The Beast and His Tamer

Chapter 42: Challenge Accepted

The sun shined through the windows. It felt too early to wake up, especially when it was so peaceful in the bed that he was molded into.

He had never felt such peace and calmness in his entire life. Even the past times when he was laying with Sebastian, it had never felt like this. This made everything worth it. All the trouble and trials of trying to get answers out of the man and being pushed to the brink as he raced to try and catch him before it was too late. Before the man that he had been desperately trying to keep in his arms forever spent forever with someone else.

That thought alone angered him enough to wake him up. He recalled what had happened the day before well. Rhett still couldn't believe that they would force a marriage on their son, without at least seeing how he felt about it. Let alone make him do it in the middle of what was considered his work. None of that seemed to make a lick of sense.

All of that anger seeped away again when he felt someone snuggle up against him before settling back down again. Sebastian was just a tiny ball in his arms. His legs were wrapped around him tightly as his head was tucked just under his chin. His long hair Rhett had kept out of the blanket, just so it wouldn't get tangled up in anything. Now that he sat up, pulling the man in his arms with him, he laid flat against the blankets in all of its glory.

He didn't understand how Sebastian could feel insecure about it. There was nothing in the world that could describe just how beautiful it was. It was as shiny and as soft as silk as it traveled like a river across the bed. He would never get over it. That was why he wanted it to stay down that night. Rhett wanted to feel that hair against him as he fell asleep. The beautiful strands were their own blanket, and Rhett wanted to be buried by them, completely hidden under the thick locks.

The sunrays made the hair glitter and sparkle, just as the water did on summer days when he would run around and play. There was always something about Sebastian that sparkled. He had lit up Rhett's whole world. That was why he had to end whatever Sebastian's parents were doing. That was why he had to finally mark him. Sebastian might not have known what a mark like his meant, but he had agreed to it nonetheless. Rhett had made sure of it.

Now that he could feel Sebastian's emotions, all he could sense at the moment was peace from him. Even asleep, he felt like he was right where he belonged, and Rhett absolutely loved it. It had taken an eternity to find him, and almost just as long to make him his.

The mark wasn't that big. If anything, it looked like a tiny birthmark on Sebastian's neck. He didn't want to make it big. Rhett wasn't planning on making a big spectacle about it. Werewolves and other beings with good noses would know that Sebastian was his just through their scents. Rhett wasn't the showy type. At least, not when it came to this. He was just happy that it was finally done.

Sebastian was officially his mate.

He basked in that thought for a moment, enjoying the sound of it in his mind. In the beginning, he had been so worried about his brother and trying to be cured so that he could keep his pack from crumbling, that he couldn't understand the connection that he had with Sebastian. He was so disillusioned with what had happened, that he had made himself blind to it, even though it was obvious to Noah at least. That man still had the most smug smile on his face whenever he mentioned the word mate around him.

He still had to find his brother, along with Odin's wife and child. But he wasn't as worried as he had been. Now that this was all said and done, finalized with a mark to concrete their fates, Rhett had a feeling that things were going to be better than they had been. He hadn't given up then, and he most certainly wasn't going to give up now.

But there was still something left to do about this at the moment. There was one last thing that he had to take care of with Sebastian being his mate. It might wind up being a bit dramatic, but he was sure that it was going to be okay. They would figure out the rest with time, but he wasn't going to let this one thing wait any longer.