Chapter 484: Forgiveness

The sky began to turn a lighter shade of midnight blue as the first light broke along the horizon, signaling the approaching dawn. Bats flew back to their hiding places as the night gave way to morning.

Silver Pack remained quiet and still, with no one yet aware of the outcome of what their Luna had achieved with their Alpha. The couple had slipped back into the pack secretly, wanting to steal a few more hours together, just a little time to enjoy each other without the weight of pack matters, the elders, and everything else waiting for them outside.

Sebastian was on his back on the bed, his wife’s body sprawled over his, when the alarm he’d set for dawn went off the next morning on the nightstand.

He quickly stretched to shut it off while she wiggled sleepily against his chest like a cat. He ran his hand down her back. "Go back to sleep, honey..."

His voice, thick and rough with sleep, rumbled beneath her ear. Viola settled her head into the hollow of his shoulder again, opening her eyes to look up at him as she reached up to hold his jaw, and found him already looking down at her.

"Is it morning?" She asked, watching him dip his head to kiss her forehead.

"It is, but it’s still early. You can sleep a little longer. I’ll get up and start on breakfast. Is there anything you want to eat?" he asked, his hand trailing down her spine and over the curve of her backside.

"I don’t have any cravings, if that’s what you mean. I’ll eat anything that’s available," she told him with a smile, resting her chin against his hard chest so she could look properly at his face.

She had read that pregnant women often experienced cravings, but so far, Viola hadn’t had any. Maybe she simply hadn’t been paying enough attention to her symptoms yet.

"I’ll get something made. You can sleep a little longer," he assured her.

But Viola pursed her lips.

"I want to stay like this a while longer. Stay in bed. Breakfast can wait a little while as we talk. How are you feeling now?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

Yesterday hadn’t given her a single moment to ask how he was doing internally or whether any trace of the hijacking spell still lingered in his mind and required some special process to remove completely.

"I feel like myself. Though Muffin hasn’t fully come back yet, I think I’ll be fine, as long as I have you." He told her, then slowly shifted, sliding down until their faces were level. He cupped her cheeks gently, looking deep into her eyes as he spoke, earnest.

"I didn’t know how to say this, and I don’t think my words will ever be enough to convey it, but, Viola Kade, from the bottom of my heart, even though I sometimes think an asshole like me doesn’t deserve a woman like you, I want to thank you. For everything. For being in my life. For fighting in that competition to become my Luna, even when I did everything I could to break you down then. For giving me your trust and your love. I want to thank you for fighting for me against the elders and the pack, for fighting for me even when I wasn’t fighting for myself, for bringing me back when I was ready to give up... for this."

His voice grew quieter as he struggled to put everything he felt into words.

"I know my words might not be as big as I want them to be, but if I have to spend the rest of my life proving to you how much you mean to me, I will. And I will give you my world, if that’s what it takes."

He whispered the words with such sincerity that Viola could hear it in every syllable, her blue eyes glimmering as she stared back at him.

"And I am sorry for everything I put you through. For every time I hurt you, and especially for the things I did while I wasn’t myself. I know being under the spell doesn’t erase what happened. I can’t expect you to simply forget it, just because I’m myself again."

His thumb brushed gently beneath her eye.

"Viola Kade, I, Sebastian Kade, swore to give you all of me. So..." He swallowed, his voice dropping into something almost vulnerable. "Do I have a chance to prove to you that I can be the man you deserve? That I will never be that asshole to you again?"

Sebastian knew he couldn’t put this off. He could never forget the memory of hitting her with his own hands, and just because he was finally back to himself didn’t mean he could use the spell as an excuse, or pretend those things hadn’t happened. He didn’t want to take advantage of the fact that she was his mate and that she loved him, expecting that love to make her overlook everything he’d done wrong.

If anyone deserved the right to be angry, to demand something outrageous from him, or even to tell him she needed time before she could forgive him, it was Viola. And if she didn’t get that chance, Sebastian knew he’d feel like an even bigger ass for letting his love for her become an excuse for her pain.

He stared into her eyes, waiting, a stone lodged in his throat as he silently braced for whatever answer she was about to give him, for he would take anything.

Viola stared at him for a long moment, her blue eyes glistening as she took in every word he’d said. She could see the sincerity in his gaze, and somehow, that only made her heart ache more.

"You really are an asshole," she whispered, her lips trembling into the smallest smile.

Sebastian let out a shaky breath, almost relieved to hear her insult him again.

"But you’re my asshole."

A soft laugh escaped him, but the smile faded quickly when she reached up and placed her palm against his cheek.

"I won’t lie to you and say I wasn’t hurt, Sebastian. I was. There were moments I was terrified of you, and moments I wondered if the man I loved was really gone." Her thumb brushed gently beneath his eye like he was doing to her. "And I don’t think I can just forget everything that happened, simply because you’re yourself again."

He lowered his gaze, but she gently lifted his chin, making him look at her.

"But I also know you weren’t yourself. I know you were fighting something inside you, and I saw how desperately you fought to keep it from hurting me."

She swallowed, her eyes filling with tears.

"You asked if you have a chance to prove yourself to me." She smiled through the tears. "You don’t need to ask for that, Sebastian. You already have it."