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, I'm meeting with Sebestian tonight and I'm getting nervous."
"You're meeting up with him tonight? Since when you had this planned?"
"Last night. It was last minute. He invited me to get a drink."
"Well, why are you so nervous? It's only a drink. You did that last time."
"The thing is, we'd be at his apartment, not the club."
"So, you're nervous about being alone with him."
"Well, yah. I don't know what to expect. Is it only a social thing or is he expecting something?"
"I never met him, but as for tonight, it's up to you. If you just want to have a chat with him then it's up to you. You don't owe him anything. Just see how you feel about it at the moment and follow your gut."
"You're right. I've got nothing to worry about. We'll just have a drink and talk about stuff and then I'll go to the hotel, easy."
With a little more confidence, Rose continued her shift at the café, while Ash messaged Monika about Rose's date. Monika was thrilled about the news and rushed to Rose's room to start finding an outfit for her and to pack her bag.
* * * * *
Sebestian was having a late lunch with Ray in his apartment. Both were discussing the plans for DLD when Ray brought up Rose in their conversation.
"So, I saw you with the black-haired girl at the party."
"Rose was a surprise. I didn't think I would meet a someone like her at the party. She's so calm and more of a quiet type. I wonder how she got in."
"I bumped into her sister on the street before the club opened and put their names on the list."
"Well, I'm glad you did. Fate was in my favor that night. I can't wait to see her tonight."
"So, she's really the one for you? I thought you would go for a Beta or an Alpha, considering your past relationships."
"Oh yes, I didn't have much luck with those so a change wouldn't be a bad idea. Anyways, I didn't think I would find anyone with such a scent. No other Omega scent ever made me feel this way."
"Does she know you're even an Alpha? If you met at the party, she wouldn't have been able to know."
"Sigh. She doesn't even know that I'm a werewolf so no. I was just going to let her notice once she's here. I don't know how she'll react once she knows that I'm an Alpha."
"If she's like the others, she'll be all too thrilled about it. The last Omega you met was really 'too friendly'."
"Yes, but I have a bad feeling about this one. I have a gut feeling she's more likely to run for the hills then be happy about it."
"Well, you'll see tonight."
"I guess I will."
* * * * *
Rose arrived in her room to find Monika already there, with three different outfits placed on her bed.
"What are you doing in my room?"
"I have outfits planned for tonight and for tomorrow. I already packed a few outfits and..."
"I'm just going for one night, not a week-long vacation."
"I want to make sure you have an outfit for any event."
"Monika, I'm just going for a drink, then I'll go to the hotel and come back the next day."
"Well, I guess we can go with only two outfits plus the one you're going to wear."
"Fine. So, what do you have planned for tonight?" Rose agreed, not wanting to argue to end up with the same results.
"So, I was thinking that a dark grey V-neck t-shirt and a black skinny jean with these black leather casual dress shoes I bought you and you can wear your regular leather jacket with it."
"I'm never going to wear does shoes ever again. It's a waste. Return them."
"I'm going to give them to you for your birthday anyway so just take them now. It's no use arguing, and you know it."
Rose sighed. She knew that there was no changing her sister's mind when it came to fashion. Monika mentioned that Sebestian was a well-dressed man, and that made Rose wonder how she knew. She didn't have any pictures of him so how did Monika know what he looked like?
Seeing her questioning look, Monika opened her I*******m and after a few seconds, she showed her all of Sebestian's recent posts. Most of them were of him with different people, having some intense parties or great pictures of him modeling different outfits. As she scrolled down, Rose had to admit that Sebestian was a well-dressed man. Looking at herself in the mirror, she saw how much of a difference there was between the two. Two total opposites. Determined to make that difference shrink, she turned to Monika and agreed to wear what she had planned. It was a small step, but it was a good beginning.
* * * * *
Rose was finally at Sebestian's apartment. Well at the door really. It was a plain building that didn't seem very fancy. It kind of looked like a warehouse from the outside. The door was a solid black metal door and the only indication of it actually being a house was the mail sloth and the intercom next to the doorbell. Rose was once again pacing. She was trying to get the courage to ring the bell but every time she got close, she would pause before actually pressing on it. After a 10-minute wait, she heard a voice calling her from the roof. As she looked up, she saw Sebestian leaning over the balcony, looking down at her. Immediately, Rose started to worry about how long Sebestian had been up there looking at her. Sebestian opening the door pulled her out of her chain of thought and before she could even say 'Hi', a strong scent filled her lungs. Alpha!
Rose's mind was racing. The strong scent of an Alpha surrounded her. The smell of peppermint and sandalwood, with a dash of cinnamon. It was a strong scent, and Rose was studded to find out that it was emanating from Sebestian.
'This couldn't be.' Rose's thought. 'It's clearly a werewolf scent.'
Rose's mind was reeling. No human could have such a scent, but it was clearly coming from Sebestian. The situation didn't make sense. Last time Sebestian smelled like a regular human and now he was a werewolf? That didn't make sense but there was no other explanation. Sebestian was now a werewolf. Someone must have turned him! That was the only explanation.
Rose, worried about how the transformation had affected Sebestian then asked:
"Sebestian are you ok? How did it happen? Did you shift yet? Are you feeling strange?"
"What are you talking about Rose? I'm fine. I was worried about you. You were pacing at the door." Sebestian replied clearly confused.
"No, I'm talking about your change. You're a werewolf now. How did it happen? Were you bitten? By whom? When did..."
"Rose, I've always been a werewolf."
"What? But at the club, you were a human. You smelled like one. How is it possible?"
"I take a pill to cover up my gender when I'm at the club. It prevents unwanted attention from human. Now let's go inside and have that drink. The doorway isn't the most comfortable place to talk."
Sebestian made his way inside, waiting for Rose to follow. Rose was stunned and confused. She stood still in the alleyway, not sure what to do. She didn't like that Sebestian had kept such a secret from her. Sebestian knew she was a werewolf but had kept quiet about himself. Rose felt betrayed which didn't make much sense since they had barely spent time together and in no way feel this betrayed.
"Are you coming in?" Sebetsian asked.
Rose looked up at him and debated with herself what to do. On one hand, she really wanted to spend time with the gorgeous caramel skin man, but she also didn't like being in the presence of an Alpha that she didn't really know. In the past, she didn't have much luck with Alpha males. Adom's face popped up in his mind. Clearly, Alpha males weren't a good mix with her. Still, her guts told her that this time it could be different. She had gotten along with Sebestian at the club. Building on that strand of hope, Rose's stepped foot inside the building, closing the metal door behind her.
Sebestian let a sigh of relief pass his lips when Rose stepped into his apartment. He had expected her to turn and run. He could see the dilemma still lingering on the younger woman's face as
her brow was still furrowed. Sebestian led Rose threw another set of frosted doors that opened to a modern living room.
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
"Missed me?" the shadow asked Rose as it got closer."Who?""It's me Rose.""Seb... You're not Sebestian." Rose realized. She then shifted into her wolf form and jumped the imposter."Get off me you freak."Adom kicked her off and morphed into his wolf form. A brown and grey large wolf stood in an aggressive stance, baring his fangs as he snarled at Rose. Rose noticed that Adom's wolf had gained weight since their previous fight, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to match him for as long as she had in the past. While she was thinking, Adom had pounced, and she was now pinned to the grown under the angry Alpha. She didn't like the fear she felt creeping up on her. She struggled to get out and it made Adom smile, his snout getting closer to Rose's shoulder.Realizing that if he was bitten it was game over for her, Rose bit down on Adom's right paw which made him back up and allowed Rose to escape. She made a mad dash for an unknown destination. As she ran and ran, she tried her b
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