Archaic (Reverse Harem 2)

“Sebastian, what if this was a female in your pack?” I ask.

I see him clench his fists as he turns his eyes away from me.

“Toshi,” I say breathlessly.

“I get your point,” he says. “But we can’t go chasing ghosts.

You’re wanted by the Council. They want to wipe you out.”

“According to one person who came to us,” I say.

“The Chief has never been wrong in his twelve hundred years of life,” Theo says. “There’s no reason for us to assume he’s wrong now.”

“And twelve hundred years of right trumps your gut,” Sebastian says.

“Or maybe you don’t like the idea of Kyle being alive because that means I’ll go running back to him instead of you,” I say, putting my hands on my hips. Sebastian didn’t protect Kyle on our wedding night. I can’t expect him to want Kyle to be alive.

Sebastian lets out a rolling growl as his nostrils begin to flare.

“I released you to him once, and I would have no issues doing it again. Not if it made you happy.”

“Released me? I’m not your prisoner or your property, Sebastian,”

I say. “But I think that’s why you don’t like this.”

“No,” he says. “I don’t like it because I’m tired of watching you get hurt. For once, I would like to see the woman I love flourish.”

His words hit me like a punch to my gut as Theo and Toshi turn their eyes toward him.

“What did you say?” Toshi asks.

“You heard me,” Sebastian says.

“I love you, Clarissa.”

From a force I don’t understand, I feel my entire body being knocked off balance as I go stumbling into the wall.

The guys are on their feet, scrambling to get to me before I fall into the fire. Sebastian has me around my waist, and Toshi is behind me. Theo is reaching out for my cheek, and the three of them are staring at me.

They are strong and protective. Each of them.

“I need you guys to make me a promise,” I say breathlessly.

“Anything,” Theo says.

“Promise me that if Kyle is alive, we’ll do whatever it takes to get him back.”

“And if he isn’t?” Sebastian asks.

I raise my eyes to his as my knees grow weak. There’s something about his stare I can’t shake. About the way he grips my body that I can’t ignore.

I love it.

And yet, it feels wrong.

“Then promise me you’ll do whatever you can to save me,” I say.

“Because I’m not sure I can navigate this darkness on my own.”