World Between Us

“Can I be blunt?” The no-nonsense voice of Maya made Sebastian lean back in the chair after she took his pulse. She took this as a sign to continue.

“Your last two ruts were painful. This one might kill you if you don’t—”

“Leave it, Maya,” he cut her off. She gave him an unimpressed look, but he just stared back, unyielding.

“Honestly, what do you get out of torturing yourself like that?” Maya shook her head, her short curly hair bouncing. “You know how hard it is to find someone your wolf and your heart are in sync with.” If there was any other wolf, this would call for celebration but for Alpha Sebastian; this appeared to be a complication like any other thing in his 32 years of life. Maya couldn’t help but feel exhausted for her friend and Alpha.

Sebastian closed his eyes. He knew. Many wolves would die to be in his place, and when he closed his eyes, he saw Eva’s sweet face in his mind’s eye—wide brown eyes, thick dark-chocolate hair reaching her back, small full lips, a moon-shaped face, and a beauty that radiated from her. It didn’t dim for a day; it only enhanced every time he had looked at her in the past two years. Nothing could rival it. He swallowed hard, shoving his desire deep in the back of his head where he could pretend he wasn’t feeling the urge to run to her right this moment.

Mate, the beast inside him growled, and he reined his wolf in before opening his eyes. They were in the Pack healer’s cottage house. There was an adjacent room that Healer Maya used as a clinic when she was in their little makeshift village.

“You’re at the peak of mate-seeking syndrome.”

Mate-seeking syndrome is not something fatal if the mate and the wolf in question accept or reject their bond at the beginning, when first symptoms start to show. Sebastian’s case is that his mate doesn’t know anything, and he has not rejected the bond. It’s been more than a year since he started to recognize the symptoms—only for his heart to get more tangled every time he found himself in the presence of his mate and his wolf more desperate. The ruts are getting more and more painful, and suppressants don’t work anymore. If Maya can’t help him, no werewolf healer can.

“You still have a month and a half. Why don’t you take this girl out, date her, and then tell her—”

“That is not an option!” Sebastian snapped, clenching his fist.

“Why? You think she doesn’t like you? Or wait—is she from a rival pack?” Maya asked in concern. Sebastian had always been cautious about outsiders in their territory. No pack knew where they were. He must have met some she-wolf out there. She was sure the girl wasn’t from their pack—otherwise, among over fifty members, everyone would have known.

“No,” Sebastian answered.

“Okay,” Maya said, feeling a little relief on that front. Exposure to another pack was as good as suicide. So this was good. “Then what—” She narrowed her eyes. “Is she a he?” She raised an eyebrow. “Or he a beta?”

A mate bond with a beta male wolf would create technical problems not siring any offspring, but Maya never took Sebastian to be someone who would care about this. Another thing was, Maya always thought Sebastian was straight.

This time Sebastian gave her an unimpressed look.

“Then what is it?” Maya asked, frustrated. “I’m your healer and your best friend. So tell me—who is it, huh?”

Sebastian pressed his lips into a thin line. “She is human,” he gave in with a sigh and looked away.

It took a moment for his words to sink in. Human? Maya thought. “Oh.” That was a bit… “Wait, you met her at the university.”

He nodded with a sad sigh.

“You’re afraid you won’t be able to tell her about your werewolf identity.” This was complicated. In the modern age, werewolves were a myth in human society. If the woman rejected Sebastian, it would be painful—near fatal at this point. But if he kept repressing his instincts, sooner or later his wolf would take over, and that would be fatal anyway.

“That is the least of my problems,” Sebastian said. “Me being a werewolf is a different thing altogether. I’m the Alpha head of the Eclipse Pack. We’re hiding ourselves in human society. What if one day someone finds out about us? It could put her in danger.”

A human Luna would be looked down upon and would never be considered protected by an Alpha.

There are worlds between us, Sebastian thought. Not to mention he was her professor. In that alone, she could get in trouble in her world. If she joined his, it would be another set of troubles.

“Sebastian, you are our Alpha. We’re not the weak pack we were before. In the last fourteen years, we’ve come so far because of you. You think we can’t back you?”

“It’s not about that. She’s human, Maya.” It was said with a peel of understanding, not in disgust. If he was any other Alpha, he would have by now given in. Finding a mate like this is no less than a blessing from the Moon Goddess herself.

“Hey, that taboo is old-school. Our ancestors looked down on human-werewolf relationships because they were afraid the offspring would be born without wolves. And now—look at us. We’ve already done it to ourselves.” A sad look passed in Maya’s eyes. Knowing the reason, Sebastian felt this was not the conversation he should be having with her. Opening old wounds—what good would it do?

“You’re all right as you are. Don’t worry about it,” Sebastian’s voice was reassuring.

“That’s what I’m saying—she’s human, so what?” Maya quickly changed the subject, masking her face with a challenging look.

“You’ve given so many excuses, but you didn’t say she isn’t interested in you.”

Sebastian looked at Maya, and a rare vulnerable look passed in his eyes. Maya was surprised. She had never met a wolf who found a mate that synced with both wolf and heart. It was quite unique, and it seemed like this was happening to her friend. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time.

“She likes you.” She leaned on the edge of the desk.

“There have been some instances that lead me to believe there is a…” Sebastian’s words trailed off as the memory of the library flooded his mind. If there had been no interruption, he would have kissed her—he wasn’t even sure that would have been enough. And the way she was looking at him, her warm eyes inviting and her sweet lips parted… “a possibility,” he finished.

“Well then, talk to her,” Maya said in a matter-of-fact tone. “This means you’re not just hurting yourself but her too. Where is the man who has the guts to go against the whole world for what he believes in?”

“Enough,” Sebastian said sternly, but it was to avoid the praise that was coming his way. “I’m not here for love advice. Just give me something to suppress the symptoms of the mate-seeking syndrome.”

Maya rolled her eyes. “I told you, you’re a rare case, and love advice is the only medicine I can prescribe.”

“Healer Maya, I think he doesn’t know what to do because he’s a virgin,” a mischievous voice cut in.

Sebastian whipped his head to the side, looking at the fifteen-year-old boy hiding behind a desk.

“Amon! Were you eavesdropping?” Maya scolded as she stood up. Amon made a run for it, twinkling eyes flashing.

“That pumpkin—I’ll show him,” Sebastian narrowed his eyes and ran after him, out of Maya’s little cottage and into the muddy courtyard. It didn’t take long before Sebastian caught him and put him in a headlock.

“Virgin, huh?! Little pumpkin, do you even know what that word means?” he scolded, but there was fondness under it as Amon laughed harder.

“I’m fifteen, not five—and I’m not pumpkin.”

“You’ll always be pumpkin to me,” he ruffled his hair.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” All of Amon’s protests were ignored. “All right, all right, I’m sorry!” Amon managed to get out of Sebastian’s hold.

“What were you doing there? Eavesdropping is bad manners. Who raised you, kid?”

“You did!”

Sebastian sighed with fond exasperation.

“Everyone was worried about you, so I thought I’d check,” Amon shrugged.

“Don’t tell anyone, okay?” Sebastian said seriously. Seeing his expression, Amon straightened.

“You know, human or not, no one’s going to oppose you, right?” Amon asked.

“It’s complicated.”

“No, it’s not. If she likes you, she’s going to like you anyway. And if anyone in the pack says anything about our Luna, I’ll beat them up!” Amon said with all the vigor of youth.

Our Luna. The words resonated with Sebastian’s inner Alpha so strongly that the feeling nearly stilled him. Eva’s face was once again in his mind. If he really permanently marked her… what would it be like? He shook himself out of it, reining his wolf in tight.

“Who are you going to beat, little pumpkin? Huh? Go—get out of here and do your homework!” He waved him away.

“Alpha, don’t you think you’re taking your professor job quite seriously?” Amon teased.

“Are you forgetting who’s paying for your chess club?” Sebastian asked with a deadpan look.

Amon’s eyes widened. He raised his hands. “Fine, fine. Sheesh—bullying a child. Adults these days.” He shook his head in mock disappointment and turned away. Sebastian reached for him to teach him another lesson, but Amon had already run off.

Sebastian shook his head, smiling. The smile faded into wistfulness. Could he really have this so easily? Had anything in his life ever been easy?

He decided it would be wiser to find a secluded place when his rut came. If he stayed away from Eva—nowhere near her, not even her scent—

It’s better this way, Sebastian thought.