Sebastian (Big Cats Book 1)

by Crystal Dawn

  “I was born to head a billion-dollar company. You were born to head the Feline Nation.”

  “We’ve not decided to call it that yet,” Seb pointed out.

  Sevon grunted. "Why not? It fits perfectly.”

  “We have to vote on it once the groups each get a permanent leader. Some haven’t had one since ancient times. They’ve been scattered and only had local alphas. Everyone wants to be in charge until they realize all the responsibility that will be on their shoulders and that the position doesn’t pay. Since most of the groups are poor, the power of the positions gives them nothing. It’s a true service job. Unfortunately, none want to be of service,” Seb explained.

  “What about the tigers? They have an alpha and many of their people work for us. Most of them are reasonably well off.”

  “There’s also the bloodline problem. All the groups have a royal line. Someone from that line should be put in the position.”

  “What’s it matter if they can be removed if they lose a challenge?”

  “It’s just the rules, Bro. I don’t make them, but we have to abide by them.”

  “Fine. So, tell me what happens if no one from the royal line steps up or is found?” Sevon asked.

  “Once a reasonable attempt is made, if a period of time agreed upon by the lesser alphas passes, someone can step into the position.”

  “I’m glad you’re the king and I’m just a CEO,” Sevon admitted.

  “That’s only because all the responsibility hasn’t fallen on your shoulders yet,” Seb declared with a chuckle.

  “Huh?”

  “Gotta go now. Bye.” What he’d said to his brother was true, he’d not dropped all the problems and decisions on him, not yet. His plan was to ease him into the stress of the job so he wouldn’t fold under the pressure.

  Running the company could be an overwhelming task. It was easier on a mated male because he had the support of his mate. Seb found he craved that stable mated status. His mind went to the female from the flower shop. That was just crazy because she was human. Madness lay in that direction. A brief affair was okay, but nothing long lasting and certainly not permanent.

  He was beginning to think he might have to make tracks in that direction to get that female out of his mind and into his bed. No one ever lasted long with him once it became physical. The females in his past bored him after a few days. Seb was sure this female would too. Maybe then he’d stop thinking about her.

  Looking up flower shops on his phone, he saw there was just one in town, Andi’s. Before he changed his mind, he dialed the number. “Andi’s flower shop. May I help you?” A young man answered.

  “I was hoping to speak to the owner.” Seb said.

  “Okay, wait a minute and I’ll get her.” He could hear the guy yelling for Andi.

  “Hello?” A sweet and familiar voice said.

  “Hello. This is Sebastian Hunter. You delivered a gift from Ariel to me the other day.”

  “Okay. I remember you. Was there a problem?”

  “No, it was fine. I’m opening a new business, a security firm.”

  “Alright. That’s nice.”

  “I wanted to order some flowers for the desk for opening day. I’m not sure what would be appropriate.”

  “Alright. I can help you with that. Give me your price point and the address. I’ll fix you something nice at whatever price you pick. You can also go online at Andisflowers.com to order there. It has several pages of options and their prices.”

  “Why don’t I just let you pick something? I want to spend a hundred dollars and I need it delivered on Monday.” She took down his credit card information and told him the flowers would be there.

  Once they said goodbye, he hung up. Hearing her voice had only made his interest increase. It was clear he needed to go to her store in person so he could see her. Maybe if he asked her out, he could get into her bed so this feeling of neediness would go away. Looking at his phone, he saw the address on it and saved it.

  This was something he needed to do soon, very soon. The nervous anticipation he felt whenever he thought of the female was something new. His lion paced inside him that was never good. Why did this little slip of a female set him off like she did? If he understood it, maybe he could stop it. His only possibility was to take her until he no longer wanted her. That’s what he’d done in the past. Not that he’d ever held this kind of a fascination for any female before.

  It was in a class all by itself which confused him. She wasn’t what he would have said his type was. Not that he could say he knew her or what she was like. All he knew was what she looked like, that she knew about parnormals, and he’d just discovered she owned the shop herself. He knew Ariel knew her, but not how well. All in all, that wasn’t much.

  “Seb?” Truly was talking to him.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you alright? I was talking to you and you didn’t answer.”

  “I was just thinking. Is everything going alright?”

  “Yes, I’m taking you to Sara’s for lunch.”

  “Sara? Isn’t she a white wolf?”

  “She is, a mated one. Sara owns the local diner. It’s one of the best places to eat. You might as well try out some of them. I know her so I can introduce you to her.”

  “Alright. We can go over a few things while we eat.” Truly nodded as she led the way out to his SUV. She hooped into the passenger seat then put the address into the GPS.

  “Where is this place?”

  “It’s at the south edge of town and next to the place I told you about.”

  Seb remembered something about a big building to put several small businesses in. He followed the GPS as it gave him directions. They pulled in to the diner which was a small building. It had some outside seating that might help in the summer. As they entered, the scent of good food hit him.

  Truly suggested the special so that was what they both ordered. It was Salisbury steak, it was a large one. It came with a side salad, potatoes and gravy, corn, and a hot roll. His stomach woke up and growled with hunger. Had he even eaten breakfast? His meal disappeared quickly. He’d admit that the food was good. Another lady came to take the dessert order.

  “This is Sara, Sebastian. She owns the diner.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Sara,” he said.

  “It’s nice to meet you too. Truly speaks highly of you,” Sara mentioned.

  He wondered when Truly had come here. It wasn’t like she had much free time right now. They both ordered chocolate cake for dessert. It was good and they finished quickly. “We didn’t even talk much.” He pointed out as he pulled the money to pay the bill out of his wallet. This was a place he’d come back to soon.

  Chapter 4

  Identify

  Andi stood there waiting after the stalker took off running while the state patrol came to the door. Tyne arrived before the cop had taken her whole statement and he had pictures. The guy was big like shifters generally where. There was no doubt in her mind he was a shifter of some kind. How could she protect herself against someone like that?

  Once the officer took her statement and he had a picture in hand, he spoke quietly to Tyne for a few minutes then left. Tyne came back to her giving her a supportive hug. Tyne’s mate, Moe, was her cousin, a cousin she was close to. One of the few she saw several times a month no matter how busy she was. They talked on the phone weekly as well.

  “I’m sending this picture to all the local alphas. They’ll be on the watch for him. Paranormals have a better chance to catch someone like this. That officer is one of Ariel’s wolves, but most of the state patrol are human. None of the human ones would even know what to do with a paranormal. Keep your alarm on and Scott, the officer, will be driving by as often as he can. I believe you’ll be safe for tonight. The guy is an amateur and he was thrown off by the alarm and Scott arriving.”

  “I never expected I’d have a stalker. Now that I know he’s real, it’s scary.”

  “If he does come bac
k, use your panic button.” Tyne advised. “All the white wolf clients have them even though they rarely used them. Most of them think they were so unnecessary, they forget to use them when they finally do need them. Don’t forget, Andi.”

  “I won’t. I’ll get it out of the drawer.” She saw Tyne make a sour face. Maybe she shouldn’t have told him she’d put it away. Now that she had a stalker, having the device did make her feel better.

  “I’m going to head home. Moe is sleeping, if I’d woke her she would have come and I worry about her.”

  “How far along is she now?”

  Tyne lit up. “She’s only six weeks along, but it seems longer because we found out right away. The doc said he could tell us the sex last time we saw him, but Moe wants to be surprised.”

  “I can’t wait to see my new cousin. We’re having a baby shower in a few weeks. Any suggestion about what you need? Everyone’s been asking.”

  “Moe already has all the big things. She got the furniture, it’s been in the family a while. Her mom sent her a stack of quilts with a box of baby clothes. My mate’s also been online looking for unique items. It’ll be hard to find something she doesn’t already have.”

  “I bet I manage,” Andi boasted.

  “I won’t take that bet,” Tyne declared.

  Andi was well known for being creative besides, she knew Moe well so she would be able to find something she liked. Tyne left quickly, he was probably in a hurry to get back to his mate, in case she woke finding him gone. That might cause her worry, something Tyne would try to avoid. Moe was one lucky girl, but she deserved all her good luck.

  Andi had planned to go to bed when she arrived home, but that plan wouldn’t work now. The adrenaline her scare had caused needed to be worked out of her system. She got to work, doing what she loved best. There was a birthday arrangement for a ten-year-old girl who loved princesses. The whole arrangement would be around a glass figurine of a princess. Many keepsake items would go into the arrangement like some fun jewelry that the little girl could keep.

  This would be a memory maker for someone that they would cherish forever. The keepsake items would remind her of the special birthday her parents planned for her. What could be better? Andi loved that she was a part of it which made making this arrangement special to her. An hour later, she was done and finally ready to get to sleep. Tomorrow, she would talk to Ariel as well as anyone else that could help or might need to know about the danger present. That would be unmated white wolves because there was nothing else in Andi’s life that would cause her to be a target for abduction.

  Now that she was calm, she turned off all the lights heading up the stairs where she made sure her panic button was on the nightstand next to her. She stripped, sleeping naked as was her custom. Sleep came slowly, but once it did, it was deep and restful. Andi woke to her alarm instantly.

  She was ready to seize the day refusing to allow someone to ruin her life. Her intentions were to do whatever was necessary to stop this guy from continuing to stalk her. It wasn’t like she was alone, she had her whole clan to help her. White wolves pulled together, she was also willing to help any that ran afoul of kidnappers. She’d closed her store a few times to go out helping to hunt for abductees or to comfort or aid one of her cousins who’d run afoul of the pure blooders.

  That was one of the things that defined the white wolf clan, one for all and all for one. She would get through this, but she wouldn’t have to do it alone. Ariel would get that picture out to everyone. They all needed to be aware of what he looked like in case he was targeting others too. There would be no place in this area he could hide. Even the woods had white wolf forest rangers who hiked through them.

  Andi resolved there would be no place this male could hide from the long arm of white wolves now after him. Dressing, she got ready for a full day. She fixed herself a frozen breakfast burrito, yuck! It was filling, but not that tasty. It was sad because she was a good cook that never cooked anymore. Once it was heated, she carried it downstairs where she put on a pot of coffee then ate her food.

  Pouring herself a mug of coffee, she took it, hurrying onto her workroom. Setting up her table, she took a moment to pull any orders off so she could start on those. There was also a clipboard of orders made over the phone or in person. She needed to find some time to shop to fill her gift area. That was when she could find a gift for Moe too.

  Her sisters might fill in for her a couple days at the shop. Hers was a quirky family. Her mother was artsy with the eccentric behavior some artists had. Her sisters were Candice and Sandra. That sounded alright, didn’t it? But with their nicknames they were Sandi, Candi, and Andi. Her real name was Andrea, but no one ever used it. Mom had thought she was quite clever.

  Sandi was the baby of the family. She’d just started her dream job as a forest ranger. Candi, the third one with that name in the white wolf clan locally, was the oldest at nearly thirty. She owned as well as ran a huge salvage yard not far from Blue Eye. It was down a dead-end dirt road in the middle of nowhere so it wouldn’t bother anyone. Twenty acres of cars, trucks, and SUVS. There was also an area for scrap metal. Her house was just out of sight of the business and she had a total of around a hundred acres, all told.

  The girl was a sharp business person with some lake front acreage where she ran a spot people could camp or fish. They could also put boats in there. She might never get rich, but she had a couple of employees and she made a fair living. Her business was closed Sundays and Mondays so she had free time, unlike Andi. Candi also had two days off a week, pus vacation days.

  Once in a while, they didn’t mind helping her out. Candi actually had a flair for arrangements while Sandi liked talking to people. Whenever they stepped in to help her, they divided the work up easily. In exchange, the next holiday that came up, Andi would take care of their gifts for Mom or let them come into the shop and pick one themselves. It was easy peasy, making them all happy. She would call them later in the day once they were off work. That generally meant after five for Sandi and after six for Candi.

  Right now, she tried to stop thinking about her troubles so she could get back to work. There was plenty to do before Harry came in for the day. Two congratulation bouquets, both to the same address, three get wells, plus a happy anniversary sweetheart got her caught up to start the day as Harry came in, getting a cup of coffee then setting a box of donuts on the counter.

  “Grab you some, Andi. I’m getting tired of donuts so they’ll go to waste,” he admitted.

  “Still no luck?”

  “I don’t know if I would have any luck or not because I can’t find any nerve,” Harry chuckled.

  “Why don’t you let me send her a bouquet to say what you find so hard to say in person?”

  “If I can’t do it soon, I may take you up on it.”

  It seemed Harry’s arrival set off a chain reaction as customers flooded the store. Most seemed to be curious about what happened last night. Poor Harry had no idea. Andi would have to tell him if the store ever cleared out. That was a small-town issue, news traveled fast, whether you wanted people to know or not. Some were just chatty Cathys wanting to know what had happened so they had something to talk about. Others were genuinely concerned while a few were curious.

  It was after lunchtime before the store cleared out. It seemed scary events were good for business. Many of the arrangements, single roses, as well as the flowers in vases had been sold since they were the excuse many used to be in the store. Since Harry had known nothing, he’d had no news to tell them.

  “No one is in the store right now so get in here quick so you can tell me what’s going on,” Harry declared.

  “Someone tried to break into the store last night. I got the door locked before he got in and set the alarm off so help would come. Tyne called the State Trooper on patrol who happened to be nearby. He came by in minutes with Tyne right behind him. I’ll admit I was terrified. The guy was huge, he was the scariest man I’ve ever seen.”

/>   “Andi, you should have called me. Do they know what he was after?”

  “Probably the money in the cash register or anything else of value,” Andi explained. She knew better than to tell the truth.

  Harry wasn’t a gossip, but when hammered with questions, he would share the story she’d told him. That was just what she intended him to do. It wasn’t like it wouldn’t be in the newspaper anyway. “Will they be driving by here more, at least for a while?” He asked.

  “They will. The trooper was nice, saying they would make a note of the danger until the man gets caught. Now that I’m thinking of it, Tyne pulled a picture of him off the security camera. We have a few copies here. You can show it to anyone that asks. Maybe we’ll help the police find this guy.”

  Harry smiled. “Let’s see this dangerous guy.”

  Andi handed him the picture. “Damn, he is big. Mean looking too, no doubt he’s a criminal. I’ll get the word out, I’ll show the picture around too. We’ll get hit by a second wave soon.”

  Harry was right. She no sooner got the cooler filled, then the next group hit. The flowers were almost sold out so she put in an order for more. They would arrive first thing in the morning. She’d need them to make the special arrangement she had on order for a retirement party. The afternoon was crazy causing her to sell out of roses, daisies, and carnations. The jump in sales almost made up for the negative emotional impact of the scary event.

  Now that the store was closed, she finally found time to make some calls, starting with Ariel, who already knew everything that had happened. “I was waiting for you to call,” Ariel noted.

  “Apparently, criminal activity spikes sales,” Andi replied. “I’ve never been so busy without a holiday to cause it.”

  “People want to know. Some for the good, others not so much, but at least it helped you.”

  “True. I guess Tyne already filled you in?”

  “He did. How are you holding up?”

  “Being busy helped. I’ve not had time to worry.”