---- 21 I was already in tears, my voice breaking as I spoke. "So you just watched from afar like that, holding onto a hope with almost no chance, wasting ten years of your life?" Sebastian reached out to cup my face gently, his thumb brushing away the tears streaming down my cheeks. "wasting?" Sebastian smiled, but his eyes held unprecedented determination. "Have you ever heard this saying? When a young man's heart stirs once, it stirs forever." His voice was soft but firm, each word carrying the weight of years. "You're the mate the Moon Goddess chose for me. If it's not you, it won't be anyone else." I felt my breath catch. The intensity in his eyes was overwhelming. "Sebastian, you could have had anyone. You're powerful, handsome, from the strongest pack. ---- Any she-wolf would have been honored to be with you." "But I didn't want anyone else," he said simply. " For me, not a single second was wasted. Being able to stand here now and tell you I love you-that's the best reward these ten years could give me." My heart hammered against my ribs. This kind of devotion was something I'd only read about in fairy tales. "I watched you from afar," Sebastian continued, his voice growing husky with emotion. "I saw you laugh with him in the beginning. I saw how bright your smile was. Even though it killed me inside, I was glad you were happy." "But in these last few years, I noticed the light in your eyes dimming. Your smiles became forced. Your shoulders carried a weight they shouldn't have to bear." I closed my eyes, remembering those dark months when Kieran's betrayal had crushed my spirit. "Every time I saw you looking sad, I wanted to ---- storm into your life and demand to know who had hurt you," Sebastian said. "But I held back because you'd made your choice." "Until that auction night. Until I realized your choice had been built on lies." I didn't know how to respond to such burning passion, yet I couldn't help being touched in the softest depths of my heart. Sebastian had loved me silently for ten years. While Kieran had been playing games with other women, Sebastian had been waiting. Hoping. Believing. After a long moment, I finally found my voice. " I'm not sure I can give you the same intensity of feeling. My heart is... damaged. I don't know if I can love the way I used to." Sebastian gently wiped away my tears, his touch infinitely tender. "Silly girl, loving you is my own choice. I don't need you to match my intensity. I only need you to take one step-I'll take the remaining ninety-nine.