Athena
There was something strangely enchanting about Sebastian dressed in all black. He have worn a black suit, the jet black colour went way too good with his lightly tanned skin. The contrast hit differently.
Even though he hadn't looked at me even for once since we got inside the car, I miserably failed to take my eyes off him. With his hair swept backwards and gorgeous features standing out under the faint light of the vehicle, He looked breathtaking in a way that could make anyone fall for him with just one single glance.
How could someone be so beautiful and cruel at the same time?
Sighing, I finally gathered the strength to look away and focused my gaze outside through the window. The ride to the venue was not too long, it took us around twelve minutes to reach the place.
The car stopped in front of the gate of the hotel which looked less like a hotel and more like a palace. Sebastian was super wealthy, and of course, I had expected this party to be held somewhere fancy but this gigantic piece of decoration right here was completely far from my imagination.
However, Sebastian did not make any move to get out of the car which made confusion pour over me like a rainstorm. The way his eyes seemed focused on the blank screen of his phone, it was evident that he'd zoned out; This was the first time I'd seen him zone out. He has always been vigilant and hyper-aware of his surroundings.
Noticing the driver's silence, I knew he was not going to say anything because he could notice the difference in Sebastian's demeanour as well, and of course, the last thing he'd want was to get his life at risk.
"We...we have arrived," I spoke up after much hesitation and his gaze shot at me instantly, cold and unruffled
For a second he did not say anything, he stared at me in a strange manner, looking a bit restless at some point before it all vanished into nothingness, "Look, before you go there. I need you to get it inside your head really well that no matter what you can't let anyone that you are my mate at any cost. That'd be the—"
"Why don't you want anyone to know that I am your mate?" The question left my mouth on its own.
"Because, I don't consider you my mate," His response came quicker than I'd expected, he looked unaffected and lacked any sign of hesitation.
"Is that the true reason, Sebastian? If I mean nothing to you, then why do you have so much hatred stored for me?"
"Hatred doesn't need a reason," He spoke after a while, and this time indecisiveness could be spotted in his voice.
No, it does!— I wanted to tell him. I wanted to let him know that he was wrong.
But for some reason, I could not find anything to say.
"Now, let's get going. Shall we?" He fixed his coat casually, "By the way, I have already told you what you are allowed to do and what not. I'm sure your memory isn't weak enough to make you forget about the rules. You can even sleep with anyone you like and enjoy your night, it's totally up to you...it's not like any of us are under any commitment. Just don't end up sleeping with any of my business associates, it'll make things complicated."
I couldn't believe my ears that this was Sebastian who was telling me all of this.
Sleep with another man? Enjoy the night?!
His words felt like a harsh slap. How could he think so low of me?
"You think I might sleep with another man?" My words trembled, and tears unknowingly gathered at the corners of my eyes.
"There's no reason for me to not think so," He let out, sparing a glance at me, "There are going to be plenty of men out there who could probably get attracted to your beauty and I can't exactly call it unfair if you get swayed with the flow."
He shattered my heart into a million pieces. How could my own mate say something like this to me? I felt disgusted, even at the thought of being with someone else.
"I'm not a slut, Sebastian," I spoke wiping my ears, "It might be normal for you to sleep with someone else except for your mate, but not for me. For me this mate bond holds a lot of importance, I respect it and would do anything to keep it unharmed unlike you, whose motive is to destroy everything I am trying to fix."
"Perhaps," He shrugged, "How you feel or see things is not my concern. Anyways, let's get going. We are gonna be late." He got out of the car not even delaying for a second.
It was not shocking how capable he was to act cold and heartless towards me, but what was bewildering was that he was saying things and acting in a certain way that I'd never expected.
I wiped my tears that managed to escape and got out of the car to join Sebastian.
*******
He earned many glances throughout the entire party, some even landed on me as well.
There were not many people who dared to start a conversation with Sebastian, almost everyone seemed to be careful around him though they were too observant. The moment he stepped into the party, the entire atmosphere of the place changed in a blink.
The curious and somewhat fearful eyes of the guests, the thick tension in the air, the wavering gazes and low whispers of people among each other— All of it made most of the people over here looked like scared deers who accidentally stepped into Lion's den and it was not a secret who was the danger here.
Sebastian's reputation was enough to make anyone cower away. His aura was strong and dominant, and he was aware of the power he had over all these people around him, he could feel stare his way and hear every whisper that said nothing good about him, however, he was unmoved, solely comfortable under his skin, Perhaps knowing that none of the people here was capable of harming even a single strand of his hair.
But on the other hand, there was no option for me to relax. I did not feel secure, my apprehension was getting the best of me. I was not used to being amidst such a crowd of crazy wealthy people. Forget it, even if these people were not exceedingly rich, I still would have felt uncomfortable.
There were the scents of expensive colognes all over, and the thick particle of perfumes was everywhere. The red carpet underneath my heels, and the eye-catching decoration along with a few gold sculptures that stood out on their own,
"Welcome, Alpha Sebastian," A nicely dressed man walked over to us, "I'm so glad you took the time to join this party. Thank you so much." Even though he had a smile on, I could still see the signs of nervousness crawling up the skin on his face that resulted in his slightly troubled expression.
He was scared of him. Of course, it was not shocking that everyone present here was afraid of him. However, today his aura when there were so many people around us was even scarier than how it usually was when he was with me alone.
"It's my pleasure. Thanks for inviting me," He spoke, not having any specks of emotion showing up on his expression.
Nodding the man looked at me, his stare moved to look where my hand was settled around Sebastian's arm and suddenly he became even more cautious. He did not dare to talk to me.
"I hope you and your partner will enjoy the party," He smiled at us and walked away.
Sebastian pulled his hand away from me soon after the man left and moved over to the bar, I saw him telling the bartender his order and he got busy, wholly comfortable under his own skin.
It was enough of a message to assure me that Sebastian did not want me to be near him, so instead of standing in the middle of the room like a lost puppy, I walked over to one of the empty tables and took a seat.
I did not know if it was my hallucination or not but I felt a glance at me, however, when I looked to my sides there were none.
Becoming a bit self-aware, I shifted on my seat, settling my gaze somewhere else to distract myself.
However, I ended up failing in keeping my mind away from where it should have stayed away from. My eyes soon moved to spot Sebastian who was now chugging down another glass full of liquor. And then, suddenly a woman approached him, undaunted and confident as she stood right beside him by the bar.
It could have been a miracle or my heightened werewolf senses that I had never perceived before today, but I could hear everything the woman said.
"Hello, alpha Sebastian," Her tone was as seductive as the look in her eyes that already told her intentions really well, "May I have a dance with you?"
The request was polite but not innocent.
Sebastian's gaze shot at the woman, and for a second I caught him examining her before he glanced at me from afar.
"Sure," The response fell out of his mouth making the worst I have expected come true.
I felt a very familiar burn take over my chest and the knot formed on its own. It was not only jealousy, there were so many other sentiments involved as well which I could basically get a hold of.
Surprisingly Sebastian offered her his hand and he was the one who took her to the dance floor. That woman for some reason, sent a taunting stare my way as if she already knew the truth she wasn't supposed to. But at that moment, I did not have the state to give a damn about it.
What hurt me was the sight of him with someone else.
He hurt me, put me through hell and made sure that I go through every kind of pain that people would be terrified of. Still, why did I feel this way for him? Why did he matter to me?
They headed to the dance floor full of people and, that woman guided his one hand to her lower back and interlocked her fingers with the other.
Out of blue, the air felt ten times heavier so did my heart. Each second seemed torturous but could I escape? Absolutely not.
Their body swayed in sync, She moved closer and Sebastian allowed her without any reluctance, the closeness kept growing as the music tuned high. From my view, it seemed as if they were in their own world where none else was around them or to be said specifically, for Sebastian I did not exist.
I fisted my hands to my sides, blinking my stupid tears away and tore my gaze away from them. I was not going to cry, today. What was crying even going to bring me? Nothing. Fucking nothing.
Moments passed by and A male waiter came, offering me a glass of wine which I accepted. I never had any sort of liquor in my whole life, every time I got a smell of it from the breathing of my drunkard parents it sickened me.
But today, it did not make me feel sick. I chugged down the entire glass of wine in one go.
The waiter stood there for a second for some reason I wasn't aware of, the next moment he set the tray on my table and walked away vanishing into the crowd as if he did not exist at all.
The confusion did not stir awake inside of me because trying with every bit of me to not lose control, in the end, I lost anyways.
I grabbed the wine bottle neglecting all the glasses full of wine. This bottle of wine was going to be my escape for today.