Sebastian
'She did not want me to know about our child.....'
'She thought I'd put our baby through the same tortures Elijah put me through and make them the same as me.'
Every time the truth crossed my mind, somewhere in the depth within, I was pulling away from the shield of my curse that I'd thought of as my saviour. I slowly began to realise that the tough seal was already no longer there— The warmth of Athena's touch had weakened the grip long ago but it was me who had held onto it.
There was an abrupt rise in my pulse rate, my loudly beating heart fought hard to get through the retraction of the curse, my lungs were on the brink of collapse and my eyes looked everywhere despite knowing that she wasn't here— I was dying.
Or maybe, this death was not mine. It was of the person who I had made myself. Either way, the pain was mine to bear. The fight was mine to fight and win.
But my Athena has already gone far away from me. She detached me from her heart, shut the doors of her light and left me with a soul filled with regret. The curse has already won. It already fucking won!
I had no reason to live. I didn't deserve to live.
Death— It was the only thing I deserved in this whole world.
My knees felt weak, my body wanted to give up, unable to handle the pain that stabbed my chest, numerous times per second. I had gone through my fair share of pain throughout my whole life, but this was gruesome.
It felt like every cell of my body was on fire, my skin was getting torn through every layer and my heart was ripped into pieces. My throat burned along with my chest. I could barely breathe.
Sweat covered me all over. My skin's temperature rose to a few degrees and heat radiated from it. I could see the steam piercing through my pores and fading into the air in the room.
Involuntarily, my legs took me to the balcony and my eyes automatically fixated on the view of the moon.
The air was cold but every particle of it that brushed against my skin seemed to turn into molten lava. I grew restless and restless, my ears did not hear anything, and my mouth did not utter a single sound but I was burning to ashes. My bones were crushing under the force of the heat, my veins were trembling along with my heart.
Unknowingly tears ran down my cheeks and a cry left my mouth.
It was the memory of that day in the forest when I embraced this curse, that flashed in front of my eyes.
Past— I was thrown into the horrid memories of my dreadful past.
From the death of my mother, to the years I took to turn myself immune to pain and emotions, and the days I spent with my soulmate— All of it washed over me like a frantic wave and I was oblivious to the reason for their invasion whilst I drowned in it.
It hurt. It hurt to remember the face of my mom and her killer, without having the effects of the curse surrounding my soul. The emotions hit deep and I for the first time. saw the cracks I have been carrying all these years without acknowledging their actuality.
The realisation hit me like a speeding truck— I never got the chance to grieve. I never grieved.
My knees finally gave up and I fell to the floor.
"Take the curse away, the moon goddess. I no longer want to live like a monster...." I spoke up, not tearing my gaze away from the moon even for once.
I knew—She was hearing me. I knew— She was aware of my state, the things I have lost because of it, and the things I did under the captive of its ruinous effects.
Dark rays began to emit from my skin, and even darker shadows surrounded me, the winds blew fast and wild as if a storm was making its way to me. However, the shadows did not budge nor did the dark rays make their way out from my numb insides.
The ice melted, the stone seemed to perish and the dead emotions stirred awake from within.
Athena's voice, her cries, her smile and her soft touch— Everything living in my memory felt unreal. I had never felt this way. Peace— I felt peace.
And all of a sudden the winds stopped and tearing through the thick foggy wall of the shadows, entered the light— The light from the moon.
Every one of my organs stopped working. My eyes widened and the strong blow of the light hit straight at the middle of my chest. The impact was enough to nearly throw me off the balcony due to the impact but for some reason, I found myself sitting there without moving an inch.
And then the most painful part came. Something twisted inside of my test— As if this ray was someone's hand that pushed itself in through my flesh and ribcage, and squeezed my lungs and heart at once.
I screamed, at the top of my lungs, the pain taking every drop of my strength away.
The shadows shattered like glass, fell to the ground like fallen petals, and vanished like clouds.
Indeed the pain was excruciating but amidst all of it, I felt light. Extremely light. The weight I had been carrying in my chest for so many years, faded to nothingness in a matter of a few seconds.
My arms stretched out and another scream tore through my throat. My eyes closed as I tried with everything I had to go through this.
And this time, actual fire set on my body. Red deadly flames consumed me that nearly reached the height of the sky. But....it did not burn me.
It felt like my flesh would fall off of my skin, and my skin and bones would turn to ashes. But none of it happened in real life even though every second felt like this holy fire was wiping off the existence of a sinner like me.
For a second, it appeared to me as though I was going to die and these were the last few burdening moments of this lifetime of mine.
A smile stretched upon my face through the pain and tears.
The thought of death felt like a blessing.
But then the red fire began to lose its colour, becoming as bright as the shimmering rays of the moon. My skin did not burn anymore, my heart didn't ache and the pain did not last long. The fire hadn't burned me, it burned my curse and the sins I had committed.
Calm winds began to blow and they caressed my skin in the most gentle way— A motherly touch that took away all my sorrows with it.
My heart felt light like a feather. The emotions bloomed around it like new flowers of spring.
There was light. Only light. Not even a single trace of darkness was there to be found.
"You have learned everything you need to. You have gone through the storms and fought on your part. You have endured the losses you had to," A melodious voice rang, "You are free now, Sebastian. You are free from the curse. Live your life, with a new view, new goal, and...your biggest power— To feel."
I looked everywhere to find where the sound came from but everywhere I looked, there was nothing but light fading into clouds and clouds disappearing with the light stroke of the winds that blew in their own rhythm. Eventually, I did not try to find the source anymore, I basked in the moment of peace I felt for the first time in my life.
The profound emotions felt so good to get near. They brought pain but in the end, they are the ones that brought peace to my numb existence.
This was what my Athena wanted to make me feel and I hated her for that.....I showed her the worst.
Guilt crawled up my skin; Tears ran down my face.
I lost her.....
Even if I bring her back, I still wouldn't be able to turn back time or make up for the mistakes I made.
I sat there, amidst the swift waves of cold winds, trying to get to a conclusion. My heart began to embrace each of the emotions that hit it with time— Melancholy, hopelessness, peace, serenity, calm, rage, grudge, regret, remorse and pain.....and the touch of feelings I had no words to describe.
But, love was what ached amidst everything.
I had never known how to love....but now, it felt like I had always known, but never dared to show it.
I pushed away the right person who came into my life to fix me, but....at the wrong time.
"I am sorry, Athena," I wiped my tears, the grief getting the best of me, "I am sorry for everything I put you through."
Today, I cried. I did not bother to stop myself from crying my pain out. I did not let any part of me consider myself weak because of having emotions. But I also made myself accept the fact that I was not allowed to get anywhere near my mate and my...child, in this life. I engraved it inside of my head, every page and curve of my remembrance— I was not going to get in the path of her freedom.
"I promise I am never going to follow or chase yo—"
Out of blue, the ringing of my phone broke through the silence.
Thinking of it as a call from my beta, I hurriedly pulled out the device from my pocket, however, the caller ID surprised me— Pete.
I picked up the call after little to no consideration.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Alpha. It's me, Pete," He spoke up, "I have got the footage of the party recovered. Do I have permission to send it to you?"
That party...
When a drunkard pervert attacked my Athena....
"Yes. Send it to me." I pinched the bridge of my nose, heaving out a sigh.
"Okay, Alpha." He hung up
Soon, my phone rang and I opened the video that he sent me. A few minutes went by with me finding nothing at all, there were many unknown faces through which I tried to identify the culprit, but unexpectedly I spotted one that was known—My driver.
Using his identity as my trusted worker, and showing the card, he gave allowance to four people to enter the party and one of them was....Vincent.
Fucking hell!
I am not going to spare that bastard. He....
Oh no!
He was driving Aaron and Athena to the new house.
Shit!
Without wasting a second, I turned off the video and called Aaron. Growing anxious and suppressed under the pressure of dismay.
"Hello, Alpha." After a whole long ten seconds, he ultimately picked up the call.
"Aaron, the driver is involved with Vincent. Turn the car around right now and get back over here," I spoke up, loudly.
"Alpha, I can't exactly hear you." An unexpected response came from his side, and I could hear every one of his words clearly.
"Vincent is fucking following you. Throw that driver out of the car and get my mate back to my mansion right now! Her life's at risk!" I shouted, impatient.
The driver is involved with him so they must have had a plan and I was more than sure that he wanted to hurt my Athena to take revenge on me. He'd cross every limit to attain his motive.
"Hello?" Aaron spoke up, still unable to hear what I was saying, "Alpha? What are you trying to say?"
"God damn it! The driver is helping Vincent, do you hear me, Aaron?! The Driver is helping Vincent. You need to get back to the mansion, as soon as you—"
And then the line cut off.
Not daring to waste any time, I called again but the line was dead.
"Shit!" Frustrated, I threw the phone against the wall.
"God, what am I gonna do?!" I panicked, unable to find any way around, rubbing my hand from my forehead to my mouth, "She's in danger. Vincent might hurt me or...no! I can't let it happen."
I couldn't even track her because she did not have a wolf nor did I know what way they took so that I could follow her scent.
Just the moment I drowned in hopelessness, my wolf, for the first time in my whole time, talked to me.
'I can track her.'
"What?" For some reason, I couldn't believe my ears.
'Yes, I can track her and they are not far away.'
"What are you talking about? How can you track her when she does not have a wolf?!"
'I don't know, but....it's her scent. I know it really is and faintly, but I can feel her other side as well. So, let's just not waste any time and follow her.'
This assurance was enough for me to let my wolf take over and chase after the scent of my mate.