10. Drew

Breakfast at the council building was an experience. Because of the time, there were very few left in the cafeteria. Despite that, there was a full buffet, and now I understood more why there was always so much in our lunch and dinner boxes at the store. There were literally dozens of choices.

We ate mostly in silence, me because I was starving, and Sebastian because he seemed content to watch me put away food. I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but when we left, I was quite full and more than ready to walk for a bit.

“What do you have planned for today?” I asked Sebastian as we walked away from the council building.

“Well, first, we need to go look at a couple of houses.”

“You mentioned that earlier.” What did he mean?

“Yes. When I was checking my email during breakfast, it was because I’d emailed Master Edison earlier while you were in the shower.” Sebastian wrapped his arm around my shoulder again, and I couldn’t help but enjoy the contact. When he touched me, my cheetah purred in my mind. He was very happy with the attention from our mate.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. But I live in single enforcer housing. You live in a shared house with a bunch of roommates. We need to look at a house or two over in the mated enforcer housing.”

Oh. It…yeah, we were going to have to move. Sebastian was an enforcer. He was given housing. Technically, I was as well. But we would be moving. Together. That was exciting and a bit intimidating.

“Your aura just changed again. Why are you nervous?”

I looked up at Sebastian, who was staring at me with concern in his gaze.

“You mention that. The aura. What’s that?”

Sebastian smiled at me. “Unlike you, I cannot scent people. You can scent if they’re telling the truth or not. If they’re nearby or not. As a warlock, I don’t have that extra ability.”

I hadn’t ever really thought about that. But I wasn’t raised as a shifter. Until I was thirteen, I thought I was just an odd human boy who had something in his mind that seemed to be helpful at times but troublesome at others. “Scent isn’t aura though, is it?”

“No.” Sebastian shook his head. “Every being has an aura. It’s who they are, and as a warlock, the magic within my body allows me to see the color of their auras. Most colors are the same for everyone, but occasionally there is a person that presents different colors for emotions.”

“And you said mine changed and that I was nervous. What color did it become?”

“A grayish color. Blue represents sadness most of the time. Red is angry and upset.”

“What is happiness?”

Sebastian grinned. “Yellow.”

“So people just walk around glowing yellow?”

Sebastian chuckled. “Some of the time. Sometimes they’re bluish, which could be sadness. Sometimes they’re orange, which can be stress or confusion. There are multiple shades within each color. We can guess what they’re meaning at first, but when we get to know a person, we learn what their colors represent.”

That was crazy. I was thankful for the fact that I could simply scent someone and get a sense for what they were feeling just then. “So how did you know I was nervous?”

“I’ve been studying you. But to be completely honest with you, you wear your emotions on your face.” Sebastian pulled me a little closer for a bit of a hug before he loosened his hold.

“Is that a bad thing?” I asked. I hadn’t ever really thought about it. I was simply me, and I hadn’t ever had to hide my feelings or emotions.

“No, it’s not. Please don’t think I wish for you to change. I don’t.” Sebastian paused for a moment. “Except we do need to work on your shyness around me. It’s cute, but it does make me wonder if I’m pushing too hard.”

My breath caught in my throat. How did I tell my mate that I wasn’t actually shy, just inexperienced and unsure, despite everything I’d been through? I had had sex. Sadly, never because I had wanted to. It had never been an enjoyable experience, and although I knew it would be completely different with Sebastian, I was still hesitant. I was trying to move past that, but it was difficult.

“I’ve upset you.” Sebastian suddenly stopped and turned toward me. I shook my head.

“No.” Sebastian raised an eyebrow at me. How did people do that? I tried, but it just didn’t work for me. “Seriously. You haven’t upset me.” I took a deep breath, glanced around, and saw we were standing outside a neighborhood. This would be the mated enforcer housing. We would be living here soon. We were alone though, and Sebastian was my mate, so I should have been able to tell him anything without judgment. “I…” How did one share this? Just blurt it out?

“You what?”

I stared up at Sebastian, wanting so much to tell him everything, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t want him to know about the ugliness I’d experienced and for it to affect his feelings for me.

“I’ve had sex, okay.”

Sebastian nodded slowly. “So have I. It’s not unusual for someone in their twenties to have been with someone in that way.”

I sighed again. “Yeah, true.” I took a step away from Sebastian, pulling from his gentle embrace. Immediately, I felt the loss, and my cheetah protested. “But you had sex for pleasure, right?”

Sebastian nodded. “Mostly. There were a few times in my life that it was simply about release, but my partners always enjoyed themselves.”

Of that, I had no doubt. But would I? I had to keep telling myself that yes, I would. Sebastian was my mate. He and I would share a connection that he hadn’t felt with others. That was a given about me since my past wasn’t exactly consensual.

“I’ve never experienced that,” I said. I took a step back toward Sebastian, hoping he wouldn’t be repulsed by me. “Sex has never been enjoyable, Sebastian. I only associate it with pain.”

Sebastian stared at me for a moment. I studied his face, never seeing anything but concern there. “We’ll take it slow,” he told me. “We don’t have to rush. We can get to know one another, spend time going out on dates. When you’re ready, we’ll take those steps together. If you can’t while we’re there, I’m not going to force you, Drew. I would never do that.”

I sighed, frustrated. I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled it in frustration. He knew we didn’t have time. He was a warlock.

“And what about those vibrations you mentioned?” Sebastian’s brow furrowed, confusion filling his face now. “I know about those. I know you only have a few days before they become too painful. Monroe explained that part to me. So yeah, we have time, but only a few days.”

“We have more time than that.” Sebastian shook his head. “Even if the goddess hadn’t granted all warlocks and fae more time, we would have had more than a few days. Not necessarily a lot, but more than three. I’m not that old.”

I was going to argue back, but what he said finally registered. “What do you mean?”

“Master Edison asked the goddess to grant more time. It’s a longer story than I really want to get into with you at the moment, but it has to do with my great-grandparents, and they’re the reason why we were only given a few days. Anyway, Master Edison asked for more time as it’s not always fair that we don’t have time to romance our Ones. She granted more time.”

We had more time? That was news. How did Monroe not know that though? Then again, he’d been mated for seven months. Maybe it had happened after he and Oscar had claimed one another. Their daughter… I froze, looking up to Sebastian. There was another obstacle we were going to face, even if he had been granted more time. “Were shifters granted more time too?”

Sebastian looked really confused now. “What do you mean? Shifters don’t have that kind of limit.”

I started laughing. He wasn’t thinking like a shifter. That wasn’t exactly unexpected since he wasn’t one. But he had an omega dad. I sighed and shook my head. “Sebastian, I’m a shifter.” I stared at my mate. He nodded in agreement. “An omega.” Still nodding. “An omega that isn’t on any sort of suppressors because my heats aren’t overly harsh. They last two, maybe three days.” Realization was beginning to dawn. “Yeah. And my cheetah just spent several hours sleeping outside your bedroom door, scenting you.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” I couldn’t help but laugh. I started laughing so hard I had to sit down. I was sure I looked like I was losing it. I was laughing uncontrollably while sitting in the middle of the walkway just outside of the neighborhood we would be moving into. When I finally stopped laughing, I just looked up at Sebastian, who was now pacing back and forth. “Sebastian?”

He stopped, closed the distance between us, and knelt in front of me. When he held out his hands, I took them, thinking he was going to pull me to my feet. Instead, he simply held my hands.

“You’re going to go into heat,” he stated. It wasn’t a question because yeah, I was going to go into heat.

“I want kids,” I told him. Sebastian glanced around, furrowed his brow some, and then my stomach did that little flip thing. We were suddenly back at his place, and I was sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room. Sebastian was now sitting in front of me, his legs open and spread wide to wrap around mine. It was intimate, but I didn’t feel any sort of threat at all. “Weren’t we supposed to be looking at houses?”

“Yes, but that can wait. This conversation I believe should happen in privacy, not where someone walking by can hear.”

I shrugged. “It’s not that private, really. I mean, everyone who knows me knows that I was held captive. They also know what happens when omegas are held captive. We were just talking about that out in the open.”

Sebastian took a deep breath and let it out. I could tell he was becoming frustrated. I was as well. “What do you want to do?”

“I want you to claim me,” I told him. He opened his mouth, and I reached out and touched his lips. They were soft, and my own mouth opened when my heart started racing at the thought of those lips touching mine. Would my body tingle? Would his? “I want to remember my mate claiming me, Sebastian. I don’t want it to happen when I’m delirious with heat and I’m horny as fuck. I want to know how amazing it’s going to be with you. How soft and gentle you can be with me. Because although my heats aren’t terrible, they are still heats. And you’re my mate. It’s going to be more intense than previous ones because I’m with my alpha.”

I moved my hand, and Sebastian followed my fingers with his eyes. He suddenly grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. “Do you think you can wait until tonight? Will that be too long? How long will you have? Are you feeling your heat coming on?”

I shook my head. “No. But why tonight?”

“Because I want to claim you in our house.” I glanced around the room. “Not this one. We’re going to be moving out of here just as soon as we agree on a house. I want to claim you there. That’s going to be our first home together, and I want that memory to be there.”

That was…sweet. Yep, Sebastian was definitely a romantic. I nodded. “That is all right with me.” I honestly didn’t care where he claimed me. I just knew that I wanted it to be when I could remember it. I sometimes had memories of my time during my heats, sometimes not. I knew I wanted to remember everything about Sebastian claiming me.

Sebastian raised his hand, and I blinked, causing him to freeze. “I would never hurt you.”

“I know that. I just wasn’t expecting you to raise your hand.”

Sebastian nodded slowly before he placed his hand on my cheek. “There’s so much I would love to do with you, but I’m a patient man.” Sebastian smiled. “And to be honest, now I’m a bit nervous because I want to make tonight amazing for you.” He chuckled. “No pressure whatsoever.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “It will be amazing,” I told him.

Sebastian tilted his head, his fingers moving through the side of my hair. “How do you know? I might be terrible at sex.”

I snorted. We both laughed. It was a good moment and would be a fond memory. “Shall we go house hunting? You mentioned houses. We’re supposed to be picking one?” I shrugged. “I don’t really care where we live.”

Sebastian looked thoughtful. “How many kids were you thinking?”

My eyes widened. “Umm…a couple? Maybe three? No more than four?” I honestly grew up wanting a ton of kids, but obviously, that would never happen. I would never be able to afford so many kids. “I’ll work,” I told him. “And I do have some money already saved.”

Sebastian placed a finger on my lips. “You keep your money. I have more than we could ever spend. It’s old money. Family money. Unless you get insanely bored, you don’t have to work. I am more than ready and happy to spoil you and our children.” Sebastian winked at me. “You ready to go look at houses?”

I nodded. That was all it took for Sebastian to suddenly scoot back and then effortlessly stand up. He reached down, pulling me to my feet before I could even brace myself. When I fell into his body, I gasped. He was solid, warm, and smelled amazing. Sebastian grinned just before my stomach did that flip thing again, and we were once more standing outside. We were right back where we were earlier, only this time, we were both standing.

“Which one are we supposed to look at?” I asked as I looked around at the houses. They looked very much like they belonged on a mountaintop. They were a mixture of wood and stone, all of them large. There were a couple that appeared to be even bigger than the others, and I couldn’t imagine ever living in some place that large.

“Well, let’s go in and see. There are numbers on the doors and walkways. Master Edison said that numbers one and two were open. Number five as well on this side,” Sebastian said as he pointed to the left as we entered the neighborhood.

It was definitely a bit overwhelming the closer we got to the houses. “These are for us? For the enforcers and their mates?”

Sebastian looked down at me. “Yes. Why?”

I looked around. “They’re huge.” They were so much bigger than the house I shared with Roman, Abel, and Tyler.

“They’re for growing families. And happy toddlers,” Sebastian added when we heard a squeal. We both looked toward the noise just as a pair of toddlers came running down the walkway.

“Umm…is that safe?” Should they be out without their parent?

Sebastian chuckled. “Well, since those are my cousin’s twins and both of their daddies are right there, I’d say it’s all right,” Sebastian whispered to me. When we got closer, the twins seemed to notice us for the first time. Without a care, they walked right up to Sebastian. One held up his hands, and Sebastian reached down and picked the toddler up. It was difficult to tear my gaze away from my mate holding a toddler. Sebastian alone was sexy. Sebastian holding a baby made me want to lock myself into the bedroom with him. I felt tiny hands on my legs, and when I looked down, the other adorable little one was looking up at me with a grin. I reached down and picked him up.

“They’re warlocks,” I whispered.

Sebastian chuckled. “Yes. I’m not sure which is which at the moment, but their names are Spencer and Maverick.”

“You’re not supposed to pick them up, Seb. We’re hoping to wear them out, and they go down for a nap.”

I looked at the man who was approaching us and realized I’d seen him around the council store several times.

“Well, what do you expect when they come running up to us and ask to be picked up?” Sebastian said back. He chuckled before he looked to me. “Drew, the tall one is my cousin Benjamin. The shorter one is his One, Elias.” I tried to smile at the pair as the came up to us. I held out the twin, offering him back to his omega daddy.

“Oh, you can keep him,” Elias told me. “I’ve been with them all morning because étienne is down in Timber Valley with Calum and Asher and Isla.”

“How is she?” Sebastian asked.

“Colicky,” Benjamin said and winced. “Poor Asher. He tried so hard to not cry with her. It didn’t work.” Benjamin looked my way. “It’s very nice to formally meet you, Drew. Welcome to the family.”

I looked to Sebastian, worried. “Oh, we haven’t—”

Benjamin chuckled. “Not yet. But you will. Even if it takes my cousin a while to claim you, you’re family.”

Elias playfully pushed on his mate’s shoulder. I looked at the pair and wondered if I would ever be that comfortable around Sebastian. The toddler in my arms picked that moment to reach for his daddy, and Elias took him from me.

“Don’t listen to him, Drew,” Elias said. “I’m Eli, by the way. We live…” Eli turned around and pointed to the big house at the end of the road. “There. I’m guessing that we’re going to end up with a bunch of kids or something since Master Edison insisted on us taking that house.” Eli expertly held the toddler upside down when he leaned way back. As the baby giggled, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Umm…you have two already. It wouldn’t take but one or two more to have a lot.”

Eli grinned. “True. And I’d love more kids,” he said, then looked pointedly at his mate. Eli I’d scented was a fox shifter, which explained his tiny size. It didn’t seem to matter what specific species of fox they were, fox omegas were just small.

“During your next heat, my love. We’ve already discussed it.” Benjamin leaned down, kissed Eli’s nose, then took the toddler from him, who giggled louder. Eli sighed.

“Up,” the baby said and pointed to the sky.

“No,” Benjamin said. “Daddy doesn’t like it when you go flying.”

Eli looked back at me. “So are you picking a house?” he asked.

“We are,” Sebastian said. When I looked back at my mate, he was now toddler-free. I looked behind him and found Benjamin holding both toddlers and spinning around with them.

“If you live close to us, we’ll help if you ever need anything. Not that we can’t anyway,” Eli said.

“The two here are open, and one on the other side,” Sebastian said.

“The one on just the other side of us is Everett’s. Jennings is ready to pop any moment with their second. I’m actually surprised he hasn’t had the baby yet. Everett seems to be getting worried.”

So many names, and I knew none of them. They obviously meant something to Sebastian, though, because he nodded. “This one is open?” he asked as he pointed to the one right next to Benjamin’s house.

“It is. It doesn’t have the trees in the backyard though.” Benjamin seemed to think about it. “Actually, its deck is on the side. Kind of small compared to some of the others. But it’s a four-bedroom. Office downstairs that could be a fifth or spare bedroom if you needed.” Benjamin looked at Sebastian. “How long are you going to be able to keep Benedict and Arturo away?”

Sebastian winced. “Probably only a month at most, after I tell them. I’m not saying a peep until our month is up.”

Benjamin chuckled. “Smart.” He set both twins down, and Eli took off after them as they giggled and started running back toward their house. Benjamin looked at me. “Don’t worry,” he said. “You’ll love Benedict and Arturo. Especially Arturo. He’s amazing.” Benjamin looked over his shoulder. “I hope you two have fun picking a house. There’s some empty on the other side as well. And they’re building some in the back. Damien and Ledger live in one already. I’m thinking the hellhounds are going to live back there though. It just seems like it’s a thing.” Benjamin pointed. “I need to go help Eli. Have fun picking a house,” Benjamin said as he walked off, then jogged to catch up with his family.

I looked over at Sebastian.

“Yeah, so that’s Benjamin. He’s one of my many cousins, but the only other one that’s an enforcer.”

“So we’re taking the house next to his?” I asked, assuming we would. Because really, why not?

“We can. You haven’t looked at it. There’s one in the back that will have a larger back deck and trees. Maybe your cheetah would like that one more?”

I shrugged. “He doesn’t care. We can shift everywhere here. And after you told me about that thing, I’m not going to be doing that without someone else around with me.” I was so glad I’d heard about whatever it was that was here before I went out running around on my own.

“Shall we go look at the house first? Or should I just tell Master Edison yes?”

I shrugged. “It’s a house. Benjamin said it had plenty of bedrooms. I mean…is it going to be horrid inside with a pink bathroom or something?” I asked. Sebastian’s eyes widened before he started laughing. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and started walking toward the house.

“Very well. Let’s go home, then. You can tell me where you want everything, and we’ll get all of my things moved. Then we get to spend the next few weeks holed up getting to know one another.”

I looked up at Sebastian. That sounded wonderful, actually. I couldn’t wait.