Chapter 561: Don’t panic

(Music Recommendation: This Quiet Violence by David Chappell.)

"Why are you so quiet?" Viola asked Sebastian as he ran the soap over her back in the bathtub, washing her body in the steaming hot water that left her muscles relaxed and a little at ease.

She had been in discomfort last night after the fight, but waking up to her husband licking her so deliciously, Viola had barely felt anything beyond his love and care. Afterwards, the discomfort in her bones, strained from shifting so fast, had come back, and Sebastian had noticed her grimace as she left the bed, and without her having to say a word about her discomfort, he carried her into a hot bathtub.

He had insisted on bathing her, but the whole time he did it, he had been quiet, and Viola couldn’t help but feel guilty and uncomfortable about his silence, thinking it was because she had talked to him about his nature of overprotectiveness and how he should tone it down. Had she hurt his ego or pride?

It was natural for a mate to protect his mate, and she was fine with it, but not to the extent of making her practice cowardice. Yet at the same time, she didn’t want him to think that she was ungrateful or that she didn’t appreciate him.

Though he had hugged her after the discussion they had, she had noticed the change in his mood ever since, and it worried her enough that she had to ask.

At her question, he dropped the soap and began to use his fingers to massage her back and shoulders, and Viola almost forgot about everything and closed her eyes to the soothing feeling, until he parted his lips and replied,

"I am processing things, that’s it." Came Sebastian’s deep, quiet voice, which made Viola open her eyes to stare at the rising fog of the hot water.

His hands came around to massage her belly and then slowly moved to her breasts and under them, and she thought that if he continued to massage her like that, she would lose track of the conversation and simply close her eyes again. But Viola got a hold of herself.

"What are you processing?" She asked curiously, biting her lower lip as his fingers rolled around her hardened nipples before moving back to her shoulders.

"A lot of things." He sighed, looking down at her soap-glistening skin, unable to help but smile at how she looked like a drowsy cat under his handiwork and enticing.

He had never in his life given a massage before to anyone, but he would do it again and again for her, as long as she wasn’t in the kind of discomfort she had been trying to hide it from him earlier.

She didn’t even need to tell him for Sebastian to know that being forced to shift forms between fights had put a strain on her bones, just as it would on the body when one worked out after a long time of not doing it. Sore muscles were natural for new wolf owners, and Viola’s wolf had only just awakened months ago.

Though the soreness would pass naturally in time, she would have to sit with it for a while, and Sebastian had decided a massage would relieve her. But while he worked his hands over her, his mind couldn’t stay in one direction.

"Tell me..." Viola urged him to share his thoughts, and Sebastian didn’t hold it back.

"Yesterday morning when we had sex, and this morning," he looked down at her and continued, "I realized I didn’t suffer from any urge to mark your skin. Now that I think of it, I have felt less and less of that urge ever since you awakened your wolf."

Viola’s heart gave a thud at that information, because it wasn’t a good sign from what she believed and knew about mates. The urge was supposed to grow stronger the longer they lived together unmarked, and when the urge died, it usually meant the spark between mates would dim along with it. She tensed, turning around to face him, but he stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don’t panic, I still feel the spark like crazy, and I enjoy every damn time we have sex like it’s the first. The only thing changing is the urge to mark." He assured her, using his fingers to move her damp hair to her back so he could wash it.

Sebastian took a bottle of her mixed fruit scented shampoo and pressed it onto his palm, rubbing it into her hair gently as he heard her sigh and then ask him,

"What do you think causes that? Does that mean...you can’t mark me if the urge doesn’t rise?" She looked down at the bubbles in the tub around her as his long, slender fingers massaged her scalp as though he were handling delicate cat fur.

"I don’t know what the reason may be, but I believe it has something to do with the awakening of your wolf and the fact that...Vaelor’s mark is already on your wolf." He sectioned her hair into two parts, massaging as he added, "If I was him, like we concluded, then maybe my mark has already been left on you, just not on your skin."

Viola pursed her lips. "But that wouldn’t count in the eyes of everyone who would first look for your mark on my neck. Not to mention... your prophecy would be completed after you mark me." She said, feeling the shampoo suds drop to her shoulder and slide down one swollen breast, which Sebastian reached for, cupping the foam off and bringing it back to her hair as he mused,

"Now, I’m no longer so sure about our pack prophecy and the prophesied mate. A lot of things I believed to be true have been contradicted by the possibility that we might have lived another lifetime. When we first learned about the prophecy, we knew nothing about its connection to Azmira and Vaelor, and I had no idea that two people could share a connection without a mark," Sebastian told her.

Viola’s brows furrowed. "But everyone still believes in the prophecy and the mark. They need to see it to be reassured about everything, including our relationship."

"I don’t know since when you started to care what others think of our relationship, amor, but I want you to know I don’t give a fuck about them. I only care about what you think and what this means to you." He told her, squeezing the foam from her hair and taking the hand shower to rinse it.

Viola heard his words and realized he was right. She had started to care about what others thought ever since she realized she had a responsibility over Silver, and ever since she learned that if she held firm authority in the pack, then should anything like what had once happened to Sebastian when the sea witch played with his mind happen again, she could use her powers over the pack members to command them.

And what other way would that command land than with the pack seeing a visible mark of him against her neck, proving she was truly his mate?

They had made everyone believe the temporary mark he had placed on her was real, but it had disappeared a few days later, and now that everyone knew she hadn’t yet carried his true mark, they expected it to happen after their children were born. Not having it would only give everyone a reason to make things harder for not just her but her children.

Viola didn’t want to care, but being in her position, she had to learn to care and do what benefited the only home she now had.

As though sensing her spiraling thoughts, Sebastian’s soapy fingers slid around the back of her neck, and she felt them resting possessively over her pulse as he said,

"If it makes you happy and puts you at ease, I can still mark you. Just because the urge is gone doesn’t mean I can’t place my mark on you." He sprayed the shower of water to rinse the foam from her body as he spoke. "Vaelor’s mark could never count as mine, and I still don’t accept that that mark counted as anything, since he killed the one who carried it. Mine will be on your skin, so rest assured, my beloved." He kissed her freshly rinsed neck and sweet-scented hair.