Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 303

Chapter 303

Ashley stared at him, breathing unevenly, and realised the truth of their situation. His scent was too strong. The bond was too strong. She did not have the courage to reject him, and he did not seem to have the courage to reject her either. That made everything dangerous. If she stayed, she would have to find another way to investigate him and his boss. If she left, she would lose the only chance she had come for. But at that moment, pain was louder than purpose.

“I will leave in the morning,” she said.

Sebastien felt the words hit Klein like a physical blow.

“I want mate,” Klein growled in his head.

Sebastien wanted her to leave. At least, he had told himself he wanted that. But the moment she said it, his chest tightened, and the room felt colder. Even while trying to push her away, a part of him wanted her beside him always. Not for the mission. Not for power. Just there. Breathing. Safe. Close enough for his wolf to know she had not vanished.

“Where are you going?” he finally asked.

“To find a pack. I can’t go back to where I was dumped,” she said.

He understood her shame. He understood it more than she probably expected. There were few wounds more humiliating than rejection in a place where everyone knew your name and watched your failure like entertainment. He looked at her, and something

in him gave way.

“Stay with me,” he said.

Ashley shook her head immediately, hurt still sitting on her face.

“I am not going to touch you or anything, but I will like you to give me a chance to apologise while we try to find a good place for you. I am sure Alpha Malcolm wouldn’t mind you joining his pack,” he said.

Ashley frowned, suspicious through her exhaustion.

“I thought this is your pack now?” she said.

Sebastien smiled faintly, but there was no joy in it.

“I don’t want it, but I must be in charge because my boss says so. So Malcolm and I have found a way around it. He answers to me, but I let him run the pack,” Sebastien said.

“I want mate,” Klein growled again.

Sebastien shut him up, even though shutting him up did not make the ache disappear. He studied Ashley’s face, and a bitter thought came to him before he could stop it. Cynthia had cared about power. Cynthia had cared about Alphas with packs and what they

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Chapter 303

could give her. Was Ashley the same? Was the pack part of what made him valuable to her? The thought was unfair, but he was too

used to being used to silence it quickly.

“Does that make me less of a choice for companionship?” he asked.

Ashley shook her head.

“No, I am just mad that you stabbed me for her,” she said..

The answer settled something in him. She was not the same as Cynthia. Not even close. And that made him wonder how they had

ever been friends. How could Cynthia stand beside someone like Ashley and still be Cynthia? How could two women be near each

other and one carry so much poison while the other carried pain and still chose honesty?

“Very well, you can have this room. I won’t be in your way. I promise,” he said.

The sentence trailed off because he did not know what else to say. Left to him, the honest, stupid, impossible part of him, he would grab her and leave everything behind. He would take her somewhere far away from orders, from hidden Alphas, from Cynthia, from packs and blood and missions. But he had sacrificed too much to walk away now. People were counting on him. Too many things had already been broken. He could not let everyone down because his heart and wolf had finally found what they wanted.

Sebastien turned to leave, but Ashley felt the conversation was not finished. Something still hung between them. The bond. The rejection. The terrible question neither of them had been brave enough to touch.

“Aren’t you going to reject me? I am nothing like Cynthia, so I guess you better get it over with so we can both move on,” she said.

Sebastien stopped. Then he smiled, but it was tired and sad.

“I do not know what you heard, but Cynthia and I are no longer together, Ashley. I dumped her before coming here. I should have done it a long time ago, but I felt the need to protect her because of all of this. She is a big girl now and does not need my

protection anymore,” he told her sincerely.

Ashley was stunned. The words should have changed something, and maybe they did, but not enough. She still could not get past the fact that he had stabbed her. A severed relationship with Cynthia did not erase the memory of falling in battle with his blade in her body. It did not erase the humiliation of believing her mate had chosen another woman before even knowing her.

“I won’t reject you, Ashley. I want to try with you, but you can reject me if you want. I will understand. Everything has been fucked

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