The Lycan Within

c. twelve

I wonder who this pretty lass is! hmm

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Without another word, both Catori and Benjamin left leaving me and Sebastian to one another. I had never seen such a serious expression on Benjamin's face, and something about it was shook my very core. I turned to Sebastian to see him already gazing at me, a blank expression on his face.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he sternly said, the gentleness in his voice long gone. I nodded simply before slowly getting out of bed, hearing Sebastian groan behind me, upset about my leaving and I had to hold in the smile. I turned to see him sat up, staring up at me with a pout. It was comical to see a man of his size, his tree trunk arms folded across his wide chest of smooth tan skin, and I forced my eyes to meet his gaze after realizing I was ogling. There was a glint of playfulness in his eyes and in a small gust of wind I was in his arms, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"The floor is cold," he said simply, as I opened my mouth to protest. I huffed, thus blowing a curl out of my face and his gaze softened as he watched this.

"So precious," he mumbled quietly and I reddened under his gaze, looking away from him in embarrassment. "How do you even know where I want to go?" I asked, indulging in his playfulness. He looked down at me, an eyebrow quirked. "You eat breakfast when you wake up and usually take a long bath in the evenings." He stated simply, and I was surprised he had picked up on my habits so quickly.

"I wasn't exactly able to do so last night, I was going to take a bath," I said defiantly, smiling at my seeming success. A small smile graced his face and instead of a response, he simply opened the door which lead to a large spacious bathroom. I gasped at the interior and almost stumbled when Sebastian gently lowered my feet to the ground. It seemed to glisten in the sun light filtering in through the large blurred window. I turned around and my gaze landed on the mirror. I tended to avoid those if I could and an involuntary frown tugged at my lips as I noticed my own reflection. Sebastian cleared his throat and I turned to see a nervous looking Sebastian.

"Do you not like it?" he asked me, and for a moment I thought he meant my reflection. I wasn't ugly, but definitely nowhere near as beautiful as he. I knew if ever we were to go out, he would command the attention from everyone around him and I would be the grey shadow crawling after him.

"The bathroom is absolutely perfect," I offered truthfully. He smiled in return, seeming much more at ease than he was a few moments ago. He gestured to the door in the corner of the room.

"Your room is on the other side of that door, and there are clothes waiting for you when you get there," he offered with a smile, and I appreciated the offer of my own space. Although I hadn't wanted to admit to myself, but I would miss spending the night, his bare skin in my palm.

"This is wonderful, thank you Sebastian," I offered him a gentle smile. He stepped into the bathroom, swiftly moving towards the claw foot tub, letting the faucet fill the empty tub. Steam filled the room seemed to sparkle as the sun reflected from the mist. Once the tub was full, Sebastian looked up at me and nodded. His eyes trained on my exposed shoulder and his eyes darkened. He licked his lips and stared for a long moment. He closed his eyes abruptly, and I flinched and in a breeze he was gone.

*

I hadn't seen Sebastian for much of the day and Benjamin had kept me company. Catori had left early this morning. I could sense how Benjamin was more at ease here. It was pleasant to see and he seemed to smile more. The majority of the day had been spent teaching me about my kind - a concept still strange to me as I'd always thought of myself as nothing special.