Fated: The Alpha's Unwanted Luna-Chapter 156: Taking care of her _Part 3

"Really?" She asked doubtfully, not entirely trusting him since he had previously made a deal that he would only tell her once she had mastered Spanish, but he nodded.

"Really. But only if you eat and let me hold you to sleep. If you won’t, then I will leave and never tell you the history." Sebastian negotiated calmly, already knowing she would not willingly allow him into her bed without some kind of arrangement. Furthermore, she might plan to skip yet another meal if he didn’t find a way to make her eat.

Viola pursed her lips, looking up at his face. The truth was she didn’t want him to go, she was genuinely longing for a good night’s sleep, and she was also deeply curious about the feud. The only thing standing in the way was eating, because her stomach felt far too uncomfortable to hold anything down. The thought of food was sickening at this point.

"I don’t feel like eating. I don’t have the appetite." She murmured under her breath, subconsciously leaning her head against his hard chest.

Sebastian felt pleased and displeased at the same time, pleased that she was leaning into him, and displeased that she had said she didn’t feel like eating. No doubt she had skipped every meal of the day, because there was no lingering food scent coming from her kitchen, as he had noted on his way into her bedroom. It was 7:30 pm now. Did she plan to sleep on an empty stomach?

This little woman of his was really uncaring about her own body.

"It’s unhealthy the way you eat, love. Let me cook something light for you." He said gently, but she shook her head, rubbing her hair against his chest and teasing the exposed skin at his throat between the open buttons of his shirt.

"I don’t want to. I can survive without a day of food. I will just end up throwing it all back up anyway, my stomach won’t take anything right now..." She grumbled, and then without realizing it, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt as her stomach cramped sharply again and she bit down hard on her lip, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain.

Sebastian noticed the small beads of sweat forming on her forehead and the way she was gripping at his shirt and squeezing her eyes tightly closed, and he immediately understood what was happening.

Her menstrual pains. He knew some women suffered through such pain, as his own sister, who had a weakened wolf, was among them, and Zoe’s had always been far more dramatic than anything Viola was showing now.

Zoe’s pain tolerance was so devastatingly low that she would cry and sob for the entire day during her teenage years, giving him a very hard time and countless sleepless nights, as the person who had raised her without a mother, the responsibility of taking care of her and getting her everything she needed had fallen entirely on him.

Sebastian had witnessed the worst of it firsthand, her temper would ignite and she would begin beating him with her pillow until he went and fetched the healers for her.

The healer had also informed him earlier that Viola was in that time of the month, which had made Evan’s kick land on top of pain that was already there. His jaw hardened.

"Is it always like this for you?" Sebastian asked gently as he set her carefully down onto the bed, like he was setting down a priced treasure he didn’t want to damage.

"What?" Viola questioned, sounding a little weak.

"Your menstrual pains." He said quietly, looking down at her as she looked back up at him with a small frown and a light flush of color rising to her cheeks. She gave a small nod and parted her lips.

"Not all the time... it just feels a little more intense than usual this time around..." She said, turning onto her side and curling up to hug and cradle her stomach as she added quietly, "I will be fine... It will go away by tomorrow. I am used to pain."

She was used to pain? No one should become accustomed to such a thing.

Sebastian looked down at her with quiet worry as she curled into herself, the shorts she wore riding up and revealing the lower half of her rounded ass and hips. He rested a hand lightly against her hip as he pressed the back of his other hand to her forehead, but she didn’t seem to notice either the possessively gentle grip on her hip or the one grazing her forehead as he whispered,

"Let me make you something to help with the discomfort. I will be right back." His warm breath fanned softly against her skin as he leaned down to speak close to her ear. "Will you eat if I make it?"

Viola could only manage a faint nod, for the cramps were growing worse by the second, shooting all the way through to her back, and the urge to be sick was creeping back up her throat.

Sebastian reluctantly left her side for a few minutes and went to the kitchen. He rolled up his shirt sleeves to his elbows and then got to work, moving efficiently between the pantry and the kitchen counter to gather ingredients. The sounds of chopping and bubbling filled the quiet apartment, and in no time at all he was ladling hot ginger and honey porridge into a bowl and setting it on a tray alongside a spoon, a bottle of warm water, and a glass.

By the time he returned to the room, Viola was lying on her stomach with the blanket pulled all the way up over her head. Sebastian could hear the faint moaning sounds she was making as if the pain had intensified.

"Love?" He called gently as he placed the tray down on the nightstand and carefully pulled the blanket back, only to find her face buried in the pillow, the pillowcase damp and darkened with her silent tears, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

She tried to struggle out of his grip to lay back down, but Sebastian didn’t let her.

"Oh, darling, come here." He sat down on the edge of the bed and slowly gathered her up onto his lap, blanket and all, wrapping everything around her. His chest felt wretched at the sight of her like that. He knew if the pain wasn’t so intense, she would never have allowed him to see her in such vulnerable state.

It took a great deal of coaxing and patience to get her to eat. After the first five spoonfuls, she began to take the spoon willingly on her own without him having to coax or guide it to her lips. Sebastian found himself smiling quietly when she emptied the bowl entirely and gulped down the warm water. Like a small child settling after a storm, she silently leaned her head back against his chest and stared at the opposite wall without saying a word.

"How do you feel now?" He asked, setting the empty bowl aside and tenderly stroking her hair, tucking a few loose strands back behind her ear.

Viola had never felt better, not after an episode like that. She had never known there was something that could ease the discomfort and lift her up so surprisingly and quickly the way that porridge and warm water just had. Where had he even learned to make something so delicious and so soothing?

"I feel much better... thank you," she murmured quietly, keeping her head down, embarrassed by the tears she had shed from the pain while he was gone.

"You’re welcome. Don’t worry, the next time you go through such discomfort, I will make you another bowl. I learned to make it from Aunt Daniella, Matt’s mother, when Zoe first started getting her painful periods. I am glad it worked to ease yours as well." He told her with a small, satisfied smile, quietly pleased that she had thanked him.

Viola found herself pleased that he had only confessed to making it for Zoe and not his other late wives. In all of her life, she had never been taken care of in this condition. When she was still living with the Lindens, nobody saw her pain, or they saw it and pretended they didn’t, because they only needed her to be the Alpha heir’s girl. And during the time she spent in the Hollow quarters, she had suffered even more through it.

This was the first time someone had made something to help ease her pain. She felt her heart swell to the brim, the emotion choking her throat. She had never had to rely on someone when she was sick, and she never thought it could feel this nice and cozy. She felt his arm around her, keeping her against him and her heart fluttered a bit.