by Lola Gabriel
“What about your dad? Do you still talk to him?”
“Occasionally,” Winter sighed. “He’s mostly been out of the picture since the divorce, trying to get his own life together. He has a heart of gold, but he doesn’t have the best decision-making skills. Now he has a job truck-driving out in Alaska.”
“I see,” Sebastian commented with a nod. He was silent but kept looking at her with eyes so dewy and pregnant with emotion that Winter found herself holding her breath, not knowing what was to follow. Then, Sebastian laid his hand over hers and stroked his thumb across the back of it. “You must be one of the strongest and most driven people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. To go through such a trying and difficult past and still be this well put together, thoughtful, and compassionate person? It’s beautiful. The inner strength you have is beautiful.”
Winter was then emotional herself, but she wasn’t sure why. Her thumb glided across the side of his hand as she spoke. “Thank you. I don’t really talk about it to anyone. Actually, the only other person who has any knowledge of my life is Corey, and that’s because he was there for it. Keeping me sane and being the rock I needed.”
“That’s wonderful,” Sebastian breathed, a slow smile curling on his face. “I’ll have to meet him one day and thank him myself.”
“Thank him for what?” Winter asked with a pitch of amusement.
“For being there to help and support you while I couldn’t,” he stated bluntly. The statement was a little strange, sounding as though he were apologizing for not being there for her.
Winter tossed it up to ambiguous wording, understanding the sentiment. Sebastian was expressing thankfulness that someone had been there for her and letting her know that he was now there for her, too. It made her blush, assuming that it was his way of establishing that he had intentions of staying in her life, perhaps that he was interested in being with her. The thought both excited and terrified Winter, and the wine was poking holes in her usually airtight filter between her mind and her mouth.
“So, you really like me?” she blurted out.
“Of course I do,” Sebastian replied breezily, despite his brows drawing together out of bewilderment.
“But why?” Winter demanded. He chuckled as though she was being silly, and Winter pressed on. “I’m serious. I mean, I just don’t get it.”
“Don’t get what?”
“Why you like me. I mean, I know we have great conversation and a wonderful time together, but I’m just curious as to why you took an interest in me to begin with. We come from such different backgrounds that it’s noticeable from just a glance. You come from this rich and successful background, and you have seen the world and probably seen, done, and experienced so much more than I ever will. While I know people from different backgrounds can be friends or even more, it normally builds over time. So I’m curious as to why your interest in me was so… instantaneous.”
Winter knew that when she sobered up, even just a little, she would be horrified at how much had come from her mouth at that moment. She’d never been one to ask such direct questions, and she’d rather sit back and gather information, come to a conclusion, and seek out either validation or clarification on the subject herself. However, with just enough alcohol in her system to make her bold, but not enough to keep her from being articulate, Winter was confident in her line of questioning. She didn’t flinch or withdraw, waiting for the answer.
All that she had just stated appeared to take a minute to resonate with Sebastian. He stared at his glass of wine, connecting the small droplets of condensation with his free hand. A couple of times, he opened his mouth as if to respond, but then snapped it shut. Finally, after what felt like eons, he looked back to her.
“Were you attracted to me because of my apparent wealth?” he asked in a tone carefully selected to not sound accusatory.
“No, of course not.”
“So then you felt something more, too?”
Winter’s stomach churned as she began mentally beating herself up for not preparing for the conversation to be turned around on her. “What I feel or felt is beside the point. You know what I’m getting at. People like me are going to be attracted and interested in people like you: handsome, successful, and articulate. Even if there are more redeeming qualities in me, I know that someone like me isn’t what someone like you and your background goes out searching for.”
“That’s the thing. I wasn’t searching,” Sebastian said simply. “Romance hasn’t been an important part of my life for a very, very long time. I was content with living alone. Then, I’m in a bookstore one afternoon and run into this gorgeous girl, and when she looks at me, it’s like she’s seeing past any façade I may put on and is seeing me for me. You’re right, I have traveled the world. I’ve met more people than I can count, yet next to none have given me the sense of belonging that comes with meeting someone like that. Like you. Hell, I’ll admit it, I felt something for you the moment our eyes met. Something tells me that you felt it as well.” Winter nodded her head in agreement. “It doesn’t make logical sense, and honestly, it doesn’t need to. We have time to discover why, and that’s what we’re doing. Getting to know one another, getting closer, and seeing what exactly this feeling is.”
Winter could have wept, so moved by not only his words, but the fact that he felt what she did. She was sure it would only deepen her concerns later, worried that what they felt was false in some way and they were feeding into one another’s delusional ways of thinking. At that moment, though, Winter was willing to accept that there really was something between them, and it was a relief to have validation for her feelings.
Apparently, it was all getting to her even more than she realized, having to reach up and brush a tear away as it trickled from the corner of her eye. Sebastian squeezed her hand to get her attention.
“I know it’s overwhelming and scary. It is for me, too. All I ask is that you do your best not to fight it. Let what happens, happen. Okay? If you ever start to feel as though things are moving too fast or in a direction you aren’t comfortable with, just tell me, and we’ll adjust.”
She nodded in agreement and brushed another tear away. In an attempt to lighten the mood, Winter weakly joked, “You should give a seminar to young men about how to talk to women. The most romantic thing some guys do these days is adding heart-eyed emojis when asking for nudes.”
Sebastian gave a hearty laugh, which in turn caused Winter to join in. “I don’t think anything I can say will fix those men. They just need to grow up and stop giving the rest of us a bad reputation. I’m sorry you’ve been subjected to men who don’t know how to own their testosterone, as opposed to letting it run their life.”
Winter chuckled. “I actually have never really dated or even ‘been on the scene.’”
“Really? How come?”
“I never had much interest in it. At least, I didn’t think so. No one really grabbed my interest like that. I mean… until now.”
Sebastian was practically glowing. Winter’s heart was pounding in her chest, not sure what was coming over her. Her words echoed in her head, and she could hear the sultry notes at the end of her statement; it was foreign to her own ears. She could feel the air around them shift, but Winter couldn’t pinpoint in what way it had. Just as Sebastian began to lean toward her as if to whisper in her ear, something caught his attention from behind her.
Instinctively, Winter turned to see what it was, but she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Her head snapped back in his direction when she heard his bar stool scoot across the floor.
“I see one of my father’s associates. It’ll be rude if he notices me and I haven’t said hello. I’ll be back, all right? Stay here and enjoy your wine.”
Before she could respond, Sebastian turned and headed across the bar.
7
The entire time Sebastian had known of Winter, he never felt disconnected from reality. However, as he made his way through the crowds and small t
ables, he found himself to be utterly convinced the entire thing had been a dream. If not, then at the very least that evening had been. There was no other explanation as to why Osric was in the same bar that he and Winter were in.
Osric. He was the first dragon shifter in known history, as well as Sebastian’s grandfather. While Carlyle was the King, Osric was thought of almost as a god to their people. He never came out into the human world, not even for the major business events. Sebastian didn’t really have an idea what his grandfather did with his time, but he knew that he never left the estate.
As Sebastian approached the table at which his grandfather sat, Osric’s disturbingly vivid silver eyes panned to him, and he actually flinched in surprise. It only furthered Sebastian’s confusion. If Osric wasn’t there for him, then how was it that they were at the same bar?
“What are you doing here?” Sebastian asked his grandfather. Osric’s attention was already off of his grandson and back on the crowd.
“Don’t forget who you’re speaking to just because we’re in the modern world,” he warned. “Get away from me. We should not be spotted together.”
“Why? What’s going on?” No one would know who Osric was, given that he had turned into a hermit since their settlement in America. While they did hold a certain resemblance, Osric could have been anyone to Sebastian. Even this far into his lifespan, he had only aged to the point of appearing to be entering his fifties, with fine lines on his forehead and around the corners of his mouth, and his head nearly dominated by gray.
“Mind your business,” Osric snapped. There was no way Sebastian could simply drop it when whatever it was had to be serious enough to get Osric to come out to the human world and into a bar, of all places.
“If there’s something big going on, I have the right to know.”
“And why is that, Sebastian? Are you going to do something about it?” It was the kind of dig that Carlyle would make to him, reminding Sebastian that in their family, the apple never fell all that far from the tree.
“If it’s serious enough to get you to come out here, then yes. I will.” Osric shot him a cryptic glance.
“If you’re serious and will actively participate, then come with me.” He stood and tossed a one-hundred-dollar bill on the table from the pocket of his black suit. How could Osric try to insinuate that Sebastian would make them stand out when he himself was wearing a custom suit in total black, down to the cufflinks and his wristwatch?
Osric left Sebastian flabbergasted with more questions instead of answers. Shaking his head, he looked back in the direction of Winter, and his heart plummeted. Why did this have to happen at such an inopportune time? They were having a wonderful time, having even touched on how they felt about one another. How in the world would he come off by leaving her in a bar alone when he was the one who drove her, and she had been drinking? Already, the worry over her getting home safely unsettled Sebastian’s bones.
Taking out his phone, he quickly installed and set up an account for one of the taxi apps and ordered her a ride home. Taking a deep breath, Sebastian walked back over to Winter. As soon as he entered her peripheral vision, Winter turned her head and flashed a stunning smile up at him.
“I’m not sure how else to say this but to just say it,” Sebastian began. “My father’s associate is twisting my arm to go handle some business-related things. I’m so sorry, and I’m not sure I can put into words how much I do not want to. I’ve ordered you a ride home and will text you the code to track the ride yourself. Again, I’m so sorry. Please let me know when you make it home, okay? I’ll have my phone on me, so—”
“Sebastian,” Winter interrupted. “It’s okay. Go take care of business. Thank you for tonight, as well as for the ride home. We’ll talk later.”
“You’re an angel,” he breathed.
“Hold onto that belief,” she joked.
Dipping down, Sebastian pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I mean it, message or call me when you get home.”
“Yes, sir.”
Then he left. Every step made his heart ache, hoping that he wasn’t making the wrong decision. Still, Sebastian had to tend to his family. Upon stepping out of the bar, he looked up and down the sidewalk before he finally spotted Osric across the street, standing at the corner. Keeping an eye on traffic, Sebastian crossed the road and jogged over to his grandfather.
“All right, you have my full attention. Now can I know what the hell is going on?”
Osric looked around to see if there were any people in earshot before he finally turned to his grandson and whispered, “There’s a rebellion on the horizon.”
Sebastian’s face fell flat. “Please don’t tell me that Father has sucked you into his paranoia.”
“I will be the first to admit that your father is far too obsessed with the notion and has thought that for a long time. However, this time… I don’t know how to put it other than I have a feeling; enough of one that I took it upon myself to look into it. Not even the Warriors are aware of this.”
Sebastian was hooked then. The Warriors, the royal soldiers, were the ones who constantly had to handle his father’s never-ending commands to hunt down suspicious men and bring them in for trial. The feeling that Osric had mentioned having about the rebellion was palpable in his energy when he said it. It would have to take some hard proof for Sebastian to believe that there was a rebellion big enough for his family to worry, but he was at the very least unsettled by the graveness of Osric’s message.
“What can I do?” he asked.
“Join me in looking for these men. Don’t speak of this to anyone, not even Theo. We will bring the others in when we require it.”
That was so strange to Sebastian that his head shook side to side, as if to eliminate the order from his mind. It made no sense as to why Theo would be left out at a time when Sebastian was involved. Theo was the fighter of his siblings. While he wasn’t an official warrior, what with Carlyle not wanting a prince to carry the same title as a commoner, he was a fierce fighter. He was the one who would normally have handled this sort of thing for their father.
“You’re bringing me into this before Theo? Why?”
“Because he is too quick to act. Like I said, this isn’t yet confirmed, but it is highly suspected. We can’t have that anymore, not with an actual threat to the crown. We need to observe and come up with a plan. Theo could potentially lead our best men into a slaughterhouse.”
That was fair enough. Sebastian had a great amount of respect for his little brother, but he had the tendency of being impulsive and short-tempered. “Very well. I won’t speak to anyone about it.”
“Good. Now, follow me.” Turning the corner, they walked briefly down the street and stopped at Osric’s black Escalade. Osric tossed Sebastian the keys.
“What do we know about these supposed rebels?” Sebastian asked as he pulled out his phone to see a text from Winter, letting him know she had just gotten in the taxi.
“I understand I actually answered a couple of your questions, but I will not warn you again. Do not forget who it is you’re speaking to,” Osric growled. “I will share with you any information that you must know, and I will tell you where to drive to. Turn left in three lights.”
Then ensued one of the longest and most boring nights of Sebastian’s life. They just drove around, occasionally stopping at random bars and clubs, where Osric would give Sebastian a vague description of some guys before going in to see if they spotted anyone, and then repeating the entire process over. As time ticked on, Sebastian started feeling foolish for being so easily dragged into such an absurd predicament and wished he would have stayed with Winter. He couldn’t express even an ounce of annoyance, knowing that Osric’s wrath already had a thin cover.
The light of morning rays began to peek past the horizon when Sebastian finally found the courage to suggest calling it a night. “I think we’ve covered all of downtown. The bars have been closed for hours. Perhaps we should come back another ti
me.”
Osric chuckled. “You’ve become so soft and gullible. Do you think rebels are going to wait for your nap to be over before they strike?”
Sebastian said nothing. He wished he could grow numb to all of the attacks on his character inflicted by his family, but it always managed to sting. Why couldn’t they see that he had changed for the better when it came to surviving in the human world? What would be even better was recognition for all of the pointless fights and battles Sebastian had put a stop to before they began at all, thanks to his new demeanor and level-headed mind. Why did the rest of them have to hold anger and violence so close to their identities?
“That’s a good point,” a voice called from behind them. Sebastian glanced over his shoulder to see who it was. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of the man approaching them slowly. He was tall, stocky, and had the distinct bone structure of a dragon shifter.
“Who are you talking to?” Sebastian called over to him.
“Who do you think?” the man asked, tilting his head to an almost ninety-degree angle. “Why, the first shifter and his pathetic grandson, of course. It’s an honor, really.” Then he bowed, and suddenly, arms were around Sebastian’s neck.
He drew in a hoarse breath instinctively and groaned at the pain. Bending himself in half, he managed to fling the person from his back and onto the ground in front of him. In a matter of seconds, a full-blown brawl broke out. There were three men against Sebastian and Osric.