Abandoned Darkness

by Kate Wendley

  Chapter 5

  Sebastian was glad he’d gone to the ranch. He still had some of Kaia’s thoughts and memories in his head, but they were a lot less powerful now. He could think around them at least. He stumbled inside and down to the club, his frazzled mind focused on trying to decide if he should go straight to bed or eat something first.

  He kept yawning as he huddled in on himself, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone because he was still on edge. The edge of what he wasn’t sure yet, just that his wolf was still barely under the surface, his head was a foggy mess, he was starving and exhausted, and none of those things was good for him to be when he was around a bunch of people that didn’t like him.

  **

  Jade stewed as she sat in the restaurant by herself. Her mom’s innocent, though irritating question was replaying over and over in her head. When was she going to settle down with someone? When she found the right someone, obviously. But she’d never tell her mom that. She was a great mom and Jade knew she was just looking out for her. Though the question also brought up the point of whether Jade would choose a human or a shifter for a mate.

  Ugh. Mate. Just thinking that made her realize how ingrained she was in this animalistic world. She wished she could just throw herself into the human world and forget all about shifter weirdness. Humans didn’t get out of control once a month by turning into an animal and possibly hurting anyone they came across just because that was their nature.

  But she didn’t fit in with humans either because she was an animal. She could end up hurting a human way more severely than she could hurt another shifter, even with as weak as she was.

  She looked around the restaurant for Sebastian again. He was usually here on Sunday nights, and the restaurant felt strangely empty without him around either bussing dishes, helping Chester pour drinks when things got busy, or just hanging out at the bar with Zach and sometimes Anthony. Yeah, she’d become a class A stalker all right.

  She chuckled to herself. Sebastian was just a bad boy crush that would never actually happen. If anything, her harmless fascination kept her from focusing on her biggest problem in life, which was that she felt trapped between two worlds. She didn’t want to be a shifter, and she hated that she had to be so secretive in the human world. Somewhere in between there, she was supposed to make a happy life for herself. But where?

  She read her book while she ate and thought maybe it was time to take a break from her fascination with Sebastian. She was too much of a scaredy cat to actually talk to him anyway. Not that she should anyway since she preferred to stay away from people who could hurt her… which was everyone in Brookhaven.

  But especially Sebastian. He was the Alpha Wolf which meant he was strong, ruthless, aggressive… He was also quiet, mysterious, and a whole lot of man that she had no idea what she’d do with if she ever got the chance.

  She smiled to herself even more. It wasn’t as much fun to fantasize about him when he wasn’t here, but she still tried her best to imagine him sitting down and having a relaxed dinner with her, pretending he actually knew her name and wanted to get to know her better.

  She finished eating and got up to leave as she rummaged through her purse to make sure she had her keys for her apartment. She found them at the very bottom of her bag, then had to strongly, but politely, nudge her way through a big, noisy group of people blocking the walkway out of the restaurant and into the club.

  She finally edged around the last person, scowling and letting them know with her eyes that she thought they were completely rude. After that, she wasn’t really sure what happened. She either ran into someone or they ran into her, and the blunt force of it shoved her backwards. Hard. Whoever she’d crashed into was wicked quick, though, and grabbed her up and spun them both around before she fell, eventually depositing her in front of him as he steadied her.

  She held onto the man’s forearms as she got her bearings, then finally realized who had such a strong hold of her.

  Sebastian.

  She got stage fright as she stood and stared at him. Her dream guy was touching her, but he looked tired enough to fall asleep on his feet. She started to step away, feeling all kinds of scared about being this close to him, but as soon as she pulled back, he took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes.

  His eyes flashed from his usual soul gazing, dark brown to bright gold, which meant his wolf was now in control. Terror took hold in her gut. It was the worst nightmare she could imagine. The Alpha Wolf was loose inside him as he held her tight in his powerful hands…

  A force unlike anything she’d ever felt before seeped out of him, powerful and deadly, and his grip tightened on her arms. He cocked his head and really looked at her for a moment, his gaze studying her face before trailing down her body a split second before he forcefully drew her closer.

  She whimpered in fear. She didn’t want to die in the arms of this incredibly dangerous man, no matter how beautiful he might be, but he was impossibly strong as she fought his hold on her. She was trapped against his rock hard body and knew better than to fight him, but she was almost too scared to think straight. He could kill her in a heartbeat so she looked down in submission, like the scaredy cat she was, and tried to force her body to be calm. If she was quiet and still long enough, maybe he’d grow tired of her and eventually leave her alone.

  Fear shot through her when he slipped an arm around her waist, snaking his other hand up the back of her neck. He surprisingly carefully grasped a handful of her hair, then lightly tugged so she’d arch her neck.

  She trembled as she saw her life flash before her eyes. He was going to rip her throat out, she just knew it, and it made her cry. She didn’t want to die, not like this.

  When he harshly nuzzled his cheek against hers, she stiffened at the sharp feel of his whiskers prickling her skin. He tensed, then nuzzled her again, this time softly, gently, and the feel of his warm breath made a confusing shiver of desire race through her. While she tried to sort out in her mind what he might be doing, and why, he calmly smelled her neck, and the occasional touch of his lips teased her sensitive skin.

  In the position Sebastian held her so firmly, all that was in her line of vision was the empty vampire hall beside the bar. With no one to distract her thoughts about what the heck was happening, she had nothing to focus on except the feel of Sebastian’s warm, tight body pressed against her.

  Her knees went weak when he let out a satisfied sigh and his taut muscles relaxed against her. She shivered at the force of passion that welled up in her as he softened his grip on her, making it feel more like a lover’s embrace than a hostage situation. He continued nuzzling her, his lips grazing her skin more than once, and she trembled in anticipation of him actually kissing her. Would he do that here? Now? She stiffened in fear when he put his teeth on her instead.

  He nudged her head forward and she wasn’t sure what to do. He gently bit her and nudged her again, and she whimpered as she worriedly mirrored what he was doing by lightly biting him.

  His reaction instantly washed all her fears away. He relaxed into her body while he carefully nibbled on her flesh, and she trembled in reluctant desire. He smelled like sunshine and man, and his warm, muscular body felt good in her arms as he lovingly held her. It sent shivers through her to have his imposing presence enveloping her, his body moving just right, slowly pressing his growing erection against her…

  She was a no one in an alpha’s world, and she knew it would take less than a second of time for him to rip her throat apart if he wanted to, but despite it all, she had to admit she’d never felt more alive in her life. Maybe it was the danger she was in, or maybe it was the way Sebastian held her like she was the woman that mattered most to him in the world. Either way, she never wanted this to end.

  His quiet moans let her know he very much appreciated her, his body slowly becoming more frantic as she timidly reciprocated his touch. Feeling brave for no good reason, she let herself relax in his arms, trusting him to k
eep her where he wanted her, and took the opportunity to really feel him. The way he was holding her she could snake an arm around his waist, too. He was solid all over. Solid, muscular back, solid shoulders, and hands that knew what they wanted…

  She felt drunk as she enjoyed his mouth teasing the delicate skin of her neck while she brazenly explored his body. Reality came crashing down way too quickly when his stomach fiercely growled and he jerked and stiffened up in her arms. After a frozen moment, the forceful presence she’d felt from him retreated and he awkwardly released his hold on her and took a step back. Her body screamed at him to not let her go, but her head knew it would be better if he wasn’t so intensely interested in her.

  His eyes quickly returned to their usual warm brown, and he was back to looking like he could fall asleep where he stood. He blinked wearily, mumbled something incomprehensible, then stumbled off like a drunkard down the vampire hall.

  She watched him go, stunned that their passionate encounter was over so quickly. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he left, but when he rounded the corner and was out of sight, she finally turned around and realized she was trembling.

  What had she just done? That was Sebastian! Was she trying to get herself killed? Or maybe just maimed? She was in a daze as her mind wrapped around the fact that they’d just made out. She never dreamed it would be so intense, but then, what did she expect it to be like with the Alpha Wolf? Her fantasies were nothing like the reality of being with him, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

  Her hands shook as she reached for her purse on the floor. She picked it up, then yipped in alarm when the Master Vampire was standing right in front of her. He didn’t look like he was going to do anything bad to her, but she was never going to win an award for bravery. Not scaredy cat Jade, as people always referred to her. She hated that nickname but couldn’t say it wasn’t true.

  She caught herself staring at the huge scar that took up a good chunk of the Master’s left cheek and made herself stop when he sincerely asked, “Are you all right, Miss? Did Sebastian hurt you?”

  She tried to control her shaking nerves and the feeling of claustrophobia that was closing in on her. Between Sebastian’s awe inspiring energy wrapped around her only moments before, the Master Vampire’s foreboding presence in front of her, and the eyes on her from the group of shifters gathered in the restaurant, she wanted to run away to a dark hidey hole. She didn’t like being the center of attention, and certainly not from some of the most powerful people in the family.

  “No! No, he didn’t hurt me.” She fiddled with her purse, then nervously eyed the Master. “Is Sebastian going to be ok, though?”

  He watched her for a moment, a smile coming to his eyes. She felt like she should be embarrassed, but she wasn’t sure why.

  “I’ve seen him in worse shape. Some sleep and some food should cure most of what ails him, though not all. Should I tell him you were asking after him? I could give him your phone number if you like.”

  Her heart leapt in her throat. “No! I mean, no, that’s ok. I, uh, need to get going.” She quickly sidestepped him and nearly ran out of the club.

  **

  Sebastian woke just after seven the next morning. He groaned as he rolled over and threw his covers off. This wasn’t his normal time to be awake, but he was so hungry he was actually having trouble staying asleep. He stumbled out of bed, was glad he still had clothes on, though no shoes, and somehow made it upstairs when all he wanted to do was crawl back under the covers.

  There were a lot of people in the restaurant, and the noise of their chatter irritated him as he tried to keep his sleep sensitive eyes open. His wolf was just as cranky as him for being up here, but he needed to eat, so he tried to stay calm. The smell of all the food was killing him, though.

  He shuffled to a table and had trouble pulling the chair out. He completely lost his temper and loudly growled as he forcibly jerked it away from the table, plopped down, then barked at the nearest waitress to bring him coffee and food. Elsa stank of fear as she quickly jogged back to the kitchen.

  He blinked sticky eyes as he tried to clear the fog from his head and focused on calming down. His temper was too close to the surface right now and it was only because he was tired, both physically and mentally. He looked around himself to get his bearings and locked eyes with Jade. He was surprised to see her here this morning and it helped wake him up. Both he and his wolf wanted her, but they knew she was out of bounds for them.

  She radiated fear and worry as she looked at him, and his wolf didn’t like it. His wolf wanted to protect her from whatever was upsetting her, even if she’d never truly be theirs. A woman sat at the table with her, her friend Tina, but he didn’t think she was what was upsetting Jade.

  The smell of coffee turned his attention back to his own table. He opened three sugar packets and tiredly waited for Oskar to finish pouring a cup of his addiction so he could stir the sweetness in.

  He harshly gruffed, “Good morning. Sorry for snapping at Elsa.” He added a couple creamers to his coffee, then tested the temperature before taking a big swig.

  Fear leaked off Oskar, just like everyone else this morning, and he knew it was his fault. Oskar and many other coyotes bravely ran the restaurant with him, save for a couple old timer wolves. Torin would berate any wolf who dared work here until they finally got sick enough of it and quit, but Suzanne, Torin’s fuck buddy as well as the coyote alpha, never said anything to her pack. Sebastian always wondered why not, but never bothered to find out. He didn’t want to upset the status quo since it was hard enough to find kitchen staff.

  “Good morning Mr. Walsh. Are you up early or late?”

  Sebastian grunted as he gulped the coffee down, then gestured for more. Oskar’s hand was mostly steady as he poured it.

  “Early. Too early, but I need to eat something.”

  “Food’s coming up right away, sir.”

  He tiredly grumbled, then scooted back as multiple plates of food were quickly set down in front of him. The second everyone was out of touching distance he descended on his meals, unable to be any nicer to the staff than he already had been.

  Oskar handed the pot of coffee to Elsa and turned his attention back to Sebastian. “Anything else I can get you?”

  He gestured towards the coffee. “Leave the pot. And more sausage.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Sebastian knew he was being a jerk, but he was too tired and hungry to care. His muscles were tight and sore and he felt like he could go back to sleep just sitting here, but Kaia’s thoughts and memories were now just a faint distraction in his head. It felt good to have his mind mostly back to himself.

  **

  Jade’s heart pounded when Sebastian appeared in the restaurant. The whole mood of the place changed when he walked in with golden, glowing eyes. He looked like he’d just crawled out of bed with his wrinkled clothes and sexy, sleep tousled hair. He kept yawning, obviously tired, but he didn’t look as exhausted as he did last night.

  She sat as still as she could, her cat nervous even though he was at least ten tables away. He was fast, though, and there was no doubt in her mind he could trap her before she even knew what happened if he decided he wanted to play with her some more this morning. But would his wolf even remember her? Did she want him to?

  While she was thinking about that extremely crazy thought, he lost his temper with a chair that was stuck under a table, then rudely snapped at a waitress. Her nerves calmed some when he finally sat down, but then he looked straight at her and she froze in fear.

  She trembled and thought it was a strange coincidence that they were both in the restaurant this morning. Tina wanted to tell her about her date last night before they both went to work, otherwise Jade wouldn’t even normally be here. For a brief moment she imagined what it would be like to date the real Sebastian that she saw in front of her right now. This surly, aggressive, disheveled… sexy, gentle, strong, passionate man.

&
nbsp; And she was… she was a low level… person, who happened to turn jaguar sometimes. Sebastian and her went together like steak and bananas.

  Jade took some shaky breaths and tried to calm down when he finally looked away.

  Tina whispered, “Wow, he looks like hell. Scary, sexy hell, though, huh?”

  They both giggled at that and Tina quickly changed the subject back to how her date went. Jade picked at her breakfast while she listened, flicking a look at Sebastian now and again, and was disappointed when he never looked her way. She kept her eye on him, like everyone was, but he seemed oblivious to the attention as he drank coffee and ate a whole lot of food. She wasn’t sure what she expected after last night, but some kind of recognition about what happened between them would’ve been nice. Maybe.

  When it was time to go, several people in the restaurant got up to leave all at once. It was Monday morning and it was time to get to work. Sebastian was leaving just then, too, and as if in slow motion, he turned and looked straight at her. His mostly golden wolf eyes locked on her. She felt tense as she followed behind Tina and threaded through the tables and chairs, but in the back of her mind she wondered if something really had changed between her and her dream guy.

  He yawned, a very big yawn, and looked away. She immediately felt disappointed. He was just tired. There was nothing between them except he was tired and maybe felt frisky when he stumbled home last night from who knows where.

  Tina was still excitedly talking about her new man as they left the club, but Jade had a hard time paying attention to her now. Luckily it wasn’t long before they had to split ways to get to work for the day.

  **

  Jade was distracted all day. Something had definitely happened between her and Sebastian, but what did it mean? And her fantasies about him now felt like a betrayal. Fantasy Sebastian was nice and sweet, but the real Sebastian was passionate and overwhelming as he held her prisoner in his arms. He felt nothing like she’d imagined him to feel, and that made her feel upset… and guiltily excited. She’d never had someone be so aggressive with her at the same time that he was so careful and gentle.