Sebastian was always the most admired person in Rivendale. He was a great guy raised to do important things, made to be a leader, and picked by the Moon Goddess herself to be with the future Luna. But after what happened at the council meeting, something inside him broke. The quiet talks in the pack house made things even worse, things he wasn't supposed to hear but couldn't ignore. It felt like every little sound was scratching at his skin. Every look he got felt like it was burning him.
"He couldn't keep her safe."
"The bad wolf took her."
"The Goddess doesn't want him."
Every word reminded him of the life he had lost. A life that he had made his whole world. And now when he saw Lyra, she didn't really look at him. She didn't smile at him without thinking or give him that calm feeling he used to like. Instead, she walked by him like a ghost, there, but not able to be reached. Alive, but moving farther away each day.
It really hurt him.
Lyra, for her part, felt his anger every time she walked into a room. The air felt heavy, like pins and needles, filled with things no one said. She felt bad, but didn't know why. Sebastian had pushed her in front of the council, made her feel ashamed, and ripped her shirt to show the cursed mark, but still, because they had known each other for so long, the quiet was awful. She had known him for many years. Loved him, at least like young wolves love what feels safe. And now she couldn't look at him without remembering how angry he looked.
She stayed away from him because she didn't know how he would act today, cold? Angry? Ready to explode?
He stayed away from her because seeing the mark on her neck felt like being stabbed over and over and having to watch the knife go in deeper every time he blinked.
Rivendale could tell something was wrong. Wolves could sense things; feelings were easy to pick up, like smells. The pack got quieter around Sebastian, watching him carefully. They saw him working out too hard, hurting his body until his hands bled and he could barely breathe. They saw him throwing fighters across the training area with too much force. They could smell how upset he was, like smoke in the air.
They talked quietly again.
"He's not in control."
"He's a danger."
"Maybe he shouldn't be Alpha."
Those quiet talks hurt him more than any curse.
One evening, Lyra left the place where they helped sick people after another private talk with the healer. Her head hurt from keeping secrets. The soul-bond was getting stronger and made her chest feel tight, like something was pulling from inside. She walked slowly toward the pack house, staying away from the main room, trying to go upstairs before anyone saw her shaking hands.
But Sebastian saw her. He always saw her.
"You're staying away from me again." His voice went through the hallway, sharp enough to make her stop.
Lyra got tense. "I'm just tired."
"You're not telling the truth," he said, walking in front of her. "You haven't been honest for days."
She breathed out in a shaky way. "Sebastian, I just don't have the strength for this right now."
He got nearer to her. Too near. His smell, like wood and smoke, used to make her feel good, but now it just made her worried. "You don't talk to me. You don't practice with me. You hardly even look at me. After all that we've been through, you at least need to tell me why."
"I don't have to tell you anything," she said quietly, but she felt bad about it inside.
He tightened his jaw. "I was supposed to be the person you were with forever."
"It wasn't what I wanted."
"And now you're joined to someone wild," he said, sounding angry. "A person you don't know. A bad guy. And you act like nothing bad has happened."
"Everything is bad!" Lyra said quickly, which surprised them both. "My life is falling apart. I have no future. I'm trying to just keep going, Sebastian. I'm trying to stay okay in my head. I didn't want any of this to happen."
For a second, he looked different. He seemed hurt under his anger. But it only lasted a moment.
"You still shouldn't ignore me," he said quietly. "We were supposed to be a team."
"We were kids who were told we had a future together that we didn't pick." Lyra shook her head. "And you showed everyone that your pride is more important than how I feel. You made me feel ashamed. You tore my clothes in front of older people, fighters, people I don't even know, "
"I needed to prove something," he said, but it didn't sound like a good reason, even to him.
"You needed to be in charge," she replied. "And you couldn't be."
Her words hit him hard. He took a quick breath, his chest moving up and down fast. Something scary showed in his eyes, something painful, damaged, and wild.
"You're getting away from me," he said in a rough voice.
"I was never yours to keep in the first place."
That sentence broke him inside.
Something changed, not loudly, but quietly, like a string breaking. His shoulders dropped, but his eyes got darker. He took a step back, and Lyra felt cold all over. The hallway seemed colder and darker.
"You think the wild person will be better to you?" Sebastian said softly, his voice quiet and shaky. "You think he cares about you? You think he joined with you because he loves you?"
Lyra swallowed. "I don't know why he did it. I don't even know who he is."
"But you feel him." He said it like he hated her. "You feel him all the time, don't you?"
Her silence showed that it was true.
Sebastian's lips made a shape, not like a smile, but like something twisted with sadness. "I've lost everything because of him. Because of you."
"That's not right," she whispered.
"No," he said gently, almost kindly. "It's not."
Then he looked hard and cold.
"But if I can't have you, Lyra," he said, his voice becoming a scary whisper, "then no one else can either."
She felt a shake go through her so hard that she thought her bones would break. She took a step back, her heart beating fast. "Sebastian, don't say things like that."
He smiled, in a slow and crazy way. "I'm not just saying it."
He got closer, his eyes full of a darkness she had never seen in him before.
"I'm promising it."
Lyra ran away before he could speak again, her heart beating fast with fear and shock. Behind her, Sebastian stayed still in the dark hall, with shadows all around his feet as if they were his pets. The promise he made felt like blood in his mouth. It felt like fate changed into something dangerous that could kill.
And it felt like the end.