A Wolf's Oath (45 page)

“
Are you ok sweetheart?”

Erica nodded while her mind raced. She had thought there was
something odd about Sebastian's behaviour when he had first entered
the cabin and the kiss only served to reinforce her misgivings. The
simple kiss had failed to inspire the passionate feelings that
coming into contact with Sebastian usually brought forth, coupled
with his unwillingness to touch her, she was convinced something
was wrong. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was
something definitely not right about the situation.

“
Sebastian?”

“
Yeah?”

Erica frowned, the word sounded strange coming from
Sebastian's mouth.
There’s definitely
something going on.
“You said you’d teach
me some more carving when you got back. Come on, you can tell me
all about your trip.”
And hopefully
explain what happened to make you act so funny.
She could have sworn that she saw him grimace at her request,
but the expression was so fleeting she was sure that she had
imagined it. Sebastian loved sculpting; there was no reason for him
to act as though she had just given him a death sentence. She
grasped his hand, trying to ignore the distinct absence of the
heated rush of pleasure that usually coursed through her when she
and Sebastian touched. Leading them down the hall, she pulled him
into his study, releasing his hand to retrieve the piece of wood
she had been working under his patient tutelage. Picking up the
knife he had set aside solely for her use, she sat down in one of
the more comfortable recliner like chairs that were in his private
space and waited expectantly.

When I next see you Sebastian, you and I are going to have
serious words about what you expect from a favour. I hate
sculpting. I’ve never had the patience for it and now you expect me
to teach your mate? You’ve got to be kidding me. The least you
could have done would have been to give me some warning that you
had made plans for it. But no, you just throw me in at the deep
end, the deep end filled with carnivorous sharks with a penchant
for wolf flesh.

“
Come on Sebastian,” Erica called, patting the seat next to
hers encouragingly. “We don’t have all day. The twins will be
coming in soon and demanding food. We have to take advantage of
their absence.”

Dylan, Wyatt, you can interrupt us any time now,
he groaned, hoping to see either one of them in
the next few seconds. His wish wasn’t granted and so he walked with
heavy feet towards Erica and sat in the chair beside her. “Where
were we?”

“
You were teaching me about how the grain of the wood affects
how you can sculpt it.”

Ryan smiled, relief filling him. He could vaguely remember
Sebastian trying to explain the concept to him when they were
younger so that he would be willing to partake in the activity. His
attempts to persuade Ryan had failed, he didn’t have the patience
to care about which way the grain ran, but he remembered enough
that he thought he could pretend to know what he was talking
about.
I just have to hold off until the
two munchkins come in. It’s already fairly late, that shouldn’t be
long. I can do this.
“Well let’s see the
wood then.”

Erica handed over the slab of wood and watched as Sebastian
ran his hands over the wood, his long fingers inspecting the
material. The action seemed reminiscent of what Sebastian would do,
but at the same time it was different. Normally when he touched
wood, his fingers seemed to caress it almost reverently. He loved
the material he used and it showed, what he was doing now was
different.
Another oddity.

“
Well the grain is nice and tight, but that’s to be expected
from hardwood. Remind me what you want to make from
this.”

“
The flower Sebastian,” she sighed, pointing to a small wooden
flower that rested on Sebastian's desk.

It’s beautiful,
Ryan admitted but he
expected nothing less from his brother’s work. Just because he
didn’t have the patience to create the work himself, it didn’t mean
that he couldn’t appreciate the high quality work Sebastian
produced. “Right, well if that’s what you want to make then you’re
going to need to go with the grain. See here,” he began pointing to
the lines that ran the length of the wood. For the next half hour
he proceeded to reel off anything he could remember about wood
working, taking care to leave long pauses between his
statements.

Ryan’s plan to hold out until his young saviours returned
home was a success and soon enough he and Erica were interrupted by
young voices pleading for food. He breathed a sigh of relief,
smiling down at Erica as he stood and left the room to begin
cooking.

As the night passed, Erica continued to watch Sebastian with
curious eyes. He acted as he always did but there was something off
about his mannerisms. There was something wrong but she couldn’t
put her finger on it. The thought plagued her as she slipped
between the sheets of her bed and refused to let her rest properly.
She eventually fell into a fitful sleep and her dreams did nothing
to alleviate her anxiety. Her nightmare returned in force, the
darkness and the mysterious voice that brought nothing but pain
jolting her awake. Her body was covered in a light sheen of sweat
and as she always did on nights like this, she walked across the
hall into Sebastian's room seeking the comfort and reassurance that
his embrace promised.

As soon as she saw him, she knew something was wrong. He was
sleeping, as she had expected, but the sheets were still covering
him. In all the nights they had been together he had never managed
to keep the covers wrapped around his body. She continued to
examine him becoming increasingly aware of subtle differences
between the man in the bed and her Sebastian. His hair was cut
short, like Sebastian's but it wasn’t quite the same colour. The
man in the bed had streaks of dark brown mingled within the red
strands while Sebastian did not, if she hadn’t been looking at him
so intensely she doubted she would have noticed. She pulled the
sheet down, exposing his chest and noticed several further
differences. The chest of the man in Sebastian's bed was broader
than her fiancé’s; it also had a heavier smattering of hair
covering it and no matter which way she looked at it, he didn’t
smell the same as Sebastian. The man was a good look alike of
Sebastian, but he was just that, a look alike, an
imposter.

What’s happened to Sebastian?
she
mumbled shocked.

There’s only one way to find out,
the
mysterious voice inserted, sidling up to her thoughts.
Wake this man up and make him tell
you.

If he’s done something to Sebastian…

I’ll deal with him, don’t worry about that,
the voice purred.

Gathering her courage, Erica shook the man’s shoulder
expecting him to wake at the forceful movement but he continued to
sleep on oblivious to her needs. She shook him harder but the
result was the same, he slept on. Anger filling her, Erica raised
her hand and slapped him hard against the cheek, that seemed to do
the trick as the man woke, growling low in his throat at the
unconventional alarm clock.

“
Don’t growl at me,” she snapped.

“
Erica, sweetheart, what’s going on?”

Her eyes narrowed at the endearment. No one but Sebastian had
the right to refer to her in such a way. “Don’t sweetheart me
either. Where’s Sebastian?”

“
What are you talking about? I’m right here,” Ryan
protested.

“
Cut the crap! I know that you’re not Sebastian, so just tell
me what you’ve done to him. If you don’t it will be the last
mistake you ever make. Where is he? What have you done to him?” she
snarled leaning forward menacingly.

“
I haven’t done anything to him. I swear.” Ryan threw his hands
up in surrender. If she chose to act on the threat there was
nothing he could do to defend himself. He couldn’t willingly hurt
his brother’s mate. She had been through so much already. He would
never forget the look of pure anguish that had been etched on
Sebastian's face when she was bleeding out on the rocks, he would
take that image with him to the grave.

“
Who are you? And what the hell are you doing in our house
pretending to be Sebastian?”

“
I’m Ryan, his twin, hence the similarities. Sebastian asked me
to come here. He asked me to watch over you.”

“
Where has he gone?”

Now that I can’t tell you, even if you threaten me.
He turned his head from her and began to stare out
of the open window, choosing to answer her question with
silence.

“
Answer me,” she demanded but he continued to say nothing and
her eyes turned to look at what he was staring at with such
intensity. The moon hung full and heavy in the sky and a thought
began to develop within Erica's mind. She had seen a wolf turn into
Sebastian but had dismissed the possibility of him being a werewolf
because he didn’t seem to match up with the criteria though she had
accepted that there was definitely something different about him.
What if the video had been right? Vincent and the Internet might
have gotten most of the characteristics wrong, but what if he was
indeed affected by the full moon? Was that why he had run away? Was
he ashamed to tell her his secret?

“
Is it the moon?” she muttered under her breath.

Ryan’s superior hearing immediately picked up on her quiet
question and he turned to stare at her. “You know? Has your memory
come back? Thank God. Sebastian's worries are over.”

So I did know before I lost my memories. He already told me
his secret once, why couldn’t he tell me this time?
she wondered before the answer came to her.
Of course he wouldn’t tell me this time. He
probably spent months with me before he told me; months building
love and trust. He probably thought that if he told me I wouldn’t
believe him. He might even have thought that I would try to leave
him.
“Silly Sebastian,” she chuckled. “No,
my memories haven’t returned.”

“
Then how?” Ryan spluttered.

“
That isn’t important. Where is he Ryan?”

“
I don’t know exactly where he is, but I know that he’s on his
way back here.”

“
Why? Why would he leave and then come back?”

“
He’s coming back for you Erica,” he answered simply.
“Everything he does, he does for you.”

“
Well then I think I should go and meet him,” she laughed
running from the room. “Look after the kids for me.”

Erica ran from the house uncaring of the fact that she was
wearing only thin pieces of cloth ill equipped for the cold and no
shoes, she ran without any hesitation straight through the woods.
She didn’t know how she knew, but she knew that Sebastian would be
coming from this direction. The ground beneath her feet was cold
but the snow had disappeared during the day and she was immensely
grateful for that fact now. The air wasn’t as frigid as she had
thought it would be and she began to believe that everything was
working in her favour, she was meant to do this. The ground passed
easily beneath her feet, her vision narrowed so that she was
unaware of the fantastic pace at which she was moving. She stopped
abruptly, her head turning wildly in all directions. She no longer
knew where she was or where to run. But she didn’t have to run any
longer, he was here. She knew with amazing certainty that the light
brown wolf that was approaching her was Sebastian. She moved
towards him, a smile on her face, taking in the markings that would
identify him amidst others of his kind. His body was covered in a
light brown fur, but his tail was so dark that it appeared to melt
into the dark background and his paws were just as dark.

“
Sebastian?” she called, unsure of if he could communicate in
this form.

The wolf stopped for a moment, cocked its head at her before
it began the transformation from animal to man. She watched the
transition calmly, waiting for him to finish. “What are you doing
here Erica?” he demanded, moving forwards until they were mere
centimetres apart.

“
I came here for you.”

“
You’ve regained your memories?”

She shook her head and he groaned in disappointment. His eyes
closed for a moment and he breathed deeply trying to rein in his
passions. “You shouldn’t have come Erica, I can’t control myself
tonight.”

“
Are you going to hurt me?”

“
Never.”

“
Then what do you mean, you can’t control yourself?”

“
I’m going to claim you.” His eyes opened, amber filling the
irises.

“
And what does that mean?”

He moved so quickly her eyes had trouble keeping up with him
and before she realised what was going on, he was against her and
had moved them so that her back was against a tree. He ground his
hips against hers, the evidence of his arousal pressing heavily
against her stomach. “Oh, I see.”

“
I’m sorry Erica, I tried to spare you from this but you came
to me and now there’s nothing I can do to stop this from
happening.”