Chapter 38
She stared up at the night sky, tears burning her eyes, refusing to fall but threatening to spill at any moment.
“I can’t afford to fail you again she muttered softly, her voice trembling. “But I am afraid I might p>
No matter her fear, Viola knew she couldn’t give up now just because she was a little intimidated by her competitors. She wasn’t afraid of death as much as she feared a long, miserable life filled with pain, remorse, loneliness, and endless pain. That kind of existence terrified her far more than dying ever could.
This morning, she had woken up feeling impossibly better because of Zoe’s dog, who had stayed beside her and nibbled at her. She didn’t mind his gentle biting and licking, as long as she could feel the kind of peace she had experienced last night, her first ever sleep that had soothed something restless inside her.
Perhaps she should ask to bring the dog to stay with her again tonight, because she was afraid to sleep alone. She would call Zoe and—
“I would give a million to know what’s so interesting outside that wall you’re staring at with such intensity p>
A deep voice suddenly spoke from behind her. Her soul almost jumped out of her body; she hadn’t expected anyone to be there at all!
Viola didn’t even need to turn or wonder who it was. His accented voice and familiar, delicious cologne rushed to her nose the moment she became aware of him, making her insides clench and her fingers tighten subconsciously around the handkerchief-wrapped palm.
She swirled around to find him leaning casually against the wall beside her door, his hands thrust into his trouser pockets like a thug, yet the stance did nothing to detract from that out-of-this-world presence he carried so effortlessly.
His silver hair looked messy, as if he had run his fingers through it countless times, and he stared at her intensely with those same expressionless, cold eyes. Did he have to look this angry every time? she wondered, momentarily forgetting her own pain and sorrows.
What was he even doing here? Hadn’t she left him behind in the hall with the elders? Viola frowned deeply, refusing to let his presence, or the way he was looking at her, affect her.
She pursed her lips, returning his stare. She almost shot the sarcastic remark, “take a picture, it lasts longer,” but belatedly reminded herself that this person wasn’t Evan, who looked at her with so much genuine love that one would never doubt it. She pushed the thought of Evan aside, knowing it only stirred her anger.
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he caught the brief flash of rage across her face, wondering if it had been his presence that had provoked it. If it had, then all the better.
When his gaze roamed over her from head to toe, Viola felt the urge to hug herself tighter, to hide her unhealthy body from such intense eyes, eyes that probably found her lacking in every possible way. Not that she cared about what he thought of her body. The last thing on her mind was caring about what this handsome, heartless devil thought of her.
Sebastian’s eyes took her in slowly before finally settling on the handkerchief-wrapped palm. His eyes darkened visibly.
“Come here,” he ordered.
Viola heard his command and arched a brow at him. She would be dense to obey that order. She didn’t move, remaining where she was, one arm hugging herself defensively as if to shield herself in case he struck her. It was a subconscious action, one that came naturally whenever a command was given like that.
“I need to get inside. Could you step away from the door?” Viola asked indifferently, since he was blocking the code panel with his back.
“And what if I don’t?” he asked, a slight lift tugging at the corner of his lips as he looked at her standing there like an abandoned child, arms wrapped around herself, her face blank and unreadable.
He had watched her for some time, standing before that glass wall with a sorrowful expression. He had gotten Matt to do a little more digging into her past, and he had seen what she had looked like before this. If not for her blue eyes in the pictures, Sebastian might have thought the confident woman in the pictures wasn’t the same as this small, lost figure before him.
It was said she was intelligent, having always emerged at the top of all her classes in the werewolf academy in Moonwillow. Sebastian understood why that dense Evan had placed her beside him until he found another woman, one who, Sebastian realized, wasn’t nearly as academically sharp as Viola Linden.
She came from his enemy pack, and the only reason he hadn’t killed her wasn’t just because she turned out to be his unwanted mate, it was because he saw the same hatred he held for the Moonwillow inside her eyes.
Still, that alone wasn’t enough for him to want her in his life.
“Come here, little girl,” he repeated, his tone commanding, but if she heard, she gave no sign of obedience.
Did she just defy his order to come to him? Did she have any idea what he could do to her? Little idiot.
She frowned in displeasure. “I am not a little girl,” Viola said coldly. “And if you don’t move away from the door, you can stand there all night, it’s your building after all. I wouldn’t mind waiting for you to get bored and leave.” She said, holding his gaze steadily.
She wasn’t afraid of him throwing her out anymore for talking back; the elders had approved her participation now. The least he could do now was beat her. He had already gotten under her skin enough with the way he constantly looked down on her and called her “little,” as if she were still a child.
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed at her. “What if I never get bored of your stupidity?” he drawled in sudden irritation. “Has anyone ever told you how stupid you are p>
“It takes one stupid person to recognize another stupid person, Alpha,” Viola shot back, making an effort not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her grit her teeth in annoyance. He wouldn’t be getting any reaction from her.
“Did you just call me stupid?” His silver eyes darkened further, and his accent grew more pronounced, making Viola acutely aware that he didn’t like being called stupid. Well, hadn’t he called her that first?
She only shrugged in response and said calmly, “You called me that first. You shouldn’t call someone something you don’t want to be called in return p>
’Kiss my ass! I like her even more!’ his wolf howled with laughter inside him, prompting Sebastian to seal him off to the back of his mind immediately. The creature kept siding with this girl far too often now, and he wanted nothing more than to rip it from himself and match them together, just so he could have some peace.
He didn’t know whether he found her defiance amusing or annoying, but he wanted to see just how long she could hold onto it. Sebastian pushed himself away from the wall and began to walk toward her. She wouldn’t come forward, yet she had the nerve to call him stupid, right?
Let’s see if she wouldn’t walk backward and just how brave she truly was.
Viola’s attempt at maintaining an indifferent expression immediately shattered and went straight out the glass wall when she saw him approaching her.
Why was he coming forward? Didn’t he want to stay there and block her entrance? she wondered. Despite her desperate attempt to show him she wasn’t afraid and wouldn’t be intimidated, her stupid legs betrayed her, taking a step back as he stepped forward.
“Why are you backing away?” Sebastian asked cluelessly, watching her closely, his head tilted slightly to the side.
“Wh-why are you walking towards me?” she retorted, earning a careless shrug from him.
“I don’t know,” he replied lazily. “Perhaps because you just ignored my order to come to me, so I decided I’ll come to you instead p>