CHAPTER 5: MY HEART

Liam stared at Claire with wide eyes, disbelief etched on his face. Then his eyes narrowed and for a moment, it looked as if he was going to snarl and rage at Claire. But then he shook his head as if reminding himself to remember his plan. As if on cue, he plastered a hypocritical smile on his face, making Claire want to smack it right off his face. But she had already blown her cover once and she couldn’t risk it anymore. So she smiled right back at him when all she wanted was to kick him where the sun didn’t shine and rush to Sebastian’s safe embrace. If only she could…

Seeing their interaction, which looked like the loving exchange between two adoring mates, Sebastian felt his heart twist in agony. Being with Claire, he had felt so peaceful that he had forgotten the fact that she was already marked. But now that he saw her with the guy in person, he got the reality check that she was not his, even if everything in his being refused to accept it. For a few moments, it had felt as if she liked him and there was hope for him. But now, that hope had shattered, leaving him with nothing but regrets. He thought he was strong enough to act as a friend, even if he couldn’t be her mate. But seeing her with another man was so painful that he even forgot to breathe. He absolutely couldn’t do it!

He gritted his teeth, jealousy rearing its ugly head inside him. He always thought he was above such petty feelings, but here he was. If he even spent one more minute seeing that dirty bastard with his paws over his mate, his calm facade would snap. He was already on the brink of losing his sanity after losing his mate and seeing him being all touchy feely with her was like rubbing salt on his wounds. He needed to leave before he lost control and attacked that guy…

Even though Claire was smiling at Liam like the besotted fool he thought her to be, her gaze was following Sebastian, who had stepped out of the hall, looking tense. She sighed, turning to the hypocritical bastard smiling at her as if he adored her. 

Liam grinned at Claire while a flash of annoyance passed through his eyes. He absolutely hated the stupid princess of the pack. Her bastard father wanted her to lead the pack instead of handing over the Alpha position to him, the Beta’s son, and he had no option but to seduce the bimbo to get the Alpha position that belonged to him. Just to gain his rightful position, he had to act like a lovesick fool and tolerate her temper for years. How much more should he suffer before he gets the Alpha position? 

Seeing his rotten smile, Claire gritted her teeth and looked away, wanting to be away from him as soon as possible. Her gaze fell on her father, who was standing a few feet away, a look of discomfort etched on his face. Claire felt a wave of panic rise in her, seeing his pained face, memories of his death flashing through her mind. She had been pissed off at him and didn’t bother to check on him in her last life. And hence she hadn’t noticed his illness until it was too late and he had died. But now she was back in the past and she had a chance to change her fate. She came back to the time when he was still alive, and that meant she had the chance to save him. She wouldn’t lose her father this time around.

His illness was so sudden and unexpected that Claire had always had the feeling that something was off about it. Now that she had another chance, she will have to find out what exactly was his issue. She will have to find the actual cause of his death and she will have to save him. Along with revenge, saving her father was also something she was determined to do. She will make everything right this time. She just had to…

Claire rushed towards Alpha Gavin, fear gripping her heart as she noticed his sweat stained face. 

“Dad! Are you alright?” She cried out, panicked.

“I am alright princess. Don’t worry about me. I am just a bit tired from all the running around. After all, I am getting old,” he grinned, trying to laugh it off. Even though he was trying to smile to ease her worries, she could still see him clenching his fists. 

“No Dad. You are not alright. Let’s go see the doctor,” she declared, narrowing her eyes. He himself may not know how bad his condition was, but she did. She couldn’t just let it go. If he gets treated now, maybe he will be alright?

“Alpha! Are you okay?” Liam suddenly appeared beside Claire, a worried look on his face. Claire stopped herself from rolling her eyes at his act. As if he was worried about anyone but himself! 

Alpha Gavin grimaced at Liam’s ‘worry’, but then he looked at his daughter and sighed.

“I am alright,” he repeated, but this time, his voice didn’t sound gentle.

Liam narrowed his eyes at Gavin’s indifferent reply, but his mask was back on in a moment and he smiled.

“It must be stress. You just need to rest a bit and you will be fine,” he declared.

Gavin nodded in response and, after giving a reassuring smile in Claire’s direction, he walked away. Claire stood there, watching him walk away while planning to take him to a doctor as soon as possible. She was foolish enough to lose him in her last life. Not anymore. This time, she will save him whatever it took. 

******

Sebastian paced back and forth in the garden while throwing glances back into the hall now and then. Seeing Liam holding Claire’s hands while a loving expression was plastered on his face, he grimaced and started pacing again while muttering under his breath.

‘You useless human! What do you think you are doing?! That bastard is all over our mate and you are just standing here like an idiot!’ Caleb snarled at Sebastian, making him sigh and rub his head. As if he didn’t have enough trouble already, his stupid wolf gave him attitude, too. Just peachy!

‘Are you trying to ignore me, you idiotic human?’ Caleb roared.

‘Shut up, you moron!’ Sebastian snarled, having enough of Caleb’s tantrum. 

‘How dare you talk to me like that! I am your wolf, the mightier part of yourself! Respect me, you simpleton human!’

Ugh! Just how did he end up with such a narcissistic wolf as his other half?!

‘Calm down, will you?’ Sebastian groaned, feeling his headache amplify.

‘Calm down? You want me to calm down?! Aren’t you seeing that man pawing at our woman? How could you just stand and watch it happen, you coward? Just go and punch him!’

When Sebastian didn’t reply, Caleb continued his rant. 

‘How dare he touch what is ours! We should beat him to a pulp! We should show him we are stronger than him! Our mate should see that we are better for her! Let’s teach him a lesson!’ Caleb declared enthusiastically, his eagerness to attack Liam apparent in his tone.

‘I wish. But we shouldn’t,’ Sebastian tried to make his wayward wolf understand how it didn’t work like that.

‘Why not? He is just a measly little thing. He doesn’t stand a chance next to us. It will be easy peasy! If you don’t think you could do it, handle the reign to me and I will show him who is the boss! Just watch and learn!’

Sebastian rolled his eyes at his wolf’s words.

‘I didn’t say I can’t do it. I said we shouldn’t.’

‘Why not?’ Caleb whined, sounding rather like a puppy who didn’t get the toy he wanted and not the majestic wolf he claimed to be. 

‘Because like it or not, he had already marked our mate, and she loves him. If we harm him, she will hate us. Are you ready for that?’

Caleb let out a pained howl at the thought of his mate hating him, and Sebastian sighed.

‘I know, buddy. I know it’s painful to not have her in our life. But I would rather she be happy than try to barge into her peaceful life. If he makes him happy, then so be it. We would always be her guardian angel and make sure that she is happy. That’s the only thing we can do.’

Caleb let out a growl of protest before going silent, and Sebastian knew he was sulking. But at least he wasn’t complaining anymore…

Sebastian turned towards the party, only to freeze when he saw Liam’s hands snaking over Claire’s waist in a possessive fashion. He had just declared to his wolf that he was letting his mate be happy with the guy. But seeing him with his hands all over her, he couldn’t hold on to his reasoning. He literally saw red and all he wanted to do was rush over there and tear his damn hands off his mate. But he couldn’t do that to his sweet mate. He really couldn’t…

Seeing her smile up at Liam while he placed his hand on her cheeks, an adoring look on his face, Sebastian felt as if he was a voyeur peeping into their private moments. Jealousy gripped his heart, sending it into a frenzy, and he turned away, unable to take it anymore. He looked back once more to see Liam pulling her into his embrace, and Sebastian turned away, his eyes stinging strangely. He gritted his teeth and rushed away from the party, unable to tolerate it anymore.

Claire, who was watching him all this while, wished she could rush away behind him and to tell him how Liam didn’t matter. That she cared for him and only him. But Liam was standing right in front of her, with that stupid smile on his face, and she couldn’t do anything. Her father was also standing right next to them, and she couldn’t leave the party when he was not feeling well. So Claire could only stand there helplessly while watching her mate walk away, wishing she could comfort him and ease his aches. Wishing she could just follow her heart.