Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25

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Stella slouched back in her gaming chair and stretched, her slender arms exposed. She took off her noise–canceling headphones and spun her chair around, frozen when she met Sebastian’s gaze.

Sebastian sat where the light and shadows met. His strikingly handsome face was so pale and sickly, yet impossible to look away from. He was half in darkness, as if he belonged there.

His eyes were like bottomless pools, and there was a dangerous, almost predatory aura about him.

Stella blinked in surprise. “Mr. Gray, you’re still here?”

Sebastian didn’t answer. His long fingers toyed with the black prayer beads on his wrist, the beads clicking softly. The screen in front of him was dark.

“Come here,” he said, extending his hand with the prayer beads, palm up, exuding an air of total command.

Stella looked at Sebastian’s outstretched hand. For some reason, it felt just like she was back in the game. Without thinking, she placed her hand in his.

Sebastian’s large hand slowly closed around hers, his touch still icy cold.

He’d just gotten a message about Gray Manor. “You’re coming with me to Gray Manor tomorrow,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

It was just a simple sentence, but Stella immediately sensed the darkness in his words, like the stillness before a violent storm. “Mr. Gray, are you angry?” she asked quietly.

Sebastian fell silent again, his gaze cold enough to send chills down someone’s spine. Beneath that calm surface, a storm was raging, but the way he held her wrist was still gentle.

Stella’s phone rang, shattering the quiet. The caller ID flashed Hazel’s name. This time, worried Stella might still ignore her, Hazel even sent a message first.

Something fishy was going on. Stella casually tapped the answer button, not really bothered.

“Stella…” Hazel’s voice came through. She was clearly gritting her teeth in anger, but still forced a smile. That only made Stella more curious about what kind of tricks Hazel was up to.

Stella idly played with the black prayer beads on Sebastian’s wrist. “Did my blessing meet your expectations?” she asked. The beads, carved with scriptures, encircled his slender wrist with a subtle, almost taboo quality.

Hazel went silent for a couple of seconds. “Stella, there’s been a misunderstanding between us. Can we meet tomorrow night?” Her tone was nothing like yesterday’s arrogance. This time, she actually sounded a bit meek.

“Sure,” Stella replied without hesitation.

Hazel clearly hadn’t expected Stella to agree so easily. All the lines she’d prepared in her head went out the window before she could even start.

“See you then,” Hazel said, her expression almost twisting in frustration as she forced herself to swallow her anger. But before she could press Stella about Moondust, Stella had already hung up.

Hazel angrily slammed her phone onto the bed. ‘Let Stella be cocky for one more day. Tomorrow night, someone will take care of her, she thought. She smirked coldly and then sent a message to Arrogant Wind on WhatsApp.

Hazel: [She agreed. Tomorrow night, it’s all on you.]

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Chapter 25

As soon as she sent the message, the Lunar Guild’s group chat blew up with notifications.

One of the messages said: [Hazelight, go check the forum announcement.]

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Hazel scrambled to log into the Nova Legends forum, spotting a fresh system announcement pinned right at the top. It was posted just a minute ago.

[Punishment Notice: Arrogant Wind and Hazelight have been found to have abnormal data, using a third–party software to steal account information from Starfall.]

Hazel’s mind went blank. Both her account and Arrogant Wind’s had just been banned by the system. Gritting her teeth, she, hissed, “Stella!”

*****

Meanwhile, Stella said, “If I get into trouble tomorrow, Mr. Gray, you’ll cover for me, right?” Her lashes lowered, hiding the edge in her eyes. Her voice was cool and teasing, the last word trailing off like a hook, daring Sebastian to bite.

Sebastian’s fingers stilled on his beads. He knew full well she was acting like that on purpose, but his eyes grew even darker. “Just don’t go too far.”

“I’ll do my best not to leave any bodies behind,” Stella replied with a cold, mischievous smirk.

Sebastian reached out and tapped her lightly between the brows, his face unreadable. “I’m telling you not to get hurt.”

His gaze was deep and impossible to read, but for a split second, Stella caught a flicker of something she couldn’t name. She instinctively covered her forehead, and, after a moment, nodded.

The door suddenly swung open, and Lucas, fresh from his bath and smelling clean, spotted Stella. His eyes lit up, and he dashed over, latching onto her leg with a big hug.

He tilted his head up, blinking his sparkling eyes at her. His gaze read, “I’ve been looking for you forever, Stella. I wanna sleep with you tonight.”

“Lucas!” Sebastian’s strikingly handsome face was frosty. But Lucas just glanced at him and then hugged Stella even tighter, puffing his cheeks out. The defiance was adorable.

“Mr. Gray, I’ll take Lucas downstairs,” Stella said, reaching out to take Lucas’s hand. She wanted to check on how he was doing anyway.

Just as they reached the door, Lucas turned and stuck his tongue out. ‘See? Stella likes me best,‘ he thought proudly.

*****

Late at night, Sebastian stared at the ceiling, his face brooding and pale. Dressed in black pajamas, he looked every bit the demon himself, cold and menacing.

The chill around him was so palpable that even Snowball, coiled on the floor, peeked open an eye.

Unable to sleep, Sebastian sat up, his icy gaze landing on Snowball. The big python shuddered, debating whether to keep faking sleep or just play dead for real.

The electric wheelchair moved through the darkness. As soon as Sebastian disappeared out the bedroom door, Snowball instantly sprawled out, limp as a noodle. It had been terrified.

The door to the children’s bedroom slid open without a sound. On the oversized bed, Stella lay quietly asleep, cradling Lucas in her arms.

A faint, sweet fragrance lingered on her skin from her bath, and as soon as Sebastian caught a whiff of it, the tension

12:12 Tue, Jan 13 G GR

Chapter 25

throbbing at his temples began to melt away. Even the icy edge in his gaze thawed, just a little.

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A while later, Stella, half–asleep, breathed in that familiar, oppressive scent of dark wood, which flooded her senses and left. no room for anything else. She had a peaceful night’s sleep.

*****

The next morning in the dining room, Lucas puffed out his cheeks in protest, holding his tablet high above his head. To show just how mad he was, he’d even drawn a cute and small version of himself with flames shooting out of its head.

On the tablet was: [I saw it!]. What he meant was that he had seen Sebastian sleeping next to Stella this morning.

Sebastian sat calmly at breakfast. He finally looked better, less pale, after catching up on some much–needed sleep.

“So?” Sebastian’s eyes were deep and unfazed. He wasn’t the least bit ashamed about sharing Stella’s bed last night.

Lucas wrote, much angrier, [I’m gonna tell Stella you’re a bad guy.]

Sebastian sneered, icy and arrogant, not about to let his five–year–old nephew off easily. “Oh yeah? Then I’ll tell her you still

wet the bed.”

Lucas was stunned, like his whole world had just come crashing down. Tears brimmed in his eyes, and he looked ready to cry any second.

“What are you two talking about?” Stella strolled into the dining room, rocking a crisp white shirt and jeans. Her makeup- free face was deceptively sweet, with a hint of rebellious coolness that made her stand out.

“We were just discussing-” Sebastian shot Lucas a lazy glance and replied.