen asleep on. “Did you get the vaccines?”

“Yes, we got them. It was easier than I expected with Jayla’s help. She was able to get us into Columbia’s medical center, and—”

“Define easier.” I tugged up on his T-shirt sleeve, where a bruise was deepening in the shallow valley between his bicep and triceps. If that’s what it looked like now, it must have been worse to begin with.

Sebastian shrugged away and tugged down his sleeve. “Ah. Well. I don’t have much practice applying my Beta skills. When a guard didn’t buy my persuasion as to why the four of us were sneaking around near the prescription drugs, I, um, convinced him the Alpha way.”

“Sebastian!”

“Which created a scenario,” he raced on, “where my Beta powers had to work, or we’d have been caught. I revived the guy. He was, um, groggy.”He had the decency to wince. “But I convinced him an intruder had assaulted him and ran away, and we were there because we were helping him.”

“So you did save the day.”

“Jayla saved the day,” Sebastian said. “I did what I could, but it certainly helped that she was there to back me up, seeing as she’s a medical student with an ID. After that, we were able to slip away, and I only had to convince one person it was normal to let Jayla into prescription storage with a duffel bag.” He smiled, a little cocky now. “And then leave with it again.”

“Hot,” I said, bunching my fist in his shirt collar. I gave it a gentle tug, and he obediently climbed onto the couch beside me. “As long as everyone survived?”

“Everyone survived.” He slid his arm across the back of the couch and folded me against his chest. “No thanks to Evan and Atlas, but that was Kenzo’s fault for posting them in the same bushes. And it’s safe to say, Kiana has a bright future has a matchmaker if this Alpha thing doesn’t work out.”

“Oh, for Halo’s sake,” I groaned, covering the exposed half of my face with one hand. Mostly because it was quickly turning bright red with my own memories of Evan’s kissing skills, which were, to be clear, the opposite of bad. I was just never supposed to know that.

CONFESS.

I sighed, knowing she was right, and the last thing I needed was for that information to come out in the middle of the next battled. “Sebastian?”

“I know you kissed Evan,” he said, ruffling my hair and planting a kiss on the top of my head. “And I’m glad the matter is permanently settled.”

“Okay, first of all, how did you know that’s what I was going to tell you?” I pulled back to study his smirking face. “And second of all, that was always permanently settled. My sister just momentarily confused us.”

He smiled patiently. “I knew because I gave you the opening to tell me by telling you about Evan and Atlas making out on our mission—something we’ve all decided not to report to Alpha Kiana, by the way, lest she revoke their mating license.”

“Probably for the best.” I snuggled closer so my bended knees were halfway into his lap. “How did you know about the kiss? Did he freak out and confess?”

“Yes, actually, but I… when it happened, I heard your wolf,” he said quietly. “I don’t know how. But I heard her calling out.”

“And I heard yours answer.” I nuzzled my head under his chin. “I should’ve known you were coming.”

“I turned around as soon as I got my mother settled in with her family. But getting a flight back to New York was crazy.” I felt him swallowing some unseen emotion on top of my head and placed a soothing palm on his chest.

“That must’ve been hard, leaving her there.”

He nodded. “It’s what she needs right now. I’m just so sorry I took her away before she could see Father again. I was so selfish—”

“No.” I sat up again and grabbed his face with both hands. “She might have been infected, too. I’m sure your father is very proud of your quick thinking now that he remembers who he is in the Yonder Fields.”

Sebastian smiled faintly, and I released my hold so didn’t feel pressured too emote. It was going to take him a long time to totally let go of the need for his Alpha mask, so I would help him pull it off slowly, in his own time and way. I leaned back into him, hugging his lean waist. His fingers combed through my hair, and I wanted to find Kiana and tell her this was the point.

“Every time I feel pride using my abilities, I immediately feel guilt,” Sebastian murmured. “Not just because of him, but because I’m fooling people. How is it okay for anyone to wield that power?”

“And when you used your power to protect me the night we met? Was that wrong?” I asked. He didn’t answer, but I could tell he was thinking it over. “Besides,” I added, “why is kicking someone’s ass to get what you want so much better?”

“It’s not,” he said firmly. “They’re both wrong. If you’re only doing it to get what you want.”

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