Chapter 25
I look at Ryan. “Sebi’s easy. She needs to fail.”
“Exactly.”
Jackson begins laughing. “And what will Sebi fail at? Definitely not warrior training.”
“No, not warrior training,” Ryan says, looking at Ezra.
He raises an eyebrow. “I take it your sister isn’t good with numbers?”
“She hates it. She’d rather spar all day than pour over numbers,” Ryan says.
“Shane is in my class with her. Should I worry that he’ll try to defend her?” he asks.
“You won’t have to be harsh. Failure isn’t an option for Sebi. She needs to succeed and that’s where she’ll struggle the most. Being mediocre won’t be good enough for her, either. That’s not how you get on the leaderboard,” I say.
“How’s Nicholas with finances?” Benjamin asks.
“Oh shit,” Jackson says.
“I’ve only had one class so far, but it seems like money is his favorite subject,” Ezra says.
“Compare Sebi to Nicholas and you’ve got her,” Benjamin says.
“That’s harsh,” Ryan says.
“That’s hell week. You remember how it was.‘
“Yeah, I do. Which is why I know that’s harsh,” he says, shaking his head.
“What about Shane?” Ezra asks.
“Trust is his issue. His father was betrayed by his Beta. Make him question himself and the people he’s surrounded himself with,” Benjamin says.
“You mean my brother and sister?” Ryan asks.
“Yes. We break him by making him feel like he’s alone,” Benjamin says. Since he was part of the
team who investigated the deaths of Shane’s parents, I trust that his ideas are sound.
“You better have Sebi far away when you question her commitment to him. She won’t hesitate to challenge you,” Ryan says.
“Ry’s right. We’ll have to remove her from the situation when we break him. And as different as she and Christian are, Sebi would die before she’d let anyone say that Christian was sabotaging Shane,” I say “Okay, what about the others?”
When I crawl into bed later that night, Harper lays her head on my chest.
“Are you going to tell me or make me drag it out of you?” she asks.
I chuckle. I love this woman so much.
“I hate the idea of breaking Sebi. I don’t like breaking Shane either, but Sebi is family.”
She lifts up onto her elbow and looks at me. “What do you always tell me about breaking these young Alphas, Dane?”
I smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It makes them stronger.”
“That’s right. This is a temporary pain for a long–term gain. Sebastiana is a strong, tough young woman. She’ll survive hell week and after that, you and Ryan can begin building her back up, stronger than before.”
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” I ask.
“I’d rather you show me,” she says, biting her lip in the way that she knows makes me crazy. So that’s what I do. I make my mate writhe and scream underneath me, so she knows just how much I love and adore her.
Sebastiana
The next morning I’m up and at the medical center first thing.
“Alpha Sebastiana, you’re here early. It’s technically only been a day and a half, young Alpha,” Dr. Whit says.
“Please, Dr. Whit. My bruising is almost completely gone, and I slept through the night without any pain meds last night,” I say.
She shakes her head and smiles. “Come in, then.”
I follow her inside the medical center and wait while she turns on the lights and the coffee
machine.
“Have a seat in room one. Take off your shirt and bra, and put on this gown, open in the front,” she says, handing me the gown.
