Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 300

Chapter 300

Sebastien buried his head in work and forgot about the prisoner he was supposed to see until late at night. The files held his

attention longer than he intended. There were too many things that did not sit right, too many acquisition details that carried the

smell of something dubious. He followed numbers, names and decisions until the hours slipped away from him.

When he finally remembered the woman, he leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face. He considered waiting until the next day. She had been fed and cared for. She was weak. It might be better to let her rest. But Sebastien did not like leaving loose matters open. Besides, the next day could become occupied quickly. There were always orders, meetings, reports, and problems waiting to grow teeth. If he did not deal with her now, he might not have the time later.

He stood and left his office, heading down the hallway towards the room Odette had told him she had placed the girl in. It was next to his so he could see her easily and go to bed afterwards. That had been practical thinking on Odette’s part, and he was grateful for it. He had asked for the visitor’s name earlier, but Odette had said the woman had been too weak to speak, so she had not inquired. Sebastien had let it go then. Now the lack of a name bothered him.

The hallway was quiet. Too quiet. His steps sounded heavier than they should have. When he reached the door, he paused and took a deep breath. He did not know what he expected to find inside. A spy. A grieving woman. A desperate runaway. Someone sent by

Cynthia. He knocked.

There was no response.

Sebastien waited a few seconds, then opened the door gently.

The scent hit him first.

He froze.

It filled his nostrils so suddenly and so deeply that his hand tightened around the door handle. Sweet. Familiar in a way that made no sense. Dangerous in a way that had nothing to do with weapons. Mate scent.

Sebastien wanted to step back, but Klein held him in place.

His gaze moved to the bed, and his stomach turned. Ashley lay there peacefully, sleeping beneath the softness of the room as if the dungeon had not almost swallowed her whole. Ashley. Not a stranger. Not Cynthia’s messenger. Not a nameless woman from Whitewood. Ashley. The woman he had stabbed. The woman whose blood had stayed in his memory long after the night ended. The woman whose face had haunted him because he had known, even then, that something about hurting her had broken him in a way

he could not explain.

“We have to leave, Klein,” Sebastien told his wolf.

Klein refused to budge.

“Mate,” Klein said.

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Chapter 300

Sebastien’s chest tightened painfully. The word was not a surprise and yet it destroyed him. Mate. Ashley was his mate. The Goddess had tied him to the one woman he had already wounded with his own hand. He had stabbed her. Yes, he had done it carefully. Yes, he had chosen the spot so she would not die. But that did not change the truth. He had stabbed her, and worse, he had done it with

the wrong knife.

After the attack, he had spent the entire night beating himself up over what he had done. He had asked himself how much more he would have to lose for the cause. How many pieces of himself he would have to cut away before the mission was satisfied. He could not look at Cynthia after that night. Not properly. Not without seeing the blood, the wrongness, the sick feeling that had filled him

when Ashley went down.

He had stabbed the woman meant for him by the Goddess.

Although he had sent flowers and watched the hospital the whole time, he knew no amount of sorry would make her forgive him Flowers did not erase a blade. Watching from a distance did not heal betrayal. He had messed up badly, and now fate had placed her in the room beside his, starving and wounded because one of his men had locked her away.

“If we do not leave, she will wake up and reject us, Klein,” Sebastien warned his wolf.

Klein refused to listen.

“If we tell her what happened, she will accept us,” Klein said.

Sebastien almost laughed, but there was no humour in him. His wolf was naïve in a way that hurt.

“How can we prove that we stabbed her to save her life?” Sebastien asked him. “Those two warriors had targeted her for the kill, and we only stabbed her on the side so they would focus elsewhere. How can we explain to her that we only joined that fight because of her? We were meant to watch and observe, but we ended up joining because we wanted to protect our mate. How? She will laugh

and reject us.”

Klein did not agree. Sebastien could feel it. His wolf held on to the bond with stubborn certainty, as if mate was enough to solve everything. As if Ashley would wake, smell him, forget the blade, and run into his arms. It was foolish. Painfully foolish.

“She came looking for us, wanting to join us. She wants us,” Klein said.

Sebastien looked at Ashley again, and his heart pulled in a way he hated because he did not deserve it. He knew she was with Joseph. Or had been. That alone made this worse. What if Joseph had sent her here to trap him? What if this was a game? If that was true, then Joseph did not deserve her. No man who cared about a woman would send her into danger like this for his own benefit. No man would place her in another Alpha’s territory, knowing what could happen to her.

“We do not know if that is completely true,” Klein said.

Ashley stirred in her sleep.

Sebastien went still.

A sweet scent filled her nostrils, and she fluttered her eyes open. She looked slow, weak, still caught between sleep and exhaustion,

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Chapter 300

but something changed in her face almost immediately. Claire recognised him. Sebastien saw the moment awareness moved through.

her. She managed to sit up, her eyes widening as she stared at him.

She was stunned to see Sebastien standing in front of her.

How could this be?

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Underwater: The Silent Luna