---- "That day, I spent a fortune buying those green healing stones," Sebastian admitted. "I hoped that someday, somehow, I could give them to you and make you smile again." "you were the anonymous bidder," I realized. Sebastian nodded. "And that night at the pack banquet, I followed you when you left. I saw Kieran abandon you halfway home to be with that woman." His voice hardened with anger. "I watched you flag down my car. I followed behind you and witnessed him stabbing his own hand for her." "You saw all of that?" "Everything," Sebastian said. "That's when I knew you wouldn't compromise yourself anymore. It seemed like maybe, just maybe, I might have another chance to stand beside you." He looked at me with infinite tenderness. ---- "That day, as you walked home alone in the rain- if you had just turned around once, you would have discovered I was there, following behind you all along." "Protecting me," I whispered. "Always," Sebastian said firmly. "Even when you belonged to someone else, I couldn't stop myself from watching over you." The depth of his devotion left me speechless. This man had loved me silently for ten years, asking for nothing in return.