Greykin Valley

| 6 | A Mate's Worry

Despite the fact it was the early hours of the morning, there were cars on the roads and people making their way up and down the streets.

He slipped his hands into his pockets and crossed the road. But while he headed for his apartment, every time he saw a man or woman within his line of sight, he tensed up and examined their faces and the way they walked. After seeing those undead humanoids out in the woods, he was afraid that the infection had already found its way into Silverlake.

But he couldn't let his fears eat him up. He trusted Lord Caedis and the Venaticus. They'd do whatever it took to protect Silverlake and every other civilization they could from this. Sebastien had his own priorities, though. Just like everyone else involved in this mission, he had someone to protect.

When he reached his apartment building, he hurried inside, up the stairs, and to his door. The moment he got inside, he called, "Babe? Are you awake?"

But there was no answer.

He locked the door behind him and made his way through to the lounge. When he flicked the lights on, he looked around for anything that might suggest something happened here, but everything was in order.

Sebastien exhaled deeply and relaxed. Then, he pulled his coat off, threw it onto the couch, and headed down the hall to the bedroom.

He didn't turn the lights on once he slowly and quietly opened the door. As silently as he could, he moved over to the bed and sat on the edge. "Hey?" he whispered as he gently leaned over to see Clementine's peaceful, sleeping face. "Babe?"

Clementine murmured in response.

"Sorry, I just got in."

With a quiet grunt, Clementine rolled over to face him. "You finished work?" he asked tiredly.

Sebastien shook his head as he ran his fingers through his mate's tousled, blonde hair. "No, I just snatched an hour away."

Clementine opened his eyes and gazed up at him. "Just an hour, huh?"

"Well...forty-eight minutes," Sebastien said with a smirk as he glanced at the clock.

"You better get your ass in bed, then," Clementine said, tugging on Sebastien's shirt.

But as much as Sebastien wanted to crawl into bed with him, he needed to put his mind at rest. "Actually, babe...I came to check on you."

"Check on me?"

"Yeah. There's this.... You know the cadejo virus shit we're dealing with right now?"

Clementine nodded.

"Well, we think it might have evolved and spread to humans. I was scared that maybe we discovered it too late, and people were already infected here. I was...I was worried something might have happened to you."

"I'm okay," Clementine said softly as he lifted his hand and placed it on the side of Sebastien's face. "You know you don't have to worry about me."

He huffed quietly. "Yeah, but I do anyway."

Clementine gazed at him for a moment...but then shuffled over to the other side of the bed and made Sebastien lay down beside him. Then, he caressed Sebastien's ashen hair as he asked, "What happened out there?"

"A lot," Sebastien said with a sigh, staring into his mate's piercing blue eyes. "The hybrid I told you about—"

"Jackson?"

"Yeah. We found his friend. We should be getting the location of the lab any time tonight. I don't know how long I'll be gone for once we set out to find it...but a part of me wants to ask Lord Caedis if I can sit this one out."