Sei

by Catherine Lievens

Sei jerked upright, blindly reaching for the sheet, the comforter, something that could hide his naked body from Clea. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  Donovan calmly sat up and reached down, untangling the comforter and covering both of them. Sei clutched the fabric to his chest, wishing his cousin hadn’t just seen him buck-naked, sweaty, sticky, and well fucked. There were some things family just shouldn’t see, ever.

  Clea was looking everywhere but at the bed. “I heard screaming. I thought something had happened to you.”

  Christian was there, too, and to Sei’s surprise, he was trying very hard not to laugh.

  Sei turned his attention back to Clea. “You heard screaming? And it took you that long to come and check? I could have been dead. Well, I kind of feel like I am, but it’ll pass.”

  “I had to get Christian!” Clea cried out. “What if someone was hurting you?”

  “You were an enforcer, Clea. You’re supposed to be able to take care of a trespasser. Besides, why didn’t you just try to mind talk?”

  “Uh, I did.” Clea blushed spectacularly. “But I wasn’t able to get through. Everything was muddled, and well, I needed to make sure you were fine.” He paused. “So, I guess your dry period is over?”

  * * * *

  Donovan wanted to laugh, pretty much like the second man who’d appeared in the bedroom was. He was doing a poor job of hiding it, but neither Sei nor his cousin seemed to notice. That, or they didn’t care.

  Donovan cleared his throat. “Yes, his dry period is over. Forever.”

  Sei’s cousin—Clea, obviously—turned to look at him. “Oh? You’re already committing to him? Isn’t it a bit fast? Unless he’s been hiding you, of course. How long have you been fucking?”

  Donovan growled. He didn’t like the thought of Sei hiding him, and they hadn’t fucked, no matter what he’d said to Sei. “He hasn’t been hiding me,” he told Clea.

  Clea crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh? Well, I haven’t heard of you, and I’m his cousin. He tells me everything.”

  Donovan snorted. “Obviously not everything. Although I do understand why he hasn’t told you we’re mates. He probably hasn’t had time to, since we met just this morning.” Donovan let the sheet fall to his lap, showing off the sign on his chest. He might even have puffed out his chest to make sure Clea looked at it.

  Clea’s eyes widened, and his head snapped toward Sei. “You found your mate, and you didn’t tell me? You met him this morning and you already bonded?” His voice rose with every word until he was screeching.

  Donovan wasn’t sure whether Clea was happy for Sei or not. It sounded like he wasn’t, but it could simply be that he was offended Sei hadn’t told him about Donovan, although Donovan didn’t like the way Clea had insisted on that already bonded part.

  “Shut it, Clea,” Sei snapped. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t have the time. This day has been crazy already, and it’s not even dinner time yet.”

  Clea opened his mouth, but one look from Sei and he snapped it shut.

  Sei nodded and held his hand up, raising one finger for every argument. “One, I was mobbed by a group of reporters while grocery shopping. And let me tell you, that’s not a nice thing to go through. I was lucky Donovan happened to be in town. He shifted into his bear and saved me, and I realized he was my mate only once we were here and he shifted back. Two, I had to go to work. I was already late, and even though Dallas is a sweetheart, he’s still my boss, and I had work to do. Three, I went back to Kameron’s house to talk to Donovan, since he’s my mate and I’d barely had the time to ask for his name. There was little time to wonder what you’d think about it in between talking about his ex-wife and his kids and deciding to mate, because come on, we’re mates. Everyone here knows we’d have ended up doing just that anyway, so why wait?”

  Sei took a deep breath and let his hand fall to his lap. “And after mating, well, I’m sure you noticed we didn’t have the time to do much of anything since you basically walked in on Donovan still having his dick inside my ass.”

  The man standing next to Clea groaned and hid his face in his hands. “Do we really have to talk about this?” he asked.

  Sei arched a brow at him. “No, Christian, we don’t have to. I wouldn’t have mentioned it if your mate hadn’t been so nosey.”

  Clea raised his hands. “All right, all right. Sorry. But we still have to talk. I want to know everything there is to know about this,” he said, waving his hand between Donovan and Sei.

  Donovan shook his head. Family. It was hard to deal with it most of the time, but it was still family. “Why don’t you two go to the living room? We’ll be there as soon as we clean up and dress.”

  Clea’s cheeks reddened again and he turned, pushing his mate toward the door. “We’ll do that, but if you’re not there in ten minutes, I’m coming back to get you.”

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Sei yelled at Clea’s back. “You never know what you might walk in on!”

  The door slammed behind Clea and Sei laughed. He flopped back against his pillow, and Donovan stretched out beside him. He rubbed his palm onto Sei’s stomach, between his belly button and his now soft dick, enjoying the feeling of short hair tickling his skin. “So, that was your cousin.”

  Sei chuckled and turned his head to look at Donovan. He was beautiful. There was no other word for it. His cheeks were still slightly pink, and he was smiling, the light in his eyes telling Donovan he was happy.

  He wasn’t the only one. This might have been an impulsive move, and Donovan was sure someone in his family would berate him for that, but he didn’t care. Sei made him happier than he’d been in a long time. The last time he remembered feeling this settled and at peace had been when his children had been small, when he’d still been able to cuddle with them and kiss their noses without them pushing him away.

  That was a long time ago.

  “Yep,” Sei answered. He pushed a strand of hair behind his ear. “This wasn’t exactly the way I wanted you two to meet, but yeah.”

  “Yeah, this wasn’t the way I thought I’d meet your family.”

  “Oh, this was only Clea. We’re more like brothers than cousins, really, so don’t worry too much. He won’t hold it against you.”

  “He didn’t seem overly happy to hear we already mated.”

  Sei snorted. “It’s not like he waited long before mating with Christian. Well, it’s more like Christian avoided him for weeks because he’d always thought he’d end up with a woman, but once they started talking, they didn’t wait long. He can’t blame me for not wanting to.”

  Even if Clea blamed them, Donovan knew it wouldn’t be anything next to what his own family would have to say.

  His ex-wife, Liz, would probably be amused and not much else. They’d been divorced for twelve years, and even before that, it had always been clear to both of them that they were together to have kids more than anything else. Donovan loved her, yes, but it wasn’t a passionate kind of love, and it had never been.

  Donovan’s kids, though...

  All three of them were older than Sei, and Donovan knew it would be a problem. Jake’s head would probably explode when he found out about it, and Miriam wouldn’t be far behind. Donovan hoped Vicky would be more accepting. She’d always been the most easy-going of the three, maybe because she was the youngest.

  Donovan shook his head. It was no use thinking about it, not right away. Sei would have to meet his family soon, but Donovan had time to call and tell them before then. Maybe that way they’d have simmered down once the actual meeting happened.

  He kissed Sei’s nose. “So, sweet pea, shouldn’t we be getting up?”

  Sei grinned. “I’m kind of hoping Clea comes back upstairs. I like it when he’s flustered.”

  “You’re evil.”

  “Nah. I told you, we’re like brothers. We tease each other. Besides, maybe that’ll teach him to walk in through the door li
ke normal people, and to knock before doing it.”

  Donovan gently slapped Sei’s thigh. “Come on, let’s go. I’m sure Clea has a hundred questions about me.”

  “And I don’t know how to answer most of them. Ugh. He’s going to nag because I should’ve waited and stuff.”

  Donovan traced Sei’s bellybutton with his fingertip. “And what do you think? Should we have waited?”

  Sei frowned. “No. I wouldn’t have done this if I hadn’t been sure of it. I knew what I was doing. I knew I wanted you, and that I’ll want you for many, many years. It really doesn’t matter that we just met, Donovan. My heart knows you. It recognized you, and I know you’ll never hurt me, not if you can avoid it. I know you’ll always be there for me, and that we’ll be happy. We might as well start right away, no?”

  Donovan had nothing to answer to that. He pulled Sei into his arms and kissed him until he was a puddle of goo in Donovan’s arms, then he kissed him some more.

  Chapter Four

  The talk with Clea the day before had gone well, but it didn’t mean the talk with Sei’s parents would go well. Not that they’d kick him out or anything, but he knew they’d always thought he’d end up bonding with a Nix, even if not a woman. They’d hoped for a woman, of course, because they wanted grandchildren and that was the easiest way, but being with a man didn’t make it impossible. Of course, they kind of had three brand new grandchildren now.

  Sei shuddered at the thought. He was so not ready to be a step-dad. At least Donovan’s kids were adults, although that made things even more awkward. On the one hand, Sei wouldn’t have to change diapers and clean dirty noses—something he definitely wasn’t ready for—but on the other hand, Donovan’s youngest daughter was six years Sei’s senior.

  It would make family Christmases interesting.

  “Umm, can I come in?”

  Sei looked up from the chart he was supposed to have read. He blinked, trying to place the face in front of him. Then his gaze fell onto the man’s hand. It was bleeding, and Sei’s training kicked in.

  He hurried toward the man—he knew he’d seen him before, but he couldn’t remember if they’d been introduced. “What happened?”

  He steered the man toward the closest bed and pushed him down, already unwrapping the cloth around the man’s hand. His finger was cut pretty deeply, and he was lucky Sei was a Nix. He might have lost part of his finger if Sei hadn’t been able to heal him right away.

  Sei looked up. The man was pale, his dark eyes huge as he stared at his finger. Sei clicked his tongue to get his attention. “I’m Sei.”

  The man nodded. “I know.” At least he wasn’t looking down at his hand anymore. The last thing Sei needed was for him to faint.

  “And what’s your name?” Sei asked as he hovered his hand over the wound.

  “Uh, William.”

  “Do I know you, William? I mean, you’re obviously a pack member, and I know I’ve seen you before, but I can’t place you. Sorry.”

  William chuckled weakly. “That’s okay. I’m pretty sure most pack members can’t place me, and I’ve lived here all my life.”

  “Yeah? And how come?”

  “I’m kind of solitary. Introvert, you know? I don’t like crowds. Actually, I don’t like people much.” He seemed to realize what he’d said and blushed. “Sorry.”

  Sei shook his head and worked on stitching the flesh and skin back together. “It’s fine. I can’t say I’m always a people person either, although probably not as much as you. So, what happened to your finger?”

  William started to look down again, but he couldn’t see anything since Sei’s hand was over his finger. “I was cutting bread.”

  “And you cut your finger instead.”

  “Yeah. Do you think you’ll be able to heal me completely? I need my fingers to work.”

  “Yep, don’t worry. You’ll be as good as new when I’m done with you. What do you do that you need all your fingers?”

  William shrugged and looked down. “Computers, mostly, but I also answer the phone when kids call. You know, that number for the street kids Kameron got?”

  “Oh. That’s great.”

  It was. Sei’s life had been an easy one. His parents didn’t have problems with him being gay, no matter how much they tried to have him bond with a woman. He’d grown up happy, safe, and loved, but not everyone in their world had been so lucky. What Kameron was doing made Sei even happier to live in Gillham. Moving there had been an impulsive decision, but he didn’t regret it.

  William’s face lit up. “Yeah. I like being able to help. I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve always worked from home, and it was fine, but this is different.”

  Sei nodded and raised his hand. The wound was healed, even though William’s hand was still bloody. “Here you go,” he told William.

  William blinked and looked down. His face was still pale, but he didn’t look like he was about to faint anymore. “You’re done? It’s healed?”

  “Yep. Good as new. Well, once you clean up, of course. The bathroom’s over there, if you want to go wash your hands.”

  William nodded and hopped off the bed. Sei watched him disappear into the bathroom and set out to clean up. There wasn’t much—he threw away the dirty cloth William had wrapped around his hand and straightened the sheet on the bed. Once that was done, he waited.

  It didn’t take William long to come out of the bathroom. The man was a contradiction, and Sei wanted to know more about him. William was big, bigger than Donovan, yet he didn’t have the powerful and authoritative aura Donovan exuded. It was the opposite, actually.

  In spite of his size, he wasn’t threatening, at all. He was a gentle giant, and the way he blushed and looked away every so often was adorable.

  “All good?” Sei asked him.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “All right. You know where to find me if you need medical help.”

  William nodded and started to leave, but Sei didn’t want him to, not yet. The way William had talked about not being a people person had touched Sei, because there’d been pain in his voice. He obviously wasn’t used to dealing with people. It had to be lonely sometimes, and Sei wanted him to know he was there if he ever wanted to talk. Maybe William would say no, but it was Sei’s job to take care of the people who needed him.

  “William?”

  William turned. “Yes?”

  “You can tell me to fuck off if you want, but I’m here if you need anything, okay?”

  William cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you said before that you’re not a people person, and that’s fine, but everyone needs friends sometimes. I’m sure you have people in your life, but if you need more, or someone different, I’m here. That’s all.”

  William’s cheeks blazed, but he nodded. “Thank you.”

  He was gone before Sei could say anything else, and that was fine. Sei had said what he’d wanted to say. He hoped William would reach out if he needed anything.

  Sei sighed and went back to his chart.

  “Uh. It’s been a while since anyone saw him, apart from Kameron, of course.”

  Sei put the chart back down—not that he really wanted to read the thing anyway. He looked at Russell, who’d been sleeping until now, or so Sei had thought. “You mean William?”

  Russell rolled his eyes. “No, I mean the spider on the ceiling. Of course I mean William.”

  Finding out more about William was more interesting than reading that damn chart, so Sei strode toward Russell’s bed.

  They’d already completed Russell’s healing session that day, and it was one of the last. Sei would heal Russell one more time tomorrow, then Russell would be allowed to go home. He’d have to come back every day, but at least he’d sleep in his own bed.

  “What can you tell me about him?” he asked.

  “Mmm, nothing much. He was born in the pack, but he’s kind of a loner
, just like he said. No one sees him much. He stays in his room over in Kameron’s house, goes out to buy groceries and stuff, but that’s about all. As far as I know, he doesn’t have friends.” Russell’s face darkened. “But then, it kind of makes sense.”

  “Yeah? Why?”

  Russell tapped his fingers onto his thigh. “William’s pretty young, I think late twenties. About five years ago, when Erskine was still the alpha here, William had a best friend. I don’t know what happened exactly, but William ended up locked up in the pack’s cell.”

  It was hard to believe William could have done anything to earn himself a trip to jail. The man blushed just asking for help. What had happened back then? Russell didn’t seem to know, and whatever it was, it was probably a better idea to let William explain. No one liked having their dirty laundry aired out behind their back.

  The door swung open, and Sei sighed as he turned around. This was getting to be a busy day.

  His sigh cut out when he took in Nick’s expression. “What happened?” he asked.

  “The vandals. They burned down a house.”

  * * * *

  Donovan looked at the burning house. There was nothing to be done to save it, no matter how much they’d tried. Kameron had finally told them to stop and to make sure the fire didn’t spread instead. That would be a disaster.

  “What happened?” Sei asked from beside Donovan.

  Donovan shook his head and wrapped his arm around Sei’s shoulders. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Yeah. The people inside managed to make it out before they were hurt. They had a few burns and stuff, but Dallas and I took care of it. So? What happened?”

  “As far as we can tell, someone spread accelerant onto the back porch and set it on fire.”

  “And no one heard anything?”

  “Not that I know of, but I haven’t talked to the survivors yet.” That would be one of the first things Donovan would have to do. He didn’t hold much hope they might find whoever had done this. Everyone knew it was the same people who’d vandalized Zach’s car and who’d attacked Russell, but that didn’t mean they knew who those people were.