Chapter 58

(**Sebastion’s POV**)

Morty is talking on his phone as we walk up. When I try to ask him why he is in my territory, he holds up a hand to silence me. This makes me growl, which makes him chuckle. Irina looks at Morty with a curious expression but doesn’t ask the questions I know she has. Instead, she stands by my side and waits with me while the damn vampire finishes his call.

Flint mind links me to let me know he found the two guards who were posted at the gate. They were tied to a tree about a mile into the forest. He also tells me that there is another vampire outside the walls. They can smell the vampire but can’t pinpoint where it is since it keeps moving around. Great, just when I thought that I have seen the last of vampires for a while, two more have to show up. One of them is right at my door.

“I will call you when I leave here. No worries, he will like my surprise. Have a good night, Rayne.”

Morty has my attention the moment he ends his call. What surprise does he have, and why does Rayne know about it? What the hell is going on?

“I can practically hear the wheels of your mind churning as you ask yourself why I am here. The answers you are seeking will have to wait for a moment while I deal with a flea.”

With that said, Morty moved so fast that all I could see was a blur of motion. He is gone in the next instant, leaving me to stare at where he last stood. Great, now I have to wait for him to return to get to those answers. Irina suggests I call Rayne to find out, but when I do, there is no answer. This leaves me frustrated, so instead of waiting outside for Morty to return, we head into the house.

When I step into the foyer, Arianna is there to greet me, with a smile on her face. The smile spreads when Irina closes the door behind me. This is getting creepy. First, my sister comes back with a new refreshing attitude. Then, Morty shows up with an agenda. Now, this false sense of happiness my sister is displaying. What will happen next?

“Can I speak to you, Sebastion? Alone.”

“I am going to get acquainted with my new sanctuary. Come find me when that guy comes back,” Irina says. She brings my lips down to hers for a kiss before she walks away.

I wait until Irina is no longer in the foyer before I look back at Arianna. Her eyes flick towards the hallway where Irina went, then back to me. Her eyes are wary but calm. This surprises me. Has her point of view changed so much in just a few days of being away? I hope so because I have missed having my sister around.

“How far along is she?”

“We are not sure since the blood work is not back yet.”

“But you have an idea, don’t you?”

“Where is this going, Ari?”

I move out of the foyer to the den, then close the door behind her after she follows me in. There is this feeling in my gut that I know what she is going to say. Maybe the baby isn’t mine. What if Irina was pregnant before we slept together and is trying to trap me? I know none of that is true, but I have a feeling that my sister is going to say those things to get in my head.

What she does instead shocks me. Arianna closes the distance between us to hug me. I don’t stop her but hug her back. Her eyes are watery when she pulls away from me, then a single tear streaks down her cheek. Please tell me that these are happy tears. Why do women cry when they are happy? I get why they cry when sad or even angry, but why happy tears? I will never understand it.

“I want to start off this conversation by saying congratulations on becoming a dad again. This time with a woman who is worthy of you.”

Woah, I did not see that coming.

“Now, tell me what the deal is with that huge bandage on your neck. Are you hiding her mark from me, so I don’t get mad at you guys?”

Oh, it is hiding a mark alright, just not the one she thinks I am hiding.

“Look, Sebbie, I owe you both apologies. I was being an asshole. Some of it I blame on the hormones, the rest I blame on me just not wanting things to change so soon after everything else.”

“What do you mean?” Now she has me confused.

“After your brush with death, everything changed. Our dynamic shifted again. Once I was just the sister of the Alpha, with my own friends, hobbies, and needs. Then I became a mate, a mother, and an outsider to my brother’s life. I understand now why you put that distance between us. It was my fault for how I treated Gia.” She walks to the sofa to sit, then she looks back up at me. “Gia was more to you than I gave your relationship credit for. I only saw how blind you were to her. That made me lash out when you both were at family gatherings. To me, she didn’t belong.”

“You always made that point clear to her.”

She looks down at her hands. “When Irina came into our lives with the storm at her back, I knew I would lose you again. How we were together during our trip to Jade Moon. You needed me again for the first time in years. I missed my brother more than I knew. When we spent time together during that trip it felt like it used to before I let my hatred of Gia get between us. It broke you when you learned the truth about her, so you leaned on me. I missed being your sister, confidant, and the one person you could always rely on.”

“Then why did you ruin it by behaving how you did after Irina came into my life?”

“Every fear I still have is valid, Sebastion. The facts are still the same. Treadstone will come for us. Now that she has her daughter back, will that change?”

“No. Especially since we freed more than just Zasha.”

Her eyes go wide as what I said sinks in, then she looks at me with something I didn’t expect to see. Pride. Arianna is proud of what I did to free all those in Treadstone’s prison. I didn’t act alone, but I pushed to get it done. I tell her everything that happened the night we rescued Zasha to the night we rescued Treadstone’s captives.

She asks a few questions as I tell her both stories, then she looks at me expectantly. I can tell she knows I am holding something back from her. With a shaky hand, I reach up to pull off the bandage. The gasp that escapes her makes me look at the floor.

“Who the hell marked you after you have already had a mate?”

I tell her about Fiona. How I was drawn to her the moment she exited her. How I felt the sparks when she touched me. The scent she exuded still calls to me. “I am scared, Ari. What if it is true, and she is my mate, as well as Irina? Why would the Moon Goddess give me two mates at once? What if this is another test? A test that I will fail in one way or another.”

I feel my sister’s arms come around me. Instead of being angry with me like I expected, she rubs my back to calm me. Then she moves away from me to sit back down. When I look at her, I can tell there is more she wants to say, so I sit next to her and wait.

“I don’t want things to revert to how they were between us when you were with Gia. If there is anything you need from me, I will do it. I want our family, all our family, to be whole. That includes Irina, Zasha, and her family too.”

“Alright, who are you and what have you done with my angry sister?”

She laughs like I wanted her to. “I am still scared for our pack. However, after leaving here I realized a few things. Mainly that I was being a complete psycho bitch to your new mate. There were a few factors for that. One being that my hormone level was spiking because of this pregnancy. The other reasons still make me ashamed and sad.”

“What are those other reasons aside from Treadstone?”

“I was scared and jealous when we learned Irina is your mate. Jealous that she would steal you away from me when I just got you back. Scared that the gulf between us would go back to how big it was when Gia was alive. I took my insecurities out on her, and she didn’t deserve it. Then I took my fear out on both of you. Everything I did caused you to get further and further away from me.”

“Well, what we have now is a chance to get back to the siblings we used to be. Make amends with Irina, Ari. She is my mate, the mother of my child, and this packs future Luna. Regardless of whether she wants it or not. Can you do that? I will help close this golf between us if you will meet me halfway.”

“I will do anything to have my brother back. We failed each other once and I don’t want to repeat my mistakes. I would love to get to know your mate, her daughter, and watch from the sidelines as our families grow.”

I wrap my arms around her for a side hug. She rests her head on my shoulder, then grabs my hand. We sit like that for a few minutes before I stiffen when I catch a whiff of death.

“This is a touching scene.” A smooth feminine voice says from the doorway.

I look up to see a tall woman with piercings in her lip, nose, and right eyebrow. Her skin is pale, her eyes are red, and her short black hair is spiked with green tips. Her clothes scream biker babe. Black skinny jeans with holes in the knees. Black leather jacket over a black tank top. There is a tattoo of a blood red rose on the left side of her neck. The way she is staring at me makes me want to punch her. It is like she finds something funny but doesn’t want to let us all in on the joke.

“Who the fuck are you? How did you get into my house?” I stand up to block her view of Arianna.

“You were supposed to wait for me in the fucking car, Stella. You were not to come inside.” Morty yells at her as he steps up behind her.

“Did you get the flea that followed us?”

“Yes, now go back to the car and send him in here.” When Stell looked like she was going to argue, he glares at her. She leaves to go back outside.

“Morty?” Arianna asks.

“Yes, I am happy that you remember. Now, Sebastion, where is that lovely mate of yours that I was told about.”

I growl at him again but reach out to Irina through our link to have her come to the den. “What do you want from us?”

Morty shakes his head and makes a tsk-tsk noise as he moves about the room. He frustrates me even more by ignoring my question while he looks at the photos of my family on the walls. I have had it with unwanted guests. If he doesn’t tell me why he is here soon, I will snap. Aries is already pushing to get free.

He wants to rip this vampire apart for coming here unannounced the way he has.

“Do you really think I want to be in werewolf territory? I came here as a friend. One who came a very long way to give your mate a gift.”

The growl that rips from my throat echoes off the walls. Morty turns to me, looking unphased by my Alpha male attitude. He bats his eyelashes and just stares at me. He cocks his head to the side as we all hear the front door open, then close. Irina is in the herb room so she wouldn’t be coming through the front door.

“Who else came with you into my territory without my permission?” My canines elongate, my nails grow into claws, and my skin ripples as I try not to shift. Aries is pushing hard to be let out. Morty is only antagonizing him further by not answering my questions. Vampires really are entitled pricks.

“Would you like me to take my surprise for your mate and leave? I think she would be very unhappy with you if I do.”

“Sebastion, calm down, please. Your anger is getting you nowhere. He isn’t going to answer your questions until Irina gets here.” Arianna says. She then lays her hand on my arm and steps up beside me.

“Ah, I see you are the smart twin.” Morty says. He grins at her but says no more.

I push Aries back into his box, then close the door tight. Breathing deeply, I call out for Irina again in my mind. She responds instantly and tells me she is on her way. She had to run upstairs to borrow one of my shirts because she ruined hers with potting soil. I sigh in relief when I know she is ok.

When I look back at Morty, he is staring at me with a strange look in his eyes.

“What?”

“I am impressed with how quickly you got your beast under control. You may be a young Alpha, but you are a strong one. It is no wonder you hit The Collectors radar. Add in the fact that your family owns one of the largest companies on the west coast. I know understand why Treadstone is after you. He wants both of you and the company.”

Both these things I am painfully aware of. Before I can speak, there is a surprised cry from the foyer that draws my immediate attention. That cry came from my mate. I rush past Morty to reach her. When I stand by her side, I turn to look at who she is staring at. Her breath hitches as she looks at him. His eyes are wide as he looks from Irina to me, then back to her. He opens his mouth to speak but closes it without saying a word. It is as if he is waiting for something. The ice blue of his eyes gives away his identity.

“Oleg?” Irina asks.