Inside Threat (Part 1)
Sebastian’s POV
“I still think I should stay home with you and Phoenix.” I reluctantly buttoned my shirt, catching those beautiful eyes watching me through the mirror.
Thea sat on the edge of our bed, still in her silk robe, slender fingers absently tracing patterns on the sheets. Leo had already left for school, though not without his own.
reluctance. But rules were rules.
“You need to go to work,” she insisted, rising to her feet and moving closer to me.
Her fingertips brushed against my chest before taking over the task of fastening my remaining buttons. Her touch sent both me and my wolf into overdrive, reminding me of last night’s moments.
Her breath still lingered in my senses. I couldn’t erase the image of her grinding against my hard cock. She looked so fucking beautiful and sexy in that moment that I wanted
nothing more than to tear that flimsy nightgown to shreds and take her until we were
both exhausted.
It shocked me how much my human side craved her too. This feeling was so fresh, intense, and all–consuming. It was something I never thought I’d feel for her, and it took
everything in me to control myself.
But I wouldn’t lie to her. No matter how much I wanted her, I wouldn’t touch her until her
love for me rekindled, until she truly started believing that I loved her. Only her, no one
else.
“The thing is, Thea, being Alpha means I can handle paperwork anywhere,” I pulled her into my arms. “Why can’t I stay when my Luna and little princess need looking after?”
I shifted my body, trying to ease the discomfort of my pants becoming too tight. Last night, due to severe sexual frustration, I’d had to take care of the problem myself.
Thea finished with my buttons and placed a hesitant kiss on my cheek. I could feel her uncertainty about what was happening between us. She was so used to being pushed away, so accustomed to her efforts being rejected, that she didn’t understand or trust this new intimacy.
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Before she could pull back, I caught her waist and held her firmly against me. I claimed her lips, finally kissing her the way I’d wanted to since waking up.
She responded immediately, which was another thing I loved about her. I felt her melting in my embrace, her beautiful body trembling slightly from the sudden passion.
When we broke the kiss, we were both breathing heavily, our foreheads pressed together, almost panting, but who cared.
I still couldn’t understand how my past self had resisted such a perfect woman. Every
time I thought about it, I was confused. I couldn’t imagine what life would be like without
her.
“I do want you, Thea, and I hope someday you’ll believe that, believe that I want a life
with you.”
Her eyes flickered with struggle.
“I hope someday I can believe it, because life since I woke up has been like heaven, like a
dream come true, and I want it to stay this way,” she smiled softly at me.
Kissing her one last time, I rested my forehead against hers. “Like I said, I’ll prove it to
you, Thea. Prove that I’ve changed, prove that my heart only beats for you. I’ll make
mistakes, but I swear I’ll never intentionally hurt you again.”
She nodded, saying nothing more.
The intimate moment was interrupted by Phoenix’s cries coming clearly through the baby
monitor.
“I should check on her,” Thea said, glancing in the direction of the monitor.
“Go,” I released her, “I’ll finish getting ready and come say goodbye before I leave.”
After giving me one lingering look, she left the bedroom. I quickly organized my things
and then made my way to Phoenix’s room, finding Thea sitting in the rocking chair,
nursing her, soft morning light bathing them both.
“You look incredibly beautiful feeding her,” I approached them, dropping to one knee.
I kissed Phoenix’s forehead, and we both watched as she curiously paused her suckling,
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Inside Threat (Part 1)
blinked up at me once, and then returned to enjoying her breakfast.
Phoenix was a perfect little life, and she already had me wrapped around her tiny finger. But I couldn’t help thinking about how much I’d lost due to my stupidity. If I had seen my own heart sooner, maybe Thea and I would have more children of our own by now.
Thea had wanted more children with me before, but I’d cruelly refused her, all because my heart was fixated on Aurora back then. I believed that one day I would be with Aurora,
and having more children with Thea would only complicate that future.
Refusing her request was also my way of punishing her. I wanted to hurt her with the fact
that she would never have more children.
Now, ironically, she did get what she wanted. She had another child. Just with another
man.
“Sebastian…” her voice pulled me back to reality, “are you okay? You’re staring at
Phoenix.”
I looked up to meet her gaze, honestly admitting, “Just thinking what it would’ve been
like if we’d had another child after Leo.”
“You made it clear you didn’t want more children with me,” she reminded me quietly, pain lacing her voice.
“I know,” I took a deep breath, “that’s one of my many regrets.”
Fuck. I had so much to make up for. Not just during our marriage but even before that.
I wasn’t kind to Thea when we were younger. I knew she had a crush on me, everyone
could see it. It suffocated me because I thought I would never return those feelings, so I
treated her as cruelly as possible because I was afraid she would ruin what Aurora and I had.
She studied my face in silence. I knew my words shocked her, but I wanted her to understand that I would never regret any children we might have.
“Maybe,” she began tentatively, “maybe after Phoenix gets a bit bigger, after you’ve proven
yourself… maybe then we can expand our family.”
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Inside Threat (Part 1)
Hope blossomed in my chest, and I couldn’t help kissing her again because, damn, she was irresistible.
“It’s a deal,” I murmured against her lips.
A few minutes later, I straightened up and checked my watch. If I didn’t hurry, I’d be late. After saying goodbye to my girls, I left.
Have you thought about what will happen when she discovers you’ve been lying to her all this
time?
I wanted to cling to the hope she’d given me, but I couldn’t when my wolf continuously
disapproved of what I was doing and questioned me like this.
Inside Threat (Part 2)
Sebastian’s POV
I sat in my office, staring at the documents in front of me but couldn’t read a single word.
The letters blurred before my eyes, and I was completely unable to focus on Pack
business.
My thoughts kept drifting back to Thea at home. Despite having arranged for elite Pack warriors to protect the entire house, I was still worried sick.
What if something happened and I wasn’t by her side? I couldn’t bear the possibility of
losing her again. The last time she was shot, I hadn’t been able to protect her, and I never
wanted to experience that helplessness again.
My phone rang, and I immediately grabbed it. When I saw Graves‘ name flashing, I felt
disappointed. I’d bought Thea a new phone a few days ago, and I’d hoped it was her
calling.
“What is it?” I answered the call irritably.
“What has the great Alpha Ashworth in such a foul mood?” he mocked.
I still didn’t like this bastard, and he certainly didn’t like me, but for Thea and Phoenix’s
sake, we would work together to protect them.
“Did you call because you have something important to say, or just to bitch at me?” I pushed the documents I’d been trying to study aside and leaned back in my chair. “If it’s
the latter, I’m hanging up because I’m not in the mood to deal with you right now.”
He was silent, and for a moment I thought he’d already hung up. It would be just like him.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling deeply. I’d been working for four hours and was already getting a headache.
“Have you found any leads related to that day?” I asked him.
It was better than just listening to him breathe on the other end. If he was calling, there
had to be a reason.
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Inside Threat (Part 2)
His sigh was deep and heavy. That much I could feel.
“No,” he answered, “and that’s exactly what’s bothering me. I’m usually able to find people within days; it’s been months, and we still have no idea who might have attacked her.”
The police and the people I’d sent out had hit one dead end after another in their investigation. I’d hoped working with Graves would lead to a breakthrough.
“It’s starting to piss me off because as long as this person is alive, Thea might never be safe,” I heard growling from his end, followed by something being smashed.
He was right. That was exactly what terrified me so much. That was why I was so reluctant to leave Thea alone at home.
“Any clues? Anything that points us in a direction?” I was practically begging.
We needed leads. I needed leads. Anything. The continuous worry was starting to affect me. I couldn’t risk losing Thea. Especially not now, when I felt I’d been given a second
chance.
“Nothing,” he exhaled, “but there’s one thing that doesn’t make sense to me.”
“What’s that?”
“How can this person hide so well?” he answered, “Like I said, it’s not hard for me to find people. I’m the king of the underworld; no one can hide from me.”
I thought about it for a moment. He was right. Graves was indeed the king of his domain. His name alone was enough to get people killed. The bastard was unstable, and most people feared him. It was strange that he couldn’t figure out who ordered the attack on
Thea or who carried it out.
“Could someone be protecting him or her?” I mused, more to myself.
“That’s not possible.”
“Think about it. Even with both our influences, we still can’t track this person down, which means someone is backing them. Someone is making sure they’re not found.”
He was quiet for a moment. It was a serious issue, but I thought he was starting to
understand. It was the only reasonable explanation. No one could be that good at hiding
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Inside Threat (Part 2)
unless someone was covering their tracks.
“Even so, what about the attacker? He or she might have pulled the trigger themselves or hired someone, either way, they weren’t acting alone,” he concluded.
“Exactly.”
“Which means someone is hiding them from me.”
A frustrated groan escaped my lips. “That’s what I’ve been trying to fucking tell the past few minutes.”
you
for
I stood up and walked over to the bar in my office, pouring myself a drink. I downed the
amber liquid in one go, then poured some more.
Dealing with Graves always gave me a damn headache and ruined my mood. My mood was
already bad, but he made it worse.
“Calm down. I’m thinking,” he began, “I think this only means one thing, the person protecting our target is powerful enough to challenge us.”
“Or an insider,” I added as an ominous thought surfaced.
“Fuck! You know what this means, right?”
“It means,” my voice became harder, “if our target is a member of one of the Packs, then the person covering for them will protect them at all costs, even if it means going against
us.”
This made the whole situation more dangerous and complex. We needed to find who hurt Thea as soon as possible because her waking up had made her a target again–and this time, I wasn’t going to let anyone have a chance to hurt her.
