A Wolf's Oath (35 page)
“
I don’t think that we’re stupid either. That’s why I’m
confused,” she mused aloud while refusing to even look in
Sebastian's direction; her gaze instead glued to one of the living
room walls.
“
About what exactly?”
“
Did you think that we wouldn’t find out? It didn’t take us
long to figure it out, which is why I don’t understand how you
thought that you could hide it from us.”
“
Dylan, I don’t understand what it is you’re talking about.
Could you be a little more specific? Just tell me directly what’s
bothering you and we’ll try to work through it together
okay?”
The little girl nodded solemnly before turning to look
directly at Sebastian, her gaze unwavering. “We know that you’re
Erica's mate.”
At Dylan's declaration Sebastian audibly inhaled but tried to
ensure that his face was the picture of serenity. He would have
enough points against him when Erica regained her memory without
adding this one to the list. If possible he would try to minimise
the level of damage that had been caused.
“
It wasn’t all that hard to figure out. Just because we’re
young doesn’t mean that we can’t put two and two together. Everyone
at the estate was talking about it. I think they thought they were
being quieter than they actually were. Just because we don’t have
the same sense of hearing as an adult, it doesn’t mean that we’re
deaf and when you’re this little people tend to forget that you’re
in the room with them.”
When I get back to the estate, I will be having words with
the idiots that gave away our secret. Damn it! Erica didn’t want
them to find out and she definitely wouldn’t have wanted them to
find out like this,
he cursed realising
that it would be harder than he had initially thought to do damage
control.
“
Erica always says you shouldn’t lie when someone asks you a
question directly. So answer me honestly, are you and Erica
mates?”
“
I’ve told enough lies, I don’t want to lie to you as well,” he
sighed. “Yes, we’re mates.” A small smile curved his lips at his
confession. It felt good to be able to finally tell the truth. Yes,
Erica would probably be upset when she eventually regained her
memories but there was nothing to be gained from continuing this
lie.
“
I’m glad that you didn’t lie Sebastian. I don’t think I would
like you as much if you lied to me,” Dylan replied, her voice now
small and anxious.
“
Are you mad?” he inquired, genuinely worried about the child’s
reaction.
Dylan shuffled closer to him, her hands reaching out to
stroke the wood that Sebastian had been carving. “No. I was upset
for a long time after I found out though. I like you so I couldn’t
be mad forever. Then I saw Erica again and she’s happy, so I can’t
be mad at you for making her sad or anything. I haven’t seen her
this happy in a long time. Are you going to take care of
her?”
“
Of course I am Dylan, that’s what it means to be
mates.”
“
I’m sorry we came,” she sniffled, clearly upset. “We’ll ask
Erica to send us home tomorrow. As long as she’s happy then that’s
all that matters.”
“
I don’t understand you Dylan,” Sebastian groaned. It seemed to
be a developing trend that the females around him were
incomprehensible, the development even extending to one so young.
“What are you talking about now?”
“
You don’t want us here, we’re just in the way. Now that Erica
has you she’s going to start a family of her own and we’re going to
be alone. It’s okay though, Erica has always taken care of us; it’s
her turn to have someone look after her.”
His brow furrowed in confusion, just when he thought he
understood the girl, she went and said something like that. “Why
would you think that I couldn’t take care of you too? You, Wyatt
and Erica are a package; I can’t pick and choose who I want to care
for. It’s all or nothing.”
“
I don’t believe you,” Dylan sobbed, wiping away at the tears
that had appeared in her eyes.
Sebastian groaned, running a hand through his hair, unsure of
what to do and what words would reassure the child next to him that
he meant what he said. His eyes landed on the sculpture he had been
working on and an idea came to him. If he followed though with his
plan it meant that the surprise was more likely to be blown. In a
house with two curious children and an inquisitive woman searching
for clues to regain her lost memories, he would probably be found
out by the end of the day but Dylan needed reassurance and that was
more important than trying to hide a surprise. He picked up the
knife and began to carve the words he had wanted to etch only when
the sculpture was near complete. Dylan slowly became aware that
Sebastian was moving and her cries quieted as she became entranced
by the older man’s movements. It took a few minutes to roughly
carve the words into the wood, but it didn’t need to be perfect
right at this moment, he would return to that section at another
time.
Lifting the wood from the table he pulled it onto his legs
and turned it so that Dylan could see it clearly.
“Look.”
Her small fingers ran over the carved words, a smile
appearing on his face as she recited the words aloud. “Our family.”
She turned his gaze from the sculpture to look at Sebastian with
questioning eyes.
“
See this one here?” Sebastian indicated the tallest piece of
wood, his fingertips running casually over the wood. “That’s me.”
There was very little detail on the sculpture, but it was easy
enough to make out the figure of a person. “The one next to me is
your sister Erica.” Dylan nodded, she had expected as much. “Now
you see those two small pieces in front of us? The one on the left
is you and the one on the right is Wyatt.”
“
That’s me?” Dylan demanded, eagerly touching the piece that
would one day bare her image. “It looks nothing like me,” she
scolded.
“
I know that silly,” Sebastian laughed. “It’s going to take me
a little while longer to finish it, I just started the other day,
cut me a little bit of slack.”
“
Why are we in the picture?”
“
You’re part of this family, both you and Wyatt. A core part of
it actually. Don’t ever doubt that. If anyone has reason to doubt
their place in this family, it’s me not you two.”
“
Why? You’re Erica's mate, that makes you her
family.”
“
Erica and I weren’t on the best of terms before she lost her
memory and I don’t think she’s going to be all too happy with
everything that’s happened in this time. I’ve had to lie to her a
lot.”
“
We have to lie to her too,” Dylan reminded. “We can’t change
into our wolf forms and we can’t tell her what she is. If she gets
mad at you for lying then she’ll have to get mad at us too. I’ll
tell her so when she remembers everything.”
“
You’d stick up for me like that?”
“
Of course I would and so would Wyatt.”
“
Why?” he asked, genuinely confused as to why the twins would
take his side over their sister’s.
“
Because you make her happy and if anyone deserves to be happy
it’s Erica. Sometimes she doesn’t see things too clearly even
though she’s older than we are.”
The wisdom of a child,
Sebastian
mused.
It’s a surprisingly accurate
thing.
“
Besides, we like you. You’re fun to play with. If Erica has to
have a mate, then I want it to be you.”
“
Thank you Dylan, that means a lot to me coming from you.” He
smiled, placing the sculpture back on the table and dragging the
little girl onto his lap. “You’re a good kid.”
“
I know,” Dylan grinned.
“
Now, let’s put you back to bed before Erica wakes up and finds
you out here.”
“
Wait, I have a question.”
“
What is it?”
“
Do you live at the royal estate?”
“
Why do you ask?”
“
I was just wondering because there seemed to be a lot of your
family there. Your brother was there and then there was the really
nice lady who gave us sweets, someone said she was your mom and her
sister was there. I just wondered.”
“
I do live at the royal estate for part of the year but
otherwise I live in the estate of the Southern clan. The reason why
so much of my family was there is because my cousin is the Prince,”
he faltered as a conversation he had had with Ryan floated to the
front of his mind. “Actually that isn’t quite true anymore, if my
information is correct, he’s going to be the King any day
now.”
“
Wow! You’re Prince Tobias’ cousin?”
“
Yes.”
“
Will we have to move when Erica remembers
everything?”
“
Yes, I think we will. I have responsibilities within my clan
and your cabin isn’t all that big.”
“
We all fit in it fine,” Dylan pointed out.
“
At the moment we do yes, but that won’t always be the
case.”
“
Oh I get it!” Dylan cried triumphantly. “You need more room
for when you and Erica have babies.”
That was exactly what he had been thinking and Sebastian
found that he was proud of Dylan's keen sense of observation. She
was a very clever child. His newfound sense of pride didn’t however
mean that he was willing to discuss the matter with him. “Like I
said I think it’s time for you to go to sleep now.” Sebastian stood
from the sofa with Dylan held firmly in his arms and began walking
towards her bedroom.
“
I don’t mind moving Sebastian, I like the people in your
family.”
“
It’s our family Dylan, yours and mine.”
She yawned, finally showing signs of tiredness. “Oh yeah,
it’s our family isn’t it? I’m glad that you’re Erica's mate
Sebastian. I don’t think I would be okay with anyone
else.”
Opening the door and walking into the small bedroom,
Sebastian placed Dylan back against the sheets of his bed. “It’s
good that you feel that way Dylan because I’m not going anywhere.
Ever.”
“
That’s good to hear,” Wyatt yawned apparently having woken
when he neared the room. “I always liked you. I told you there was
nothing to worry about Dylan.”
“
Thank you Wyatt, now the pair of you go to sleep
okay?”
They nodded before settling in to sleep and Sebastian tip
toed out of the room and closed the door behind him quietly. He was
drawn to Erica's room as soon as he entered the hall and his body
walked him there on instinct. She lay sleeping beneath heavy sheets
and for once she looked peaceful. Crossing the room to her side, he
placed a gentle kiss against her brow. “We have one hell of a
family Erica.” Despite the lack of blood relation, that’s what the
people under this roof were, his family. “I just wish you could
remember how great.”
Erica woke feeling amazingly refreshed. Her sleep had been
peaceful and above all, nightmare free. It was almost as if a
guardian angel had watched over to ensure that she was fully
rested. As her eyes scanned her surroundings, she realised that it
hadn’t been an angel that had watched over her, though in her eyes
he came very close. Sat on the floor at the edge of her bed,
Sebastian lay slumped over her legs clearly having slept the night
in her room. His face was just visible beneath the strands of his
hair and she smiled at the how peaceful he looked in sleep. She
didn’t know why he had chosen to sleep in such an uncomfortable
place, but knowing Sebastian, he had probably chosen to do it
thinking it might benefit her in some way. Judging from her
invigorating sleep he was probably right, but she didn’t want him
sleeping in such an awkward position again, when he woke he was
probably going to be in pain and the thought didn’t sit well with
her.
Shifting upwards on the bed she pulled herself into a sitting
position, careful not to move too much lest she woke
Sebastian.
He doesn’t get enough sleep as
it is with all those people calling him late at night. The least I
can do after he helped me get such a great night’s sleep is let him
have a little extra shut eye. If anyone deserves it, it’s
Sebastian.
Her fingers began to lightly run
through the strands of his hair, the simple motion surprisingly
soothing and if the pleasurable groans Sebastian was emitting in
his sleep were anything to go by, he was enjoying it as well. It
took her several long moments to realise that as she was breathing,
the air she was exhaling was condensing into mist in front of her
face. Her brows furrowed in confusion at the sight, she didn’t feel
cold but the mist before her clearly showed that the room wasn’t
just cold, it was just short of freezing.
Exhaling deliberately, she breathed out a long stream of air
and watched as it too turned to mist before her eyes.
So, the first one wasn’t just a fluke
then?
Her breaths continued to condense but
she still didn’t feel cold, if anything she was beginning to feel
warm.
It must be because I’m under the
sheets,
she reasoned. Placing her hands
beneath Sebastian's head she lifted him from her legs and gently
placed his head back down against the duvet all the while hoping
that she wouldn’t have woken him. Her good intentions had
apparently paid off and he remained asleep despite the shift and
Erica grinned in triumph. Easing out of the bed she placed her feet
against the wooden floor, expecting to finally feel the cold that
was in the air. The wood beneath her bare feet was cool, but
nothing like the sensation that she should have been experiencing.
The air against her exposed arms did nothing to make her feel cold
and Erica began to feel an increased sense of unease.