5. Sebastian

Iwas in Barcelona with Drew, and that in itself I was going to consider a win. My One trusted me enough to travel around the world with me. True, it wasn’t exactly an ideal time for us to be having our first date here, but I was a warlock and could make everything work. When it came time for us to have a meal, I had magic.

“How far back do you want me to go?”

“As far as you’re comfortable,” I told him.

We were walking just out of the surf now, and although I’d love to take my shoes off and walk in the water, I didn’t know how comfortable Drew would be in doing so. Perhaps next time. I intended on showing him many different places when we had time. It was true that I loved to spend evenings at home reading, but that wasn’t all I enjoyed doing.

“I don’t remember too much from my really young years.” Drew sighed. He glanced out toward the water before looking back my way. “I don’t know who my parents are,” he told me. “I grew up a foster kid. I know absolutely nothing about them. The name I have, I’m not even sure it’s mine. It was just what I remember being called when I was little.”

I already knew this from his file. I’d read through it quickly, but my heart ended up aching for my One. “Did you want the council to look for them?”

Drew shook his head. “Why? I grew up in Kansas, but I don’t even know if that’s where they were from. They might be dead. They might have a dozen other kids. I know absolutely nothing about them.”

I knew that the council had done a quick search, and nothing had been found. That didn’t mean a more extensive search couldn’t be made.

“I don’t need to know anything about them,” Drew told me. “For whatever reason, they couldn’t or wouldn’t raise me. I’m twenty-six. I’ve lived this long without knowing anything about my parents. I’m good.”

“Are you certain?” It was incredibly sad. I had my fathers and brothers. I also had a lot of cousins and uncles, as well as a few aunts.

“Yep. Foster care sucks. Well, at least for me, it did. But I survived. I ran away at thirteen when I woke up in my cheetah form one morning. I was found at fourteen and placed in a group home because nobody wants a fourteen-year-old troublemaker.” Drew sighed. “It was slightly better but still sucked. It wasn’t until I was sixteen that another of my kind showed up. Christian and I were immediately drawn to one another.”

I felt a sudden surge of anger that I knew I had no right to feel. We all had a past, unless we met our fated one when we were in our teens. Even then, it was still possible to already have some sort of a past. “And who is Christian? Do you still have contact with him?” I asked, curious to know more about this person my One was once drawn to.

“Fuck no,” Drew said. He looked at me like I’d asked a stupid question, and it might be that I had.

I stopped, pulling Drew to a stop as well. I tugged him along with me for a few feet and sat in the sand, staring out into the ocean. “All right. Tell me about Christian and why I might be correct in assuming that the two of you are no longer friendly.”

Drew sighed. “He was a wolf shifter. An alpha, come to find out. He was surprised to see me in the group home, though, because shifters usually take care of their own.”

“Yet he was there.”

“True. His parents didn’t belong to a pack, apparently. They had gotten into a fatal car accident, and he had to go somewhere until family could be located and get to him. He was with me for a few weeks before his uncle came to collect him.”

“Did he try something while you were there? Did he force you to do something?” That anger reemerged.

“No. He was nothing but nice. He shared so much with me about shifters and who we were. Unfortunately, when his uncle came to collect him, we lost touch with one another. It wasn’t until almost a decade later that he tracked me down.” Drew scoffed. “In hindsight, it probably would have been better if he’d not been able to find me. But then if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been sold, then rescued, and then working at the council building where you met me.” Drew looked directly at me. “So fate was on our side, I guess.”

“You said you were sold?”

Drew nodded slowly. He pulled his knees up close and wrapped his arms around them, staring out at the ocean. The breeze was calming, and I saw a moment of serenity wash over my One.

“Yes.” He turned his head toward me, laying his cheek against his knees. “Christian’s uncle Charles sold me after I’d been with them for about a year. I still don’t know for certain why. I wasn’t a burden. I wasn’t even living with them or anything. I went down to Mississippi to be near him and other shifters. I was working in a local restaurant and had a small apartment. But one day, Charles showed up at my place and said Christian had been hurt while running and was asking to see me. I didn’t even think anything of it and just went with him. That was my mistake. He never took me to Christian. He took me to the beta, who knocked me out.” Drew sat up and sighed again. “When I woke up, I was in a cage somewhere else. It wasn’t until I was rescued that I realized we were still on pack lands in Mississippi.”

The beta of that pack, as well as the alpha, had already been sentenced. The alpha was killed, and the beta was doing time in Alpha Sergei’s territory because he’d been able to prove he was acting in that manner because he’d feared for his and his family’s lives. Personally, I didn’t buy it, and now knowing what he’d done to my One, I wanted retribution. Where was everyone who could ask for retribution for those that he’d wronged simply because he feared for his family’s lives?

“Did you ever get into contact with Christian again?” I asked, curious.

“No,” Drew said immediately. “I don’t know for sure if he had anything to do with me being sold or not. I wouldn’t think so, but I have no way of knowing. He was an alpha, but there were a few other alphas there with us in those cages, so that doesn’t really mean anything, does it?”

I wanted to take away the ugliness from his life. “No, Drew, it doesn’t. There are some that it doesn’t matter who they impose their dominance over, alpha or omega. Some like the smaller omegas; some really feel empowered by being able to dominate another alpha. It’s all ugly though.”

Drew shocked me by laying his head on my arm. “Yeah, it is.” I felt him sigh. “It’s so peaceful here. I wish it was daytime, though, so I could see the ocean better. I’ve seen pictures, but never in person.”

“I’ll bring you back soon. Tomorrow, even, if that’s what you wish. Or we could go to a different beach. There are beaches worldwide that are gorgeous. We could go to Hawaii if you want. They have gorgeous beaches, and right now, it’s morning there.”

Drew sat up, and I wanted to kick myself for suggesting something that had him pulling away from me. I rather liked having him leaning on me.

“Maybe in a few days?” he suggested. “We’re talking about heavy things, and having a beach that’s full of people probably wouldn’t allow for that.”

I understood that. “Then we shall just have to remain here. I know of private islands that there would literally be nobody else on, but they are sadly in the same situation and won’t have daylight.”

Drew smiled at me. “I like it here. And I can wait a few more days to see a beach in the daylight hours. I’ve waited this long; what’s a few more days?”

I chuckled at that. He wasn’t wrong. I would make sure he saw the beach in the daylight very soon though. For now, I took a huge chance and slid my arm around his back. Drew didn’t know it, but I could see his aura, and it had just turned more yellow right after I had slid my arm around him. He was happy. When he leaned his head against my side, it was my turn to sigh. “I’ll always take you wherever you want to go,” I whispered. “And I’ll always protect you from others.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m sorry that all happened to you. And that you don’t know your parents. I’ll warn you now about mine. Mine are amazing and are still very much alive. They are going to adore you but can be a bit overwhelming at times if you’re not used to them.”

Sadly, Drew pulled away a little. “Where are they?”

“In Madrid. They and my brothers still live there, although my brothers have visited me a couple of times in Montana. My father was approached for the European council, so there’s a very real possibility that they will be moving to Italy in the near future, but I’m not certain.”

Drew placed his head back against my side, and I tightened my arm around him. He sighed when I did. “I’d like to meet them. But I think we’ll have to wait a week, at least.”

I snorted. “We’ll be waiting at minimum a month,” I told him. Drew sat up and sadly pulled from my embrace. I tried to not let it show, but it upset me.

“Why? Are you ashamed of me because I’m not overly educated or because of my past?”

I felt as if I’d been slapped. “What? No!” I said a bit too loud. “Nothing even remotely close to that. We have a month off, together, Drew. Were you not informed?” Did he not understand how claiming worked still? He’d been around the council for close to a year, and he had to have seen others finding their mates, hadn’t he?

Drew shook his head. “Was Monroe supposed to say something? Maybe he didn’t know? I don’t think he and Oscar took a month off when they met.”

“All enforcers, when they find their fated mate, are given a month off in order to have time to claim their mate as well as set their bond into place. I only say we’ll wait at least a month until you meet my parents because I don’t plan on spending any of that month with my family breathing down our backs. I want to spend it with you, getting to know you. Learning everything about you that I can while spoiling you to the best of my ability.” My family wouldn’t be intrusive. Not really. But I wanted to spend time just the two of us, getting to know one another.

“Oh.”

I stared at Drew as best as I could, but unlike him, I wasn’t a shifter and didn’t really have advanced nighttime vision. I was struggling to see my One in mostly dark night.

“Oh? Did you not wish to be claimed?” If that were the case, I guess we were really going to test out that new timeline the goddess supposedly implemented.

“No, I do. I just…” Drew sighed. “I don’t have a whole lot. Honestly, just what I’ve earned from working at the council store, and I know it’s not nearly as much as others. I live in a shared housing situation with Roman. He watches over us now that his brothers have mated and moved out, and everything there except my clothing isn’t mine.”

I nodded. “Ah, yes. The silver fox twins that everyone at the council was warned about.”

“Warned? Why?”

“We’ve all heard that Roman was overly protective of his brothers and were warned that unless one of them were our fated one, we weren’t to even consider asking them out. Roman went through a lot in the past two decades to protect his brothers, so it was understandable that he was still a bit overly protective of them.”

“And now?”

“Now, they’re both claimed and have mates and children, from what I recollect. But my question to you is why does that have any sort of impact on us? You live in a house that’s not yours, as do I. There is no difference as far as I see it.”

Drew sighed. He leaned forward again, placing his arms around his legs and his head on his knees once more. “Because I have nothing to offer. I’m poor. I have no furniture, very little funds to provide those things, and probably a lot more baggage than you.”

I understood early on this could possibly be something Drew would bring up. When reading through his file, this very thought went through my head. I would have to be careful with how I proceeded. I didn’t want my One to believe I thought him a charity case. But I also didn’t wish for him to feel like a burden. “Drew, do you know anything about me?”

Drew sat up and shook his head.

“Well, let me tell you a bit about me, and then we can revisit this particular part of our discussion. Fair?”

“Sure.” Drew turned sideways beside me, staring directly at me. At least I had his attention. “Oscar and Chase did say that you were from Spain. And that you were from an important family. That’s all I really know though. Oh, and that you’re an enforcer.”

I grinned. “All true. I’m one hundred and sixty-two years old.” I stopped there, waiting to see if he would mention anything about me being so much older than he was, but thankfully, he remained silent. “I’m the youngest of three children. I have two brothers that I’ve already mentioned. Caspian and Lorenzo.” How did one condense such a lifetime into a few minutes? I should have been thinking about this earlier, it seemed. “My parents are Benedict and Arturo. Benedict is a warlock and my sire. Arturo is an omega and an Iberian lynx. They met when Father literally ran into Papa in a market. It was completely accidental, but most likely, fate intervened because they bumped into one another.”

Drew sighed. “That’s so sweet.”

I grinned. “It is. They’re still very much in love to this day.” Thinking about my fathers always brought a smile to my face. I hoped to have what they had. I could see Drew and I being as they were, if only we had time to develop that level of a relationship. “Father is from what I guess is considered an important family line.”

“Yeah?”

I chuckled. “Well, if you really think about it, we all are, aren’t we?

“How so?”

“Well, there are the created ones. But then the created ones were all given what everyone refers to as the original eight. They are eight others of that species that the goddess deemed worthy and she turned humans into warlocks, dragons, wolves, large felines…all of the species.”

Drew’s mouth opened a little. I glanced around, wondering if he was seeing something, but we were still very much alone on the beach. It was dark, though, and late. And I’d chosen this beach in particular because it often became empty after sunset.

“So are you saying we all come from the created ones or those eight? All of us? So we’re all related?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “No. Those original eight were trained by the created ones. Then those eight went out to various places, and then they became the masters and alphas. They were then the leaders.”

“Leaders to who? We’re born, are we not? We can’t turn others into shifters.”

“No we cannot. The goddess sent others. Ones she deemed worthy of becoming something more. They were guided by all of those eight, and our populations have grown since. For centuries.”

“That’s a lot. Is your family from somewhere along there?”

I smiled. “Yes. My great-grandfathers were two of Master Edison’s original eight. When they left England, they came here to Spain. My grandfather had already been born and came with them. My father was born here, and he met my omega dad here. My brothers and I were all born here.”

I fell silent after that. There was, of course, more to share, but I wanted to give Drew time to digest that for starters. It was a lot if you were new to all of it.

“That’s some family line.”

I shrugged. “It’s just my family. Just as Benjamin’s family is his. Rainier, his father, is also from our same line. And my cousin Frederick, we have the same grandfather. Hamilton was one of Frederick and Oliver’s children. He had several children, but my father, Benedict, and Frederick’s father, Edmund, are brothers.” It could be confusing if you didn’t grow up with it, and I was certain that I was overwhelming my One.

“Yeah, I don’t think my family is from anything nearly that prominent. I don’t know, of course, but I wouldn’t think someone from an important line would abandon their baby like mine did me. And maybe they didn’t. Maybe they died and couldn’t take care of me. I’ll honestly never know. But yeah, our backgrounds are vastly different, Sebastian. I’m not sure how I’m a match for you.”

I was so thankful I’d talked to Benjamin briefly earlier. He’d already been through this with his own One, Eli. They were madly in love now and had beautiful twins. “Because fate has decided that you and I are a match,” I told him. “We don’t have to come from the same backgrounds to mesh. We are going to discover that, most likely, we like the same things: similar habits. I would honestly love nothing more than to take care of you like my father does Papa. I want someone to cherish, to dote on, and spoil. A life partner to share everything with. That’s what any alpha or sire wishes, I believe.” I was sure there were bad eggs out there that were horrid people and didn’t treat their fated mate well. I wasn’t going to be that person. I’d grown up witnessing a loving relationship between two amazing men. I hoped to have that with my own One. With Drew.

“All right. If you feel that way, I don’t really have any valid arguments against it. I’m still not sure what I can offer, but for some reason, the fates decided I was that person for you, and you for me.” Drew sighed. “There might be some issues when you claim me though. I haven’t been with anyone since I was rescued. I’ve not really wanted to.”

I sat there, processing Drew’s statement. It wasn’t so much the words but the tone. It almost felt as if he were accepting his fate, despite not really wanting it. Was that how he truly felt? Did he not want a mate? Someone to take care of him and provide him things he’d never had? Would he open up in the future? I was willing to take my time with him, but how much time would it take? How much time did I truly have?

“We can wait,” I told him. I leaned down, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face. Drew was looking in my direction, but I wanted to once again kick myself for bringing him to such an ill-lit place. “For when you’re ready to be claimed,” I clarified.

Drew tilted his head. “Now is fine. You’re my mate now. You’ll be my mate tomorrow or next week. That won’t change.” Drew sighed again. “Oscar told me it would be okay. So did Chase. You’re my mate, and you won’t hurt me. There’s really no reason to wait, is there?”

I hadn’t expected that. Not even a little. I would be more than willing if Drew seemed even a little excited or happy about our mating. It almost felt as if he had simply accepted it and it was something he had to endure. That wasn’t what I wished for either of us. How did I fix it though?