A Wolf's Oath (19 page)

“
I do want what’s best for her and trust me when I say that it
isn’t you! Eric was perfectly happy before you came into the
picture. If you really want to help her then I suggest you leave.
That is what’s best for her.”

“
That’s never going to happen. I’m not going to abandon my
mate, ever. I don’t understand what your problem is. You’re mated
and don’t seem to be suffering from having done so, why don’t you
want the same happiness for Erica?” Anna was silent, which only
served to further anger Sebastian and he gripped her shoulders
lightly, resisting the urge to shake sense into the woman. “Were
you just worried that if she got a mate she wouldn’t be able to
spend so much time with you? Is that it?” He shook her lightly.
“Are you really that selfish? Erica has lived alone for so long and
she does so much; she works so hard. How could you ever want to
deny her a mate who would try to ease her burden, give her time to
really live life? What’s wrong with you?”

“
Get off of me!” she shouted struggling against his
grip.

The fingers on her shoulders tightened. “No, not until you
answer my question. Why did you persuade her to run from me? I know
that you had a hand in her running from me so don’t try to get out
of it.”

“
I said, let me go,” she repeated, her attempts to be free
never weakening.

“
And I told you no. Why didn’t you want Erica to have a mate?
Answer me!”

Her struggles against him stopped and she glared at him,
venom dripping from each word as she told him the reasoning behind
her actions. “Of course I want Eric to find a mate, but not you!
Never you.”

“
Why? What have I ever done to you? I’d never even seen you
before Alex’s party and I’ve only seen you once since then. Are you
angry that I lied to you? I’m sorry about that, I’m not a liar by
nature but if that’s why you’re mad at me then it’s not a good
enough reason to endanger Erica's life or try to damage our
relationship.”

“
I answered your question now let go of me,” she demanded,
pointedly refusing to respond to the string of questions her answer
had caused.

“
You can’t say something like that and not explain
yourself.”

“
I just did now let go of me.”

“
Anna…” he growled, increasingly frustrated with the woman in
his grasp.

“
You heard what my mate said, let her go,” a voice growled from
the shadows of the hall before a tall blonde man came to stand at
Anna’s side. Sebastian released his grip on her shoulders, stepping
away from her.

“
Thank you Michael,” Anna purred moving closer to
him.

“
What’s going on?” Michael demanded, his dark eyes staring at
Sebastian with anger burning in their depths.

“
We were just having a talk about Eric,” Anna
replied.

“
Yes we were,” Sebastian agreed. “I apologise for the way I was
handling your mate. I don’t think I held her hard enough to harm
her, but again I’m sorry.”

“
Your apology is accepted, Anna has been known for causing
trouble for as long as I’ve known her. Is Eric going to get
better?” Michael inquired. “I heard that she’s lost her memories,
to be more precise the guard at the door told me before making me
swear to tell her nothing about her life.”

Sebastian's eyes wandered to the end of the hall where the
doors that led to the infirmary were located, remembering how frail
Erica had looked lying against the stark white sheets. “Yes, I’m
going to do everything that I possibly can to make sure she
does.”
I want my feisty Erica back,
he thought despite the fact that she had done
nothing but try to resist his advances.
I
want her to get better. She’s my mate I want her exactly how she
was.

Michael’s eyes narrowed in confusion, trying to understand
why the stranger would make such a claim, his mate would be more
suited to helping her friend recover, Anna had known her longer
than anyone. “And who exactly are you?”

“
My name is Sebastian. I’m Erica's mate.”

“
Is this true Anna?”

“
Yes Michael, Sebastian claims that Eric is his
mate.”

“
Well if he says he is then he is. The instinct is never wrong
about this. And just what exactly are you planning to do to help
Eric recover?”

Sebastian smiled, turning his gaze on Anna, looking her
straight in the eye as he delivered his suggestion as to what would
best help Erica. “I’m taking her away from here, far away.
Somewhere where it’ll just be her and me. The doctors agree that
she’ll probably recover faster if she doesn’t have to deal with so
many people and their expectations.”

“
You can’t do that,” Anna spluttered.

“
I’m her mate, I can do whatever I like when it comes to my
mate and her health. If I think that this is what will help her
most then I’m well within my rights to do so. You can’t stop me.”
He smirked, enjoying the flush that rose to Anna’s cheeks as she
became increasingly angry with not just him but his
actions.

“
He can’t just take her away, can he Michael?” She turned
pleading eyes on her mate hoping that he would put her concerns to
rest.

“
Well actually he can do just that Anna. He’s right, as her
mate he’s responsible for her health and safety.”

“
But how will he help Erica recover? He doesn’t know anything
about her.”

“
That works in my favour actually.” Sebastian's smile widened.
“I don’t have any expectations of her. No important memories that I
might pressure her into trying to remember. I’ll let her mind heal
in it’s own time. I really am what’s best for her.”

“
And what about Dylan and Wyatt? If you knew Eric at all then
you’d know that she wouldn’t want to be separated from
them.”

“
Dylan and Wyatt are going to stay here with my family until we
get settled. If she hasn’t got her memories back in a few weeks
then I’ve arranged for my brother to bring them up for a visit.
They understand that we have to do what’s best for her. Unlike some
people, they’re willing to put Erica before themselves.”

“
And what if she never remembers? What will you do
then?”

“
I will continue to care for my mate exactly as I would do
anyway. If she doesn’t remember her life before the fall then it
isn’t as though the world will end. In fact it might be better for
her if she doesn’t. The hunters weren’t kind in their treatment of
her and those memories would haunt her for the rest of her life. I
don’t know what exactly you have against me and at this moment in
time I’m too preoccupied with thoughts of how to help Erica to
care. If you wish to continue indulging in frankly childish
behaviour then that’s up to you, but don’t come near my mate. Your
actions won’t help her,” he stated before turning to walk
away.

“
Hey, I wasn’t finished with you,” Anna called.

Sebastian stopped but didn’t turn to face her. “I wasn’t
aware that what you wanted was of any concern to me. I’m finished
here and that’s all that matters right now. I’ve more important
things to deal with than you. Goodbye Anna.”

Chapter
Twenty

It hadn’t taken as long as Sebastian had initially thought it
would to find a suitable place to take Erica to recover, not even a
day after he had begun his search he had found them suitable
accommodation and by the evening of that day a new cabin had been
purchased. It took only another day to ensure that it was prepared
for their arrival and by the morning of the third day they had
moved in. Dylan and Wyatt had been very emotional when they had
left, the usually cheerful pair shedding tears as they watched
their sister leave them again. She had been the only permanent
fixture in their lives and in the last two weeks she had left them
alone more often than they remembered. Though slightly pacified by
Sebastian's promised visitation it was still hard to let her go.
Her memory hadn’t returned in the short time that it had taken
Sebastian to find them new lodgings and Erica was still unsure how
exactly to respond to the tears of the children that were
apparently her siblings. The little she had got to know of them in
the last few days had endeared them to her and she felt as though
she were disappointing them each time one of them accidentally
mentioned something from her past. She longed to remember her time
with them but the more she tried to recall the events in her life
before her accident the worse she felt.

Her only measure of relief in the sea of disappointed faces
was Sebastian. Regardless of the fact that he was undoubtedly
suffering because of her lack of memories surrounding their
relationship, he never tried to pressurise her into remembering. He
acted as a buffer between her and those that she knew, ensuring
that they didn’t try to force her to remember, saying that she
would heal in her own time. Despite the fact that she understood
that the people around her must have cared for her, she was
grateful for Sebastian's interference and became increasingly
reliant on his support.

Their new home was, as the doctor advised, very similar to
Erica's family cabin and was located in a little mountain town.
Sebastian hoped that the small population of the town would give
them a large degree of privacy. While he would have preferred to
live deep within secluded woods, he thought that Erica might find
that living arrangement rather strange while under the belief that
she was human. It was only after they had arrived at the cabin that
she mentioned something that he hadn’t factored into his
plans.

She sat on the living room sofa while he moved around their
new home checking that everything was in place. As per his
instructions the house had been laid out in the exact same manner
as Erica's cabin within the clan in the hope that the familiarity
of her surroundings would help her memory.

“
Sebastian?” she called hesitantly, unsure if she should
disturb him when he looked so busy.

At the sound of her soft voice calling him, Sebastian
instantly stopped what he was doing and moved to sit beside her.
“What is it Erica?”

“
This is probably a silly question.”

“
Your thoughts are important sweetheart, if you have something
to say to me then just do it. It isn’t as though I’m going to
laugh.” A thought occurred to him. “Did you remember something?” he
asked excitedly, his fingers moving gently over the back of her
neck in a tender caress.

“
No. My memory is as blank as it was when I first woke up,” she
sighed disheartened.

“
Don’t beat yourself up about it, it’ll come back in it’s own
time. Now if you didn’t call me to tell me something that you
remembered, then why did you?”

“
I’ve been thinking about something for the last few
days.”

“
Go on,” he urged, his gentle stroking becoming
surer.

“
Well I was wondering why I don’t have an engagement
ring.”

His eyes wandered to the bare skin on her finger and he
realised he had made a careless mistake. There was no need for
rings among their people to show that they were mated. A female
bore a male’s mark on her skin and all who saw it knew that meant
she was taken and the scent of a male’s female imprinted itself
upon his skin. A simple piece of jewellery lacked the permanence of
their people’s signs of commitment. A ring could be removed while a
mating mark would remain forever.

Oblivious to Sebastian's concerns Erica continued talking.
“At first I thought I wasn’t allowed to wear it in the infirmary,
but then I got out and I still didn’t have a ring, so I just
thought I should ask you about it.”

How the hell she can remember human traditions like
engagement rings and forget that she’s a wolf I don’t
understand,
he grumbled as he prepared
another lie. “The honest truth is that you never had a
ring.”

“
Really? Never?”

“
Well I didn’t properly plan out the proposal. I just sort of
blurted the question out one day,” he mumbled embarrassed at the
very idea of a spur of the moment proposal, the human tradition
left a male very open for rejection.
Then
again, it’s not as though the wolf way worked out any better for
me,
he chuckled in cynical amusement. “I
just couldn’t stop myself from asking and then you said yes. I had
planned to take you with me to buy a ring but the accident happened
not long after that and I just became too worried about you to
think about the ring. I’m sorry sweetheart. Now that you’re feeling
better we can go and buy the ring whenever you feel like it. I
doubt there’s a jeweller in this town, it’s very small but if there
isn’t one here we can take a trip to the nearby city in the next
few days and solve that problem.”

“
The ring isn’t important Sebastian. I’m lucky to be alive and
even luckier that I still have you. You don’t need to buy me a ring
to prove you care, you’re doing that just by staying with me
despite the fact that I’ve forgotten everything about
you.”

“
You’re lucky to be alive Erica and that’s why I should spoil
you. I want to buy the ring for you, will you accept
it?”