~Sebastian~
“Oh, oh shit! Dibs. I call dibs!” Nickolai whispers loudly.
Day two and I already want to kill him and blame this pack for it. It’s just Nickolai and I exploring today while Tank does whatever the hell he wants to do. This is how it always is, though, the never-ending life of the Alpha babysitter.
“Nickolai, you don’t have to call dibs on the things you are buying. You just pay for them and they are yours.” I remind him.
He doesn’t pay me any mind. As he walks through the crowd the following something, no, someone. His eyes are glued in front of him as he eases around people, gently pushing past them. How sweet of him to care.
I, however, do not, so I square my shoulders and walk straight ahead, knocking into person after person, feeling an odd sense of satisfaction. Am I looking for a fight? Bet your ass I am. I want to punch someone, feel the crunch of their jaw under my fists.
I groan internally. This is what he does to me. He makes me hate the world because he loves it so much. He is so damn cheery that I just naturally have to balance him out by being an asshole. There is no rhyme or reason to it, just me being annoyed with his cheerful outlook on life.
“Where are you going?” I growl at him when he finally stops staring straight ahead, eyes wide in wonder.
“Before I point it out, just remember that I called dibs and I am not above using the ‘I’m the alpha’ card,” he levels his eyes on me and I give him a credulous look.
"Whatever."
I follow his eyes and my stomach flops, my chest tightens, and I feel sick. Only ten paces ahead of us is the pretty little pickpocket. She looks different. I’ll grant her that. No, who am I trying to fool? She looks downright stunning. She had before, but I can tell she is trying to be more, which is absurd because she is…
Shit. nope. Come back here, runaway thoughts. No thinking about her or anyone like that. I have nothing to offer anyone. This is why I actively avoid finding my mate. I am good for one thing and that is protecting the one person I consider family. Even if the majority of the time I find him annoying as all get out. He called dibs, and I respect him enough to respect that.
But why do I hate it so much?
As she laughs at something someone said, her auburn hair shimmers in the sun. Her eyes find mine right away and I can see a hint of laughter there, something reserved just for me, our little secret that she somehow knows I haven’t told. Her eyes are lined with black and her lips are covered in a gloss that looks sleek and inviting. I notice Nickolai has noticed her lips as well and I steel my face to not show my disappointment.
She saunters over, fixing the glove covering her arms up to her mid-bicep where it kisses the hem of her shirtsleeve. I tilt my head, trying to understand why most people in the outliers wear sunglasses or long sleeves, yet here in the inner wall, everyone dresses like we are back in our pack. Maybe it’s a status thing? A way to tell who is on the lowest rung? Another stab at whatever dignity they had left.
“Gentlemen,” she says with the dip of her head.
“Madam” Nickolai responds. She lifts a brow and wears a look of feign offense.
“I look like a madam to you?” She says, the corner of her lip tipping up in a smile. Nickolai misses that she is messing with him and his cheeks flush red. I roll my eyes and move away from them, not missing her gaze lingering on me for a moment. It thrills me that she is watching for some reason, and I hate it as much as I enjoy it.
I make my way to a building and lean against it in the shade. The sun is beating down today and though the air has a chill factor to it, the direct sunlight is enough to make my brow sweat. I pull my hood over my face so I can track them with my eyes while my head is turned in another direction. This is what I do, what I’m good at.
I lurk in the shadows, letting him live his life out to the fullest, and not once have I ever cared. Not once have I felt the pang of jealousy and desire for something that, by birthright, would never be mine. Until right now. I’m not daft enough to think she is after him for anything other than the treaty she believes he has. The treaty that I have on me.
She laughs at his jokes, and he rubs the back of his neck. Shit. He is nervous around her. Nickolai isn’t hurting in the women's department. It’s probably one area where he excels and I fail. Not from lack of trying on my part. I’m rough around the edges where he is refined and his tongue is made of silver and mine. Well, I don’t like words much. Not serious words anyway.
The fact that he is nervous means she is either doing a great job or he is starting to like her. Both of which are very dangerous options. I move to break up the conversation, bored now of waiting, but I freeze the moment I take my first step. Nickolai reaches out and brushes the hair from her face, and she blushes. The slightest hue of pink dancing along her soft cheeks and a shy smile on her lips.
I frown at the exchange. It shouldn’t bother me as much as it does. I should be more upset about the fact that she is trying to swindle us, but the blush still sits on her cheeks and my heart rate has ticked up a notch. Fuck. I want to make her blush like that.
I step out of the shadow and I’m next to Nickolai in a second, my hood still up, casting a shadow over my eyes.
“Nickolai, let’s keep moving,” I grunt. He smiles at me looking like a kid who had won a toy at the fair and he reaches out, slumping his arm around the woman’s shoulders.
“Seb! I found a guide.” He is grinning.
I stare at him for a moment, then sigh heavily.
“Told you,” he whispers to the woman, removing his arm. “Man, of very few words.”
“Don’t tell people about me,” I grunt, annoyed already, and our day has only just started.
She throws her head back and laughs. I freeze, my fingers itching with the desire to just touch her. Her laugh is light, airy. A carefree laugh, like the burden of life, hasn’t torn her down just yet.
“You like to remain a mystery?” she asks, with a twinkle in her eyes.
I frown at her. This seems fake, forced, and I don’t want to interact with her. Hell, I’m not sure I know how.
I turn on my heels and leave them following behind me at a distance. After a few hours, they find their way to my side and I frown at them, annoyed that they can’t just stay a certain distance away from me. She makes me uneasy and I don’t like it. Nickolai runs ahead to grab us some food from the store on the corner and I move closer to monitor him.
“You care about him?” she asks me.
I say nothing, give her nothing.
“Ah, I see. You either are just the dumb brute force or you are one of those guys who hates women.” She says.
I snap my eyes to her face in shock. She watches me carefully, waiting for a response.
“I am neither of those things,” I respond, looking back at Nickolai through the front window.
“So he speaks.”
“We have spoken before. Why would you think I do not speak?” My words are cool, giving nothing away except my desire to not talk to her. She looks a little alarmed and I smirk. She didn’t think I would recognize her.
“You spoke more freely last time.”
I shrug. My jaw is aching from all the clenching I’m doing.
“You dislike me?” She asks, amusement fluttering in her eyes.
“No, I distrust you.”
“Oh, come on, it was a small little…”
“What do you want the treaty for?” I ask her.
This time her face is cool, unreadable, and she watches me, weighing her answer.
“Ah, so she does shut up,” I mutter before Nickolai saunters out with a bag of snacks, tossing me a water bottle.
“Ohhh, this is a fun tension to walk into.” He says, grinning. “Let me guess. You tried to talk to him, didn’t you?”
“Tried being the operative word.” She says, her face lighting up when she looks at Nickolai.
“Seb, you need to be nicer to Wren. She is going to be our guide until we leave.”
“Wren?” I ask my voice light, tasting her name on my tongue, enjoying the way it rolls off my lips. She smiles.
“Yes. I’m Wren.” She offers me a gloved hand and I stare down at it. And then look back up at her.
“Wonderful,” I say flatly. And then I turn to Nickolai. “Tank will take over your detail for the duration of the day,” And I turn and walk away.
-Tank, you’re on Nicki, I need a run- I tell him through the mind link.
-Already on him-
I can feel their eyes on my back and my muscles ripple as my wolf growls for a run. He wants out to run free and far, and for once I let him take the helm because I can’t trust my mind right now.
I pull my zipper hoodie back on, toss the hood up over my dark hair as I walk through the door to the restaurant. Nickolai has decided he wants to treat us all to dinner, considering it’s really his father’s money and all expenses are already covered. We amuse him. Tank is sitting at the table grinning from ear to ear, chatting with Nickolai who has very clearly already started drinking. The moment I’m in Nickolai’s sight, he beams at me, though he says nothing.“Well, look who is back from his hours-long run,” Tank says, raising a beer to me.“Should you be drinking so much?” I ask, raising a brow to Nickolai.“Ah, come on. Let the boy drink his beer. He is going to be Alpha soon enough and he won’t be allowed to have any real fun,” Tank jokes.Nickolai frowns at Tank. Though he is excited to be taking over the helm of his father, he is
She moves to the kitchen, closer to where I am, and I hear her silent sobs. She tries to keep them quiet as she grabs the tea kettle and fills it with water, sticking it on the stove to heat. Then she crosses to the shelf that used to be a pantry, the door now missing, and she grabs a glass container with herbs in it. She then pulls out her phone and dials a number, anxiously chewing on her nails. “Freesa,” she says with a relieved sigh. “It’s Wren. He is really bad again.” Her words are laced with worry and I imagine her eyes are glistening with tears as she leans on the counter with her back facing me. Her head droops forward as she nods solemnly. “Yeah, no, I know that. I just. I really think you should come see him.” She pauses again, before straightening up again. “You did?” She sounds surprised. “Lovesickness? What the hell is that?” I frown. It’s not an illness I have ever heard of before; I mean, outside of the human world, making jokes about it. “I’m sorry. It sounds li
~Wren~ After walking dad to his bed and giving him the medication I swiped from the pharmacy for his pain, I finally stalk to my room and drop onto my bed. Today has sucked, yet been strangely good at the same time. There is nothing quite like feeling at the top of the world, only to crawl back home to the depths of despair. It’s getting harder and harder to escape the harsh reality that if I don’t figure out a way to free my mother from her servitude at the packhouse soon, Dad will die. And as much as it’s not my fault, it will happen because I failed him. I look at the fancy clothes that Lacy lent me. I feel like such a fraud. None of this is me. The flirting and dressing up, yeah it’s fun to put on a mask and pretend for a little while, but the second I remember why I’m doing what I’m doing, I’m bogged down by the guilt my genuine smile brings me. If my father can’t be happy, then I don’t have a right to it either. Shit, no one in the outliers is privy to happiness, not unles
“You look exhausted,” Sebastion says to me, his eyes straight forward as we walk through the park in the city. Nickolai is flitting from vendor to vendor, looking back to check on me now and again as he suspiciously buys everything he can, including a few floral items. Maybe I am mistaken and maybe they are for his mother or perhaps he has a sister? Who am I to assume these gifts are for me? Yet the gleam in his eye and the smirk on his lips pull me back to that thought process. I look over now at Sebastion, who is watching me curiously, and I realize he had spoken. “Oh, uh. Thanks?” I say, not sure if he is being rude or observant. He laughs and my heart flutters at the sound as I watch him, inspecting every part of his face. His dark eyes glimmer and shine, full of mirth. And the lines around his lips hint to me that maybe he does more smiling than he lets on. For the first time since meeting him, he seems relaxed, and it looks fucking glorious on him. He gives me a strange loo
I should feel guilty about kissing Nickolai to steal from him, but I can’t find myself hating the kiss as I step back from him. It was a sweet kiss. It was gentle and telling, not at all wanting. Nickolai is a gentle alpha. He has an air about him that just pulls you in like a magnet. He gazes down at me as he tugs on a piece of my loose hair, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Uh…” I say, chuckling nervously. “What was that about?” “Oh,” his face falls suddenly and my chest feels weird at his disappointment. “I thought… you weren’t going to kiss me. Were you?” He asks, looking deflated. It’s a look I can’t stand. I don’t really understand how I feel about Nickolai. I like him. He is sexy and adorable at the same time and I want to like him but something feels like it's missing. But maybe it’s my apprehension because I know I’m lying to him? Or maybe it’s the pulling in my heart telling me not to let my walls down for him. It’s not a feeling I can put my finger on, not yet anyway, s
~Sebastian~ Nickolai, Tank, and I wait patiently outside the packhouse–if you could call it a house. This place is more like a mini fortress preparing for war. We had to come through two checkpoints to get here and here we wait, six minutes past our meeting time. I lean against the post on the front steps of the large white mansion while Nickolai sighs heavily, checking his watch once more. “Be still, Nickolai” I mutter. “Easy for you to say! You’re a brute with no actual emotions.” I quirk a brow with mild amusement. He is nervous and I can see why. This is important. We want to leave a good impression on Alpha Alden, even if he is leaving a bad one on us. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.” he groans in frustration. “It’s fine. You didn’t hurt my tender feelings,” I joke. Nickolai leans on the post opposite me while Tank stands at the bottom of the steps looking around, no doubt feeling anxious the more we wait. From a protection standpoint, the longer we wait for such a meeting
~Wren~In ideal circumstances, Alden would have left on time to show the boys the pack lands. But the word ideal and Alden don’t play well together, so here I am, fifteen minutes later, cursing the asshole who has zero concepts of time. It’s not surprising that he is self-absorbed and can’t be bothered to do things with a time constraint. That would mean admitting that the world doesn’t spin around him like he is earth’s axis.The sun is closing in on its highest point of the day and where I am usually one for hiding in the shadows, today I am flat against the top of the wall. Which sucks for me because sweat mingles with the cotton of my shirt and I have no doubt that it looks like I was just involved in a wet t-shirt contest. I was overly excited about the mission, for obvious reasons, so I have been in place for close to an hour now. My patience is now near nonexistence.A feminine loud
She stares at me like I’m some magical creature that crawled out from a mystical place instead of the child she left to be raised by her heartbroken mate. After staring for a minute and a few tears, she wipes her hands on her thighs and chuckles nervously. She moves to touch my cheek, but I recoil from her touch. “You are more beautiful than I could have ever imagined,” she whispers.“Who is Waylon?” I say accusatory.She winces at my question, her eyes immediately darting away from mine as she reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling the door open. Elara sticks her head out and tugs me along with her. I hate how her hand in mine is comforting, like a nice cup of tea after hours in the snow warming me from the inside out. I want to hate her, be mad at her for not fighting harder to come back to us, to me. But I’m old enough to know that life is never as easy as making one singular decision. I squeeze her hand, trying to keep my tears at bay. The conflicting emotions are more than I ant