Sebastian's POV

She gazed at me as though she was seeing a man resurrected from his grave, walking backwards after our body came in contact.

My glowing eyes could almost penetrate through her like sharp needles, and must have piqued the fear she had.

“You…” she muttered. “You came here…”

Sweat slicked down her face, her breath like loudspeakers to my ears.

I gripped her upper arms, perhaps too tightly. She shuddered. “Escaping?”

She shot her eyes. She was unaware of the burn of her presence against my body. She was unaware that I'd never felt too weak. She was unaware she had an effect on me.

“Escaping… no… no…”

And there she was, unable to put out words to me.

“Lilith.” I called with a soft voice I never believed I had.

I should have called the gammas against her, but I didn't. I shouldn't be this way.

“You tried to escape.” My voice raised, picking up a heavy tone like I'd been transported into a war zone. “You wanted to leave.”

She struggled in my hands, the tears rolling down her cheeks as her body shook. “Please…”

“You dared to leave!” My fingers tightened. “You have such guts?”

My voice drained out. I couldn't keep up such a tone with her, and my fingers slid off her arms.

Her feet went backwards, unstable steps, and she turned to face the room, but the darkness betrayed her. She fell at the doorstep.

“Lilith!” I rushed to hold her up.

And my heart rate raised a little above normal, like I almost lost myself to the curse. It was a different kind of experience, like the stakes of the curse were increasing against me, but in a different direction.

My hand rested on her shoulders. I lost that deep frown I'd put on.

“Sebastian.” She whispered with a weak breath, but still laid on the floor.

“Okay?”

I held her up, but she applied no effort in getting on her feet, instead, used all she could for our eyes to lock.

“You’ve seen me somewhere else, haven't you? Have you?” Her palms rested on my chest.

Her chest was almost pressing against me, and I didn't realize we were that close in contact.

The look in her face was replaced, curiosity?

My body seemed to weaken… I knew nothing about her, except that she was human?

“You said I’m your mate…” her palms were still on my chest, tears left her eyes, but I could swear it was no longer because of fear.

I thought so.

“Why?” Her hands walked up to my neck, but with a soft touch that appeared to be like a graze.

“The instinct.” I found myself saying. “I… don't know.”

“You don't know?” Her eyes appeared to search through me, no longer a simple look, but could she see through me?

Did humans have such ability? I doubted.

But her gaze, though weak, was piercing at the same time. It was hard to give an answer under such scrutiny.

Her left hand walked up from my neck to rest on my jaw, and at first, I didn't realize I'd pulled her too close to my body. Only the softness of her boobs told me how soft and fragile she was. That softness pulled my mind off the race of breaking the curse.

“Hmmm…” I inhaled softly.

My hands went around her waist, and I didn't notice I'd gone that far.

“And to think such instinct came at a time I was supposed to be… some sort of sacrifice to end your curse?”

I inhaled so close to her face. “I’ve never understood such instinct.”

Her fingers brushed into my hair, and it seemed she was taking prints of me in her mind.

“My instinct might not be real,” I said. “But why all these?”

“Why do I feel I know you?” She asked instead.

“I don't know… I also feel the same way. Or it can only be because of this bond that has just clicked between us. Yes, that must be the case.”

I decided to be certain of that. Nothing else would make any sense to me except this explanation. But I wasn't even sure if she believed it. It would be normal if she didn't.

We were both newbies in this bond after all.

“The bond gives people that sense of familiarity…”

“Yes… yes…”

At the peak of this moment, faint footsteps drew my attention.

“Sebastian!” Rhea’s voice hit me like needles.

“Who… who is she?” Lilith asked.

I took a deep breath. Everything was going to become complicated. I wasn't even sure I should answer.

“Who’s she?” Lilith asked again.

Rhea was getting closer.

“She’s Rhea… she's my lover.”

Lilith’s face twitched, but I couldn't read the meaning from her expression.

Having a lover, and out of the blue having someone else has a mate was indeed complicated.

“I mean was… she was my lover, but now… you’ve become my mate.”

She withdrew herself from me as Rhea got closer. “I never told you I've accepted to be your mate.”

She walked slowly into the room, and I stood frozen on the spot she left me. My sight seemed to blur till it looked as though I was gazing at something deeper about her—her soul.

If I actually did, I still had no hope of reading through her.

But her eyes were still on me.

“Sebastian?” Rhea’s voice grazed my ears.

She must have heard about my calling another girl my mate.

She held a candle pinned on a saucer.

“I didn't believe you said that… I knew you didn't…” her voice was shaky. “It’s not possible… not after everything… I know you can't.” Her gaze flickered to Lilith as the room door was still open, and returned back to me. “And you're here… the Crimson moon rite was supposed to—”

“Stop.” I motioned at her.

She got close enough to stare at Lilith. “The human… your chance to break the curse under the full moon…”

Her gaze shifted between Lilith and I. Lilith still had her eyes on me, her hand slowly massaging her knee cap.

Rhea placed the burning candle on the floor, then touched my arms. “No… it isn't true…”

I jerked her hands off, but had to look at her after that.

She placed both hands on her chest. “What you said outside before the pack elders…”

I heard her breath instead, heavily.

“Did you mean it?” Her voice raised. “I thought we’re still lovers… and that I was close to becoming your mate…”

Her eyes were wet, and she took a step into the room, but I held her back, a bit too tight that my fingers almost dug into her skin. “You don't go in there.”

“She isn't one of our kinds.”

I didn't speak except pulling her back amidst her struggle to step forward. She gave up, clutched my right arm like she couldn't breathe without it.

“What you said… you didn't mean it.”

The slight tears that wet her jaws progressed into a quiet sob, but was sharp at the same time, her voice ringing bells like it always did. I’d known her long enough to know it was real.

Yet, I had no answer except what I'd told Lilith—plain instinct.

The room was void of all sound except her quiet sob that came like loudspeakers to my ears. But soon, almost unnoticeable, like a little change in rhythm, I heard footsteps.

First I saw candle lights. Mira came into view from the left side of the hallway. She stopped at the sight of me.

I still heard footsteps.

Talon came in from the right side, also holding a candle. He didn't stop. His pace increased. His face… sweat formed on it. It was deeper than a frown, rage?

It didn't seem so.

“The moon is still full,” he said. “The curse… it's reaching another milestone.”

“I…”

“This is another moment.” He walked into the room. “The human is here, and… what you said in that gathering has no meaning.” His voice thickened. “Not when everything about you is.”

I felt my palms go cold. I clenched my fist. “We’ve gone past it.”

I must have shook my head a thousand times, walking inside the room, closer to the bed, closer to Lilith.”

“I told you already!” My voice covered the room.

Talon walked closely behind me. Rhea and Mira stood outside.

Lilith didn't move, her eyes still on me. Her expression was flat. Nothing to read from it.

“You would change!” Talon’s voice tensed up. “You would become completely feral, you don't get it?”

Becoming feral. If I did, I would lose control of my body, would lose control of my thoughts, could be some werewolf with vague instincts. But I'd suddenly lost the meaning of that. It was worse that it seemed I had no reason for this.

My legs almost touched Lilith's feet.

“Necklace…”I muttered

Her hands grabbed it around her neck. That was when she pulled her eyes off me. She flinched.

The necklace…

All that came to my mind was my late parents, how was it related to them?

“Sebastian.” Talon nudged me. “You have to go on with this. You should complete the process before it becomes late.”

She’d drawn herself into the bed, her hands not leaving the necklace, not sparing me another glance at it.

My body warmed up. The effect was coming up again.

“You would become feral,” Talon pressed.

I bit my lower lips, then forced breath through my mouth. “For the sake of this human… no.”

“What… you don't mean this, Sebastian.”

My fingers brushed into my hair, my chest panting louder. “I mean every word of it.”