Sei

by Catherine Lievens

  “Oh, because you’d walk away from your mate, Jake?” Liz snapped. “Or you’d have wanted Miriam to walk away from hers when she met him?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with Billy. He’s only forty.”

  “So if your mate happens to be older or younger than you, you’ll push her away? Don’t be an asshole, Jake. I love you, but I’m not proud of you right now. I know you still wonder why your father and I divorced, even though we explained it to you, but this has nothing to do with it. We’re not getting back together, and Sei has nothing to do with that decision, so stop behaving like a child.”

  I’m sorry, Sei told Donovan.

  For what?

  I never meant to make your family fight. I should probably go.

  Donovan tightened his hold on Sei’s hand. You’re not going anywhere. Jake is going to have to get used to you, and he might as well start now. I won’t let you push me away because my son is having a temper tantrum. Liz is right. He needs to stop behaving like a child.

  “How can you be okay with this, Mom?” Jake protested.

  “Why wouldn’t I be? I want Donovan to be happy, and Sei is his mate. Who could be better for him?”

  “I’ve been alone for a long time,” Donovan said, wondering if he could really convince Jake. He hoped so. “I wasn’t unhappy. I had the three of you and Liz. It’s not the same, though. I was missing something, something none of you could give me.”

  “Oh, don’t give me that crap about soul mates,” Jake snapped.

  Donovan was getting fed up. “You were raised knowing that crap was real. You might not want to believe it now, but it doesn’t change the fact that Sei is my mate, and that we’re bonded. You can either accept that and stop being an asshole to the man I’ll share the rest of my life with, or you can leave.”

  Jake gaped. “You’d choose him over me?”

  “I don’t want to have to choose either of you, but you’re not giving me a choice, Jake. I want you to be happy, and I want to be a good father to you even though you’re way past the age where you need me. That doesn’t mean I’ll let you disrespect Sei or me. I’m not asking you to see him as your new father or anything, but I won’t let you insult him and treat him like you’ve been doing.” Donovan softened his voice. “If you can’t accept him, then you don’t have to see him or talk to him. That’s fine. But don’t disrespect him.”

  * * * *

  Sei wanted to disappear from the living room, but Donovan was holding onto him. There was no way Sei could wiggle his way out, no matter how uncomfortable he felt.

  He hated this.

  He didn’t want Donovan to fight with his family, with his kids. He shouldn’t have to.

  Sei knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t back down on this, though, and he was glad. He hated the fact that Donovan might have to choose between his mate and his son, but he knew Donovan wouldn’t do anything in the heat of the moment. He’d give everyone the time to cool off after this first meeting, and hopefully it would be enough for Jake to at least accept Sei. Sei didn’t want to be friends with the guy—he just wanted Jake to accept he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Because he wasn’t. He understood the problem, and he wished Donovan didn’t have to deal with it, but there was no way he was giving up his mate.

  The silence was heavy in the room. Jake looked like he still didn’t quite believe what his father was telling him, and his gaze bounced from Donovan’s face to the way he was holding Sei.

  “Right, so now that everyone’s said what they wanted to say, can we stop being assholes?” Donovan’s ex-wife said.

  Sei looked at her and swallowed. She seemed nice, but he wasn’t sure he could get over the fact that she’d been married to Donovan for so long. They’d been together for longer than Sei’s entire life. They’d slept together, had loved each other, and had obviously had sex.

  Ugh. Sei didn’t want to think about that, but it was hard when the evidence of it was glaring at him from the other side of the coffee table. It was going to take quite a bit of effort for Jake to like Sei, and Sei wasn’t sure he was up for it. He just wanted to go home and cuddle with Donovan on their bed. Was that too much to ask?

  “I don’t get how you can take this like that, Mom,” Jake said.

  “How am I supposed to take it?”

  “You’ve been with Dad for thirty years, and now he’s with a guy. You don’t have any problem with that?”

  Liz threw her hands in the air. “How do I have to explain it so you understand? No, I don’t have problems with your father being with Sei, not as long as Sei treats him right. I don’t care that Sei is a guy, or that he’s younger than you. He could be eighteen for all I care, or ninety. It makes no difference to me. I want your father to be happy, and who can make him happier than his mate?”

  “But—”

  “No. Stop trying to make me have a problem with it, Jake. You won’t succeed. If you want to hold a grudge, then fine, but I won’t let you blame it on me.” She looked at her daughters. “I won’t let any of you do that.”

  Vicky chuckled. “I have nothing against Sei. He’s cute, and they’re adorable together.”

  Donovan groaned. “Your father is not adorable.”

  Vicky beamed at him. “But you are. You’re so much bigger than him, and you touch him so softly, like you’re afraid to break him or something. Oh, and the way you look at each other? Adorable. Mom thinks so, too.”

  Sei didn’t particularly enjoy being reminded how small he was next to Donovan, but at least Vicky wasn’t trying to convince her father to dump his ass. Besides, it wasn’t like he could protest. He really was small, especially next to Donovan.

  “Oh, hi everyone!”

  Sei snapped his head toward the living room door. Clea, Neriah, and a disgruntled-looking Christian were there, looking in. Sei wanted to tell Clea to leave because he was already having a hard enough time as it was meeting his in-laws without adding his own family to the mix. He was also relieved to have someone break the tension, though, and Neriah was an expert at doing that.

  “Are all the guys around here this cute?” Vicky asked. “And small?”

  Neriah put his hands on his hips. “I’m not small.”

  “You seem smaller than Sei.”

  “I’m not!”

  Sei cleared his throat. “You are.”

  Neriah threw his hands in the air. “It’s only one inch. It doesn’t count.”

  Donovan got up and strode toward them. He’d met Clea and Christian a few days earlier. They hadn’t talked much, but it had been enough for Donovan and Christian to connect over being bonded to cousins.

  “Come in,” he told the trio. He turned toward his family. “This is Neriah, a friend, and these are Clea and Christian. Clea is Sei’s cousin.”

  Liz got up, welcoming them with a smile. Jake still looked like he’d been forced to swallow a lemon whole, though. Miriam—well, Sei wasn’t too sure about her. She’d seemed to be on Jake’s side, but she hadn’t been as vocal as he had. Maybe Sei could win her over. That would leave him with only Jake, and he could deal with that. At least he thought he could.

  Clea flopped down next to Sei and leaned close. “How’s it going?” he asked in a whisper.

  “You do know they can all hear you, right? Well, except for Neriah.”

  Clea scowled. “Answer the question.”

  Sei looked at the others. They were talking, not paying attention to Clea and Sei. Sei wasn’t sure if they were doing that on purpose, to give him and his cousin some space, or if they really were interested in what Neriah was saying, but it didn’t matter.

  He leaned even closer, leaning his temple against Clea’s shoulder. It reminded him of when they were younger, of the times when they’d had their first crushes and had talked until the early hours of the morning, whispering so that their parents wouldn’t hear them.

  “It’s fine, I guess,” he said—what else could he sa
y? He couldn’t exactly tell Clea that Jake was being an asshole, not where Jake might hear him.

  “Yeah, I don’t believe you.” Clea looked around. “They don’t seem too bad, except for sourpuss there.”

  Sei pressed his lips together, just in case Jake had heard Clea’s comment. “They’re nice.”

  “Is it weird? To meet Donovan’s ex-wife?”

  Sei narrowed his eyes. “Do we really have to talk about that? Especially here and now?”

  “So it’s weird. And sourpuss? He’s Donovan’s son, yeah?”

  Sei sighed. “He is.”

  “And he doesn’t like you.”

  Sei snorted. “You think?”

  “Why?”

  “I’m a guy, I’m too young, and he apparently wants his parents to get back together.”

  “But Donovan’s been divorced for a while, right?”

  “Twelve years.”

  “Why would they get back together, then?”

  Sei shrugged. “He’s their son. I guess it makes sense that he wants his parents together.”

  “Yeah, no. I think he’s just trying to find a good reason not to like you. He does look like an asshole. I wonder who he took that from. Donovan’s a great guy, and his ex seems nice.”

  “Shhh!” Sei hissed. “They’re going to hear you.”

  “So? Maybe it’ll help him get over whatever problem he has with you. It’s not like you’re going anywhere.”

  “It doesn’t mean I have to antagonize him. You’ll make things worse.”

  Clea looked at Jake, and Sei followed his gaze. Jake was still sitting on the edge of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face. He was the only one who wasn’t participating in the conversation—even Miriam seemed to have thawed a bit, and she was chatting with Neriah.

  “I’m not sure it can actually get worse. I mean, he looks like he wants to kill you. I wouldn’t get caught alone with him if I were you.”

  Sei didn’t think it was that bad, but he nodded anyway. He had no intention of ever being alone with Jake anyway, at least not until—if ever—Jake softened.

  * * * *

  Donovan waved at the retreating car. His family would stay in pack territory for a few days, and Kameron had offered them an empty house for the length of their stay. It would be more comfortable than a hotel and give Donovan a bit more space. He loved them, but he was still at odds with Jake, and he didn’t particularly want to have any of them hover around while he was with Sei.

  He and Sei needed some time alone.

  Sei had been great, and Donovan loved him for that. He hadn’t even said anything about Jake, who’d still been scowling at him as he’d left Kameron’s house. Sei had been a trooper, smiling and laughing even when Donovan knew he’d been nervous. It couldn’t have been easy for him. Donovan was nervous about meeting Sei’s parents. He couldn’t even imagine what meeting his kids might feel like for Sei.

  “You need to talk to your son.”

  Donovan turned to look at Clea. “I know.”

  “I know you love Sei, or at least that you like him a lot, since it’s only been a week, and I know you don’t want to see him hurt. Jake will hurt him if he doesn’t stop saying Sei’s too young or the wrong sex, or whatever his problem is.”

  Donovan sighed. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t know, Clea. I don’t like Jake’s attitude, but what do you expect me to do? I already told him Sei wasn’t going anywhere and that he needed to either respect him as my mate or stay out of his life. I’m not sure there’s anything else I can do or say. Jake will need to get over himself.”

  Clea patted Donovan’s arm. “Try to talk to him, maybe without Sei there. Tell him how you feel about Sei.”

  “I already did.” But maybe he could try talking to Jake alone. Jake would be more comfortable, and maybe more lenient toward Sei.

  “Try again, or you’ll have to choose between your mate and your son, and I know you don’t want to do that.”

  “Of course I don’t want to.”

  “Good. Now, why don’t you take Sei home and show him how much you love him? Or like him. I don’t know if you’re already at the love part of your relationship.”

  Donovan arched a brow at Clea. “You seem to know a lot, though.”

  Clea shrugged. “I know my cousin. I know he falls hard and fast, but that he’ll probably wait until enough time passes that it’s more acceptable to feel that way. I don’t know you, though. I hope you won’t hurt him.”

  “Because you’ll have my balls on a silver platter if I do?”

  Clea grinned. “That, or I’ll ask Christian to do it for me. He’s probably more suited to do something like that than I am. But seriously, a lot of people here love Sei, even though he moved to Gillham only a few months ago. You’ll be in trouble if you intentionally hurt him.”

  Donovan shook his head. “I won’t.”

  “Now go and have fun. Sei needs it after meeting your ex.”

  Donovan frowned. “I thought they’d gotten on nicely.”

  “Oh, they have. Liz is great. That doesn’t mean Sei is comfortable with knowing you’ve been with her for thirty years and had three kids. You probably need to remind him he’s the only one for you right now, at least until he gets over this family meeting. It’s going to take him some time to really believe it.”

  Donovan had known that. He’d be hesitant too if he’d been in Sei’s place, and he had every intention of doing what he could to smooth over Sei’s doubts. “Any tips on what I should do right now?”

  “Like I said, take Sei home. Cuddle with him, show him how important he is to you. Be the teddy bear I know you are.”

  Donovan laughed. “Teddy bear? I’m a brown bear.”

  “Same thing, at least when it comes to Sei.”

  Christian and Neriah came out, Neriah talking a mile a minute, and Donovan took it as a sign to leave. He went back inside, looking for Sei, and he found his mate still on the couch. He was staring into the distance, and Donovan wondered if he was thinking about what had just happened.

  Probably.

  He sat next to Sei and Sei jerked, his expression slightly frightened. He relaxed when he met Donovan’s gaze, and Donovan wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  Sei shrugged. “I’m fine. Why shouldn’t I be?”

  “I know this was a lot to take in, and you weren’t expecting to meet everyone before lunch.” Liz and the kids had decided to have lunch on their own. She’d said it was because she couldn’t wait to talk a bit with them since she didn’t see them as often as she wanted to, but Donovan suspected it was also to give him and Sei some time on their own.

  “Yeah, well, I’d have met them anyway. What are we doing for lunch?”

  Donovan kissed Sei’s temple. He wasn’t going to push if Sei wasn’t ready to talk about it. “Are you hungry?”

  “Not really.”

  “Why don’t we go home? We can rest, and you can decide what to eat later.”

  “I have to go back to work.”

  “I can call Dallas and see if he needs you. You have your cell with you, right? Even if he doesn’t need you now, he can always call if something comes up.”

  Sei huffed. “You’re making me miss work way too often. Dallas is going to fire me sooner or later.”

  “Nah. You’re too good at your job to be fired.”

  “More like I’m the only Nix around here who actually studied as a healer.”

  “Come on, sweet pea. You know that’s not the only reason.”

  Sei sighed and slumped against Donovan’s side. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

  Donovan squeezed Sei’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s go. I want to show you something.”

  Sei looked up, one brow arched. “Is that a euphemism for sex? Because I’ve already seen that.”

  Donovan chuckled. “Nope, I’m not about to sho
w you my dick, although I wouldn’t mind once we get home. I want to show you my bear.”

  Donovan hadn’t had the opportunity to shift since he’d arrived in Gillham, not after that first day. He’d had a lot of things to do—Sei had taken a lot of his time, and he’d spent more time than he liked on the phone, both with his family and with his ex-boss. He’d also talked to Bran, and it’d been great, but it had left him no time to go bear.

  Sei beamed. “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  Sei was off the couch before Donovan could ask him if he wanted to see the bear again or not. Donovan smiled and shook his head. Sei had so much energy that sometimes he made Donovan feel old. It wasn’t an age thing, though, not for Sei. Donovan was pretty sure he’d still be hyper even at eighty.

  Donovan stripped as soon as he stepped onto the porch. He handed his clothes to Sei, who wrapped Donovan’s sweater around his shoulders. Donovan didn’t miss the way he buried his face into the fabric and inhaled deeply. Sei might not be a shifter, but Donovan was pleased his scent was still soothing for him.

  Donovan faced Sei once he was naked. The air was cool but not too cold, and Donovan didn’t mind the way Sei’s gaze slid over his skin, taking his body in. They’d had sex a lot in the past week, but it still wasn’t enough. It never would be.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  Sei gestured at Donovan’s body. “Go on. I’m waiting.”

  “You know I’ll still be me, right?”

  Sei rolled his eyes. “I live with shifters. Of course I know it. Besides, you didn’t attack me that day when you rescued me from the reporters. Tell me the truth—are you doing this to give me an eyeful? Because you seem to be looking for reasons not to shift right now.”

  Donovan snorted. “I don’t need a reason to get naked with you.”

  Sei’s smile widened. “Nope, you don’t.”

  Donovan could have stayed there the rest of the day, just bantering with Sei and looking at his smile, but his bear wanted out. Donovan let it come to the surface, take control until the shift was over and Donovan stood on four paws. The bear retreated then, giving control back to Donovan, their minds perfectly melded.