Ash and Jenny had been too busy talking care of Rose and Simon to get an answer from him, and Rose was glad because she knew they would get too invested in this. She didn't even know what had happen herself. She was sure she had made an ass of herself and yet Sebestian had written his number on her arm and kissed her cheek. Doubt started to creep into her mind. Maybe it was a fake number, and the kiss was just a joke. Oh God. That must have been what happen. No man as perfect would actually want to go out with a girl like her. She started to panic but was interrupted by a knock on his door. Ash was looking at her in concern.
"Hey. What happened to you at the club? You were really acting weird when you came out. And where had you gone, we looked for you but couldn't find you?"
"It's nothing really I just started to talk with someone and lost track of time." Rose said rubbing her neck.
"You met someone? You actually... Wait what is that on your arm? Numbers? That's the person's number? Wow. Since when you work this fast?"
"We just talked. He was nice and when I was about to leave, he just wrote down his number on my arm and..."
"And..?"
Rose recalled the kiss Sebestian had sprung on her before she left, and it made her blush. Sebestian had kissed her. Ash looked at his friend as she was getting redder and redder. A smile grew on his face. He knew Rose really liked the stranger she had met at the club and was determined to learn more about him.
"And nothing really. I just left and went out to meet you guys." Rose quickly said, clearly avoiding eye contact with Ash.
"I know you're not telling me everything, but Monika won't be as laid back about so get ready for that." Ash said not wanting to push Rose yet. He knew that Monika would get Rose to talk. "Goodnight."
As Ash walked back to his room, Rose looked at her arm and pondered what to do now. Should she text Sebestian? But they parted ways less than an hour ago. It was too early to text him. But then again Sebestian was maybe expecting her to at least send him a text so she would have his number. Rose kept going back and forth on the question. It was eventually an hour later, and she still wasn't sure what to do.
"Damnit Rose, get it together." She told herself. "Great, now I'm talking to myself."
After a few minutes, she finally wrote down Sebestian number in her contacts, but still didn't have the courage to actually text him. She eventually finally had the courage to text Sebestian a simple 'Hi, it's Rose. So, here's my number.' she realizes that it was 4 a.m. and that Sebestian was probably sleeping. She started to panic, not wanting to wake him so early, especially since he had probably gone to bed very late. Hopefully Sebestian wouldn't hear the text and...
As Rose was thinking it. A ding was heard coming from her phone indicating that she had received a text. She opened the conversation page and saw:
'Rose! I'm glad you ended up texting me. I hope you got home safely.'
'I'm so sorry I didn't think about what time it was when I sent it to you. I hope I didn't wake you up.'
'I just got back from club so there's no worry there. Anyways, I'd always be glad to hear from you.'
'Oh, ok good.'
'Do you want to meet up tomorrow, well today around 12h30 for late lunch? I know a great little bistro.'
'I'm going back to my town at 10h tomorrow with my friends. I'm sorry I won't be able to make it.'
'Oh, you're from out of town? Well, that's a shame. I was really looking forward to seeing you again.'
'Yea, I live in Moon-Land which is a small town a few hours away. We can meet up next time I'm in the city.'
'Moon-Land? Oh, I know that place. Nice town. Maybe I'll be able to visit you went I go there.'
'Really? That would be great.'
'I must go Rose, but I hope to see you soon.'
'Ok Bye' After closing his phone, Rose went to bed with a smile on her face.
When the group checkout of the hotel, Monika and Simon were still hungover. As they got into the van, Ash brought up the mystery man Rose had met and that sobered Monika up in a second. She was now pestering her, trying to get information about the mystery man. Rose tried to ignore her but after half an hour she finally opened up and told everyone about Sebestian. She told them about how they met and that they texted, but she still didn't mention the peck on the cheek she got.
Once back in the small town of Moon-Land, Rose dropped everyone off before walking to the coffee shop to open it. She worked alone since Simon was still in ruff shape after the party and Ash had a date with Jenny. It was a calm day, so Rose didn't mind. Once it was close to closing time, the bell on the door rang while she was cleaning the machines.
"Sorry we're closing for today." Rose said, her back facing the door.
"I know. I just needed to give you this message." The stranger said, handing Rose an envelope.
"What is this?"
"I was just asked to deliver it. Goodnight." The man said before leaving.
Rose opened the envelope and read:
'I saw you in Main city. It's been a long time. I think I'll be heading back to I am coming Moon-Land soon. See you soon.
- A.D-
Rose froze, paper still in hand. A.D. Adom. After almost 2 years, he was coming back. This was bad news. Nothing good could come out of this.
Rose went back to her apartment, still nervous about the letter. Monika and Simon were in the living room and as she came in, the nervous look she wore was a dead giveaway that something wasn't right.
"Rose, what's wrong?" Monika asked. "I got a letter from Adom. This weird guy came to the coffee shop at closing time and just left the letter. He said he saw us in main city, and it made him want to come back to town for a while."
"I thought he had heard the last of him after he mated and left for the city. Where did he see us anyways? Isn't main city big enough so we wouldn't have to see him."
"This is all your fault. I knew I shouldn't have gone to the party. If only I hadn't gone, I wouldn't be in this situation. I wouldn't get weird mail delivered by creepy weirdos at the coffee shop and Adom would still be out of our lives."
"Don't blame me for his craziness. Plus, if I hadn't dragged you there you wouldn't have met Sebestian. Look what happened is in the past now we have to deal with the future. Who knows, maybe he won't actually do anything."
"Unlikely if it's Adom. That guy is like Barty Crouch Jr from Harry Potter. Crazy and obsessed once he's set his mind on something." Simon intervened.
"Not helping Simon." Monika replied. "Look, let's get some sleep and we'll talk about it tomorrow with Ash and Jenny. If ever he does show up, we'll just have to make sure that we don't cross paths."
Rose shrugged and went to her room. As she was getting ready to go to bed, sure she wouldn't get much sleep, when her phone rang, and he saw a message from Sebestian pop up on the screen.
'Hello Darling, I was wondering if you would want to come over and go out with me tomorrow? I know it's last minute, but I would love to get the chance to spend more time with you.'
'Hi. I'd like too, but I'm scheduled at the coffee shop tomorrow until 5p.m.'
'Well, that's perfect because it wouldn't be until 9.'
'9? What would we do?'
'I was thinking that we could have a few drinks and get to know each other.'
'I'd like that. Ok, I'll meet you at 9.'
'Great so I'll send you, my address.'
'Address? We're not meeting at your club?'
'I wasn't planning too but if you want, we could.'
'No, no I thought that we would meet there since it's your club and you probably need to be there. But hey your apartment is great.'
'I don't have to go every night. I go because I like too, but I want to spend some time with you in an environment with less...grinding. ;)'
Rose paused for a second and remembered her critic of the club and the fact that she had complained about everyone grinding and getting drunk.
'Ya, sorry about that one. I really don't mind it that much.'
'I'm simply teasing you darling. So see you tomorrow.'
'Goodnight Sebestian.'
'Goodnight Rose.'
After that, Rose went to sleep. Completely forgetting about the days' events.
* * * * *
Sebestian placed his phone on the bedside table, a smile on his face. Only 24 hours had pasted since he saw Rose and he really missed her. Rose and Sebestian hadn't really talked about anything important at club, but she still had left a deep impression on Sebestian.
From the beginning, Sebestian had felt drawn to Rose. Maybe it was a wolf thing. He knew that Rose was an Omega just by the scent, and that's what made him notice the reserved girl among the crowd, but as soon as he saw her, her beauty was what got Sebestian interested. This tall girl was clearly not in her element, even with her handsome appearance and looked ready to bolt out. Sebestian had taken a pill to hide his gender since being a single unmated Alpha surrounded with drunk human usually led to people throwing themselves at him.
It was known that human reacted differently to Alphas then the other werewolf genders, but mostly to unmated ones. Humans were either drawn towards or afraid of Alphas, and once drunk, their composure would usually make them act recklessly. Many time, people had tried to convince him to have a one-night stand, which had been funny at first but quickly got old. There was also that time when a man threw a bottle of beer at him and tried to punch him. The man was quickly apprehended by the security of the club where it had happened, but since Sebestian tried to find a way to avoid such events. He found out that having other Alphas around was a good way to deal with the issue. Maybe it was the fact that there was more to choose from or more than one Alpha was to intimidating, but he wasn't as harassed when Ray or Allen was with him. Mated Alphas didn't seem to have the issues. They usually didn't have problems at all. After asking around, he found out about a pill he could take to hide his gender and avoid all complications and had been taking it ever since, when he was at a club or party.
He thought about Rose and how she would react once she discovered that Sebestian was also a werewolf. Hopefully she would be happy.
Sebestian lied down and drifted off to sleep, a dream about Rose slowly forming in his mind.
Rose was pacing in her room. She had agreed to go to New York to meet up with Sebestian but now the realization was starting to dawn on her. She would go to Sebestian's apartment and be alone with him.Alone! They would be alone. In his apartment. What would they do? What will happen? Did he expect something?She should cancel right now! But that would be rude. Sebestian would get offended. The thought of Sebestian being upset at her made her even more nervous. No, she couldn't cancel. What was she going to do?"Rose! It's time to go open the coffee shop." Ash yelled from outside her door."Coming!"Rose grabbed her jacket and her phone and joined Ash into the living room and they both left to open their business.At the café, Rose wasn't much better. She paced and went on a cleaning frenzy when there was no client. Ash eventually got sick of it and cornered him in the back-store."Ok! What is wrong with you today? You've been pacing and fidgety all day long.""It's nothing. It's just
Sebestian sat on one of the accent chairs, next to a small table with different alcohols already ready to be served. Rose sat stiffly on the sofa, looking around from the corner of her eyes. Pouring himself a cocktail, Sebestian broke the silence."What would you like to drink?""A beer would be good."Sebestian brought her a beer and sat back in his seat. After taking a sip out of his martini glass, Sebestian tried to start a conversation."So, what's new in city?""Not much. Same old small town was it had been for as long as I can remember.""I guess that they still have a limited choice in entertainment. Last time I was there, there was only four movies playing at the theater and most were boring and depressing." He said with a smirk."Sounds about right." Rose said feeling a little less nervous."Well, I understand why you and your friends came to the city to have fun. City wouldn't be the party capital in any state."Rose laughed lightly at the remark. She no longer felt nervous
Sebestian let Jasmine and her husband into his house. He had never liked the man due to the strange creepy feeling he got every time they met. He was far from thrilled to see Jasmine especially when he had a great night with Rose but being stuck with both Jasmone and her weirdo was even worse. And to think that the evening had gone so well."What do you want Jasmine? It's been almost a year since you came over and I was actually quite happy about it.""Sebestian, I know you missed me, but I was busy. I made time for you because I heard that you got yourself a new playmate.""She is Not a playmate. Not that it's any of your concern." Sebestian replied clearly annoyed but her words and tone of voice."Well, it's kind of is since she's an old friend of Adom. They both grew up in Moon-land together, so he knows her quite well.""I just thought I should warn you about her and what he's like. Since you were such an important part of Jasmone's life. Before she met me." Adom added with a smug
Sebestian exited the room and made his way towards his own bedroom. What Jasmine and Adom had told him made his blood boil. How dared they slander Rose's name. He had stayed calmed with Rose but now that he was alone, his anger came back in full force. Once in his room, he paced around, and his body started to quake. He fell on his knees and suddenly he was in wolf form. His wolf started to take control of his actions, and he trashed his room, ripping his bed and curtains to shreds and leaving large claw marks on the furniture. Thankfully, his wardrobe was closed off so none of his clothes were destroyed in the carnage. Sebestian also like to think that his wolf wouldn't destroy his clothes either way.After an hour of letting off some steam, Sebestian shifted back to his human form and went to his ensuite to take a hot shower. The drops of water hitting his skin undid the knots in his shoulders and made his muscles unwind. As he got out, he heard a noise coming from his room. Rapping
The restaurant wasn't very busy, but the food was great. Sebestian had some egg benedict and Rose ordered a crepe. The conversation was light and fun, and Rose wasn't as nervous as she usually was around Sebestian. They stayed there for almost two hours before leaving, since Sebestian had a meeting to go to and Rose had to go back to town.As they parted ways at Rose's car, Sebestian felt Rose becoming restless and nervous. Unsure of the cause of this reaction, he asked if the omega was okay. Rose's eyes darted to the ground, and she stuttered a mess of words. Sebestian looked at the young Omega with a questioning look. This time Rose repeated what she said a little more clearly."I didn't know how to ask when we could meet up again. If you want to.""Of course I want to see you again, Rose. I had a great time with you even if there were some unplanned nuisances who interrupted our time together. How about you come over on Friday night? You can stay for the weekend."Rose's face becam
Rose woke up screaming. She was covered in sweat and in a state of panic. Ash rushed in the room asking what happened, Monika closely following him. They sat on each side of her bed concern looks on their faces."Rose are you okay? What happened?" Monika asked."It was just a dream. Sorry to have woken the both of you." Rose spoke. Trying to brush her off."That was one heck of a dream if it led to you screaming like that and your sheets are drenched with sweat. Get up we need to change them if you ever want to go back to sleep."As they changed the bedding, Monika pressed Rose for information about her dream. Ash kept silent, not wanting to pressure her anymore. He was worried but knew that both Monika and him pressuring Rose would be too much."Rose, look we're just worried. You've never had such a reaction to a nightmare since I can remember. We want to help." Monika said with a calmer voice in which Rose could feel the concern and the love her sister had for her."It was at the Ru
"We need to keep Sebestian away from the preparations today. The café and the apartment are the only places that are safe since the café is closed today. At least this stupid event doesn't come with huge banners and posters. But then we can't let anyone mention it in front of him. Tell Jenny and Simon so they don't ruin it. Especially Simon. Monika." Rose added while looking at her sister."I'll tell her and make sure he doesn't let it slip.""We'll just pretend it's a town historical event. Those are naturally boring for people and Sebestian shouldn't question it.""You know that you could just tell him, right?" Ash said. Making Rose look at him with a look of disbelief."This is the Mating Run. A ceremony to find a mate and spend the rest of our lives together. How does that say casual circumstance when dating?" Rose's voice was rising in tone and pitch. "I finally find someone that I like and seems to like me, and you want me to just say that I can't go on a date because I have to
"Let's go for a run." Sebestian suggested."What?""Let's go for a run. We shift and you run to someplace you really like and just let all your nervous energy out.""Right now?""No time like the present. Come on. It's going to be fun." Sebestian replied right before shifting.A second later, a massive black wolf stood in his place. Fur as black as night with golden eyes that were still as mesmerizing as his human counterpart. Rose was in awe at the majestic beast, and she felt her inner wolf push to be set free. The strong aura of the Alpha drawing her out. Rose's legs were growing week in the knees. She hadn't felt the strong aura since Adom and Jasmine's unpleasant visit. She started to wonder why she hadn't felt the aura as strongly since. Maybe she was getting used to it? But the scent did usually increase when she was out with Ash. A push from Sebestian brought her back to reality. She then took a deep breath and started to shift.* * * * *Two shadows ran through the forest, j
Cristina was stunned momentarily. Sebestian therapist before her complained that even after fifteen sessions he didn't manage to get through to the man, didn't make any progress at all. She wasn't arrogant enough to deem herself the right person to help. But perhaps she was lucky enough to stumble into his life at just the right moment. "You know that none of that is true", she was bold enough to proclaim. Sebestian' anger wasn't aimed at Rose. "I only saw you two together for... what, ten seconds before he left the room. And I could already see how much he loves and values you." She saw the fight rising from deep within Sebestian and catalogued that as a good sign. "He almost lost you. A part of him must be scared that she still might." She gave him a moment. "Rose knows how strong you are. Be patient with her while she tries to remember it again."Sebestian smiled wryly. His eyes softened, though. "I'm not a patient man.""What kind of a man are you, then?" Cristina threw back.Sebe
When she pulled her a hug he clung to her tightly. It made her feel a little less like the world was falling apart but she retracted from the comfort quickly. She was still shaken from the mild panic attack he'd have to postpone dealing with until later. Resolute to push through and put one foot in front of the other Rose headed out of the room with her sister following her. She was putting on a coat when something occurred to her. "Thank you, for everything. How did you know that I was having a...?" She didn't want to say it oud loud."You were shouting to your phone." Monika went on before she could panic. "You know the boys; they wouldn't wake up to a bomb going off when they're tired enough. They're fast asleep, I checked." After her reassurance she focused on searching through his coat's pockets, so she didn't see her frown. "What are you doing?"Rose's brows furrowed while she spun around wildly. Her head whirred and her hands were shaking along with her whole body. "My car keys
Rose had no idea what happened next. By some miracle she managed to get the boys to calm down, at least to an extent. Apparently, she also ordered takeaway none of them really wanted because suddenly there were cardboard containers all over the kitchen. She did have a far too vivid memory of the lead heavy silence that lingered as they ate, all of them much too aware of the empty seat at the table.It wasn't until later, as she stared at the kids while they watched cartoons huddled together, the full gravity of the situation fell mercilessly on Rose's shoulders. Everything she'd almost lost and could still lose... It weighed too much.Rose's stomach rolled violently. She dashed as fast as she could to the toilet connected to the bathroom, knowing that the boys wouldn't have to hear whatever noise she made there. As soon as she fell to her knees, she threw up loudly, feeling the world falling apart around her yet again.How was she supposed to keep fighting when every time she thought
Ray continued to avoid mentioning his daddy for a couple of more days. Did his best to not even think about his other parent because it hurt too much. But in the end the whole situation got too much on him.He'd had a lot of nightmares since his daddy's accident. They haunted him almost every night. Something about the one he had one particular dark night made it worse than others.In the horrible dream he and his papa were in a forest, where thick fog began to engulf them. Ray was terrified and did his best to keep up with the man walking in front of him. In the end he found himself standing paralyzed while the fog swallowed his papa."Daddy?" There was no response and fear squeezed his chest mercilessly. Tears filled his eyes. "Daddy? Daddy!" Only silence answered him.Ray woke up crying, with his entire body covered in cold sweat. His heart hammered while his wide eyes darted around, trying to convince his mind that he was safe. That he was home and his daddy was safe, too. He want
Holding Max... It felt so good that had hard time controlling his emotions, especially because the brain injury seemed to enhance all feelings. But listening to his son's excited babbling was also a bit much on his still recovering head."... got a new class hamster. And guess what, papa! He has a missing leg, too. I said that he's just like my papa, and Miss Pen gave me a big hug." Max sounded endearingly proud of him, himself and the little creature the child now had a special connection with.Carefully avoiding Max noticing, Sebestian cast a slightly panicked look at Rose. 'Miss Pen?' How many people were there in his son's life he had no idea of? 'His teacher, Aline', Rose mouthed back.Max went on, completely unaware of the adults' exchange. "... named him Skunk, because he's black and white. He likes cuddles, I can tell. But Miss Pen says that we can't cuddle him too much because he's so small and fragile."Sebestian listened to Max babbling as intently as he could, his new limi
Monika likely noticed what she'd done to her hands but didn't call him out on it at the moment. Instead, she moved to hug her, but he refused her with a shake of head. "I'm... I can't." Her voice was so hoarse that for a second, she wondered if she screamed out loud, after all. "If you touch me, I'll lose control and..." She trailed off. She couldn't lose control; too many people she loved needed her to stay strong right now.Monika nodded. Not necessarily happy but understanding. "As long as you know that you're not alone in this. We're all here for you, all of you. Got that?"Rose nodded, dangerously close to losing control over herself. After that... she didn't have very clear memories. She took a cab to the hospital, even on such a day sensible enough to know that she shouldn't drive. Her feet led him to the ICU. The sterile reek and suffocating silence that smacked her across the face at that ward just about tore her new numb bubble to shreds.There was no one around to update he
That night Ray woke up needing to use the bathroom. He yawned and left the comfort of his bed reluctantly, then began to tiptoe towards the toilet. Halfway there he froze at what he saw on the balcony.His mommy stood there with his grandma. Crying while she hugged her and whispered comforting words, appearing distraught herself. Even a child could see how heartbroken his mommy was.It terrified Ray more than he would've cared to admit. Things were supposed to be improving. His daddy was awake. There was supposed to be no need to be sad anymore. Did something go wrong again?Ray managed to retreat to his room unseen. He hid himself under a blanket entirely, trembling miserably. He couldn't sleep while his thoughts whirred.His therapist had helped convince Ray that he wouldn't be sent away, that he wouldn't lose his family. But the insecurities and fears lingered, ready to resurface at any given moment. He hadn't seen his papa in what, to a child, felt like a lifetime. He missed his p
Sebestian felt like he was held under water while he listened to Rose, eyes fixed on the opposite wall. "Ray is another child." It was all told with the kind of paternal love that'd already showed itself once.Rose tried to show a picture from her phone, but Sebestian was too ashamed and overwhelmed to look at it. The Alpha closed his eyes and tried very hard to breathe properly. "How long?" How much time had he lost? How many precious memories? What kind of a parent was he, to forget his own son? He wanted to scream from frustration when the words got tangled together and were nearly impossible to spew out coherently. "... long?"Rose frowned before finally figuring out what he meant and answering tentatively. "He's been our son always." The full weight of those words crashed down on them both simultaneously.Sebestian struggled to make sense of everything. It was like getting sucked into an alternative reality. Like waking up from long sleep, to find that someone else had been livin
The whole family was in an agreement that Rose shouldn't be left alone at the hospital for long. They knew how bad off she was, while trying anxiously to support others. And Sebestian... They didn't want to imagine Samantha without him, for even a second. Because it'd be a loss she wouldn't survive, at least as herself.Monika braced herself for great many things on her way from her workplace at the morgue to the ICU. Her chest clenched and she almost dropped the takeaway coffees she carried when she saw her sister sitting on a bench, wiping his eyes. Then she realized that the tears she fought back were those of joy.Rose's eyes shone from tears and happiness when they met hers. "He... He woke up, Monika. Sebestian woke up and talked to me."Monika decided that it was time to ditch the coffee. She tossed the mugs aside, not really caring where they ended up. Then she pulled her sister to a tight embrace. Which she returned with equal vigor. She could practically feel the relief radia