Author's note/warning: there's very, very minor sexual activity written in this chapter, as well as descriptions of physical intimacy and the aftermath of lovemaking between two partners. Read at your own discretion.
____________________
Chapter One Hundred
It was his weight that I think I was beginning to love the most... the feeling of his body against mine, interlocked and tangled together in a spiral of heat that was putting me into a state of bliss.
I truly loved it.
I hummed softly in time with his slow, even breathing as I lay beneath him in the grass, arms still wrapped around his neck and stroking his soft fur as I gazed up at the stars through the swaying tree branches. The world was cold, but I was warmer than warm after the last two hours of wild, uncontrolled lovemaking we'd just experienced together. I was so high off of the afterglow that I barely had enough presence to think or feel anything but bliss and delight and contentment.
Sebastian's head lay pillowed against my chest, dark eyes glazed and staring off into space.
His muzzle was open slightly, showing off his sharp teeth as he panted from the earlier exertion he'd put himself through, ears occasionally swiveling to and fro. His skull was massive like this, but I stroked his soft ears and gently petted my way across the unusual shape of his head.
I presumed he was either listening to me sing or listening to my heartbeat.
Time was at a standstill for the two of us.
I love him, I whispered silently, smiling outwardly in delight as I gently crooned out a soft melody that had no name or lyrics. God, I love him...
Being in love, for me, was like falling into a pool of everlasting liquid warmth.
I shifted slightly beneath him and didn't bat an eyelash when I felt an intense twinge in my rear, followed by extreme wetness. I cringed and saw his ear flick, nose twitching; a low, human-like series of rumbles left his mouth as he laughed at the situation happening between my legs.
I rolled my eyes to ward off my embarrassment and caressed his muzzle, watching those eyes of his flick to look at me. Lovely dark made my heart swell and I smiled despite myself, stroking him behind his soft ears once again before cupping his muzzle with both hands.
Even the one in the splint.
I studied his beast-like features intensely, memorizing every line of his snout, of his extremely wide nose, of the dog-like lips covering his razor-sharp teeth, and the soft chocolate fur that curled wildly around his facial features yet remained straight almost everywhere else.
I looked at his tail, the big bushy thing that swayed gently as he looked at me, wagging his pleasure and contentment in a somewhat lazy-looking fashion.
"You make my heart feel big," I told him, and he blinked. "When I'm with you, when you look at me, when you say the things you do and show me proof through your behavior that I'm truly yours, I just... my heart... it makes me feel like I feel when I'm singing for people. I'm happy."
His dark eyes glinted and with a crunch, his body finally began to shift again. I was immediately rendered breathless as I watched his body shrink, tendons and muscles and sinew contorting as his bones rearranged themselves. His beastly features snap-crackle-popped away and his normal face began to form, grinding itself back into the lines I knew and loved.
His chocolate brown coat shrank into skin, seeming to melt away from my entire body.
Soft fur was replaced with the sensation of burning flesh covered in what felt like sweat and... sexual fluids. Two minutes later, his transformation finished with a final crunch of a bone snapping into place and he shook himself off before unexpectedly parting my legs with his knees and forcing me to lie beneath him spread-eagle. I swallowed hard when he bumped our noses together.
"Good boy," he purred, chuckling wickedly as he caressed my well-loved body, stroking his way down my waist and across my hip, and then to my rear. I flinched when he went further, probing the one spot I was probably going to be the most sore in later on. His lips curved into a smile. "I adore this part of making love to you, Aerin... the part that comes after."
I blinked, confused by his statement but still flushing red as he touched me intimately.
"W-what do you mean?" I asked, but he merely raised an eyebrow and kissed me. I melted against him, practically going numb, but then he pulled away and leaned very close to my ear.
"I love leaving my mark in you," he said in a deep, wicked tone, and for emphasis he drove his fingers inside me and I jumped, literally shell-shocked. "I love being with you... owning every last inch of you, right down to your core... you have no idea how much you drive me wild."
"B-Bash!" I squeaked, not daring to move. "Too much!"
After a second, he pulled out and I felt a wash of wetness that made my face start burning profusely. I said nothing, mortified and embarrassed and yet somehow not really bothered at all. His eyes softened and the sinful little smirk faded as he looked down at me.
"You're so beautiful," he murmured, and with no warning he leaned back and sat upright, towering over me. To my confusion he grabbed me beneath the arms and pulled me out from under his legs. I wriggled, completely taken off guard as he lifted me off the ground and expertly spread my legs with one hand so he could set me down on his lap, being careful about my wrist.
I leaned close to him, arms instinctively coming around the back of his neck to remain upright even as I locked my ankles around his waist, and I flushed since the position was provocative.
"So are you," I mumbled, still taken off guard from his earlier actions.
Instead of acting naughty he pulled me up and held me so I was slightly above him. I found myself staring deep into his eyes from only an inch away.
"Tonight," he said quietly, lips barely moving as he looked into the depths of my soul. "Tonight, you gave me something I've wanted since the moment I was first turned, Aerin. Words... cannot... express... how... wonderful... and joyful... and overall... loved... I feel right now."
"I'm glad," I said, "but... what did I give you?"
I had my suspicious but I wanted to hear it.
"Acceptance," he sighed, smirking at me through sex-glazed eyes; he pushed his curly hair off his forehead with one hand, keeping the other wrapped around my lower back. "Jasper hated my wolfish side... I told you of the things he said as well as my hatred for the way I look as a result."
"You did," I agreed, but he silenced me with an insistent look.
"You saw all of me, Aerin, saw me in the form that I feel most ugly in," he uttered, tilting his head back and exposing his throat as he gazed up at the sky with a tense jaw, "and you still said I was beautiful... you said you wanted to show love to all sides of me, including the wolf."
"Yeah, I did, and I meant it," I chimed, kissing his chin with a smile. "You're beautiful in all forms."
"Aerin," he said in a small voice. "Tonight... you went farther with me than Jasper."
My heart skipped a beat.
At first, I didn't know what to feel, but my sudden nerves were calmed by the look on his face as he stared at the empty sky above us. A sweep of something slow and warm crept through my stomach and spread throughout my limbs like water when he fixed that same stare on me.
There was no perverted teasing. There was no sarcasm. There was no irritation.
No masks of any sort.
All I saw when he looked at me was a man that was happy with his life, the face of someone who had somehow achieved their greatest dreams and was now basking in the rewards that would surely come from them.
He leaned close, gazing at me as our lips met once more, soft and sweet. It lasted for about thirty seconds before his lips glided down to my neck, and then my shoulder. He held me for the longest time, both of us completely nude but no longer caring about it now that our sexual energy had been properly released.
I relaxed against him, tilting my head as he went back to kissing my throat. However, my skin was growing chilly and we'd admittedly been out here for several hours so I figured the thing to do would be getting dressed and going back home.
Sebastian was right, after all.
As uneasy as the thought of Jasper being able to send me dreams and know what was up made me feel, the dedication of the man now holding me against him was enough to make me feel like I would be safe even if he did show up again with hostile intentions.
A lot was happening, and a lot was going on, but no matter what... we had each other.
I let out a soft mew of a complaint when he pulled his warm lips away from my body.
"It's three in the morning, which officially makes it Monday," he quietly told me, cupping my chin and forcibly holding my head still to make eye contact. "I am still angry with Jak, and with his pack, for the way they mistreated you... but I cannot ignore what you're doing."
"You mean with helping him and his kid reconnect?" I asked, and he nodded sharply. "Well, I mean, I just want them to be able to--"
"I know, Beloved," he told me, rolling his eyes. "That's precisely why I'm opening as many doors as I can to help you do so. I am, admittedly, curious to see if you can work your magic on him."
"Really?" I asked, raising a confused eyebrow. "Why?"
"Don't act Blonde," Sebastian deadpanned, smirking slightly when I frowned at him. "You know just as well as I do that he is an asshole just like me. Perhaps even worse than me, really, since I would never treat a child belonging to me so poorly... not in a million fucking years."
I don't know why I was surprised by him mentioning kids of his own, but I was since it was a thought that had never really crossed my own mind.
Would he be a good dad? I wondered, staring at him through dreamy eyes. If we're together for years and years, will he ever want to have kids? And how would that even work with us being what we are? We definitely couldn't adopt a normal human baby...
I thought about it for a second.
I mean, realistically, did werewolves even have things like orphanages where people could adopt children?
I shook my head.
No... they hang around in groups, so if a baby is orphaned the rest would probably step in, I mentally sighed, nuzzling his collarbone with a private smile. Still, the thought of having a kid with him is a nice one. Maybe after a few years we can have this talk.
"I think you'd be an awesome father," I murmured aloud, stroking his well-defined back.
"Damn right I would," he growled, grinning wolfishly before his eyes hardened; I noticed that his irises were slowly beginning to glow copper again, a sign that his emotions were returning to their normal turbulent nature. "Tomorrow night, after the sun rises and sets again, I'd like to take you and the annoying Derkshire alpha to Moonies with his kid. Are you up for it?"
"I already talked to Tiffany about that, and yeah, I'm okay with it," I said, then pulled away from him, thinking deeply about what we had to do this week. "So... just to be clear, we're staying at your house until Thursday rolls around, correct?"
"Yes," he confirmed, nodding once. "On Thursday night, you and I are going to head out so we can meet with this foolish human you told me about. I'm bringing Richard and Diana along just in case, but they'll be out of sight watching from a distance to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"He's a normal person," I scoffed, instantly rolling my eyes. "Not even mentioning he's my ex's nephew... he may hate me, but I don't think he'd hurt me for real."
"He threatened to kill you with a box cutter!" Sebastian snarled, and I flinched at the aggression in his tone before I caught myself. "Aerin, think about this rationally."
"That's just it. I did," I murmured, shrugging. "He had the chance to do whatever he wanted... but he didn't. The way he was talking to me, the anger he's feeling, even his reaction to the scars William gave me... and his reaction to the truth... I think what he really wants is some closure."
Sebastian snorted and clutched me tightly before swinging himself up to his feet.
I kept my ankles locked around his back and my arms around his neck, but the movement admittedly caused some embarrassing trouble downstairs and I knew he noticed if that twinge of cockiness flashing behind his eyes was any sign. His lips quirked and he raised an eyebrow.
"You're leaking," he purred, and I cringed, which only made him laugh nastily. "Told you I'd stretch you out. Can't even hold it inside of you anymore."
Ugh, really?
Ew.
"Yeah, yeah, stop flexing, fluffy butt," I muttered, hiding my embarrassment despite my burning ears and cheeks by using the nickname Louise had once given him; he laughed a bit harder, this time a little more wholesomely. "After we meet with Steve, we'll be heading back to Woody's until the party in Italy, right?"
"That is correct."
"Okay... so, we'll just hang out here until then?"
"Perhaps," he allowed, then lowly added, "but I want to take you out on a date at some point this week, too... perhaps on Wednesday, after you've dealt with this family-based mess you've gotten yourself mixed up in. It's going to be a busy week, I can tell you that much."
"True," I muttered, but I let out a gasp when he unexpectedly leaned forward and stretched his body out so he could kneel down on all fours. I hung suspended, clinging to his neck as I wondered just what the hell he was doing. I let go when he looked at me expectantly, flopping in the grass and blinking when he settled down beside me and pulled my back against his front.
I set my head on his arm, using it as a pillow as a single, powerful leg went over me and wrapped around my hips, keeping me locked against his groin. His other arm draped over my side and I felt his fingers come to rest against my chest, hot fingers brushing my chilled skin.
I didn't know what it was.
Perhaps it was the fact that he and I were lying naked outside in the open beneath the stars, no care in the world and nobody to disturb us. Perhaps it was the fact that we'd just made the most intense and pleasurable love I'd ever experienced in my whole damn life.
Perhaps it was just because I was happy to be in his arms.
Whatever the reason, the end result was the same since I relaxed and decided to stay out just a little bit longer so we could have this time to ourselves. After a time, Sebastian snuggled as close behind me as was physically possible. He started dropping little kisses on the back of my neck, and each time his lips brushed my skin I let out a pleasant hum.
"You know," Sebastian muttered against my skin, "we have to go back at some point. Dawn is eventually going to be here, and we've left those strange wolves in my home. I don't relish the thought of them traipsing around my place without me being there, but more than anything I want to show off what we did here. I want them to know you're mine in every single way."
"Don't want to," I grumped. I'd just gotten comfortable with the idea of staying longer.
"Oh? Then you still want to go sleep in a cave?"
"And what if I do?" I petulantly inquired.
"I'd do this," he sneered, and with a loud smack he swatted my ass; I jumped, letting out a squeal and clamping a hand to my butt.
"Ow! Bash!" I squeaked, rubbing my stinging skin. "Not cool!"
"Very cool," he snickered into my ear. "You're coming home. I refuse to let you be a caveman."
I didn't know what was so wrong with being a caveman. I turned around in his embrace in the most flailing, obnoxious way possible. Finally, he just gave up and dropped his arm to let me roll him onto his back. I crawled on top of him and grinned, showing off my fangs. "I win."
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are a very frightening creature. I'm quite terrified."
"Yeah, you better fear me," I teased, wiggling my eyebrows. "Because now I'm gonna smack your butt! Payback, bitch!"
So saying, I tried to lean down and swat his chiseled backside, but instead of turning away he actually twisted his body to help me make it happen. I raised my hand and slapped his muscled skin as hard as I could. I looked up at him with a grin, expecting to get a reaction, but I blinked when he simply raised a lazy eyebrow and stared at me languidly through his lashes.
"Is that it?" he casually inquired, giving me a dead fish stare; I flushed, incensed, and he gave me one of those cocky little not-smiles. "Wow... you really do hit like a kitten. How cute."
"Shut up!" I complained, nose and cheeks and ears starting to burn. "You're just made of steel."
"Hn," he snorted, and with a ferocious smile he smacked my rear again, this time much more gently. I jumped a second time, but before I could scold him he leaned up and nipped at my cheek affectionately. My irritability disappeared completely when I saw his mischievous smile.
I knew that Sebastian was a frightening creature. I'd watched him rip a rabid vampire's head off, had been at the mercy of his brutality when I'd first met him, and had seen the way he behaved towards his enemies... and yet, right now, I was seeing this whole other side of him.
This was a man who could playfully kiss me one second, nip my neck or my ears or my cheek or really anywhere the next, smack my butt like a perverted old man after that, make love in the most unusual moments, and set my insides and heart and mind on fire with a single smile.
My soul quaked in the face of his rare but uproarious belly laugh.
I didn't know when I'd fallen in love with Sebastian D'Agostino, didn't know when I'd even realized I was falling or how it had happened, but the fact was that I had fallen for him hard. He could and would kill for me... that was the extent of his emotional connection to me.
And if I was going to be honest?
If there were ever a situation where he was in danger... I would try to do the same for him.
Key word, try, since I wasn't very useful in a fight--especially against beings as terrifying as werewolves. However, of all people in this world, supernatural or not, he had found and fallen for me. It was a twisted realization, but my life was known for having some pretty twisted stuff in it.
I knew that it wasn't normal, that we weren't normal, and that our relationship wasn't normal.
I also remembered the way it had begun, clearly. I wasn't a fool. I knew what I was getting into and I knew what I wanted. Forgiveness, honesty, compassion, and a decent moral compass were the necessary keys to unlocking closed off people, I was beginning to learn.
One by one, the werewolves that had once wanted me dead were warming up to me. It may have been because Sebastian and I were together, but I could feel that things were changing little by little and I was happy about it, because it meant I didn't have to be alone.
I didn't have to be isolated anymore.
He'd had gone from casting me into darkness to saving me from it, and he'd sunk so deep into my skin that I could never get him out. So, I was going to make this work, I would do everything right this time and keep no secrets from him regardless of how embarrassing they were.
"I love you," I whispered. "Sebastian, I love you so damn much. Thank you for finding me."
His face went slack with surprise, but then his eyes sank into that soft half-lidded state.
"I know," he rasped, leaning forward and covering my mouth with kisses. "I love you, too."
He kissed his way across my jaw, nuzzling at the spot just behind my ear that I loved so much before kissing down the column of my neck. Urged by some deep instinct, I rolled my head to the side, exposing my throat.
He instantly growled, low and deep in his chest as he leaned down, sniffing at my skin before he dragged his tongue from the base of my collarbone to just under my chin.
Then, he bit me again with sharp fangs.
I cried out, jerking as his lips crushed against the spot his teeth had punctured.
I felt his tongue soothing my aching and stinging flesh, relaxing after a second without complaint ad he gave me yet another mark in a different spot on my throat. I didn't know how many he was going to leave and I didn't care because we were in it for the long haul.
He pulled his teeth out after a time and licked my neck until the wound closed.
"I'm going to leave love bites all over you," he whispered into my ear, patting my thigh. "For now, though, let's head back. You can relax in my room and take things easy while I deal with all the shit that needs to be done tonight. I want you to rest and feel safe while doing so."
"All right," I murmured, then sighed and said, "but before I do that I'm gonna need a shower."
"Then do so," he grunted, getting to his feet and holding out a massive hand; his expression boasted nothing but the utmost confidence. "It'll change nothing this time, scent-wise."
I paused in the middle of taking it. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I took you in the form of a beast," he drawled, smugly wagging his bushy brows. "Scents are far more powerful when we're in that form, so you're gonna smell like me all month, possibly even longer since I ejaculated inside you. Quite deeply, too, as I'm sure you already know."
Oh. Oh, wow, he was being very blunt tonight, wasn't he?
No filters much?
I flushed when he suggestively wagged his eyebrows again, much to my chagrin, and awkwardly rubbed my incessantly burning neck. He was right, though, the slightest movement made it obvious that he'd... oh, no, we weren't doing this, I wasn't doing this.
No matter how much I liked it, I was not doing this.
"Moving on," I squeaked out, snagging his palm and tugging myself upright. "I'm putting on your hoodie but my shorts are literally in pieces so I'm heading back without them."
His smile vanished and his eyes narrowed. "No, you're not. Go put---"
"I'll be right next to you the entire time," I quickly interrupted, squeezing his palm. "Let's just head back to your place, okay? It's been a wonderful night so far, but I'm getting a little tired."
He stared at me, wriggling his jaw, obviously not liking the idea.
"Fine," he conceded, letting go of me. "Get dressed."
I watched as he bent down and snagged his jeans, stepping into them and jerking them up his long legs before fastening the zipper. He pulled on his shirt after that, dragging it down over his rippling physique and smoothing it out before he paused.
I stopped staring at him in awe and took the opportunity to snatch the giant hoodie from off the ground where I'd discarded it at some point. I tugged it over my head and slide my arms into the sleeves, letting it slide down to my shins before I pulled my hair through the neck hole.
Sebastian was looking at me with his arms folded and a soft set to his features.
"I smell like you, too," he noted, and I stared at him. "That is also something that I love. We belong to each other. It isn't just you who belongs to me... I am also yours, Aerin. Never forget that, am I clear?"
"Aye-aye, Cap'n," I said, giving him a two-fingered salute. "I won't... heck, I honestly couldn't even if I wanted to."
"Really now?"
"You're memorable to me," I said with a shrug, and his face twitched with a hidden smile.
"So are you, Beloved," he grunted, gesturing with his head for me to follow. "Let's go."
Without another word, he leaned down and took off with a concussion that blasted my hair back, blurring out of sight. I hummed a set of sharp musical notes and focused, leaning down and leaping off the ground. To my confusion, I went a normal distance and frowned.
Shit, I mentally cursed; I took a deep breath and sang a little more intensely, thinking about running, envisioning the speed in my head as I leaned down and stepped off from the ground.
It worked this time, thankfully, but I made sure to keep my focus and hummed the entire time I was sprinting through the woods back towards the old plantation house.
It didn't take very long going at the speed I was running, much to my dismay. I ended up nearly crashing into Sebastian and had to skip past him and come to a halt without tripping and breaking my own neck since I came into view of the manor much sooner than I'd expected.
"Really?" I groaned. "It took us like an hour to walk as far as we did! How the hell did we run back here in five minutes?"
Sebastian merely snorted and walked past me, snagging my uninjured hand along the way and pulling me after him. I followed without complaint, keeping my butt cheeks clamped together tightly for obvious reasons. Needless to say, it didn't really work and I was a bit warm in the face over it.
In the end, though, I shrugged it off and walked normally.
I didn't care at this point.
People were going to know what we'd been doing either way.
I wish I could say that I kept that mental confidence when we turned the corner of the house only to find literally everybody hanging out on the porch holding plates piles high with food, but I can't. Most of Bash's pack was there, and a whole bunch of the Derkshire guys were as well.
I caught a snippet of a conversation between Richard and the long-haired muscle chub who were arm wrestling each other over a small table not too far away from the front doors.
"Don't break his arm, Bucky!" someone yelled.
"My money's on Dick," Kyle chimed.
"Definitely," Tiffany agreed. "Your man is scary strong."
"Hear that, Tubby?" Richard snickered. "Gonna lose."
Buck, the muscle chub, flipped him off without breaking away from the match.
I watched them struggle back and forth, faces red and veins bulging in their arms and foreheads before I relaxed a bit and chuckled to myself. That is, of course, until Diana suddenly swiveled and turned to look at us. A hand instantly landed on her hip as she cocked it.
"Well! It's about damn time you two came back!" she hollered with a frown in Sebastian's direction. "I thought you were gonna stay out all night at the rate you were going."
"Calm down, Diana, I had priorities that needed attention," Sebastian deadpanned, face back to its usual stony mask.
"Such as avoiding my cooking?" she accused, and Cassidy, who was beside her, smirked.
"I wasn't avoiding anything," he snorted, mouth quirking slightly even as he led me up the stairs; he tried to lead me through the front doors, but she stepped in front of him and barred his way, which made him tighten his grip on me. "Diana... move."
"Nope, your plate is on the railing," she sniffed, pointing with her fork at said steaming dish. "You're gonna eat every last bite before you do anything else. You need to eat."
"I will, but later--"
"No, we're actually really worried about how little you've been eating lately," Cassidy instantly interjected, and he shut his mouth. "We get that you're stressed and worried, but the meeting is finally over and we've come to a decision about what to do. It's time for you to relax a bit."
Sebastian sighed in exasperation. "I'm in the middle of--"
"Eat," I said quietly, and he swiveled to stare at me with his forehead scrunched. "If you haven't been eating much, going inside can wait a bit longer."
"See? Even your mate is scolding you," Diana chided, narrowing her eyes. "Sit, both of you."
Despite the fact that Sebastian was supposedly the alpha, he reluctantly took the plate and obeyed, taking a seat on one of the porch benches. I took the one beside him and made sure the hoodie was covering everything important. I noticed that we were getting some intense looks.
I ignored them to the best of my ability and leaned against Sebastian's side as he tried to scarf the food down as quickly as possible, but there was a lot so it was going to take a while. I spotted Jak was chatting with Horst and Woody near the edge of the house. They were sitting further away from everyone else, but they seemed to be locked in a deep conversation.
At least Horst doesn't look as uncomfortable as earlier, I thought. That's good, right?
Woody seemed to be using his phone to type responses and showing the screen to them, but my view was cut off by Leo, who stepped directly in front of where I was looking. His arms were folded and he was eyeing me critically, face pulling into a frown as he studied my disheveled hair and then the rest of me. I was, admittedly, a little messy-looking.
I could thank the grass and dirt we'd been messing around in for that. He suddenly leaned forward and inhaled, raising his brows, but then he turned to Sebastian.
"You scent-marked him," he said flatly, "in just about every way possible."
"Tha' I did, Leo," my sour wolf admitted around a hearty mouthful of food.
"Are you afraid someone will try to take him for themselves?" the blonde quietly asked; Sebastian paused mid-chew and without turning his head he looked at the displeased Germanic blonde. "I can understand your worry since he is, in fact, very attractive, but subtlety, Bash... you don't have to write that he's yours in huge flashing neon lights over his head."
He finished chewing and then swallowed before he stoically said, "it has more to do with the fact that I like people knowing he's mine. I'm a possessive man by nature, and even more possessive as a beast... you know this better than anyone so I'm surprised that you're lecturing me."
Leo shrugged in defeat and rolled his eyes. "At least you didn't pee on him. Yet."
I turned a bright shade of red, but to my surprise, Sebastian actually choked on the mouthful of food he'd stuck into his mouth and started coughing slightly. Leo smirked. Even though Sebastian tried to keep a straight face, his embarrassment was admittedly kind of funny.
Not to mention rare since I never saw him flustered, like, ever. Leo leaned closer to me and sniffed, his nose going directly to where my sour beau had bitten me earlier. I remained perfectly still when he eyed the fresh bite scar.
"I know we're not getting rid of you," Leo started, looking me directly in the eyes, "so I wanted to let you know I don't hate you."
I watched him carefully. "Really?"
"Ya," he sighed, shrugging his shoulders with a momentary grimace. "Bash seems to have, I don't know, marked you and done other things I absolutely do not want to think about, so I know it's serious. He's never acted that way towards anyone since we've met him, and if I'm gonna be honest... I'm happy for him. It'll take a long time for me to trust you, but..."
He stuck out his hand instead of finishing. I eyed it, and then shook it. Still gripping me, Leo leaned forward and whispered into my ear, "if you hurt him, I swear to god--"
"I know," I huffed, "murder, death, dismemberment and so forth."
"I won't cut you into little pieces, takes too long... I'll just rip your throat out." Leo dropped my hand and clapped me on the shoulder with a disarming smile. "Welcome to the Pack."
He dragged his fingers across the back of my neck as he walked away, and when I turned I saw Sebastian scowling after him but he wordlessly returned to his food.
"What was that all about?" Tiffany worriedly asked, trotting over to me and setting her fingers on my shoulder; she instantly paused, eyes going buggy as she inhaled, then a surprised and very knowing grin slid across her lips even though she said nothing. "Sooo, are you okay?"
"Oh, sure," I said airily. "Leo just threatened to kill me if I hurt Sebastian. Typical 'welcome to the family' kind of talk, if you know what I mean."
Tiffany slipped her arms around me and pressed her cheek against mine. "I'll protect you, Aerin."
Sebastian craned his head over and kissed me lightly on the cheek without a word, which made her jaw drop and had her stepping back to gawk at us.
"Leave us be for now, Tiffany," Sebastian muttered, not looking up at her. "It's been a long few days and for me its going to be getting even longer. I need to keep my thoughts in order."
"Ah, okay," she chirped, blushing as bright as the grin she threw at us. "I'm really, really happy for you."
With that she turned on her heel and skipped off, platinum hair bouncing around her torso as she cheerfully made her way over to where Woodrow was sitting and glomped him from behind. Horst and Jak seemed surprised, but I could see the redhead laughing silently. He pecked her on the cheek and she audibly laughed and pecked him back before sitting down on his lap.
I smiled.
They were cute together.
"Don't let what Leo said bother you," Sebastian told me, and I turned to see him peering at me out of the corner of his eye. "He is like that with everyone. He has made many mistakes, and he is not perfect, but he is a good and brilliant man at heart... even if he is difficult to understand."
"Actually, I'm pretty sure the rest of your pack would kill me in an instant, too," I chuckled. "They're just too scared of you to say so anymore."
"They're your pack now, as well," Sebastian said flatly. "Our pack would never kill you, Aerin. Not after coming to know you."
"That's comforting," I laughed, and his shoulders shook as a silent one took him. I thought back to the call I'd had with Louise and frowned slightly. "Hey... I talked to Louise earlier tonight and... well, someone is apparently looking for me back in Michigan. They're supposedly desperate."
His hand felt still and he turned, eyes taking on a serious twinge.
"What's happened?" he demanded. "Tell me."
"I don't know, but you remember when Louise said she ran into an old woman at my apartment?"
"I do... what of it?"
"That woman is in the hospital or something right now," I mumbled, fiddling with my thumbs in discomfort as he set his fork down. "I... well, I was thinking... it might be someone from my years in college. I had a lot of good friends that I cut ties with when I realized I wasn't aging like everyone else, and I did it without saying anything."
"You want to see this woman?" he quietly asked. "Is that what this is about?"
"Yes, actually," I said, nodding. "If it's possible, could we head back to Michigan at some point and see what it's all about?"
"It's incredibly risky," he growled, grinding his teeth, "but... if this is what you want, I will accept it and take you back there to see whoever this person is when I can. We will be cautious."
My heart soared and I beamed at him. "Thanks!"
"You're welcome," he deadpanned, digging back into his food; he chewed, then paused for a second and swallowed hard. "Actually... after I'm finished eating, I have something I want you to do for me as well. Something that's incredibly important that will help you understand me"
Surprise flitted through me. "Sure. Anything. What is it?"
"I'm going to give you a book," he said quietly, not meeting my eyes, "explaining the history of werewolves as well as their interactions with humans and vampires alike over the millennia. I want you to read through a little bit of it every single day until you make it to the very end."
"Er, okay," I said, blinking. "That's fine with me. Heck, I'd love to know more about your race."
After all, reading was one of my biggest hobbies and I was pretty sure I'd be interested in the stuff he was talking about.
"Wonderful," he said with another not-smile. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome, Babe."
His not-smile slid into a fat little smirk that he didn't try to hide.
I guess he liked the nickname.