Sebestian barely moved as Rose got back on the bed, biting his own tongue hard in his mouth to try and keep his thoughts clear and calm as he watched him. It didn't matter how often he saw Rose naked, it made him impossibly excited every single time, like his skin was on fire. He wasn't completely sure what was going on, but he wasn't complaining."This would have freaked me out before you came along" she said, slowly running one hand over his stomach and up to is chest. "I used to hate my body. It was gross to me because I felt stupid and weak" she continued, looking at Sebestian as he almost absentmindedly let her hand roam over his own naked body. "I still sometimes feel weak when the want to just be taken becomes too strong" she admitted.An almost overwhelming feeling of the want and desire to crawl onto the bed and kiss every inch of Rose's perfect body, all the while telling her how beautiful and strong she was, was starting to wash over Sebestian as he listened and observed he
Glancing over at them, Rose quickly grabbed the colored pencils that were spread out on the floor and put them back into the plastic container they were usually kept in before walking back to join them, stealing a piece of apple off of Max's plate as she walked by and dramatically put it into her mouth as she sat down."Thats my apple" Max pouted, grabbing all of the other pieces on his plate.Chewing the piece she had stolen; Rose made a face as she sat down "I thought you didn't like apples?" she feigned surprise as Max shoved a piece into his mouth and started chewing it, eyes narrowed. It was all an act on Rose's part obviously as Max has started to say that he didn't like a lot of different food but seemed more than willing to actually eat it if you tried to take it, or God forbid give it to Ray."Oh, is that apple for me?" Sebestian asked as he entered the kitchen, not just newly showered but also completely done up again, reaching out towards Max's plate, smiling."NO!" Max alm
They had probably asked around for over an hour without really getting any straight answers. Several people seemed to be straight up lying, but without the possibility of forcing people to speak the truth, they couldn't do anything but accept their answer and keep on going. It wasn't until Ash came up with the idea of asking some kids, who were probably on break from school, that they got anywhere. Rose almost felt guilty as two of the kids Ash asked instantly pointed them in the direction of where the couple lived as it was becoming increasingly clear that this couple did not want to be found and that everyone who lived there, human even, were helping to keep them hidden."I feel bad" Rose admitted as both of them were walking up a dusty road that was taking them to the outskirts of the small town. According to the kids, who must've been no older than 10, it was impossible to miss as it would be the first house they reached.Looking back at her, Ash scrunched up his face "Same, but w
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't aware that my pack was the reason others hid too. I thought maybe it was your pack or because of your first genders" Rose admitted, knowing that for a long time a double female mated couple wasn't seen as equal among a lot of groups either, including the Clave.At the sound of Ziporah letting out a huffed sound, Rose looked over at her, confused. "That was her pack""The moon-land?" Rose asked, "But I thought. I heard you were a werewolf"Shaking her head, Akiki smiled "No, my sweet child, I am like you. But I am glad to hear that's how you heard of us. We spent years telling people this little white lie in hopes that it would become the truth in the eyes of the outside world".Feeling her heart happily skip a beat in her chest, Rose gave Akiki's hand a gentle squeeze. She had been so excited to talk to them because she thought that because they were another couple, even if they weren't the same as her and Sebestian, maybe it could help; now she knew for a fact
Smiling softly, Rose leaned in and gently rubbed her nose against Sebestian. Using her mate's positive energy to give herself the courage to point out the downsides "I have been thinking about this for a long time. I've talked to Ash about this, like a lot, and as much I am deadly scared of watching almost everyone in my life grow old and die, I do want this with you" she said and as she did she could sense Alexander happiness, knowing she had to quickly cap it and not let it linger "BUT.." she said almost a little harshly as she pulled back and looked at her Alpha "now I want you to think about it."Feeling his inner Alpha bounce with joy, Alexander was filled with happiness he once again didn't know existed up until that point; how was it possible that he was getting everything he could have ever wanted. "I don't need to think about this.""Yes, you do" Rose shot in, trying to not let her Alpha's happy mood spread and throw him off the topic because feeling just how excited he was m
It was Rose first day as a doctor without someone watching over her shoulder, instructing and criticizing. She was so terrified of screwing up that she felt sick to her stomach. People trusted themselves to her hands, and while she was the top of her class, she felt like she had no idea what she was doing. The responsibility was a huge strain on her chronically tense shoulders.She was still scared, even though by two in the afternoon that day had been anticlimactic. A couple of cases of flu... A screaming and crying child with a toy-soldier in her nose, who punched Rose while he tried to assess the situation... A seventy-year-old suffering from acute confusion who was convinced that she was pregnant and feared that her husband would leave her if she found out about her infidelity...When Allen, one of the nurses, briefed her on one Rose she actually dreaded what awaited. Especially with how worried she seemed. "Something went wrong during work, and he hit his head pretty badly."Rose
Rose stood and straightened her tall frame. She barely noticed how several muscles complained. "How is he?"Andrew took a deep breath. "Sebestian suffered several injuries in the accident. Such as a broken sternum. One of his broken ribs came close to puncturing his lung. There was quite a bit of internal bleeding even without that, which was a big reason why I took my time." The man's jawline tightened. "We're worried about the head trauma. A scan showed a hairline fracture to skull and we're doing everything we can to make the swelling in his brain go down. At this point it's impossible to predict what the long-term effects may be. Our best neurologist is examining him right now."A shocked silence filled the room. That... was a lot of unpleasant information to take in. Rose, however, had delivered enough horrible news to know that her friend was hiding something. By then she was so numb from shock that her voice came out clear and even. "What aren't you telling me?"Andrew tensed u
Monika wanted to go after Ray. But she had her arms full of another, hysterical child. The older boy emerged from his room twenty minutes later, when Max's sobs were subsiding. The state of Ray's knuckles suggested that he'd punched a wall several times and there was a horrible, empty look in his eyes. Monika sighed heavily. "Ray...""I'm making us breakfast. Someone has to make breakfast." Ray flinched momentarily and avoided eye-contact while freezing to the spot. "I'm sorry I interrupted you." This was the way he was right after the adoption. Reserved, guarded, expecting punishment for even the smallest mistakes.The regression broke Monika's heart. "It's okay", she promised as softly as she could. With Max still clinging to her she opened one arm. "Sweetheart, come here."Ray didn't notice her gesture or hear her invitation. Or pretended remarkably well that he didn't. "I'm making us omelets", the boy decided. And got to work like someone who was used to being the grownup of the h
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