Chapter 590: A way out

Alex had been disturbed that he couldn’t find out what it was, and when he had thought to report it to Sebastian, he had heard the news of Viola going into labor and had to keep it to himself until now. He had thought it was Ivy, but Ivy never had any need to crawl out of the waters like that, so it had to be something or someone else entirely. But what could have dragged itself out of the waters onto the snow?

"How far did you search the surroundings?" Sebastian asked.

"As far as the prints led me. But what makes it alarming is that the crawling marks eventually turned into wolf prints," Alex added, remembering the sight and feeling disturbed all over again. Could it have been a werewolf? But what kind of werewolf would be foolish enough to enter the freezing water, drag himself across the snow, and only then shift?

Sebastian’s expression barely changed, but inside, the news unsettled him. His stomach clenched at the thought. Wolf prints?

He nodded before saying, "I’ll send people to search the area."

He didn’t want to let his growing dread take hold until he had confirmation, and he certainly didn’t want his suspicion to be true. His mate had just given birth, and things were already getting complicated in their lives. There was only one person who came to mind when he thought of someone crawling out of the water and shifting.

As though Alex could read his thoughts, he asked, "Are you thinking what I’m thinking?"

Sebastian looked at him. "That depends on what you’re thinking, but I fucking hope it’s not the same as mine. The broken ice and wolf prints have me suspicious because there’s a body that hasn’t been found in months."

Alex understood immediately that they were thinking of the same person. If their suspicion turned out to be correct, they would have to be extra careful and hunt him down before he could hurt anyone again. They hadn’t even avenged the person he had taken from them, and now the possibility of his return... Alex shook the thought away, feeling nothing but rage at the prospect.

"About your son," Alex began. "There is a way to hasten his growth and bring him to be with his sisters, though I can’t imagine how Silver will handle the news." He looked at Sebastian, who immediately turned towards him at the mention of hastening his son’s growth.

"Is there really a way?" Sebastian asked, his interest piqued. He didn’t like that they were living with the uncertainty of whether their baby would survive. His wife, especially, would want to try anything that could help their son. She knew she had the power to give life within her but hadn’t been able to awaken it yet. If there was a way Sebastian could help their baby, he would do it.

"You know the way better than I do. You banned it a long time ago, but I believe you can seek help from it again if you want to. We are supernatural beings, and there’s always a supernatural way to get things done when nature delays," Alex said, tucking his hands into his pockets.

He immediately noticed when Sebastian understood what he meant. His brother’s eyes turned cold, and his aura flared around him. Sebastian had been the one to ban that very process, the same one that could have spared them their current predicament with his son. Now, if he wanted to save the boy, he would have to swallow his pride and seek help from the very thing he had once forbidden.

Before Sebastian could reply, the door opened and his wife stepped out with red-rimmed eyes and came towards him. He turned to her as she said,

"I don’t know why... I feel like he might not survive, Seb. I... I felt this way with Zoe in the car. I felt it when her life began to slip away, and I’m feeling it around the baby right now. I don’t want him to die. Maybe I should go back to the sea and see what I can find or do there. Will you drive me there, please?"

Viola might have lost all her mermaid abilities, but she suspected she hadn’t lost the sense Azmira had possessed, especially when it came to someone who was dying. The urge to bring them back always rose inside her like an instinct, and she could feel it now.

However, after what Sebastian had overheard those sneaky mermaids discussing, how they wanted to lure his mate back to them and take her away from him, the sea was the last place he would allow her to return to. He kept his expression composed as she stared at him intently, waiting for his answer.

"You don’t have to go to the sea. I’ve found a way, and I’ll look into it tonight. Let’s get you back to the room first so you can rest and spend some time with the babies."

He bent down and scooped her into his arms. Her eyes brightened with hope and relief.

Although Viola insisted on going with him to learn about the method he had found, Sebastian took her back to their room and eventually convinced her to stay. Then he left with his brother, who wanted to see the girls, though Sebastian didn’t have much time to spare.

"Tell one of the Gammas to take them home. You can come with me," Sebastian told his twin as he caught sight of his grandmother and step-aunts waiting in the car outside in the snow.

However, just as they were stepping out of the healing house, they came across Laila, who looked as though she had just walked out of a horror house, her hair disheveled and damp. The moment she spotted them, she hurried towards the twins, who were about to leave the building.

"Damn, if my luck isn’t awesome!" she exclaimed, patting her throbbing chest as she looked at the identical men.

One of them was the very man she had once tried to seduce after he lost his wife and pulled him into her web. Back then, Sebastian had played along with her advances and showered her with gifts to maintain the act, but she still felt awkward around the two brothers. Laila had always tried to avoid them whenever possible since Alex returned, but she couldn’t do that now. She swallowed her discomfort and tucked her hair away from her face.

"What is it, Miss Serrano? I don’t have much time. I have somewhere to be right now," Sebastian said, looking at the she-wolf, who seemed rattled by the sight of the two of them.

He didn’t blame her. In the past, she had no idea she was dealing with two different men. Alex had once allowed her to mistake him for his brother, seeking an escape from his own pain, something he had deeply regretted and punished himself over for years. Meanwhile, Sebastian had been left to put up with her advances.

However, all of that was in the past, and they had moved on. Still, now that everything was out in the open, it was impossible to ignore the awkwardness between the three of them.

"I won’t take much of your time, Supreme Alpha, but I think you should know that I met Nickolas today."