He took a sip of his cappuccino outside the trendy café and scanned the humanity around him. They moved like mindless automatons, their inane chatter going over him. He caught the scent of a werewolf and looked around. Twenty feet away, heading toward him was Luke Batista. Luke was a few years older than himself and his career as a model would end in a few more. Modeling was a young man’s game. Like himself, Luke had long hair, though Luke’s hair was black and wavy. Sebastian smiled as women walked past Luke, turning and eyeing the man. Luke was broad in the shoulders and narrow in the waist. He wore a close-cropped beard and had sharp features. Sebastian grunted his amusement. They were all creatures of their hormones and desires. Sex sells and he sold his beauty on the pages of magazines.
Luke grinned when he caught sight of Sebastian and pulled out the chair at the little table in front of the café.
“What’s up?” Luke said as he settled himself. He lifted a hand and got the attention of the waitress, who came to the table with alacrity.
“Cappuccino,” he ordered and the young woman hesitated, her eyes eating both men up and then turned and disappeared. She was forgotten immediately.
“Not a whole lot. You going to the Saint Laurent affair? It’s two months away.”
“Not sure, I’ve not gotten anything from my agent. More than likely, I will. There’s a ball afterword. All the Resplendent Alphas will be there,” Luke said and nodded as the waitress brought his cup. She seemed to hover a moment then went. Sebastian laughed softy and Luke just shrugged. It was common for women to hover. The older a werewolf got the more pheromones the male werewolf put out. Sebastian was beginning to draw women to him. He thought of Nat and shook his head. She’d spoken Japanese and she had done it nearly flawlessly. He’d been impressed. He pulled his wandering mind back, annoyed with himself.
“What?” he asked.
“You’re awfully distracted today?” Luke leaned back and scrutinized Sebastian.
“It’s nothing, just a little annoyed with myself.” Myself was a euphemism for werewolf. Humans didn’t know or believe in werewolves. They thought the werewolf was mythological and something you saw only in cinemas. It was taboo to say the W word in such a public venue. One never knew who might be listening.
“What have you done or not done?”
“You know Nat, don’t you? Have you ever sat in her chair?”
“Sure, I know little butterface, why?” Luke looked bored now. Sebastian wasn’t sure why it annoyed him so much that Luke had called her butterface. He’d said it himself plenty of times but he’d not been cruel enough to say it to anyone who’d repeat it to her. Sebastian hadn’t missed the fact that she had a crush on him. But now, when Luke had called her that, his wolf had jerked and that had never happened before. Before he could speak, Luke continued his thought.
“Sure, I’ve let her play with my hair on a few occasions. She’s pretty good, gives a nice scalp massage and doesn’t have bad breath.”
Bad breath was a common occurrence with stylists. More often than not, it was coffee breath or morning breath. With their keen sense of smell, it was off putting. Natalya’s breath was sweet and she had a soft musky flora scent to her, which was actually very pleasant. She didn’t wear perfume, none of the stylist did, since it was irritating to smell someone’s choice of cheap perfume.
“Yeah, so the other day, I was sitting there in her chair. And I can’t even remember how the subject came up. I hardly listen to what she says, you know, half listening. So, we’re talking and then she starts speaking Japanese. I’d never known she could do that. It was a weird feeling to hear my native language. I mean, I speak it when I talk to my mother, but I rarely speak with my mother. I certainly don’t hear it around work or just in casual.”
“Yeah, I guess that would be a little jarring. Did she butcher it?”
“A little, but she was pretty damned good. So, I answered her in Japanese. And from there, our conversation was solely in my native tongue. It was just…weird,” Sebastian said, even now wondering why it bothered him.
“No telling bruh. The girl likes you, I guess. No big surprise. Half those butterfaces moon over us. Just ignore it.”
“I guess you’re right. It’s just I didn’t think she was that smart; you know. She’s talented in artistic standpoint. But I’d never thought of her as intellectual. Well, I’d never really thought of her period.”
“Don’t give Miss Butterface another thought, man. You’ll get worry lines,” Luke said and laughed.
Twenty minutes later, both men stood and pushed their chairs out. Sebastian was just a smidge taller than Luke and the older man straightened up to his full height. Both men were alphas and Luke was older by a few years, but somehow, Sebastian seemed to outrank him in the werewolf hagiarchy. The Resplendent Alphas were the apex werewolves. They ran the city, or town, or state. They ran the industry, whatever that might be. In their little circle of the fashion industry, there were seven Resplendent Alphas and their rich mates. There were other moguls in the industry, but they were human and werewolves really didn’t care about them.
Sebastian went to shove his chair in and knocked the chair behind him. He looked down on a dark-haired woman whose hands were clasped in her lap, as though she were praying.
“Sorry,” he muttered and both men moved past the table, a new topic of discussion on their lips. Neither had noticed that the woman was Natalya in a dark wig.
TWO
Nat vibrated with humiliation, hot tears sliding down her face. You’re the biggest damned fool there ever was, she thought. She’d known that Sebastien frequented this café and had followed him, taking the seat right behind him. She had put on her favorite perfume and had just reveled in his presence. So close to him, she could smell him and was thinking about her night’s agenda with Mr. Hurt Me Good and Mr. Long and Slender in the back door. That was an acrobatic feat, but so well worth it. She had been daydreaming about it with Sebastian behind her when she’d heard him call out to Luke.
Luke was okay but he was so vain and when she’d worked on him, he only had eyes for himself. He loved his reflection more than anyone she’d ever met. Then she’d heard the shitty things he’d said and then the awful things Sebastian had said. Did he really think she was stupid? And he’d agreed with Luke’s butterface remark. Nat wasn’t sure what hurt more, the fact that he didn’t think she had a brain or that she was ugly or that he’d never listened to her or that he’d never really thought of her?
Was it because she was so insignificant in his world that she was like an insect? The hurt pierced her heart and she felt shattered. She stood on shaky legs and walked to the bus stop. She was thankful for the large dark sunglasses that now hid her swollen eyes. The napkin she’d been crushing was now over her mouth to hold back the screams of pain and heartbreak. She turned at an alley and pulled out her phone, she needed to talk to Tonya. She hit speed dial and sat on a stack of empty crates. She let her sob go when Tonya answered.
“What? What’s the matter?” Tonya’s voice held concern.
“I’m so fucking stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
“Ah shit, what’s happened?”
“I went to a café that Sabastian goes to and I sat behind him.”
“Shut up, no you did not. Tell me you didn’t do that, girl,” Tonya said.
“Yeah, I sure did, cause I’m just that fairy fucking stupid.”
“Talk to me, what happened?”
Nat told her of the whole conversation between the two men. This was punctuated by brokenhearted sobs. At one point, Nat had to dig around in her purse for another tissue.
“How am I going to face him the next time he comes to my chair? I can’t. I’m so humiliated and I’m so ashamed of myself for falling for a man who has no idea I even exist,” she wailed.
“Get a grip, Nat. I’m serious. You’re heading over an ugly edge that you don’t need to even be goin’. I know your feelings are hurt. I understand that. People are cruel. But your
sister Tonya is gonna lay some truth down and you’d better listen.”
Nat nodded, she didn’t want to hear it, but she knew she needed to. When she’d called Tonya, she knew she’d get sympathy, but she’d also get the whole truth and nothing but the ugly truth. Natalya lived in reality and rarely ventured over into self-delusional territory. Tonya cared enough to be her reality check, which she sorely needed right now. She grunted an acknowledgement.
“Nat, all of this relationship with Sebastian is in YOUR head. He is innocent of being anything but a man, who isn’t interested in you. You’ve been mooning over him for so long that you’ve bought into your own fantasy. You’re living a life that isn’t real and it isn’t yours to live. I love you dearly. I want only for you to be happy. Sebastian isn’t it. He isn’t your man and he’ll never be your man. You will live the rest of your life alone if you don’t get that straight in your brain. You’ll never be happy and you’ll never be satisfied. It isn’t that you’re so picky about men, it’s that you have this love affair with a myth. That man doesn’t exist in your world.”
“I know. You’re right and I’m so ashamed of myself. I feel so damned foolish.”
“I know baby girl. That’s why I’m telling you what you need to hear. You can face Sebastian because he has no clue about how you feel. He doesn’t know that the things he said has hurt you. I’ve never gotten the feeling that he’s an asshole or cruel, like that shithead Luke. Take a deep breath and go home and reevaluate yourself, your goals and your needs and wants. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow. Now, don’t forget tomorrow is another practice at dance class. The competition is coming up and I wanna beat those skanky Peterson sisters. We gotta work on our routine.”
“Thanks for the dose of reality. I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be sorry, just stop living in a world that doesn’t exist. You’re too good for that shit,” Tonya said.
Nat walked back to the bus stop, her sobbing now under control and only a few hiccups escaped. On the ride home, she stared out the window. Tonya was right. She was living this wonderful life with Sebastian and the guy had no clue. She needed to get her shit together. More than likely, Sebastian would be in her chair tomorrow. But it still hurt that he thought she wasn’t smart. Hell, she’d learned freaking Japanese and that had been hard as hell. She said goodbye to Mr. Hurt Me Good, she didn’t think she could use him for a while. Sebastian had been her lover for three years, at least in her head. Now, he was gone. She snorted with a wet laugh. He was never really there.
Tonya walked over and hugged Nat. Natalya almost burst into tears at the kind touch.
“Girl, your eyes are puffy as hell. You cry all night?”
“Pretty much. I just keep calling myself three kinds of an idiot. I know it’s all my fault and Sebastian has no culpability in this. I know I built him up as something he wasn’t. Still, it did hurt to hear that you’re so insignificant that he barely pays attention to me when I speak to him or that he thinks I’m a dumbass. That I’m some kind of butterface loser. I don’t care that Luke thinks that way, but it hurt that Sebastian thinks the same thing.”
“See, that’s just it. Sebastian doesn’t really think about you. Do you know that Jason, over in lighting? He thinks you’re a cow. Now, do you give a shit? No? Why? Because you don’t think about Jason. You don’t care, because he isn’t in your sphere. It’s the same with Sebastian, he doesn’t care about you because he doesn’t know you. Girl, you need to get that straight in your head. Don’t punish Sebastian for not knowing you exist, for not being who you think he should be and how he should feel about you. That’s arrogant on your part.”
“I know. Thank you again for the face slap of reality. You’re right and I know to the depth of my soul that you’re right. I know that love isn’t real. It’s just going to take some time. I need to grieve the loss of an imaginary lover,” Nat said and laughed, a little humor surfacing.
“Good girl. Now, are you coming tonight? We gotta work on our routine. If we wanna at least get third place, we’re gonna have to step it up. Those Peterson sisters are good, but we’re better.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m coming. I’ve actually been practicing at home. I was thinking about adding more hip drops and kicks, I think its sexy, so I want to punctuate the dance with a few more of those. We can work out the number tonight. How many do you think will be at the belly dancing competition? Do you think there will be a lot of fusion belly dancing?”
“There’s going to be a whole separate category for the fusion. We’re slotted for the traditional dancing. I heard there might be as many as thirty acts. We’re slotted for the tenth place. We’ll only have to wait an hour or so and I figure we can practice while we wait. Are you sure you want to do Youm Wara Youm? I love Cheb Mami, but it isn’t traditional music,” Tonya said.
“I’m sure, Cheb Mami and Samira Said sing so well and I really think we can make it work.”
“Okidoki. I’m glad the fusion will be separate from the traditional dancing. Cause some of those fusion moves are pretty hot,” Tonya said.
“I’m a traditionalist, I’ll stick to traditional belly dancing. We’ll just update the music a little.” Nat smiled. She’d spent the whole night vacillating back and forth between sadness and fury at Sebastian. Shame and fury at herself and lots of hurt feelings. She would need to shove herself past this.
“Me too. Okay, let’s get set up. Hey Cristian. How are you?” Tonya said and both women turned when Cristian walked in. He and Selma would be working the chairs today as well. Natalya turned away, self-conscious about her puffy eyes. When he saw her reflection, he smiled sympathetically at her.
“Bad day already? Sebastian will be here, that will make it all better. Girl, I know you like him. Dang, you should tell him,” Cristian said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He was only trying to cheer her up, he didn’t know that Sebastian was the cause or rather her stupidity over Sebastian was the cause for her situation.
“Crissy please, don’t.” Cristian knew of her crush on Sebastian and he was always encouraging her to tell Sebastian about her feelings. He stopped and eyed her. She shook her head adamantly. He gave a theatrical sigh and nodded going to his station.
None of the stylists noticed Sebastien standing behind the curtain, frozen into place by the inadvertent conversation, the topic of which, was him. What in the hell? Am I in some kind of altered universe? he wondered as he backed out and left the building. He was early as usual. Had he missed something? Then it hit him, butterface and Luke. Yesterday, at the café. Shit. How had Nat heard them talking? He’d not seen her. Was she following him now?
“Shit,” he cursed softly. This was really awkward. Hell, she must think him the biggest asshole in the world. He didn’t remember calling her a butterface, that was Luke. But he’d not countered that conclusion either. It was guilt by association. He’d also thought she was a butterface and so guilty as hell, didn’t matter that he’d not said anything.
He walked across the street and went into a bodega and bought coffee. He walked out and leaned against a chain link fence. What in the hell was he going to do? He knew that Nat liked him, always had. He knew of a lot of women who liked him as well and as he was getting older, there were more women hovering near him. He drew them like bees to honey. He liked Nat but he’d never thought about her other than when she was working on his hair and makeup. Even then, she was like wallpaper or the chair or something nearby, you knew it was there because it took up space but you really didn’t think about it.
“This is really gonna be awkward,” he muttered and looked down into the coffee. He thumbed a long strand of hair behind his ear. He tried to remember what he’d said. She said he called her a dumbass, but he didn’t think he did. Oh, yeah. He didn’t think she was smart. He cringed. She’d heard that. It wasn’t his fault she was eavesdropping. The invisible hairs on his body rose in a defensive manner. He’d done nothing wrong. He had a right to think the way he did.
He let out a long breath and ran a hand through his long hair. Two women passed and smiled at him but he didn’t see them. He’d never thought of himself as harsh and liked to think that he treated women well. They were emotional creatures. They got their feelings hurt easily and apparently Nat had been having a secret love affair that only she’d been aware of. Was that his fault? No. He had no control over other people’s emotions, thoughts or feeling. He wanted no such control until it was time for him to mate.
When a werewolf mated, both human and werewolf became bound to the female they chose as their mate. It was highly ritualistic, because during the consummation of mating, both man and beast occupied the same space at the same time. There weren’t many women who would wish to mate with a werewolf. That was why there were rules and when the ritual was done, both man and woman were bound to each other, heart and soul. It was something stronger than love. If a mate died, usually, the partner soon died as well. There were always exceptions, especially among the Resplendent Alphas. They mated for gain, for money and power. When their mates died, they usually found another mate or just chose women to fuck at random.
For the average werewolf however, mating was serious business. Even more so for alphas. He’d spent the last thirteen years jumping from woman to woman, enjoying their bodies. They were such pleasurable creatures but he’d never gotten to know them, never stayed with a woman more than once or twice. He didn’t want to because that might trigger a bond of some kind. That might cause his werewolf to begin that process of bonding. Werewolves were the seat of their mating and bonding emotions. You didn’t let the wolf get close to a female until you were ready to choose a mate. He wasn’t ready to settle down. Most werewolves mated in their thirties. He was twenty-nine and had a few more years to sew his oats. He sighed again. This wasn’t good at all. Damnit.
The Werewolf's Ball: The Resplendent Alpha Page 2