Chapter 492: Deeper connection

The magnificent wolf walked up to him and began sniffing at him, rubbing her nose against his face and neck. He smiled, running his fingers through her thick fur.

"Aren’t you a beauty, my love? You have green eyes," he mused, looking into them. He knew his wife had blue eyes, so seeing this difference fascinated him.

’Must be from my father’s side. He had green eyes. Your turn to shift,’ her voice came into his head.

Sebastian froze. The sound of her voice in his mind stunned him, because that link wasn’t supposed to exist before the mark.

"You just spoke into my head," he said, staring at her in surprise.

She looked back at him with almost puppy-like eyes.

’Isn’t that supposed to happen?’

Sebastian shook his head. "Not at all. It’s not supposed to happen before I officially mark you. For now, we can share some emotions and feelings because we’re fated, but the mind link shouldn’t exist yet."

’Maybe we’re different?’ she suggested, not knowing why that would be possible.

The corner of Sebastian’s lips curled upward at her words. "You’re different in so many ways. We’re going to have to find out what else we’re capable of together," he muttered.

He kicked off his shoes before shifting into his own wolf, towering slightly over hers. The two wolves began circling each other, their auras bleeding into the surrounding trees as they moved.

’Hmm. I can finally feel you.’ Muffin said to their mate, who rubbed her nose against his and then lick down his fur. ’Do you have a name?’

’My name is Cyan. You smell nice, I want to lick you.’ Cyan purred to Muffin, shamelessly moving to lick him all over.

"No mating out here. We’re here to race." Viola quickly reined her wolf in before things could go any further between them in this form, knowing full well that their instincts were much harder to control when they were wolves.

The two wolves moved around each other, sniffing and investigating one another with obvious curiosity. Viola sniffed along Sebastian’s neck and shoulder while he nudged his muzzle against hers, their tails wagging as they circled each other. Every now and then, one would bump against the other or give a playful lick before they finally settled into a playful stance, their bodies tensing with anticipation.

Then Viola suddenly bolted through the trees.

"Last one there is a rotten tomato!" she called back through their mind link.

Sebastian let out a loud howl and took off after her, his paws pounding against the earth as he chased after his mate.

•••

In the new pack being built, Zoe could be seen sneaking down a long corridor, glancing back over her shoulder as she went, trying to avoid being spotted. Once she reached the spot she was aiming for, she crouched down and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

There hadn’t been any signal since she’d arrived here, but she’d noticed that the last time she’d gone near Nick’s floor, there had been signal, and the bar hadn’t been empty.

Nick was planning something evil against her family, and Zoe needed to let someone know where she was before it was too late.

Thankfully, she wasn’t locked in her room and was allowed outside of it, the only place off-limits was outside the building itself.

Zoe was startled to see her fingers trembling, but she took a deep breath, pushing silver hair away from her face as she dialed Viola’s number. It rang without anyone picking up, and so did her brother’s, and she bit down on her lip in despair before dialing the only other person she knew never ignored her calls, not since she was a little girl.

Zoe held her breath as the line connected, and true to her expectation, he picked up on the second ring, his worried voice coming through immediately and without hesitation.

"Oh, for the love of the moon, where have you been, little brat!" Came Matt’s worried voice, laced with a hint of scolding that somehow made her smile even through the tears of relief now sliding down her cheeks, normally his teasing nicknames would only annoy her, but right now they sounded like home.

"Do you have any idea how worried everyone’s been about you? I haven’t slept a wink these past several days, running around with the search team from morning until night. You are going to get an earful over this once you’re back, young lady, because that was completely—"

"Matt," she called his name gently, cutting him off, and immediately his scolding came to a halt, the unmistakable tremble in her voice cutting straight through his frustration.

"What happened? Did someone bully you? Where are you?" he asked urgently, already stepping out of his car. He had been on his way to check one of the last places he knew she liked to shop for her supplies when he received her call. Hearing her trembling voice immediately put Matt on edge.

"I’m at the new pack. Nick... Nick lured me here, and now he’s refusing to let me go home. He’s changed so much, Matt, I don’t even recognize who he is anymore, and it’s honestly terrifying. He... he killed a mother and her daughter, right in front of me, so heartlessly, like it meant nothing at all to him..."

Came her voice, breaking as fresh tears slid down her cheeks, though Zoe quickly scrubbed them away with the back of her hand, having promised herself long ago that she would try to be braver, the way Vee always seemed to be, even if bravery had never come naturally to her own nature.

"I’m going to fucking kill that bastard with my bare hands!" Came Matt’s hardened voice, fury bleeding into every word. "I’ll get you out of there, I swear it. Don’t do anything reckless in the meantime, you will be home before tomorrow, if it’s the very last thing I do." He assured her gently, and Zoe found herself nodding along, as though he were standing right there in front of her instead of miles away.

"You promise me that?" She asked, needing to hear it again, because Matt always kept his promises without fail, had never once gone back on his word since the very first promise he’d made her as a little girl, unlike her own brother, who had disappointed her more than once, Matt had never let her down.

"I promise you, Zoe. Is he torturing you in any way?" He asked, his fists clenching hard at his sides as an inexplicable, burning heat of rage rose up in his stomach at even the thought of it, but Zoe was quick to reassure him before his mind could spiral further,

"No, nothing like that. But I think he’s planning something terrible against my brother. How is he doing? Is Vee all right?" She asked anxiously, her fingers twisting tighter around the fabric of her dress as she glanced warily around herself, checking that no one had followed her.

"I haven’t been able to check on them myself today, but I believe they’re doing fine, probably back together again by now, knowing them." He said. "Zoe..." He called her name softly, and she hummed in response, waiting. Matt added, his voice firm with promise, "I will never let him hurt you again. Not while I’m still breathing. Stay strong for me, okay?"