41. Toby

It almost killed me to leave Blaise behind, but this was something I had to do alone.

Besides, Blaise was unable to hide how delighted he was to see his twin again. And as for when he reunited with Bailey? The bone-crushing hug the two of them exchanged?

I might've wiped away a tear.

A few days settling back in with our friends and family would do Blaise the world of good. With the bond and modern technology, I'd know how he was doing at all times, even if we were thousands of miles apart.

And it was thousands of miles. There were two things you could count on with Sebastian. The first was that he liked to run from his problems. The second was that he liked to run far.

We found him fighting for his life in a dirty alley in a squalid area of Argentina. Well, I say fighting for his life, but ‘goading others into killing him' would probably be more accurate.

It took mere seconds for myself and Dagon, who'd tagged along with me and Leo, to subdue Sebastian's opponents. Even then, my cousin was still mouthing off and looking for trouble.

"Don't care who you are," he yelled drunkenly at us, swaying where he stood. "If you're looking for a fight, I'm game."

Leo stiffened beside me. "Oh I'm looking for a fight, alright. You're a fucking piece of shit, and I've waited three months to do this."

Neither Dagon nor I tried to stop Leo as he strode forwards and delivered a swift knock-out blow to Sebastian's temple. If I'd been in Leo's shoes, I would've done the same.

Leo was shaking out his hand with a curse as I joined them. I snatched it up, carefully checking his knuckles. Not that it mattered particularly—Leo was mated to the literal Grim Reaper. The power he had flowing through his bond would heal everything except the most catastrophic injuries. "Nothing's broken. I imagine it'll be painful for ten minutes or so before it heals."

"Worth it," he muttered, glaring down at Sebastian's unconscious form. "I'd kick him in the balls too if you hadn't told me that story on the plane."

As with Blaise, I'd filled Leo in on Sebastian's past. It had given him some insight into why Sebastian had pushed Matty away.

At the end of the day though, Matty was his family, so he was entitled to be pissed.

I stared down at the last remaining member of my family. Sebastian's face was gaunt, like he hadn't fed in months. Huge bags lingered under his eyes, and his usually impeccable clothes were dirty and ragged.

Seeing him taking on those supes, knowing he wasn't planning on defending himself…it had hit me hard. For a second, it wasn't Sebastian I was seeing on the floor, but Blaise. It wasn't that long ago that my mate was in this place. A place of self-loathing and constant guilt.

Well, no more. Sebastian had pushed me away enough times now, it was time for me to push back.

My come to Jesus talk with Sebastian had gone better than expected. It helped that he'd been through a sort of self-discovery himself. Falling in love again had opened his eyes to everything he'd been missing over these past few centuries.

I mean, his eyes were open, but there were still things he hadn't seen. Namely, how much his leaving had hurt Matty. Once Leo had revealed the truth of that, Sebastian was practically running to the airport to return to him.

Hours later, we were on the jet, almost back home. Sebastian had spent most of the flight leaning over a notepad. Every few moments, he'd glance up at Leo's laptop screen before scribbling more down on the paper.

There was nothing particularly interesting about what Sebastian was doing, but I couldn't stop watching. It had been so long since I'd seen anything other than apathy on my cousin's face that I couldn't look away. Sorrow. Guilt. Desperation. He wore them all without shame as he went about his task.

I didn't want to interrupt him, but when his tears started to fall on the page, I couldn't stand it any longer. Grabbing a box of tissues, I silently set them next to him.

Sebastian flicked his gaze towards them before pulling one out with a sigh. "Thanks."

I nodded dumbly before taking my seat beside Dagon again.

"Did he just thank you?"

"I think he did," I whispered back, watching in fascination as Sebastian dabbed at his eyes before going back to writing. "Wow. He really has it bad."

"He's not the only one. Correct me if I'm wrong, but can I smell a mating bond on you?"

Dagon didn't need to whisper, not with Leo sleeping and Sebastian so focused, but I appreciated that he did. I wanted Blaise at my side when we announced our mating. River and Mori knew. We'd confirmed it back at the cottage, and River's shout of delight had been loud enough to rattle the windows. We'd asked them to keep it quiet until I was back from this trip so we could tell everyone properly. Dagon might have been able to tell we were mated, but that didn't mean I had to confirm it. "I'm not answering that."

"Spoilsport." He pouted before nudging me in the ribs. "Seriously though, I'm happy for you."

Leo chose that moment to wake up, blinking owlishly as he stretched. "How much longer?"

"About forty minutes," I responded. Across the aisle, Sebastian was biting his lip as his eyes raced over the page. "So not long."

Sebastian carefully folded the sheets of paper before tucking them inside his jacket. I'd been privately delighted to find a fresh outfit in his bag. Twat he might be, but I wasn't going to let him reunite with his love in the stinking clothes he'd been in when we'd found him.

He slid into the seat beside Leo, giving him a careful nod. "I'll go straight to Matty, if that's okay?"

Dagon and I exchanged an incredulous look. Since when did Sebastian ask permissionto do anything?

"That better be your plan." Leo gave Sebastian a pointed glare. "Make Matty suffer a second longer and I will ask Ferry to end you."

Sebastian didn't rise to the threat, instead bowing his head. "Trust me, that's the last thing I want."

Our conversation earlier had had hope blooming in me that Sebastian was finally coming back. Now though, that hope was practically bursting through my skin.

Happiness totally unconnected to me settled in my chest, just as my phone pinged with a text from Blaise.

Blaise

I'm guessing it's going well from what I can feel?

Surprisingly so. We cleared the air about a lot of stuff. I think this might be the start of something new for us.

Blaise

I'm so fucking happy for you Tobes.

The warmth in my chest intensified.

Me too.

Blaise

It's only been two days but I've missed you so fucking much.

Same. It's felt like eternity. Fair warning, you might want to nap. I'm going to edge you for hours when I get back.

Blaise

I'm so down for that. I need you, Master. I want you to fuck me, then I want to fall asleep with my mouth on your soft cock. Just suck on it all night long.

I put the phone down for a second to take some deep breaths. I could not get an erection on this plane, not with three others sat so close to me.

When I finally had myself under control, I picked my phone back up.

I'm going to spank you for turning me on when I can't do anything about it.

Blaise's response was a selfie of him poking his tongue out.

Fierce joy blazed within me at how far my boy had come. When we'd first entered the contract, he'd barely been able to articulate his needs. He'd been so terrified about doing something wrong that he couldn't even meet my eyes.

Now here he was, texting me exactly what he wanted while bratting at the same time.

Fuck, I loved him so much.

Blaise

Can't wait. Hurry home.

His final text reminded me of something. Fishing in my pocket, I grabbed my keys and tossed them to my cousin. "Here, you can stay at my place until things are…sorted. Treat it as your own."

Sebastian studied me quizzically. "Where are you going to be?"

Shit. So much for keeping things on the down low until we were all together. I stayed silent, but my cheeks betrayed me by flushing.

A small smirk danced around Sebastian's lips. "Ahh. I see. You and the mage have stopped being melodramatic then?"

Yeah, there was no way I was confirming anything. He'd already tried this earlier and I'd told him that the focus was on his love life right now, not mine. Besides, I'd made my decision to tell everyone with Blaise at my side, and that was what I was sticking to.

I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled at Sebastian. "I'm not at liberty to say. Like I said, this is about you and Matty."

"We can multitask," Dagon drawled, propping an ankle on the opposite knee. "I'm particularly good at it. You kinda have to be with two mates."

I glared at him, while the other two snickered. "You can keep pushing this, but don't forget I have Lucky's number. I have zero issues throwing you under the bus and telling him you were interfering where you shouldn't be."

Dagon recoiled in horror. "You wouldn't."

I bared my teeth at him. "Wanna test the theory?"

There was a glimpse of the old Sebastian as he joined in. "Always amusing to see a powerful supe taken to his knees by a human."

All three of us stared at him mutely. "Um, do I need to remind you that you're in the same position?"

Sebastian blinked before falling back in his seat. "Shit. I guess I am."

"Better get used to being on your knees," Leo said darkly. "You're gonna be spending a lot of time on them if you want to win Matty back."

Iopened the door to Blaise's house.

Well…I guessed it was our house now. Neither of us wanted to be apart, especially not now we were mated. The only question we'd had was whose place we were going to live in. That hadn't been a hard decision either. Blaise's house was bigger, not above a club, and closer to River and Mori.

It didn't bother me at all to walk away from my flat. My home was wherever Blaise was. It was as simple as that.

I was kind of surprised and a tad disappointed that he didn't greet me at the door given we'd been apart for a few days. I dropped my bag on the floor, hanging my jacket on the hook and kicking my shoes off.

"Blaise?"

"In here, Master."

I followed his voice to the living room, and all disappointment faded away. Blaise was on his knees, his hands clasped behind his back in the submissive pose he knew I loved.

"Hi," Blaise said with a bashful smile. "Welcome home."

"Welcome home indeed." I glanced around at the flickering candles. Low music hummed through the air while, from the kitchen, delicious scents of onion and garlic were wafting out. "What's all this about?"

Blaise's eyes were shining as he blinked up at me. "Well, I've been thinking. We've kind of done everything backwards."

Amusement tugged at my lips. "We have?"

"Yes." He nodded firmly. Through the bond, I could feel his barely concealed excitement. "We entered a contract before having a first date. We only confessed our feelings when we were breaking up. We mated before we lived together. And you know what? There's only one single thing I regret skipping."

My throat thickened. I thought I knew where this gorgeous man was going with this. "What's that?"

He took a shaky breath, bringing his hands from behind his back. As soon as I glimpsed the ring box, the tears started falling.

"Tobes, I've never been good at making decisions. There are only two I've ever been certain of. The first was entering into the contract with you." He opened the box to show a platinum band inside.

"The second is this one. Tobes, you've made my life better in every conceivable way. You saw me at a time when I couldn't see myself. You refused to let me give up on myself when I saw no reason to live. You taught me what it is to be happy."

"You taught me that too," I whispered. "I'll never stop being thankful that you took a chance on me."

"I want to take all my chances on you. You told me once that you wanted me tied to you in every possible way. Now I want to make that happen. I know we're mated, but will you also do me the honour of being my husband?"

"Yes," I choked out. "Yes, Blaise. I'll marry you."

"Thank god." He sniffed, wiping away a tear. "Not that I thought you'd say no, but this was still scary as fuck."

"Come here, boy." I yanked at his shirt until he was standing. "Nothing gives me greater joy than calling you my own. From now until the end of eternity, I'm yours. Your love. Your master. Your mate. Your husband."

Blaise's smile was a thing of beauty. "Sounds good to me."