342 STORM

July frowned when Sebastian took her hand and pulled her closer against his body, as he hugged her very tightly. “What are you doing?” This was not one of the typical hugs she would usually get from him, there were some raw emotions mixed in it.

July then looked at her surroundings, but it was only the two of them, because Sebastian had taken her to a secluded area and the other people were too busy tending to their own businesses, since all they knew was that July and Sebastian were having a serious talk, so no one came looking for them.

Yet, when July tried to free herself, because Sebastian acted so strange and the atmosphere around them didn’t seem right, he caught her face and kissed her hard.

What Sebastian did completely took July by surprise. She didn’t even expect he would do this. She knew that he wouldn’t agree readily when she decided to go, but on the other hand, he should have already expected this from her.

But, what was he doing right now?

For a moment, July froze in her place and couldn’t comprehend what was happening. She let him bite her lips and coax her into opening her mouth; he behaved completely different.

Being kissed by Sebastian was something that she had never imagined would ever happen before and his lips... they felt weird against hers.

It felt so strange because this was not a taste she knew and this was definitely not the way Knox would kiss her.

“What are you doing?!” July finally snapped and tried to push Sebastian away from her, yet he didn’t heed her discomfort and tried to keep forcing himself on her, ignoring her rejection.

.....

In the end, a harsh slap landed across his face, which instantly stopped his actions and knocked some sense into him.

The silence that followed after that was so loud, July couldn’t help herself but shake in anger. Her hand stung and her lips ached, but she was numb as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She felt dirty because of what Sebastian had done.

historical

On the other hand, Sebastian didn’t say anything, as he stared at her. There was no remorse in his eyes, only sadness and July didn’t know why he looked that way, yet she didn’t want to know further than she should.

“I will think this never happened.” July squared her shoulders and walked away from him, toward the other people, but when she passed him, she heard Sebastian speak in a rigid tone.

“You can’t think this never happened, because this happened.” Sebastian turned around and stared at July’s back, she was detached and emotionless.

Meanwhile, July stopped for a moment before she replied to that with an order and then resumed walking away from him. “Choose the other three people from the shifters and meet me in the car in ten minutes.”

After saying that, July walked away from him and didn’t even spare Sebastian a second glance.

Right at that moment, Sebastian knew that he had screwed up a big time, not only was his relationship with July ruined, but he also tainted all the good memories that they had.

Sebastian needed to clear his mind and think about this matter thoroughly, but the more he thought about this, the more he realized he had messed up a big time.

He had burned all the bridges between the two of them and there was no coming back from this.

Yes, they could pretend that thing didn’t happen, but the relationship between the two would never be the same anymore.

=======================

A ray of sunlight peeked through the open window near Lise’s bed, while the scent of freshly bloomed flowers filled the room.

This bedroom was very comfy and there were not many things inside of it, it was simple with pastel colors that Lise loved.

Yet, there she was, fragile and very skinny, lying on her bed, breathing heavily, as her skinny hands extended toward her long lost daughter. Tears filled her eyes and she couldn’t help but sob so hard, it shook her entire body.

River walked across the room. She felt suffocated with these mixed feelings that she couldn’t describe, because the woman before her was not how she remembered her mother the last time she saw her or how she imagined their reunion could be.

Her mother was a beautiful and strong woman, not a bedridden one. She was warm and kind, someone who rarely cried. River had never seen her mother cry before, but the woman before her eyes was nothing like that.

Her mind kept picturing the woman that she knew from six years ago and she couldn’t find even a trace of her in this woman, though the way she called her name was full of longing.

However, all of those thoughts vanished the moment Lise hugged her. There was something familiar about it, the warmth that she knew, the scent that she longed for, it simply felt like home...

And when those emotions started to resurface and overwhelm her, River began to cry. At first, it was a silent cry where her tears streamed down her face without her even knowing it, but then her body shook violently, as she sobbed softly.

Only when her mother caressed her hair and her back, while calling her name over and over again, did River whimper and have a breakdown because she couldn’t hold back her emotions anymore. This was too much for her to handle.

She felt like she was back to her eight years old self and was crying because she lost her mommy, but truly, she had been lost for a very long time and all those times when she was in the facility felt like parts of a bad dream. A very long bad dream...

On the other hand, Gael tried to stay away from the two of them, as he watched his wife and daughter cry their hearts out.

He had never felt so fulfilled like he did right now.

Perhaps, this sounded odd, but he had never been so emotional like today, when he proved he could finally do something right for Lise.

He wasn’t proud of what he did to Lise in the beginning of their relationship, but River was not a mistake, she was a blessing and right now, Gael felt this was the first time he had done something right for the two of them.

=======================

Mohan felt like all of the air was sucked out from his lungs when he witnessed the dragon from close proximity. The creature looked like it was in pain and as if there was something that tied it down.

Yet, whatever it was, it seemed to be loosening up every second they wasted trying to tame this monstrous beast.

There was nothing they could do, there was nothing that could pierce its hard scales and injure it. They tried to attack its eyes, but they were not able to get their aim right because the dragon kept moving, trying to break free from its invisible shackles.

“Do you have any idea how to deal with it?” One of his team members asked Mohan, since he was their leader right now, while Nikolai was nowhere to be seen. No one knew for sure why Nikolai was not on this mission.

They only knew that he was called by the higher rank officials and had not yet returned until their departure; instead, they appointed Mohan as their team leader to replace Nikolai.

If only Nikolai was here... He would always have a knack for situations like this, as if he was a born natural to fight any type and kind of supernatural creature.

Unfortunately, he was not with them and the other team leaders didn’t have any better idea pertaining to this situation.

After all, this was their first time to witness such a gigantic creature in their entire life.

“We need to get additional back ups, we are not going to make it in this situation,” Mohan said, as he ordered someone to inform the HQ to send more troops.

Meanwhile, above them, the bright sky had turned so dark, as if there would be a storm that was approaching in their direction, even though having a storm in this city was the rarest event ever.

Their current situation was not going to get better anytime soon.

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“Where are you going?” Jasmine asked when she saw Darius get off the bed and walk toward the closed window, as he peeked through the curtain.

Of course, he couldn’t let anyone see him naked like this, especially in the alpha’s bedroom with his mate on their bed, with smudged makeup and disheveled hair.

“Storm,” he said curtly when he saw the dark sky.

Hearing that, Jasmine purred on the bed, she pressed her cheek on the pillow. “Come back here, I want you to hold me.”

Darius glanced at the storm outside of the window and he felt slightly cold, not in his body, but in his heart.

Seeing Jasmine’s naked body on the bed, he knew that he had dug his own grave, but still he went with that, even though knowing the consequences of his actions right now would be something that he couldn’t bear.

Darius walked back to Jasmine and pulled her closer, as he kissed her lips hard and traced down to her neck, down to her mark. He sucked on her neck, as he hovered above her.

This was not the first time they did it in Jasmine and Liam’s bed and Darius liked thinking this was one of his ways to humiliate the alpha.

Fucking his mate in his own bed.

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*Read my new book: KISSED BY THE DARK ALPHA*

Alpha Micah Donovan’s second chance mate.