“Damn, beautiful.”

  “Alois,” Sebastian said. “Alois, Alois, Alois.”

  “Yes?” He smiled down at his mate.

  “My head was full of you,” Sebastian said. “Not them.”

  “I’m glad,” Alois said. He stroked the hair back from Sebastian’s face. “Never hesitate to tell me to stop, beautiful. It would kill me if you just tried to struggle through.”

  “I will,” Sebastian whispered, yawning. He snuggled against Alois and was asleep in seconds, still sweaty and sticky. Alois couldn’t make himself move. They would be sweaty and sticky together.

  The next morning, Alois whistled as he left the tram at the training grounds for Blue Sector.

  Morgan fell into step beside him, covering his yawn. “Why the fuck are you so happy? Damn, I hate mornings.”

  “Life is great,” Alois said, shrugging. “I can’t help it that you’re getting as grumpy as Hack.”

  Morgan gasped. “Take that back.”

  “Never,” Alois said, using his best villain voice. He laughed at the look Morgan gave him. “Where’s Stardust?”

  “Princess Buttercup came to my house, Alois. The fucking dragon came to my house and stared in through my window. When I opened the door, Stardust jumped on his back. They headed down the street toward Leti’s,” Morgan said, looking horrified. “This is my life now.”

  Alois laughed hard, then spotted a figure a little way in front of them. “Haroon! Hey, man. Sebastian said I have to be your friend now.”

  Haroon sighed and waited for them to catch up. “I swear I should have known Elin would find some way to nag the hell out of me, even after death.”

  Alois laughed, but he could see the grief in the man’s eyes. He could act as annoyed as he wanted, but he still missed his wife.

  “Lieutenant Destenar.” A man walked towards them with two other men. Alois thought he might be one of the pilots for a battle cruiser in Hack’s fleet.

  “Hey,” Alois said, startled by the sound of his last name. No one ever called him by it. Not even Fasi.

  The man smirked, setting Alois’s teeth on edge. “I didn’t realize until last night that you’ve taken up with that guy from Union Station.” He leaned forward, doing his damnedest to look empathetic. “I don’t think you know what you’ve gotten into. Literally.” His friends smothered their laughter.

  “Be careful here,” Alois warned, anger churning in his stomach. He knew where this asshole was going, and he could at least tell Hack he had warned the fucker.

  “He’s a whore, man,” the pilot said. “I fucked him back on Union Station. My buddies here did too. You’ve seen where he lives, right? He’s probably fucking a bunch of guys here to afford that place.” The man shrugged, completely oblivious to the danger he was in. “A guy like you has a reputation to maintain. Fuck, I’ve heard you’ll be a captain soon enough. You should drop the whore before others notice, especially since he comes with a bastard.”

  “He wasn’t even a good fuck,” one of his friends said, laughing. “He just laid there.”

  Alois went for the pilot first. Two hits and the guy was on the ground, unconscious. He turned to the other two, then stopped. Haroon had taken one out and Morgan the other. “That was too damn fast,” Alois said, growling. He was so damn pissed. “I need something else to hit.”

  “No,” Haroon said, grabbing his shoulder. “You need to calm down. General Hackett is coming, and you need to have a clear head.”

  “That may not be possible,” Morgan said. He kicked his guy in the stomach when he started to get up.

  “What the hell, guys?” Hack looked furious. “Fighting? Seriously?”

  “I’m sorry if you’re upset, sir,” Haroon began, standing to attention. “However, these men deserved it.”

  Hack paused, looking between them. “What happened?”

  “These men, uh, knew Sebastian from Union Station and thought they’d enlighten Alois,” Morgan said.

  Haroon scowled. “They were assholes.”

  “Oh,” Hack said, then shrugged. “Alright then.”

  The pilot moaned and opened his eyes, seeing Hack. “General Hackett!” He sat up. “Lieutenant Destenar attacked us.”

  “You shouldn’t have called his mate a whore,” Morgan said.

  “You called him a whore?” Hack looked like he wanted to murder the man. His fire filled his eyes. “You stupid son of a bitch. Did you actually pay a man for the chance to rape Sebastian and now you’re calling him a whore?” Hack growled.

  “Rape? He’s a whore,” the pilot said. “There was no rape.”

  “Did he consent? Did he even look like he wanted to be there?” Haroon looked enraged.

  Alois wished he could add his own angry words, but his voice was broken. His poor Sebastian. It was one thing to know something happened, and another to be confronted with the men who hurt his mate. He wanted to fucking kill them.

  “He… he didn’t say no,” the pilot said, standing to his feet. “His boss said it was all legal because he had the right to sell him.”

  Hack shook his head. “I’m ashamed of you three. It doesn’t matter what someone says is legal if it’s clearly morally wrong. He didn’t want to be there. He didn’t agree to be there. He was sold by his shitty parents.” He looked behind him. “Finn, will you get these three off my training grounds. I don’t know what to do with the assholes, and Alois may try to kill them.” He snarled. “I may try to fucking kill them.”

  Finn and a couple of other guys took the three men away, and Alois could finally breathe.

  Hack came to stand next to him. “You alright there, buddy? Your eyes could be phasers right now.”

  “Fine,” Alois bit out.

  “Go on home,” Hack said. “Hold Sebastian and deal with this.” Alois spun on his heels and headed back to the tram. He needed Sebastian.

  Sebastian met him at the door, puzzled. “Hack sent me a message saying you needed serious hugs. What’s wrong?”

  Alois pulled Sebastian into his arms, lifting him off his feet, and buried his face against Sebastian’s neck. Alois kissed him, then carried him into the house before setting him back on his feet in the entryway.

  “When I was fourteen,” Alois said. “My dad came home from work one day, furious. Mom had asked him for money to buy something, I don’t remember what. He didn’t give it her. Anyway, he came home that day and started yelling at her. She just sat at the kitchen table and smiled. He said two of the guys he worked with told him she was offering to sleep with men in the neighborhood for money.”

  “Alois.” Sebastian’s face lost all color. “Why didn’t you say anything before? My past…”

  “No,” Alois said. “You didn’t choose to be there, Sebastian. You were a victim, and I could never hold that against you.” Sebastian hugged him tightly, and Alois pressed his face into his dark hair. “By the time my dad figured it out, she had already earned enough money to buy whatever it was she wanted.” Alois cupped Sebastian’s face. “When I said my parents were horrible to each other, I meant it. They’re still married, and they’re still making each other miserable. I never thought I could trust anyone that wasn’t my mate. My parents sure as shit weren’t the only fucked-up couple I ever saw.”

  “I would never–” Sebastian started to say.

  “No explanations needed,” Alois said, covering his mate’s mouth with his fingers. “When Fasi told me mates weren’t somehow magically beholden to never cheat on one another, I was worried that I’d lose you. I was afraid I’d let my fucked-up head get the better of me. I never once doubted you would remain loyal to me.”

  “Oh, Alois,” Sebastian said. “You’re it for me. No one else could possibly do now. It’s good to hear that you believed in me though.”

  Alois smiled and kissed him softly. “I’m going to tell you something, but it’s just to make you aware. It’s not a problem, alright?”

  “Okay?”

  “Three guys confronted me at work today,” Alois said. “They were some of the men that hurt you on Union Station.”

  Sebastian turned pale, then flushed red. “No, no, no. Not here.”

  “Morgan, Haroon, and I kicked their asses, and Hack sent them away. I don’t know what he’ll do with them. I can’t be around the fuckers.”

  “I’m so sorry, Alois.”

  “No apologizing, beautiful.” He kissed him again. “This is in no way your fault.” One more kiss landed on Sebastian’s mouth. “What I wanted to tell you was that, when they started talking about you, I had this moment. My dad wouldn’t have hesitated to believe them when they said you were still in business.”

  Sebastian looked horrified. “I never wanted that, Alois. I would never choose that.”

  “I know,” Alois said. “I know that so damn much. The thought of you willingly sleeping with someone else, for money or not, is so completely unreal to me. You love me. Me!”

  “I do,” Sebastian said.

  “A gorgeous, wealthy man could walk in and tell you he loved you, but you would just shrug and say, Sorry, but my mate is the best lover in all the galaxy. You do nothing for me.”

  Sebastian giggled. “That’s what I would say?”

  Alois nodded solemnly. “It is, and, in that moment with the assholes, I realized I fully trust you, Sebastian. My head and my heart agree. They always have. I just couldn’t see it. I was afraid I’d chase you off, not that you would cheat on me.”

  “I’m so glad,” Sebastian said. “I’ve kind of been worried since we talked about it. My past isn’t an easy thing to accept.”

  “Beautiful, your past didn’t have a damn thing to do with my head. I never even connected your past to what my mom did until today. That was all on me. You’ve never given me any reason to doubt you. I just had to work through my own issues. I think they were bigger in my mind than in reality. Trusting you is so damn easy,” Alois said. He pressed his forehead to Sebastian’s. “Loving you is even easier. I’m sorry I’ve been a drama queen.”

  Sebastian snorted. “You haven’t seen Leti when someone eats the last of his chocolate squirrels. That man is the drama queen, not you.”

  “I love you, Sebastian,” Alois said softly. “You’re my mate, but I really want you to be my husband too. How about it?”

  “Nina would be yours too,” Sebastian said, hiding his smile against Alois’s neck.

  “Uh, she already is, beautiful.”

  Someone cleared their throat, and Alois turned quickly. Silas and Maia sat in chairs near the window. They looked at him in sympathy and both pointed to the center of the living room floor.

  Leti, Wyatt, Lilah, and Shae sat in a circle on the living room floor. Leti held Pepper in his lap. Milo was sprawled out on his back in front of him, and Sami curled into his side. Leti’s wide green eyes danced with excitement and focused on Alois and Sebastian. Lilah sat gracefully next to Leti, Sophie playing in front of her. Her face was serene as usual. The woman was never anything but calm and collected, so he almost jumped when she winked at him.

  On her other side, Wyatt sat cross-legged while Pela wiggled around on her belly in front of him. He gave Alois a strained smile, eyes full of sympathy. Finally, next to him sat Shae. The Siren was frozen in the process of tickling Kiki’s belly, doing his best not to laugh. Nina wiggled, butt in the air, on the floor next to him. The open spot in the circle was obviously for Sebastian. Mustachio even stared at him from the perch next to the couch.

  “Hi,” Alois said. “I don’t suppose you all went deaf for the past ten minutes or so?”

  “We did not,” Shae said. “I think I speak for us all when I say we’re really happy you two are going to get married.”

  “I also speak for us all when I say that I’m not a drama queen,” Leti said. “People just shouldn’t eat my chocolate squirrels.”

  “Alois, forget them,” Sebastian said, waving them away. “This is the perfect time to tell you about my dream wedding. I don’t mean something like Leti’s. It was perfect for him and Hack, but I don’t want to get married in my backyard.”

  “How else could Wobble and Trixie have come?” Leti seemed baffled.

  “Anything you want, beautiful,” Alois said and ignored Sebastian’s friends. The fuckers were moving from embarrassed silence to laughter.

  Sebastian pulled away and ran up the stairs to the bedroom. “Stay right there,” he yelled over his shoulder.

  Alois looked around the room. “Nice day?”

  “Yeah,” Shae said. “It’s been enlightening. Your own hasn’t been so good, huh?”

  “Maybe it was,” Wyatt said thoughtfully. “Maybe it took meeting those jerks to make you realize you trusted Sebastian all along.”

  “That would make it a great day,” Leti said, smiling. Princess stalked out of the kitchen, leaving a trail of crumbs behind him. Stardust was curled up, asleep, on his head. He settled next to Leti in the circle.

  “Why was your dragon in my kitchen?” Alois watched Princess suspiciously.

  “No reason,” Leti said, vaguely. Alois stared pointedly at the trail of crumbs. Leti just smiled brightly and bounced Pepper in his lap.

  Sebastian came back down the stairs before Alois could say anything else. He held up a small, bright green journal. “My family never had a lot of money for tech, so I didn’t have a tablet until I bought my own when I was a teenager. It was a piece of junk, but it was mine.” He handed the journal to Alois. “Anyway, my gramma gave this to me. It’s my journal. Nina and I used to sit and talk about what we wanted in life, and we’d write it all down there.”

  “Your gramma? You never mention her,” Wyatt said, tickling Pela’s toes.

  “She died when I was ten,” Sebastian said, tears filling his eyes. “She loved me and wouldn’t have let my parents sell me to clear their debt.” He sniffed, then looked at the journal. “She thought Nina and I would do great things.”

  Alois opened the journal. “Hmm, Nina wanted to be a scientist and… create her own race of hybrid lizard people?”

  “Yes,” Sebastian nodded. “She was meant for greatness.”

  “That would have been brilliant,” Leti said in awe.

  Alois smiled sadly. He wished he had met Sebastian’s cousin. The woman sounded like an interesting person. He turned to Sebastian’s entries. “I see you wanted to be a ballet dancer. I like the twirling mustache there. You don’t usually see mustachioed ballet dancers.”

  “Let me see!” Shae jumped up, looking over Alois’s shoulder. “That’s a large mustache alright.” He looked at Mustachio. “I’m starting to understand your bird’s name.”

  “Thank you,” Sebastian said, nodding. “My dreams have changed, but I always wanted the mustache. They’re so distinguished.” He rubbed his bare upper lip and scowled. “I can’t grow one though.”

  Alois leaned forward and kissed him. “Easier to kiss you this way.” He flipped a couple of pages. “Oh, wow. That’s a very detailed drawing of your dream wedding. Everyone wears elaborate, fancy hats?”

  “I thought about it a lot,” Sebastian said. “Granted, I was eight, but it’s my dream.”

  “We both wear white?”

  “Yes. Of course, we were both supposed to be virgins too.”

  “We’ll pretend,” Alois said, ignoring the snickers. “That’s a very large cake and a… Is that a unicorn?”

  “I was eight, Alois,” Sebastian said, scowling when Alois started laughing.

  “This will take some time, beautiful,” he finally managed through his laughter.

  “I know. I’m not in any hurry,” Sebastian said. He grabbed Alois’s hand. “I know you’re mine.”

  Chapter 10

  Sebastian settled his head on Alois’s shoulder. He watched the dim light from outside dance across the red scales covering his mate’s chest as he slept. There were gouges from healed wounds, but Alois was a beautiful man. He was a good man too. Sebastian’s heart hurt for what Alois’s parents had put him through as a child.

  He closed his eyes and hummed quietly, searching for Alois’s threads in the spirit world. He gasped. Sebastian had seen Alois and his connection before, but it had been new and still growing. After this morning, it was a thick, unbreakable thread. Others had started growing between them too. He opened his eyes and cuddled closer to Alois, tears falling down his cheeks.

  He thought of eight-year-old Sebastian, hoping with everything in him for a person to love him completely and unconditionally. That was a dream he had given up when he was seventeen and his parents sold him. Who would want a Wednesday night whore? He thought of all the calls he received from them. No. They hadn’t given a damn about him.

  Yet, here he was, with a man who adored and loved him. A man who accepted him as he was, but still somehow believed Sebastian was the greatest thing in all the galaxy. Best of all, all of that had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the fact that Sebastian was his mate. He pressed his face into Alois’s chest. He wouldn’t let him down. He’d show Alois how much he loved him too.

  Sebastian, Wyatt, and Leti pushed strollers through the trade market while Maia, Silas, and Rune trailed behind them with Pax on his leash. Shae carried Sami in his arms since the little boy was a runner. It was the first day that Sebastian had managed to have off that week, and Alois and the rest of Dru’s crew were busy training new recruits and keeping up with their own training routines. With the three troublemakers gone, everything was going smoothly for Alois at work, but Sebastian needed a break.

  “I wonder how those three men are doing with Sheiria,” Shae said.

  Sebastian smiled at the man, not surprised he had known where Sebastian’s thoughts had gone.

  Leti smiled an evil little smile. “Will said she was determined to teach them the error of their ways.”

  “I can’t believe they don’t understand what they did,” Shae said. “A lot of things are legal on Union Station that aren’t right.”

  Sebastian shrugged. “What’s right is subjective, guys.” He had accepted what had happened and moved on. There was no sense wasting time worrying about other people’s morals. “Let’s focus on what we’re here for. Dr. Morrick said I could have today off from training, and I want to take advantage of it.”

 

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