13. Sebastian

Iwas certain that nothing could prepare you for experiencing a heat cycle with your fated mate. I’d never spent a heat with an omega before. That was something I’d chosen not to experience unless I’d been paired with an omega for a mate. I was pleased with my decision but had to wonder how alphas did it. Drew’s need was never-ending, and there were only minutes of rest before his body demanded release once more.

I wasn’t sure if how things went was normal for him or not, but he had said his heats weren’t that bad. If what we’d dealt with wasn’t bad, then I wasn’t sure I was ready for an intense heat. Not without magical help.

I spent five very long and exhausting days trying to fulfill my One’s every need while also ensuring we both kept up our strength. As Drew had predicted, his heat hit him shortly after we’d claimed one another. Slammed into him, really, while we were on the couch feeding each other chocolate cake. Once I realized what was happening with Drew, I took him upstairs, and the next several days were intense and filled with need from my One.

After who knows what round number, when Drew sighed and drifted off to sleep, I used a little energy to clean us both and then fell into a light sleep. I had assumed Drew would need me again in a matter of minutes, but I woke hours later in complete darkness. Drew was quietly snoring beside me, and when I peeked in on him through our bond, I found him deeply resting. I was going to roll to my side and go back to sleep, but my bladder made itself known, and I quickly slid from bed to take care of personal needs.

I crawled back into bed afterward, and when I woke next, it was bright in the room. I lay there for several minutes, trying to take stock of my own body. I was clean, thanks to magic, but my body felt like I’d been hit with a ball of magic. My stomach was growling, and I really wanted a massively large meal. I turned my head, finding Drew still sleeping soundly. He was now on his stomach, and I smiled at how adorable he looked with his face squished into the edge of the pillow.

I knew I needed to take care of myself so I could take care of him when he finally woke, so I rolled from the bed. I dressed myself in sleep pants and a T-shirt as I stood, then quietly left the bedroom. I made it to the hallway bathroom before I realized I should have stopped in ours first. Didn’t matter to my bladder which bathroom I used, just so long as it was emptied.

Memories of my time with Drew came flooding into my consciousness while I stood at the toilet, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Drew would find them enjoyable memories or if they would cause him issues. There were things that we did that I wouldn’t expect from him, not after what I’d seen he had to go through as a teenager and then again a year ago.

I decided I would carefully approach that subject at a later time. After we were both completely recovered from his heat cycle at the earliest. That brought about different thoughts, and I couldn’t help but be curious if his dream that his cheetah had shared was going to come true or not. No, not really a dream—more a vision. But it couldn’t be a vision because as far as I knew, those only came from someone from a created line. It was true that Drew didn’t know who his parents were, but I knew that Alpha Babak had been close enough to Drew and hadn’t picked up on any familiar scents, even distant.

But that wasn’t what I was really focused on. No, it was the fact that in Drew’s vision, he was running through a field with knee-high grass while I carried a baby in my arms. A blond baby. Was that our baby? Did that mean that Drew would catch during his heat he’d just had? I hadn’t noticed any differences in his aura as of yet, but he’d just pulled away from me yesterday evening. I would give it a few days to a week before asking someone else for an answer of yes or no if I couldn’t tell myself.

I finished in the bathroom, then walked down to the first level of the house. It was cozy but definitely needed more furniture. I would worry about that later, after getting not only several cups of coffee but a large breakfast as well.

It was all waiting for me when I entered the kitchen, and I zeroed in on the cup of coffee first. My first sip I closed my eyes. It had been days since I’d had anything more than water or a sports drink. I wasn’t a fan of sports drinks, but I knew they were a must when you were in the midst of a heat cycle with your fated one. Father had made sure we all knew that from a very early age.

But coffee, this was wonderful at the moment. I stood there in silence, drinking the first cup until it was gone. Once that was finished, I set it on the counter, refilled it with more magic, and then picked up my fork and knife. It was a full American breakfast for me this morning. Eggs, potatoes, sausage patties, and, of course, french toast sprinkled with powdered sugar and sliced fruit. The first bite of sausage caused me to moan and my stomach to growl. I moved around the plate, changing the flavor on my tongue with each bite and washing it down with more coffee.

It took several minutes for me to eat everything on my plate, and when everything was gone, I thought about having more but decided against it. I would eat something else with Drew when he woke. If I was as hungry as I was, I couldn’t imagine how famished he was going to be once he woke.

I checked in on him once more, finding him still very much asleep. I wasn’t going to wake him, but I needed to keep myself occupied, so I took my coffee with me and went to the back room. After staring at it for several minutes, I decided that perhaps it was time to add not only more furniture but new furniture. Something brighter and more open-feeling than the deep brown leather and dark wood. I tried out a white leather couch first, and although it certainly brightened the room, I thought ahead about the fact that we may very well become parents within the next few months and decided against that.

Next was red, but I didn’t like it in the space. Navy blue looked nice with the rest of the décor, but it, too, was dark and not what I was hoping for. I found what I thought was the perfect color in a camel-colored leather that looked soft and warm while also being bright enough to lighten up the room. I knew we would undoubtedly have company once news of our mating hit my family, so a larger sectional it was. I might have gotten carried away because an L-shape wasn’t balanced enough for me, so I went for a full U-shaped sectional.

I added a few tables, lots of pillows for Drew to be comfortable with no matter what he was doing, and some large throw blankets. Liking how it turned out, I added some bright and cheerful prints to the walls. Of course, the TV was mounted to the wall, and the gaming console was hidden in a cabinet below it. I didn’t play often, but when I did, I enjoyed relaxing in that way. Now, I had Drew to spend my evenings with, and I wondered how we’d spend them? Eventually, I would be going back to work. True, I didn’t have to. I could take Drew home to Spain, but once there, it would be expected that I went back to working in the family business. That didn’t appeal to me even a little.

I shook my head and added a few more vases and figurines and then remembered that we were probably going to become parents. Yeah, glass vases and plaster or marble figurines weren’t exactly child-friendly. I spun around, looking for a good spot for a cabinet. I didn’t really see one and simply decided against the cabinet and the vases. Less clutter would help the place feel more open anyway.

I quickly found myself without something to do, and my thoughts turned to Drew. Another check-in with him and I found him the same as before. Not that I expected anything different. He had been through a great deal over the last five days, and I expected him to sleep the better part of the day, if not through it in its entirety.

That brought my mind back to what my life was like before Drew. I went to work, came home, and…what? I read books. I would spend a little time researching cases that had been brought to the council’s attention. That triggered my memory about the email I’d sent Master Edison before Drew and I had claimed each other.

I found my phone dead on the kitchen counter, but I had a laptop in the new office. I wasn’t sure it would remain an office though. I didn’t really work from home nearly enough in order to warrant an entire room dedicated to an office. Perhaps we could turn it into a playroom for our child or children? For now though, it had a small table, an uncomfortably stiff chair, and my laptop against one wall. The laptop was thankfully plugged in, and once I woke it, I quickly opened the email program.

I was a bit surprised that I had as many emails as I did, but it wasn’t difficult to locate the one I was looking for from Master Edison.

Sebastian,

Per your request, we looked into Drew’s background in further detail, going back as far as possible in the foster care system. It took some digging, but we were able to locate his original intake paperwork. In it was a note that a woman who claimed to be his mother no longer wanted her child and signed away her parental rights to the baby, who at the time was seventeen months old. Drew’s birth certificate was included in the file. His father is listed as unknown, but his mother’s name was Joanne Nelson. I was able to locate a death certificate for someone of that exact name and age that was signed and filed two months later. Cause of death was listed as natural causes, which wouldn’t be unusual except for the fact that she was only twenty-four. There was no next of kin listed.

There is no indication that Joanne was a shifter, which leads me to believe that Drew’s father was the cheetah shifter. There are a couple of scenarios that could be the cause of Drew’s birth, but I won’t speculate beyond stating there could be different reasons leading to not only his conception but his birth as well.

I do apologize that I do not have more positive news for you regarding your One. I wish we could have located his parents, but I believe that the Joanne from the letter and death certificate is indeed his mother, and if she did pass, his father would have shortly after as Drew wouldn’t be here if his father hadn’t claimed his mate.

If you or your One have any additional questions or would like me to look into it again, say the word and I will put Salvatore’s team on it and see what they can dig up.

Also, on another note, you aren’t expected back to the office until August 5th. Enjoy your time with your One, and be sure to not only rest but also spend time exploring new and familiar places together.

Master Edison

After reading those words, my heart ached for Drew. I had hoped we would be able to dig up some obscure information about his parents, but it seemed as if they truly were gone. I couldn’t give him the gift of his birth parents or a family they left behind, but I could gift him mine. I knew without a doubt that my family would be more than welcoming.

I sent a quick reply to Master Edison, thanking him for not only the information but the time off to spend with Drew. I informed him that I would most certainly be out of the area with Drew once he recovered from his heat cycle.

Once that was complete, I glanced at the other emails, ignoring the one from Caspian. I closed the program and shut down my computer. After I stood, I glanced around the room again and shook my head. It would make a good office if I brought work home. I couldn’t see myself doing such a thing. A lot of what I did at the council wasn’t pretty, and the assignments weren’t exactly pillow-talk-worthy. Our last one was especially brutal, and I had every intention of keeping that part of work at the council. My memories of my assignments were turned off and hidden.

It wasn’t that I intended to keep secrets from my One. I simply didn’t wish to subject him to something that he’d already experienced firsthand and could possibly trigger him again. I knew from his memories that he’d seen Dr. Bennett when he first arrived at the council, but he’d let his visits drop to very infrequent in the past couple of months. I would be certain to keep an eye on him, and if he started to experience issues, I would suggest he resume his time with Dr. Bennett’s team. Unfortunately, that might not even be possible with the influx of rescued ones we’d just recovered from South America.

With nothing else to do downstairs and the sudden need to see Drew again, I walked through the house and climbed the stairs. I felt my energy fleeing my body faster than expected and realized that despite the fact that I’d woken before Drew, I myself still wasn’t fully recovered from the time spent with him over the last several days.

What energy I’d gained from sleeping and eating was now leaving my body, and the thought of joining Drew in bed once again was more than appealing. I trudged up the stairs, bypassing the other bedrooms I had intended to redecorate, but I simply didn’t have the energy to do so at the moment.

I found Drew in bed, on his side facing the middle now. When I slid in beside him, he didn’t stir, not even when I moved close enough to pull him into my arms. I sighed once he was snuggled in my embrace, and it only took a moment for my body to relax and the pull of sleep to take over. This was where I needed to be. Here with Drew. Holding him in my arms, at least until we both drifted apart in sleep. My body relaxed as it fell under, and in no time, I fell back asleep with my mate in my arms.

When I woke again, it was dark in the room, telling me that I’d slept through the day and into the night. I lay there staring into the dark room, listening. Drew’s breathing was uneven, and when I reached out through our bond, I found that he was still asleep. He was slowly waking up, and I wondered if he would want to eat and then go back to sleep or if he would be up for the duration. I could only lie there and wait.

It took several minutes for Drew to finally wake, and I had started to doze back off when I felt movement beside me. I turned my head in time to see Drew sliding from the bed and rushing off to the bathroom. I didn’t know if I should follow or wait here, so I simply waited where I was so I didn’t scare him.

I used magic to pop myself into the hall bathroom and took care of my own bladder and was back in bed waiting before Drew emerged from the bathroom that was in our bedroom. When he reached the side of the bed, he froze.

“Did I wake you?”

“I don’t think so,” I whispered. “I was awake this morning but came back to bed. Then I woke a little while ago and started to doze back off. How are you feeling?”

Drew sighed. “Tired. I shouldn’t be because I have a feeling I slept for around a day.” Drew crawled back into bed, and when he moved closer, I opened my arms for him. I couldn’t help but smile when he immediately moved into my embrace and sighed in contentment.

“Are you hungry? Do you want me to fix you something to eat? Thirsty? Need some juice or something else?”

Drew sighed again, and it then turned into a yawn. “No. I drank some water in the bathroom. Can we just go back to sleep? You don’t have to stay with me, but I still feel weak. I want to sleep some more.”

“Of course we can,” I told him. I leaned down and kissed the top of his head. I felt Drew relax completely and then drift back into slumber. While he was still somewhat coherent, I took stock of him and found that yes, his body was hungry, but his need for sleep was greater, and for now, sleep was winning. That most likely wouldn’t be the case when he next woke, but I would take care of him in a blink. I kissed his head again and then closed my own eyes once more, quickly joining my One in sleep. How that was possible, I couldn’t explain. For now, sleep was what we both seemed to need.