by Stormy Glenn
“He’s a bunny shifter, Carlos.”
Carlos’s eyes widened. “A bunny, sir?”
“Yes.” Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“No sir, of course not.” Carlos straightened his tie and smoothed down the outside of his suit jacket. “I’ll just have to inform the cook that rabbit is no longer on the menu.”
“Yes, do that.” Sebastian barely suppressed the smile threatening to break out. “Beauregard would be very upset if we ate one of his relatives. And please inform the staff that there will be a bunny on the premises. Anyone that attempts to harm him in any way will be dealt with by me.”
“Yes, sir, right away, sir.”
Sebastian waited to smile until Carlos had hurried from the room. He knew that Beauregard was going to be a surprise to his clan, but he figured with the council’s mandate, they’d all be too busy finding their own mates to worry about his.
Sebastian hurried up the grand staircase to his quarters on the second floor. He pushed his door open and walked through the large living area to the master bedroom. Being the prince of his clan paid off in this area. Not only did he have a master bedroom the size of most people’s homes, but a sitting room, private dining area, and large master bath spa.
As he laid Beauregard down on the bed, an idea began to grow in his mind. He pulled Beauregard’s shoes off then covered him with a blanket from the bottom of the bed. Once his bunny was all tucked into bed, he quietly crept out of the room, closing the door until it was open just a crack. He wanted to be able to hear Beauregard when he woke up.
When he entered the main living area, he went directly to the desk area in a small alcove off the living room and picked up the phone. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table top as he waited for the phone to be answered.
“Ah, Carlos,” he said when the man picked up the other end. “Please have Harlan come to my quarters.”
“Right away, sir.”
“Oh, and who has the rooms next to me, the ones that share a wall with my balcony?”
“Those rooms are vacant at the moment, sir. They are usually reserved for visiting dignitaries.”
“Good, I want them left empty. Assign visitors to another room. I have plans for those rooms.”
“Very good, sir.”
Sebastian hung up the phone and reached for a pad of paper. He sat down and started drawing and making notes. He had something special planned for his little bunny, something he felt any bunny would like. He just had to figure out how to do it without Beauregard finding out.
“Come,” he called out when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up when it opened then went back to making notes when he saw Harlan and Galan walking in. Both men walked over and stopped in front of his desk.
“Galan, I’d like you to find me an indoor gardener, someone that knows about arboretums, and an architect. I don’t care what the cost is. I want them here as soon as possible.”
“Can I ask what for?” Galan asked.
Sebastian grinned as he looked up from his notes. “I want to turn the room next door into an indoor park for Beauregard, someplace he can be in bunny form. Winter is still hitting us pretty hard. He needs someplace inside to run and play.”
“An arboretum?”
Sebastian nodded. “I figured we could put in some large windows so sunlight could come in then add grass and bushes and stuff. But I want bars over the glass for safety. I’m hoping we can come up with something that will keep him safe but not make him feel like he’s in a cage.”
“I may actually know someone that can help with that,” Harlan said. “Peter, who works in the armory, makes stained glass as a hobby. He might be able to figure something out for you.”
“Peter?” Sebastian tried to picture the large gunsmith making stained glass. The picture just would not form. Peter was huge. He worked day in and day out in the armory, either on swords and knives or guns. He did it all in the weapon department.
He was also bald, had numerous scars on his body due to working around hot metal, and growled at nearly everyone. It took grace and a delicate touch to make stained glass. Peter did not fit that picture.
“Uh, yeah, if you think he could help, that would be great.”
“I’ll mention it to him,” Harlan said.
“I forgot to ask, Harlan, did you find your mate?”
Harlan grinned. “I did, a sweet little fox named Jeremy.”
“Well, congratulations, my friend. You’ll have to bring him by so Beauregard can meet him. I think he’s going to feel a little uncomfortable being such a small shifter in the world of dragons. He could use a friend that understands how he feels.”
“An excellent idea, Sebastian. I’ll bring Jeremy by later today.”
Sebastian nodded. He worried a lot that Beauregard would feel uncomfortable being in a castle full of dragons. Having someone else around that understood his fear would do him good, although, Sebastian wanted to meet this fox before he let his mate around him.
“Jeremy doesn’t eat rabbit, does he?”
Harlan blinked. “Uh, I don’t think so, but just in case I’ll tell him that rabbit is off the menu.”
“It’s off the menu for all of us. I’ve already told Carlos to inform the cook. There will be no more rabbit served in this castle.” Sebastian shuddered. “Can you imagine how horrified Beauregard would be if we served up rabbit for dinner?”
“Let’s just be thankful cows don’t shift or we’d all be in trouble,” Harlan said.
“Right.” Sebastian chuckled. “With this new mandate from the council, we need to keep track of who and what we have here in the castle. I don’t want anyone feeling like they need to be in fear for their lives.”
“I’ll have Carlos make a list,” Galan said. “If anyone knows what’s going on here, it’s Carlos.”
“Good idea.”
And it was. Sebastian didn’t know what he would do without Carlos. The man practically ran the entire castle, which left Sebastian free to lead the clan of dragons that he oversaw. Carlos was a lifesaver, and very competent.
“Okay, if there’s nothing else I need to know, I’d like two guards assigned to keep Beauregard safe.” Sebastian nodded toward Galan. “Pick two of our most trusted men, preferably ones that won’t be distracted with new mates. They need to be on their toes around Beauregard.”
“Is there something I need to know about your mate, Sebastian?” Harlan asked.
Galan started laughing. “He’s not like any bunny you’ve ever met before.”
Harlan looked so confused that Sebastian couldn’t help laughing himself. “Beauregard is a force unto himself. He doesn’t take orders very well, and he kind of tends to do his own thing. I don’t want to stomp on his spirit, but he must be protected.”
“Of course he must,” Harlan agreed, “but just how much of a force is he?”
Galan went into hysterical laughter. Sebastian was more restrained. He just grinned. “Beauregard is unique.”
“Unique?” Galan barked. “You call him unique?”
Sebastian rankled a bit at Galan’s amusement. Beauregard was unique. There wasn’t another rabbit in existence like him. He had personality, even if he didn’t have style. Beauregard’s idea of style consisted of shoelaces matching the color of his nail polish.
“Beauregard is unique.”
“Right.” Galan laughed.
Sebastian glared, narrowing his eyes at his second-in-command. He crossed his arms over his chest and arched an eyebrow at the man. “Tell me that being able to lick my balls while I fuck him isn’t unique.”
Galan choked on his laughter.
Harlan’s eyes rounded. “He can lick your balls while you fuck him?”
Sebastian’s grin was almost from ear to ear. “He’s very flexible.”
Chapter 7
Beauregard opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as he looked around. He wasn’t in the limo anymore, and he really had no idea where
he was, but it sure was a nice place. He was lying on a large four poster bed, a sheer white canopy over his head.
The room itself was white-walled with large dark wooden beams crossing the arched ceiling. Beauregard sat up and looked around some more, amazed at the sheer size of the room. It looked bigger than his entire apartment back home.
The bed he sat on was situated against the wall. Directly across from the bed was a small sitting area with a loveseat placed directly in front of a large stone fireplace. To both sides of the fireplace sat double glass doors that led outside.
Colorful tapestries hung from the walls alongside swords and knives and shields with dragons on them. Beauregard felt like he was in a medieval castle, except for the few modern conveniences he could see—the large screen television hanging over the fireplace, the telephones, and the desk that sat in the corner with a laptop on it.
It was cool. If a few knickknacks were added here and there, the place could be really stylish. Beauregard tossed back the huge, white down comforter he was snuggled under and scooted off the large bed. He laughed when he actually had to slide the last few inches to get off the bed. It was that far off the hard wooden floor.
Beauregard searched around until he spotted his high top shoes. He quickly pulled them on and tied the neon green shoelaces. He couldn’t wait until his stuff arrived and he could put in another color. He liked changing colors often. It kept him from feeling stale.
Beauregard walked to the largest door in the room and opened it just a crack so he could peek out. It opened into an even larger room, this one decorated like a living room. Beauregard slipped out and shut the door behind him.
He could hear voices coming from the other side of the room, a small alcove of some sort, but he couldn’t see anyone. He could hear Sebastian’s rich timbre as he spoke, though, and headed in that direction.
When he rounded the archway leading into the small alcove, Beauregard paused, wondering if it would be rude to just walk in. Two very large men were talking with Sebastian, but neither of them was as big as his mate.
“Sebastian?” he whispered softly. Beauregard cringed back when three heads turned in his direction until he spotted one smiling at him. He quickly crossed the room and took the hand that Sebastian held out to him, leaning into his arms.
“Hey, love, how are you feeling?”
“A little confused,” Beauregard answered. “I thought you were going to wake me up when we reached home.”
“You looked pretty tired. I decided you needed your rest more.”
“Oh.”
“You’ve already met Galan,” Sebastian said as he gestured to the other men in the room. “This is Harlan. He’s commander of my warriors.”
“You have warriors?” Beauregard was really starting to feel like he was in medieval times. Castles, dragons, warriors, swords on the walls—if that wasn’t medieval, he didn’t know what was.
“Of course I do.” Sebastian chuckled. “This is a castle, after all. What would it be if there weren’t warriors?”
“Um, a castle?”
Sebastian laughed. “True, but it wouldn’t have the same style if I didn’t have warriors to fill it. Most of them are just unmated dragon shifters. Each dragon is required to serve in my army for a period of two years. After that, they are allowed to stay in my service or move on to other pursuits.”
“They’re required to serve?” Beauregard frowned. “Sebastian, I don’t have to serve, do I? I won’t make a very good warrior.”
“No, love, you are not required to serve. Besides the fact that you are a bunny and not a dragon, you’re mated. Only unmated dragons are allowed to serve. No dragon is allowed to mate until they put in a term of service. Once they are mated, they can no longer serve.”
“Why not?”
Sebastian chuckled and hugged Beauregard. “Because protecting our mates becomes our number one priority after we mate. That means a warrior can’t give their total dedication to serving me if they have a mate. Their loyalties are torn.”
“Did you serve?”
“Beauregard,” Galan said, looking totally smug, “you are looking at the only dragon of noble birth that has ever served. In the past, the nobility were immune to serving. Sebastian, however, felt that it was his duty to serve right along with all of his warriors.”
“His father had a fit,” Harlan added. “But Sebastian gained more respect from his warriors than any other royal prince in existence. He didn’t expect any special treatment, and he didn’t get any. He worked just as hard as any other warrior in training.”
Beauregard was impressed, and just a little proud, to be mated to a man who didn’t accept his position as his due. He was quickly coming to understand that Sebastian had a sense of honor as strong as his own.
“I think that was a very wise choice,” Beauregard said. “A warrior is sure to respect the man in charge more if that man has experienced the same things he has. There’s a better understanding of what is expected and what they go through.”
“Yes,” Sebastian mused, looking at Beauregard strangely, “that was my thought exactly.”
Beauregard shrugged. “It makes sense.”
“I’m glad you think so. I’m just a little surprised that you get it. I didn’t think rabbits had armies or nobility.”
“We don’t really, not like you do, but it doesn’t take a genius to understand that men will be more willing to follow someone that has experienced what they have. If you have someone that lords their high position over them but has never done a lick of work, men won’t respect them.”
Harlan started clapping, which made Beauregard jump. He turned to look at the man, unsure of what exactly was going on.
“You said he was unique,” Harlan said after he stopped clapping. “I didn’t realize you also meant he was intelligent as well. He will make a good mate for you, Sebastian.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Sebastian said as he snuggled Beauregard closer.
Beauregard didn’t quite understand what was going on, but as long as he was wrapped up in Sebastian’s arms, he didn’t much care.
“So, do I get to see this castle of yours?”
“Of course, bunny.” Sebastian tapped a piece of paper on the table as he looked over at Galan. “Please see that this is taken care of, Galan. And Harlan, I will need those two warriors as soon as possible.”
Once both men nodded, Sebastian wrapped his arm around Beauregard’s shoulders and led him out of the alcove. He waved his hand around the large room.
“As you can see, this is the living area.”
“Yeah, I kind of got that.” Beauregard chuckled.
“Well then, let’s take you out to the balcony. The view from there is one that has to be seen to be believed.”
Beauregard was curious, especially when Sebastian grabbed a large black cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders. He almost smirked when Sebastian pulled the hood up over his head and tied the cloak closed.
“I’m going to have a cloak especially made for you, one lined with white ermine fur. It will look beautiful one you.”
Beauregard frowned. “Um, could we maybe make it out of fake fur? I’m friends with a few ermine shifters and wearing a cloak made of their fur would just be wrong. It would be like making a hat out of rabbit fur.”
Sebastian laughed. “I think that could be arranged, but I still think white fur would look best on you. It would look wonderful with your hair.”
Beauregard felt better knowing Sebastian understood his aversion to having a real fur cloak. He just didn’t understand why he needed a cloak until Sebastian led him out to the balcony and the first blast of cold air hit him.
“It’s still winter here,” he gasped when he saw the snow-covered landscape below the balcony. There was white snow as far as he could see, dotted here and there with trees and the occasional house. It looked like a winter wonderland.
“We’re pretty high up in the mountains here, bunny. We should have snow for
another couple of months. Once the snow melts, we’ll have rain for a little while then the sunshine comes and summer will be here. Winter won’t be back for several months.”
“I saw that huge fireplace in the bedroom. I don’t think the winter months will be a problem.”
“There’s also a fireplace in the living room and the bathroom. We’ll be plenty warm. I had the castle modernized about ten years ago. Why suffer when we can have modern conveniences?”
“Yeah, I saw the big screen television and the laptop.” Beauregard was astonished when Sebastian’s face flushed. He didn’t think the big dragon was capable of being embarrassed. Apparently, he was wrong. “That is so cute. You’re blushing.”
“Am not.” Sebastian’s lower lip pushed out, but he looked happy, not aggravated.
“Are to.” Beauregard laughed as he turned around to look back over the landscape. He felt Sebastian’s bigger body blanket him from behind. “This is amazing, Sebastian. Is all of this yours?”
“Ours, love, this is all ours.”
“Ours?” Beauregard glanced over his shoulder. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Beauregard didn’t know what to say. Sebastian was sharing everything with him. Beauregard didn’t have much, certainly nothing like what Sebastian had, but he was willing to share what he did have.
Beauregard unzipped his small bunny purse and pulled out his small collection of items until he found his bubble gum. He held a piece out to Sebastian. “Want some bubble gum?”
“Bunny, I don’t chew bubble gum.”
“Oh.” Beauregard frowned as he looked back inside his little purse. His bubble gum was his most prized possession in his purse. What else could he share with Sebastian? He had two polished white rocks. He didn’t really need both of them. “Want a rock?”
“You keep it.”
Beauregard blinked several times as he looked into his purse. Tears were starting to form in the corners. He didn’t think that Sebastian would be interested in his bottle tops or his nail polish. Sebastian had been shocked when Beauregard painted his nails. He hadn’t said anything, but Beauregard knew.