Ch. 4 - Welcome Home

Sebastian POV

"You excited, sweetie?" My mom pinched my cheek, and I sighed. I was a mama's boy at heart, but Luna Kiera could be a bit much. I don't think she realized I grew past eight years old. Despite being twice her size, she still treated me like a child.

"Yes, of course. This is my pack and home." I gave her a smile, hiding the weight of what the night would bring. Not only was I being celebrated with the intention of soon taking over our pack as Alpha, but tonight, I also planned to tell Ruby the truth.

I was in love with her, desperately and wholeheartedly. In all my nightmares, there was one constant, one shred of hope and goodness: Ruby. She would always appear at my darkest moment.

When I had given up on myself, relinquishing my soul to the evil that lived within me, Ruby would appear. At first, she was just a child, a little girl with red bows in her long black hair. She would speak to me so innocently, forcing me to realize who I truly was. She gave me the courage to fight the darkness, waking me from the horrid dreams.

Over the past year, though, she didn't come to me as a child but as a woman. She looked different than I knew her to be in the real world, but it was unmistakably her. She didn't just give me confidence; she gave me purpose. Her body molded to mine in ways I never thought possible, ways I had never experienced before.

I was an Alpha, with all the primal instincts of a feral animal, but I couldn't touch another. Since I was a child, I just knew Ruby was the one I belonged to, and I wouldn't dare betray her. I couldn't hurt her like so many others had in her life. She needed an Alpha to protect her, but more importantly, she needed me to be the one who loved her.

"You seem nervous." Elizabeth joined me in my bedroom with Kiera. I was sitting on the edge of my bed in one of my finest suits, tie undone, and sweaty palms.

"I'm fine." I cleared my throat, unsure how to best tell Ruby everything I felt. But I needed to; my wolf needed her before we went crazy or, worse, entered a rut.

It wasn't as common anymore, but if a werewolf was close to their fated mate and they didn't mark and mate with each other, it would force our wolves into a haze of sinful lust. Women would go into heat, especially around fertile months, and men, we'd get so hard we would take anything to satisfy ourselves. It could take days to calm a rut, possibly making an Alpha knot inside a fertile female.

As I said, it's uncommon these days, especially since fated mates seemed to be fading from our kind since the goddess left. But I didn't want to slip up. I wouldn't share my first time with some random woman. Ruby was meant to be my first and only. I was so damn nervous, though. I wanted to feel her, completely bare and completely mine, but what if I messed up or hurt her?

"You don't look fine! What is happening?" Chase walked in with Drake and River behind him.

"Nothing, Papa. I'm just adjusting to being back home. I spent a year doing nothing but training from sun up to sun down, sometimes longer. I just need a minute to catch up." My eyes pleaded with my parents to relax. They had no idea what tonight really meant to me.

"I told you that stupid academy wasn't a good idea! He isn't a cold-hearted beast like you. He's my baby, with a kind and loving soul." Kiera shouted at my dads.

"He needed that training. We won't live forever, Kiera." Elizabeth wrapped her arms around my mom's waist to comfort her.

"He's a man now, an Alpha, and he's itching to taste blood. Isn't that right, son?" River patted my back like a proud father. He didn't understand that I didn't feel my Alpha wolf like he did.

"Uhm, sure, Father." I gave him an odd look. It should be concerning that our Kings spoke of ending others' lives brutally as if it were a sport, but it was just accepted in our crazy world.

"Stop crowding my grandson, you buffoons." My grandpa walked in, and my entire body eased. He always understood me, even when I didn't understand myself. "Get out!" His wolf roared out, and my fathers quickly obeyed.

It was said that my fathers were once an unstoppable force, evoking fear in others from miles away. And oddly, that my grandpa was some homeless rogue. It seemed impossible to believe, considering how they were now.

"Be nice, Dad." Kiera eyed my grandpa down.

"Your mates are idiots. Let me say hi to my grandson in some peace." Grandpa nodded to the door, insisting my moms leave.

"You know we love you. We'd do anything for you." Elizabeth's hand cupped my cheeks. She had to stand on her toes, even in heels, to reach me.

"I know, and I love you too. I'm fine, I promise." I reassured them. She gave me a kiss on the cheek, then Kiera wrapped her arms around my waist, sobbing into my chest. My grandpa sighed in annoyance.

"It's okay, Mom. Don't cry, please don't cry."

"I can't help it. You're just so grown now. Where's my little boy?" She sobbed.

"I'm right here. Shh, Mom. I'm right here, and I'll always be your little boy." My hand soothed her back, calming her uncontrollable sobs. I was her only biological child, and I knew she went through literal hell to make sure I was born. I was her world, and I could never disappoint my mom. She was my heart.

"This is ridiculous. He's a damn ogre, the fiercest Alpha I ever laid eyes on." My grandpa growled, disapproving of how my mom still babied me.

"And he's still my baby, just like I'm still your little girl." Mom looked at my grandpa, and his wolf immediately softened.

"That's right, sweetheart. Come give your old man a hug." He opened his arms and instantly transformed into a total mush.

I shook my head at them. The one thing I could never complain about lacking in my life was love. My parents and grandpa loved me more than I thought possible and often showed it.

It would be perfect, except every night I dreamed about killing every one of them. How could I dare to think about harming my family? It annoyed me to no end.

"So, the visions are worse. I was afraid of that." My grandpa began pacing the floor. Everyone had left, closing the door behind them. My mind was spinning with the horrible images that plagued my sleep. I didn't even know how much time had passed.

"They aren't visions, Grandpa. Just my subconscious afraid to rule over literally everything. It's too much pressure."

"You're going to tell me what I do and don't know?" He snapped back at me. His wolf was a powerful Alpha, one that demanded total obedience. It was amazing he didn't kill all of us to take the crown himself.

"I don't need some lecture or ridiculous tale of a goddess and gods' affairs. You're all old, out of your minds." I sat back on my bed with a heavy sigh. I needed to figure my life out. I prayed mating with Ruby would help me gain the confidence I needed. I always felt like a piece of me was missing, leaving me unsettled and unhinged. Ruby calmed me, and I was sure my worries would fade once we marked each other.

"We lived through that evil and darkness, son. Don't tell me I'm crazy or making shit up. Dietus and Lupa are real."

"And now they're gone. You all fought a tough battle and brought peace for eternity."

"No, son, we didn't. You'll soon learn life is not as peaceful as the great Kings and Queens make it out to be. There is still danger out there, danger you will have to face. You need to be prepared. Fuck!" My grandpa roared in frustration. There was a secret my parents kept from me, something that haunted my grandpa, but they said I was too young to know.

"Will you just tell me already? Do you know how annoying it is for some old man to constantly tell a child he knows something but won't tell? You're worse than Papa with your manipulation and games."

"This isn't a game." His eyes turned black, a dark wolf rising inside him, but I never felt an ounce of fear. Actually, nothing ever made me afraid in this world, only my dreams.

"I have enough to deal with without some riddles, Grandpa. Tell me or drop it."

"You should have been told long ago, but your mother thinks you're still a baby that can't wipe his own ass. It's dangerous! And stupid!" Now, he was getting violent, tossing my dresser across the room. I shook my head at his little tantrum. If he kept this up, we'd have to admit him in a senior home.

"Grandpa, I haven't seen you in a year. Can't we start with a hello, how are you, maybe a hug, before all the doom and gloom talk?"

He growled darkly at me, and I looked at him uninterested. He was strong but not stronger than me.

"Are the visions worse? Tell me the truth, then I'll give your wimpy ass a hug."

"Sort of. I'm fine, though." I stood, smiling at the old beast with no self-control. "Now give me my hug, Grandpa. You know you want it," I teased him.

He wrapped his strong arms around me, relaxing his wolf and letting the bond of family flow through him. I knew he was getting confused in his old age, but he was also the kindest man I ever knew. He would do anything for mom, his daughter. One look from her, and he would make a total fool of himself. No one hurt his family, and he did everything in his power to protect us.

"I love you, kid." Grandpa patted my back, and I squeezed him a little tighter.

"I love you too. Stop worrying so much about me. I'm a man now." I pulled out of his arms and stood tall.

"A wimpy man." He smacked my cheek with a chuckle.

"I can kick your ass. Your wolf is just mad he isn't the most powerful anymore." I chuckled, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

He looked at me, eyes full of worry and sadness. "Just be careful, Sebastian. Life as a man, an Alpha, is difficult. I know you don't feel the same as your fathers, or even me, but you're still an Alpha. Your wolf will push you to do things you never thought you would. Cloud your judgment with arrogance and sometimes force your hand to betray." His large, wrinkled fingers grabbed my necklace, examining the crystal in the center.

"The power is fading. I'll have a new one made, " he grunted. My family was always checking that I wore this around my neck. It was said to calm the magic inside me, a magic I had never felt before.

"Then I'll be as good as new. See, everything is fine. Let's go celebrate me!" I raised my eyebrows at him, and he chuckled, the worry disappearing from his eyes.