Chapter 596: Bonding_Part 2

"Of course we are. We might not have started on a good note, but you are one of my best friends now, Laila. Don’t you consider me one too?" Viola asked quietly, adjusting her daughter in the crook of her arm.

Though they had had some differences in the past, with the she-wolf hitting on her husband, Viola gave second chances to people and had long put that behind her.

"I do, it’s just that sometimes I find it hard to believe that I have good friends, especially after everything I have done to you." Laila said, looking away from Viola to stare at her lap. She contemplated whether to tell Viola about Nick’s return, but Sebastian hadn’t permitted her to give out that information.

"If I didn’t consider you a close friend, Laila, you wouldn’t be among those who know about our little girls." Viola said, and Laila turned to look at her and met her kind smile as she added, "You and Tess are among the best things that have happened to me, and you kept me going after we lost Zoe."

Viola said this, and for the first time she saw Laila’s eyes brim with tears, which she quickly wiped away with the back of her hand before looking away in embarrassment at being watched tearing up.

"Damn, something got into my eyes." She whispered thickly, and at her words, Viola smiled, realizing how much it must have meant to the she-wolf. Not wanting to make things awkward, Viola asked,

"Did you contact Tess?"

"She sure did contact me first, but I didn’t tell her their gender." She said thickly.

Viola spent some time with Laila talking, with Hazel refusing to go back to sleep like her sister was doing, and they both admired the baby, fussing over her, while they talked about different topics that took Viola’s mind off her own worries and off her discovery of her abilities, which she couldn’t wait to tell Sebastian.

It was at midnight that Laila excused herself to go and take the clothes delivered to the High Tower, which the omega had called her about, as Gilbert had told her to.

She left Viola lying next to her sleeping baby on the bed, wondering when Sebastian would return and where he had gone.

Viola had thought Sebastian would be back during the time she got to sleep but she woke up at the break of dawn without his return and she became really concerned.

During the time Sebastian was away and Viola remained in the healing house, curiosity about her children continued to grow among the pack members. Some well-known members even tried to bribe the omega workers into revealing what was happening, but all the staff had been strictly warned by the Alpha to keep quiet.

Viola’s body grew stronger the following day. While showering, she tried to summon her Tidekin to see if she had regained her connection to him, but she failed. For now, she could only control the water. However, she noticed that whenever she did, faint scales appeared on the backs of her hands, shimmering like diamonds as they caught the light.

Viola stared at the back of her hands. "Now, why are you appearing?" she muttered to herself, unable to shake the thought that her suppressant might be wearing off, allowing this part of her to emerge again.

---

Viola had been wondering where her husband had disappeared to all day, and now the winter sun was beginning to set behind the horizon on the second day.

She kept glancing towards the door whenever someone came in, hoping to see him, but it was never Sebastian. Every time she thought about the tiny baby in the care unit, she felt an overwhelming urge to go and see him. However, Gilbert had insisted that she rest, reminding her that she couldn’t help the baby by constantly being at his side when her own body still needed time to recover from childbirth.

One of the omegas had now brought her a breast pump and explained that she needed to express her milk for her son. Viola had agreed, although she felt a little awkward about the whole process. She had barely finished listening to the instructions when the door opened, and Sebastian finally walked in.

"Where have you been all day?" she asked immediately, rising from her bed. However, her words gradually died away when she noticed how pale he looked and how sunken his eyes were. Her anger quickly faded, replaced by concern.

She dismissed the omegas and walked over to him. "Where have you been?" she asked again, her voice much softer this time as she cupped his jaw in her hands, examining his face. "You don’t look well."

Sebastian took her hand and held it in his as he smiled at her. "I am perfectly fine. I told you I was going to find a way to help our little one, and I did." He kissed the back of her hand, and her blue eyes twinkled like diamonds at his words. He also noticed how much bluer they looked today.

"What did you do?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly, her spiky lashes casting shadows on her cheeks.

Sebastian lifted his free hand and tucked the strands of hair falling over her eyes behind her ears. "Nothing much. I lifted the ban on the practice of magic and spells in our pack in exchange for a fast cure for him. The potion will be given to him at daybreak tomorrow."

Sebastian spoke the words as though he hadn’t done much at all, but Viola knew best what he had done. He had lifted the ban on the witchcraft he hated, and he had come back looking tired, so she knew he had done something huge, and she felt her heart warm as she cupped his cheek and asked him,

"What else did you give for the potion to be made?"

Sebastian turned his face into her palm, feeling the coldness in it, as his wife was always cold, and he reached up to hold her freezing fingers in his warm ones against his cheek. "Nothing much, just my heart blood." He said offhandedly again.

Viola gasped. "You call your heart blood nothing?" She questioned as she reached out to open his shirt front to see his chest, where there was evidence of a cut that hadn’t healed completely. "Oh my, it hasn’t healed." She muttered and then looked up at him.

Sebastian smiled at her, shaking his head. "I am fine, my healing process has slowed down recently."

"Was it because...Ivy hit you that day?" Viola asked, having already noticed the little changes that hit had brought to him, including the coughing, and she couldn’t help but be hit with guilt all over again. If she hadn’t reacted negatively that day, Ivy wouldn’t have reacted that way.