Chapter 27

Sebastian

The next few days, Sebastian spends time with Skye, trying to repair the damage he’d done to their relationship. The day the other alphas are supposed to come arrives fast. “Skylar,” he says, “Alpha Silverstein is almost here. Do you want to go meet him with me?”

Skye looks at him nervously, “O…okay,” she reluctantly agrees.

He takes her hand and they make their way to the main packhouse. A few minutes later, Alpha Silverstein arrives. “Alpha Sebastian!” he booms, “It’s nice to see you again!”

“Nice to see you too, Alpha Silverstein!” he answers, just as enthusiastically.Skye hides behind Sebastian, startled by how loud both men are.

Alpha Silverstein’s eyes stop on Skye. “Who is this?”

“Alpha Silverstein, this is Skylar. Skylar, Alpha Silverstein.”

“Ah, so you’re Skye!’ Nice to meet ya!”

“Hi,” Skye squeaks out, nervously, still hiding behind Sebastian.

Charlotte comes out of the packhouse. “Alpha Silverstein, how are you?” she asks, hugging him.

“Luna Charlotte, always nice to see you around!” he answers, “I’m doing well, how bout you?”

“I’m good, did your wife come?”

“Yes, I think she followed an omega up to our room.”

Skye

“Skylar,” Charlotte asks, “do you want to come with me?” Skye nods and limps over to Charlotte, taking her hand and following her into the packhouse. Eventually, Charlotte stops at a door and knocks.

“Come in!” a woman’s voice answers.

“Juniper,” Charlotte says, “how are you?” They hug each other. “It’s so good to see you again.

“Charlotte,” Juniper answers, “I’m good. It’s good to see you too.”

Skye tugs on Charlotte’s sleeve. “Oh,” Charlotte says, “Juniper, this is Skylar. Skye, this is my friend Juniper.”

“H…hi,” Skye says quietly.

“Are you okay?” Juniper asks, “You look a bit peaked.”

“I’m o…okay.”

Charlotte looks worriedly at her. “Are you sure, sweetheart?”

Skye nods. “T…they’re l…l…loud.”

“My husband and Alpha Sebastian?” Juniper asks.

“Y…yes.”

Juniper laughs, “Yes, they’ve always been that way.”

“O…oh.” Skye sits down on the bed. “I…is he a…angry a..at me?”

Charlotte and Juniper look surprised. “Who?” Juniper eventually answers.

“A…Alpha S…Silverstein.”

Juniper looks at Charlotte, confusion written on her face. “She overheard Sebastian and your husband on the phone. I imagine he didn’t sound too happy.”

“Oh, yes, he told me about that phone call. He’s not angry with you, Skye. He’s angry that Alpha Sebastian kept you hidden, that’s all.”

“W…will S…Sebby g…get in t…trouble b…because of m…me?”

“That’s up to my husband and the other alphas.”

Skye lets out another whimper before grabbing onto Charlotte’s sleeve again. “Honey,” Charlotte says, “it’s okay. You just have to meet the alphas. You don’t have to be there when they’re discussing Sebastian’s indiscretion.”

“I d…don’t w…want S…Sebby t…to g…get in t…trouble b…because of m…me.”

“He isn’t getting in trouble because of you, he’s in trouble because he broke the rules that the other alphas and he agreed to. He’s the only one to blame for that. You couldn’t have possibly known about it.”

. “W…will t…they h…hurt h…him.”

Charlotte and Juniper look at each other. “I don’t know, sweetheart, the punishment will be decided by the other alphas.”

Skye looks ill. “D…don’t l…let t…them h…hurt h…him!” She’s so upset that she nearly falls off the bed. Charlotte grabs onto her and pulls her away from the edge.

“Okay, honey. Juniper and I will ask the other alphas.” Charlotte’s eyes glaze over as someone minklinks her. “Honey, the other alphas are here. Let’s go down and meet them, okay?”

The color in her face drains as she nods her head, stiffly following Charlotte and Juniper downstairs. “Skylar,” Sebastian says, coming over to her, “come with me.” He takes her hand and guides her over to two men. “Skye, this is Alpha Sorrentino and Alpha Wentworth.”

“Hello,” Alpha Sorrentino says.

“Nice to meet you,” Alpha Wentworth replies.

Skye lowers her head to them, too nervous to say anything. Charlotte comes over. “Alpha Sorrentino, Alpha Wentworth,” she greets them politely, “do you mind if I steal Skye from you?”

“Go ahead,” Alpha Sorrentino answers.

Charlotte takes Skye’s hand and leads her over to where Juniper and two other women are. “Skye, this is Luna Carmilla, and Luna Emilia.”

“H…h…hi,” Skye whispers.

“You’re shaking,” Carmilla states.

“I…I w…want t…to.” She suddenly collapses.

“Skylar!” Charlotte yelps, reaching out to catch her. Angela comes over and kneels down beside Skye.

“She’s okay,” Angela says softly after checking her over.

“Are you sure?” Charlotte asks, “Why’d she faint?”

“I suspect from stress. You know how anxious she’s been about this whole thing.”

“Yes, I didn’t think it was this bad though.”

Sebastian

Sebastian watches as his mother takes Skye over to the alpha’s wives. He sees her collapse, his mother catching her before she hits the floor. “Excuse me,” he says. He walks over to his mother. “Mom?” he asks, “Is she okay?”

“Yes,” his mother answers, “Angela already looked her over.”

“Sebastian,” Angela says, “she’s okay. She fainted due to stress.”

“Stress? Was she really that stressed out about the meeting?”

“Clearly.”

“I’m going to bring her upstairs,” Charlotte says, “she’ll recover better in a quiet environment.” She gently picks Skye up and proceeds to carry her upstairs.

Sebastian returns to the other alphas. “Sebastian,” Alpha Wentworth asks, “is everything okay?”

“Skye fainted,” he answers, “she’s stressed about the meeting and me getting in trouble because I broke the rules.”

“She fainted because of that?” Alpha Silverstein questions.

“Yeah,” Sebastian answers, “she isn’t very good at regulating her emotions yet, which is understandable, considering she wasn’t allowed to show any emotion for several years of her life.”

They begin to make their way into the meeting room. Once everyone is seated, the meeting begins. “Alpha Sebastian,” Alpha Silverstein asks, “why did you hide the fact that you had a witch on your territory?”

“When she was first discovered on my territory,” Sebastian starts, “she was very unwell. Angela diagnosed her with pneumonia and it took a couple weeks for her to fully recover. Angela wouldn’t even let me see her to interrogate her, she was too unwell.”

“Alright, that’s a valid excuse for the first few weeks,” Alpha Sorrentino replies, “but what about the rest of the time.”

“Well I took her back to my house once she was well enough. She was terrified of everyone and everything. She wasn’t…she wasn’t eating or sleeping well when she first started staying with me, I just didn’t want to stress her out by having all you come and interrogate her.”

“We would have waited for a more appropriate time to come and meet her,” Alpha Silverstein says. The other alphas murmur in agreement.

Sebastian sighs, “I wasn’t sure how you would react to the news of a witch being so close to your territories. I was worried you would come here and forcefully make her leave. I thought you would hurt her. She has enough trauma as is. What would you do if your mate, who just so happens to be half witch, suddenly showed up on your territory, pregnant and in terrible condition?”

The alpha look at each other before anonymously agreeing that they would’ve done the same thing as Sebastian had. “You’ve all met her, what do you think of her?”

“She’s a bit odd,” Alpha Silverstein states.

“She didn’t greet Alpha Wentworth and I very appropriately,” Alpha Sorrentino answers.

“Yes, I know,” Sebastian says, “She was really nervous about meeting you. The only other alpha she’s been in contact with was extremely abusive to her, so you can’t blame her. We can set up a meeting again once this is all over. She won’t be as nervous in a casual setting.”

Skye

Meanwhile as Sebastian is in his meeting, Skye comes to. She looks around the room, confused. “W…what h…happened?” she whispers.

“You fainted,” Charlotte answers, “are you feeling okay?”

“N…no, I d…don’t f…feel good.”

“Honey, have you eaten today?”

“N…no, I’ve b…been t…too n…nervous t…to e…eat.”

“No wonder you fainted. You should eat something.”

“I’m n…not h…hungry.”

“You’ll feel better if you eat something.”

“W…where S…Sebby?”

“He and the other alphas are in a meeting right now.”

“What?” Her eyes widen and she tries to stand up.

“Skylar, please sit back down.”

Skye doesn’t listen, she hobbles unsteadily towards the door. She nearly stumbles down the stairs. Charlotte chases after her, trying to stop her. When Skye gets downstairs, she limps towards the meeting room. She tries to open the doors, but struggles due to how heavy they are.

Sebastian

The meeting stops when the door of the room starts to open, it shuts again before it opens all the way. It starts to open a second time, but it shuts again before it’s fully open. Sebastian gets up and opens the door to find Skye, who still looks unwell, outside of the room. “S…Sebby,” she says, stumbling forward.

“Skylar?” he answers, confused.

His mother comes rushing into the room. “Sebastian,” she says, “I’m sorry, she wouldn’t listen to me.”

“It’s okay,” he answers, “Skylar, go with mom.”

“No, I don’t wanna!” Skye complains. She grabs onto Sebastian and rams her face into his chest.

“Skylar!”

She falls forward, too unwell to stay upright. “S…Sebby, d…don’t g…go.”

Sebastian tries to pry her off of him, but she won’t let go. Her forehead presses against his arm. “Skylar, hold still. Skye, let me feel your forehead.” Skye refuses to listen and presses her forehead into his chest. “Mom, feel her forehead!”

Charlotte manages to pry Skye off Sebastian and feels her forehead. “Honey, no wonder you’re acting strange,” she says, “you have a fever.”

“F…fever?” Skye mumbles to no one in particular.

“Yes, a fever now, come with me, so we can put you back to bed.”

“N…no! S…stay w…with S…Sebby!” She grabs onto Sebastian again, refusing to let go. “”D…don’t…w…won’t…not…” Skye mumbles incoherently.

Charlotte sighs. “Alpha Silverstein, Alpha Sorrentino, Alpha Wentworth, have you decided on what Sebastian’s punishment will be yet?”

“Not yet,” Alpha Silverstein answers, “why?”

“Skye’s been distraught about the punishment part. She doesn’t want him to be punished because of her. I think she’s more worried about physical punishment than everything else.” Skye whimpers softly, burying her head into Sebastian’s chest. “Alpha Nathan, he…” She looks at Skye, who isn’t listening anymore. “...he whipped her quite frequently, to the point where her wounds weren’t given enough time to heal in between beatings.”

The three alphas look horrified. “Where is that son of a bitch anyways?” Alpha Silverstein asks.

“He’s still in the dungeon,” Sebastian answers, “I’ve made sure he’s felt all the pain that he’s inflicted on her.”

“You haven’t killed him yet?” Alpha Sorrentino wonders.

“No, I want Skye to decide what we do with him. She hasn’t been doing the best lately, so he’s just rotting in the dungeon.”

“D…don’t h…hurt, S…Sebby!” Skye cries out, distraught.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Sebastian says, “I won’t get hurt, I promise. Go with mom. You’re going to make yourself sicker.”

“P…promise?” Skye mumbles.

“I promise.”

Skye nods and finally follows Charlotte out of the room.