"Yes," Sebastian answered tightly, stabbing a bite of his burrito and bring it up to his lips without looking at me.
"Savage, Seb," Colby snorted from across the table.
Next to him, Rafael rolled his eyes and snorted. "Don't be an ass, Colby." His mild tone made it clear that it was a suggestion, not a rebuke.
"Yes, Alpha," Colby, murmured back and I caught myself staring as Rafael blushed to the tips of his ears. The child that Colby was holding chose that moment to grab for a knife on the table, breaking up the interaction.
"No, Leia," Rafe said softly, gently moving it out of her reach and shaking his head. "How does she do that?"
Colby shrugged as the baby giggled. "She's gotta be accessing someone's eyes." He turned back to me. "So, are you just here to fuck with Sebastian's head a little more? 'Cause I don't think that's going to go over well."
"What? No!" I answered, startled. I looked at Sebastian who was shredding his food like it had offended him. "Seb, can we talk?"
"You already are," Colby interjected mock helpfully.
"I meant alone," I responded, not taking my eyes off Sebastian. "After we eat?"
"Yeah, whatever," Sebastian grumbled under his breath, shoving a bite into his mouth and looking over to where Colby sat. "Do you want me to hold Leia so you can eat?"
Apparently, we were done.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sebastian
Alrick was still eating when I cleared my plate and bolted for the door. Part of me was hoping that he would let it go. I couldn't think of a single conversation that I wanted to have with him. In retrospect, I probably would have been more successful at eluding himif I hadn't stopped at the edge of the woods to stare up at the flawless full moon.
"Hey," There was no breeze in the still air, so Alrick's voice caught me before his scent did.
"H..hey."
"Can we talk?" Alrick stepped to my side, leaning against the tree's broad trunk, so close I could feel the heat from his body in the cold night air.
I shrugged and he took that as permission.
"I'm truly sorry for everything, Sebastian," he spoke softly, intimately, the words barely making it the few inches to my ears. "It never occurred to me that you actually wanted to stay mated to me; that you could want me." He paused. "Can you look at me?"
I huffed a sigh but pulled my gaze from the ground in front of me to meet his.
"Thank you." The moonlight washing over us reflected off the violet in his eyes, giving them an otherworldly appearance. "I didn't think that you would be able to make an objective decision about breaking the claim because it was so new but I should have never made the decision on my own."
Another pause and Alrick reached for my hand, pulling it to his chest.
"Even if you can't forgive me, I had to make sure you knew that I didn't want to leave you, to lose you. I never wanted that."
"I forgive you." It took more energy than it should have to say those three little words. "I need to go."
I walked back to the dorm quickly, not sure I had it in me to resist if he followed me. When I reached the door, I chanced one glance over my shoulder and saw that Alrick stood where I had left him, his head bowed, his shoulders slumped. In my chest, my heart thudded as I fought the desire to go to him, to comfort him. I forced myself to go inside and close the door behind me. Then I spent the rest of the night in the dorm watching a random assortment of reality shows that Quinn was streaming on the television.
***
When evening came the next day and I stumbled out to get my coffee, it was immediately obvious that Alrick had not given up.
"Hey there!" The Alpha smiled broadly at my stupefied look as he rose from the steps and wrapped one arm around my waist. "Sleep well?"
"Um, yes?" I looked around in the late afternoon light and groaned when I realized that everyone was watching us. Well, not literally everyone, of course. Only the two hundred or so shifters who were moving about the grounds.
"Great!" Alrick appeared completely oblivious to the stares. "Let's get some food and then I thought we could spend some time together."
