Chapter 16 #2
“For me to believe you, he needs to actually face me.” I turn back to the security camera, speaking into the lens. “I know you’re watching, Sebastian. Either you come down here right now, or I’m taking this”—I tap the Mark on my neck—“and walking away from you forever.”
Saint moves to stand beside me, his shoulder brushing mine in silent support. “Clock’s ticking.”
Gabriel sighs, running a hand through his hair. “You two really aren’t going to make this easy, are you?”
“Easy stopped being an option five days ago.” I cross my arms. “He doesn’t get to hide anymore.”
Footsteps echo from deeper inside the manor, too light to be Sebastian’s.
Gabriel’s attention shifts past me, his expression morphing from concern to amusement.
A redheaded Omega appears at the top of the grand staircase, wearing wide-legged cream pants and a sleeveless sage blouse that cost more than my monthly rent. He stops mid-descent, crystal-blue eyes widening as they take in the electronic carnage scattered across the marble floor.
“What the hell is all this screeching about?” The redhead continues down, each step deliberate. His hair catches the light from the massive chandelier, turning it into living flame. “Some of us were trying to nap.”
“Sorry, Milo,” Gabriel calls up, not sounding sorry at all. “We have visitors.”
Milo reaches the bottom step, crossing his arms over his slender chest. Freckles dust his skin like cinnamon, concentrated across his nose and bare shoulders.
He circles me, studying me with unabashed curiosity. “This is Sebastian’s cam boy?”
My spine stiffens. “I have a name.”
“I bet you do.” Milo completes his circuit, stopping beside Gabriel. “Several, probably. That’s how your business works, right?”
Before I can respond, another set of footsteps approaches, these ones tentative.
A smaller man appears in a doorway to our right, hovering at the threshold as if he might bolt at any moment.
His olive skin contrasts with inky black hair that falls over his forehead.
Unlike Milo’s confident stance, this man clutches a blanket around his shoulders, his fingers worrying its edge.
“Phoenix,” Gabriel sighs. “Go back upstairs. This doesn’t concern you.”
Phoenix ignores him as he trots over to Milo, whispering something I can’t quite catch.
Milo snorts.
“What?” Gabriel asks.
“Phoenix says this is Sebastian’s boyfriend.” Milo’s lips curve into a smirk. “The one he’s been hiding from everyone.”
Phoenix whispers again, and Milo’s nostrils flare. “He Marked you?”
“And then ran,” Saint supplies angrily.
“Consensually?” Milo demands, no longer amused.
“Debatable,” Saint snaps.
I turn back to the pile of cameras, unable to bear the pity creeping into Phoenix’s expression, and the toe of my shoe brushes a small, round device no bigger than a button. I pick it up, turning the tiny camera over in my palm.
Rage boils fresh in my veins.
“You know what we found after we took down all the visible cameras?” I hold the device up. “Even more of them. Hidden ones.”
I dig deeper into the scattered pile and pull out a tiny camera no bigger than my thumbnail, its lens nearly invisible to the naked eye. I wave it in the air, my hand shaking with fury.
“We agreed no bathroom camera!” The words tear from my throat. “We had boundaries. Rules. And you put these everywhere!”
Milo’s eyebrows rise toward his hairline. “Kinky.”
“It’s not kinky, it’s violating.” I stomp forward, the camera pinched between my fingers. “After we removed all the cameras we could see, Saint suggested we scan for bugs. Guess what we found? Dozens more.”
My laugh comes out harsh. “The great security expert made such a big deal about transparency, about how I could trust him to watch over me. But he hid cameras in places he swore would stay private.”
The tiny camera crunches under my boot as I smash it on the marble floor, the sound satisfying in the tense silence.
Phoenix shrinks back, the blanket pulled tight around him. Milo’s face hardens into an expression I can’t read. Gabriel remains silent, his posture tense as he watches my meltdown.
“I trusted him,” I continue, my voice cracking. “I let him into my home, my business. I wore a blindfold for him. I let him monitor my life. And what did I get in return?” I sweep a hand out to encompass the electronic devices. “This!”
Gabriel steps forward. “In Sebastian’s defense—”
“Don’t.” Saint cuts him off. “There is no defense.”
Gabriel’s lips snap shut before they curl into a wicked smile. “Actually, I was going to say that, in Sebastian’s defense, I had no idea he was into voyeurism. Wait until I tell our cousins what kind of kinks he gets up to.”
“Gabriel!” Phoenix gasps, scandalized.
“What?” Gabriel shrugs. “It’s nice to know Perfect Sebastian has his dark side. Family dinner will be less boring tonight.”
“I like the cam boy,” Milo announces to the room at large. “Anyone who can put Sebastian in his place is welcome here.”
Saint tenses beside me, his protective instincts flaring.
“This isn’t a social call.” I face the security camera again. “Sebastian! Stop hiding behind your family and face me!”
A new set of footsteps sounds from the corridor beyond the staircase, and my heart hammers as I recognize Sebastian’s cadence.
He emerges from the shadows, and the sight of him knocks the wind from my lungs. Dark shadows sit high on his cheekbones, and his hair stands in disarray as if he’s been running his hands through it for days. The scars on the left side of his face stand out starkly against his pallor.
He stops several feet away, staring at me with an expression of raw desperation. “Micah, please calm down.”
The anger I’ve been nurturing for five days erupts in a flash of white-hot rage. “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down! You don’t get to disappear and then act like I’m the unreasonable one!”
Sebastian flinches as if struck, his shoulders hunching. “I deserve your anger.”
“You deserve a lot more than that.” I advance on him, forcing myself not to react to the pain in his expression. “Ignoring everything else you did, you bugged my apartment without permission.”
“I can explain,” Sebastian says barely above a whisper.
“Oh, this should be good,” Milo murmurs, settling in to watch the show.
Sebastian glances at his family members before his focus returns to me. “Can we talk somewhere in private?”
“No.” My fingers curl into fists at my sides. “You don’t get privacy. You lost the right when you put cameras in my bathroom.”
Sebastian’s face flushes with color. “I didn’t—” He stops, swallowing hard. “The bathroom camera was for the window. The fire escape outside your bathroom is a security risk. I never activated the internal view.”
“Oh, well, that makes it all better,” I snap. “Because you’ve been so honest about everything else.”
Sebastian’s face crumples, the stoic mask slipping to reveal genuine anguish. “Micah, what happened during your Heat… I lost control. I Marked you without permission. I took advantage when you were vulnerable.”
“So you ran?” The words come out softer than I intended, betraying the hurt beneath my anger.
“I panicked.” Sebastian takes a step closer, his hands outstretched in supplication. “I woke up and realized what I’d done, and I couldn’t face you. I was ashamed.”
Saint scoffs beside me. “You left him alone with a stalker.”
Sebastian’s attention snaps to Saint, his expression hardening. “I had people watching his apartment. He was never unprotected.”
“Could have fooled me,” Saint counters. “Your boy got another delivery two days ago. Photo, threats, the whole package.”
Sebastian freezes, the blood draining from his face. “What?”
Saint folds his arms. “Guess your security isn’t as good as you think it is.”
“He knows my real name now.” I hug my elbows. “And he wants me back on camera.”
“No.” Sebastian’s scarred face twists with fury. “You’re not giving in to his demands.”
I blink away the threat of tears. “Not sure you have a say in what I do anymore.”
He swallows hard. “I deserve that. But, please, I need to know you’re safe, baby.”
The pain on his face cuts through me, and despite my resolve, I shuffle toward him. “Then don’t leave me alone, silly Alpha.”
“Oh my god!” Saint shouts. “Are you seriously forgiving him right now?”
“Shut up, Saint,” I say without taking my attention off Sebastian’s face, where hope flickers to life.
“Yeah, shut up, Saint.” Gabriel grabs my friend’s arm. “Come have a drink with me while they do their thing.”
“Get your manicured hands off me,” Saint snarls, but cuts off when the Omegas surround him, too, blocking off his escape.
“Yes.” Milo latches onto his other arm. “A drink sounds fantastic. Phoenix?”
The little Omega pulls his blanket closer and trails after them as my best friend is dragged deeper into the manor.
Sebastian closes the distance between us, stepping around the scattering of electronics. “Please, can we talk?”
I squint at him. “You have a lot of groveling to do.”
“I will.” He tentatively takes my hand. “As much as you need me to.”
With a huff, I let him pull me toward the hall he came from. We pass several closed doorways before he stops in front of one and opens it, gesturing for me to go first.
I step inside, staring at all the monitors on the wall that show various rooms in the manor, including the study where Saint was swept off to. A computer chair sits in front of them, pulled up to a desk covered in electronics and a single framed picture of me.
This must be Sebastian’s workspace.
The latch of the door closing pulls me around, and I find Sebastian leaning against it, studying me.
“I do have a few questions of my own, though.” Sebastian steps forward, his face cast in flickering light from the monitors. “Starting with, how did you know where to find me? I never told you my last name.”