Evil MC's NTR Harem

Chapter 1193: Chapter 1193 Jackal

Sebastian ground his teeth, his body tense. Slowly, the immediate surge of rage ebbed enough that he didn’t strike Ross—but his glare could have cut steel.

He refused to eat the food Ross had prepared, staring at the chickens as if they were a trap laid out to mock him.

Instead, he turned to Bella, his voice low and urgent.

"We need to go back to base. Now," he said, desperation underlining each word.

His body still felt weak, but he hated being trapped in inactivity, forced to sit while danger—or worse, Ross—loomed nearby.

Bella shook her head, calm but unyielding.

"Not yet, Sebastian. You’re too weak to move safely. Eat first, regain your strength, then we’ll decide what to do next," she said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

Her gaze was soft, but her tone carried the weight of authority he could not ignore.

Sebastian clenched his fists in his lap, the muscles in his jaw straining.

Every instinct screamed at him to act, to take control, but Bella’s calm insistence forced him to remain seated.

He stole a glance at Ross, who was now leaning casually against the wall, watching them with that infuriatingly smug expression, and his stomach tightened—not from hunger, but from frustration.

The smell of the grilled chickens made Sebastian’s teeth grind.

Each sizzling, aromatic piece felt like a provocation.

He wanted to throw it across the room, to show Ross he wasn’t some passive prey, but he knew that would only escalate the situation—and Bella’s firm hand on his arm reminded him of the consequences.

Minutes passed, the quiet hum of the torches filling the awkward silence.

Sebastian’s mind raced, replaying scenarios of escape, confrontation, and planning their return.

Every shadow seemed to move; every subtle sound made him jump. Ross, for all his teasing, did not intervene.

That only made Sebastian’s suspicion grow—why wasn’t he doing anything? Was it confidence, or something more dangerous?

Finally, Bella placed a hand gently on his knee. "Sebastian... breathe. You’re here, alive. You have time. Don’t let anger cloud your judgment."

Sebastian exhaled sharply, trying to release the tension coiling in his chest.

But even as he forced himself to calm down, the simmering fury remained, a low-burning ember that refused to die.

He didn’t touch the food Ross had brought. He couldn’t.

Not until he was ready—and not until he understood what game Ross was playing.

***

Night settled over the forest like a heavy veil, swallowing the last traces of light.

The cave grew colder, shadows stretching unnaturally along its walls, and Sebastian felt a faint pressure in his chest he couldn’t explain.

It was as if the darkness itself was watching them.

Something was different.

"Come now, Bella. Let’s go to sleep," Sebastian said at last, forcing calm into his voice as he approached her.

His body had mostly recovered throughout the day.

He had even ventured outside earlier, carefully scouting the area.

They were deep within a forest, far from any roads or ruins.

The cave was so isolated that he hadn’t encountered a single zombie—not even a distant groan or wandering silhouette.

That should have reassured him.

Instead, it made him even more uneasy.

Sebastian hadn’t gone far. He couldn’t bring himself to.

The thought of leaving Bella alone with Ross for too long gnawed at him.

There was something about the man that felt fundamentally wrong—an instinctive warning that crawled beneath Sebastian’s skin.

Ross was polite enough, quiet enough, but his presence felt... heavy, like standing too close to a storm that hadn’t broken yet.

"Ahhhh..." Bella let out a soft moan.

The sound snapped Sebastian’s attention back to her.

His breath caught as he took in her expression. Her eyes were half-lidded, her lips slightly parted, her cheeks faintly flushed.

He knew that look intimately. It was the same look she had worn countless times before—an unspoken desire, a silent invitation that made his blood run hot.

For a moment, the fear and suspicion faded. Instinct took over.

Sebastian stepped closer, his hand reaching out to her without hesitation, intent on pulling her into his arms, on grounding himself in something familiar and real.

The moment his fingers brushed her—

"Don’t!"

Bella jerked back with a sharp cry, as if struck by pain. She recoiled violently, stumbling away from him, her face drained of color.

Fear flooded her expression, raw and unfiltered, nothing like the desire from just seconds earlier.

Sebastian froze, shock ripping through him.

"Bella?" he whispered, his voice unsteady.

She didn’t answer. Her eyes were locked on his hand.

Sebastian followed her gaze, and his stomach dropped.

His hand was swollen, the skin an angry red, as though it had been burned by something invisible.

A faint heat pulsed beneath the surface, painful and unnatural. He flexed his fingers instinctively, a sharp sting shooting up his arm.

"I—I didn’t mean to," Bella stammered, backing away further, her breathing uneven. "I don’t know what happened..."

Sebastian stared at his hand, then back at her, dread creeping into his heart.

Nothing like this had ever happened before. Not to them. Not like this.

From the shadows deeper within the cave, silence pressed in—thick, suffocating, and somehow aware.

Sebastian had the terrifying feeling that whatever was happening to them... it had already begun.

"I feel something..." Bella whispered.

Her brows knit together as she tilted her head slightly, then she sniffed the air again, more deliberately this time.

Whatever she sensed made her stiffen.

Without explaining, she pushed herself up from the makeshift bed they had pieced together from dried grass and spare clothing, moving with sudden purpose.

"Bella?" Sebastian called, confused by the abrupt change.

She didn’t answer.

"I said wait!" he added, rising quickly and following after her.

Sebastian stepped out also wearing only his pants, the cool night air biting against his skin.

Moonlight filtered weakly through the canopy above, casting fractured shadows across the forest floor.

His eyes scanned the area anxiously, but it didn’t take long to find her.