Warming Up Sebastian

Thrown into a world of paranormal violence,
there’s only one thing to do: create your own
destiny.

Sebastian  has  been  tossed  into  the  thick  of  a  war
between  the  Birds  of  Prey  and  Blood  Demons.
He’s  heard  it  all  about  fate,  destiny,  and  this  is
how it’s going to be. Oh, hell no, it isn’t. Sebastian
has his connections and will use them to help him
and his mate Wren solve the problem of the mates’
loss of freedom.

Wren has been drawn to Sebastian since he laid

eyes  on  him.  Hurt  by  Sebastian’s  refusal  to  even
be  near  him,  Wren  feels  at  a  loss  of  what  to  do
until  he  follows  Sebastian  one  night.  Wren
discovers  that  Sebastian  may  have  been  in  this
world a lot longer than they all ever knew.

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This  book  is  a  work  of  fiction.  Names,  characters,
places,  and  incidents  either  are  products  of  the
author’s  imagination  or  are  used  fictitiously.  Any
resemblance  to  actual  events  or  locales  or  persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Warming Up Sebastian

ISBN: 978-1-77111-775-3

Cover art by Carmen Waters

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Warming Up Sebastian

Birds of Prey Book Three

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Chapter One

ebastian would have made one rocking ninja.
As he stole down the stairs of the Birds of Prey

mansion,  he  was  all  stealth.  He  lived  in  the
shadows, moved with the ease of a jungle cat and
was as quiet as the spring wind. There was no way
that anybody could hear him, much less catch him
trying  to  sneak  away.  In  fact,  he  was  so  good  at
this gig, he was thinking about changing his major
at  college  to  Ninja  Extraordinaire.  They  still  had
professional ninjas, didn’t they?

Still, Sebastian couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty

about stealing away like this. If Wren were to find
out, he would be both livid and hurt. That was the
last thing Sebastian wanted. For all his talk about
not wanting a mate, a huge part of Sebastian had
developed feelings for Wren.

It wasn’t like Sebastian didn’t plan on coming

back, though. He just needed to pick up a few
things from his apartment, and then he would
return. If he was quick enough about it, he could
do it without anyone noticing that he’d left at all.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Sebastian reached the bottom of the stairs and

was  just  making  his  way  to  the  door.  His  heart
began to beat wildly in his chest. He was going to
make  it.  For  the  first  time  in  a  month,  he  was
going  to  get  his  first  taste  of  freedom.  Nothing
could stop him now.

“Just where in the hell do you think you’re

going?” a voice boomed from behind him.

Sebastian nearly jumped from his skin. He

would recognize that voice anywhere. Mostly
because it haunted him both during the day and at
night, in his dreams. Wren!

Sebastian whirled around and was immediately

transfixed at how good the warrior looked. Wren
wore head-to-toe leather that molded to his tight,
muscular  body,  leaving  very  little  to  the
imagination.  It  made  Sebastian  want  to  throw
himself  at  the  man  and  not  let  go  until  he  had
every one of those dips and ridges memorized to
perfection.

Then there was Wren’s to-die-for hair. It was

streaked with nearly every shade of brown
imaginable. While it was cut short, the front was
long enough to hang over his deep, hazel eyes.

In short, Wren was everything Sebastian could

want in a man, yet he could never touch. Despite
the fact that they were destined mates. Especially
if Wren found out what Sebastian really was. For
if that were to happen, Sebastian had no doubt his

Warming Up Sebastian

scrawny ass would be kicked to the curb, Blood
Demons or not.

“Well, are you going to answer me? Or do you

plan on just standing there like a deer staring into
headlights all night long?” Wren asked.

Sebastian jumped as he realized he had been

just standing there and staring. Dear Zeus! All that
was missing was a puddle of drool at his feet and
an embarrassing-looking bulge in the front of his
jeans. It was only because he had on a long
sweatshirt covering his cock that the latter wasn’t
happening.

“I was just going out for a breath of fresh air,”

Sebastian tried, even though he knew that there
was no way in hell Wren would buy it.

“Bullshit! You were sneaking away and leaving.

Even though you know how dangerous it is out
there. Do you have a death wish or something?”

Sebastian took a step back from Wren and his

anger. While he’d seen a lot of yelling in his life, it
had  been  a  long  time  since  it’d  been  directed  his
way.  It  brought  him  back  to  the  days  when  he
used  to  live  with  his  abusive  mother.  That  had
been before his savior had finally had enough and
taken  Sebastian  away  from  her.  Then  there  was
the other abusive person in his life he wasn’t even
going to think about until his brother had stepped
in to pull him out of that horrible mess.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Finally, his life was on track and had been

going  perfectly  until  the  damned  Blood  Demons
started  to  try  to  kill  him  and  the  Birds  of  Prey.
This was why Sebastian had been trying so hard to
go  back  to  his  apartment.  There  he  had  weapons
that he could use to protect himself and the other
mates. Then they wouldn’t be so vulnerable to the
Blood  Demons  anymore  and  would  actually  be
able  to  take  a  piss  without  one  of  the  warriors
having to be there to hold their dicks.

“No, of course I don’t have a death wish. If I

did, I would have left this clusterfuck long ago,”
Sebastian countered.

Wren looked away, but not before Sebastian

saw the flicker of hurt pass over the warrior’s face.
Damn it! When was Sebastian going to stop saying
the wrong things all the time? He hadn’t meant
that to come out as hurtful, yet it had. He couldn’t
even hold a decent conversation without putting
his big, fat foot in his mouth.

“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s not so bad here. I

just needed to grab a few things, that’s all,”
Sebastian tried to smooth things over.

Wren shrugged. “It’s no biggie. In fact, I’m

starting to get over it.”

Even though he knew it was for the best,

Sebastian felt his stomach drop. “So does that
mean you don’t want me anymore?”

Warming Up Sebastian

Wren let out a bitter laugh as he ran a hand

through his hair. “I’ll always want you. You’re my
predestined mate. But that doesn’t mean I have to
continue to put up with your verbal abuse
anymore. You can stay here because it’s the only
safe place, but I’m finished with you.”

Sebastian opened and closed his mouth several

times as both the pain and anger from rejection
warred with one another. Sure, it was for the best
that Wren stayed away, but it hurt so, so, so bad
because Sebastian had come to like the warrior.

So Sebastian did what he always did when he

was angry, he lashed out with the nearest weapon
he had handy, which happened to be his tongue.
“Fine, I never wanted you in the first place. Just
like I’m sure you wouldn’t have wanted me had it
not been for that stupid tramp stamp that marked
me as your mate.”

“What makes you say that?” Wren asked, his

brows furrowing.

Sebastian snorted. “Like some big lunk like you

would ever give some scrawny twink like me a
second look otherwise. Tell me the truth—before
me, have you ever dated anybody that looks even
close to me?”

When Wren didn’t respond, Sebastian had his

answer. “That’s what I thought. You don’t give a
damn about me, just my stupid tattoo. Athena
really fucked us both over on this deal.”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Sebastian opened the door and began to storm

out when Wren called to him, “Wait, please. I
know you’re angry, but it’s still too dangerous for
you to leave on your own.”

“I’m just going to the lake. I’ll have Raven take

me back to my apartment tomorrow morning,”
Sebastian said.

Raven was the only one Sebastian trusted to

keep  his  secret.  There  was  just  something  about
the  warrior  that  made  Sebastian  sure  he  could
confide  in  him.  Call  it  a  gut  feeling  or  whatever,
but  Sebastian  knew  that  Raven  would  never
betray him.

When Wren didn’t say anything, Sebastian took

that as his sign that he could go. Walking outside,
Sebastian made his way to the shore of the lake.
He stood there for several moments, wishing that
he’d thought to grab his jacket before he made his
dramatic exit. It was damn cold out.

Sebastian smelled his father before he saw

him—the strong stench of booze, unwashed body,
and  no  doubt  covered  in  dark  stains  from  the
grapes  of  the  wine  he  consumed  en  masse.
Sebastian closed his eyes and prayed that maybe if
he looked away, good ol’ dad would get the hint
and  vamoose.  But  of  course  he  didn’t,  he  just
continued  to  stand  there,  slurping  from  his  glass
of wine. He even let out a belch or two.

Warming Up Sebastian

“What do you want, Dionysus?” Sebastian

asked with a heavy sigh.

“Is that the kind of greeting you give your own

father?” Dionysus demanded in a hurt voice.
“Especially when I come bearing gifts?”

“Since when have you ever given me anything?

You never bothered, not even on Christmas or any
of my birthdays, so why the change of heart
now?”

Sebastian thought back to all those years ago

when he was a young child, when he would wait
with  bated  breath  on  those  special  days  for  his
father  to  come.  Even  just  a  simple  visit  would
have been enough for Sebastian. But every single
time,  Sebastian  had  been  let  down.  In  fact,  he
could count the times on one hand that he’d ever
seen  his  father  in  person.  Since  Sebastian  was
nearly sixty years old, that wasn’t a lot.

He finally turned so he could look at his father.

What  Sebastian  saw  made  him  nearly  recoil  in
disgust. His father must have been out clubbing as
usual  because  he  was  dressed  to  the  nines.  Or  at
least he probably had been at the beginning of the
evening  when  he’d  still  been  sober.  Now,  he
looked like the sloppy drunk that he was.

The fly of his black dress pants was down,

exposing  the  black  underwear  he  wore  beneath.
His  white  dress  shirt  had  the  top  two  buttons
undone,  showing  off  his  thick  mat  of  chest  hair.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

The shirt had several lipstick stains on it and, yep,
a few dribbles of the dark wine he was still
carrying down the front. The tops of his canvas
shoes were slightly wet. Sebastian shuddered, not
even wanting to contemplate what it could be.

Dionysus’ dark hair was short, but it still stuck

up in several places. His face was flushed and his
nose red. While he wasn’t fat, he wasn’t exactly in
prime fit condition either, no doubt because more
drinking than any time spent training or working
out.

“Fine, what did you bring me? And don’t say

it’s a woman because we both know that’s not my
game,” Sebastian said.

“It’s not a woman. You have more problems to

deal with than getting laid. You’re weak, and now
you have a weak mate. I’ve learned long ago that
you lacked the strength to survive in this world.”

Sebastian cringed inside at the slur, but he

schooled his features so as not to show his
feelings. “And I learned a long time ago that I had
a drunk for a father and was forced to deal with it.
So it looks like we both have our lot in life. Now
what did you bring me?”

Sebastian just wanted to get this conversation

over as quickly as possible so he could get away
from Dionysus. And to think that he used to want
to see this man. Boy, had Sebastian been clueless
as a kid. His mother might have been a shrew and

Warming Up Sebastian

abusive as hell, but she had been right about one
thing, Dionysus really was a waste of space.

Dionysus waved his hand, and Sebastian’s

weapons appeared on the ground. Sebastian let
out a gasp. “How did you know I needed these?”

Dionysus sniffed. “Whether or not you want to

believe  it,  I  do  keep  track  of  you,  and  I  thought
that  you  would  need  them  in  your  current
situation.  I  also  knew  you  would  have  trouble
getting away from those Neanderthals to get them
on your own.”

“Don’t call them that. They’re all good men,”

Sebastian defended as he began to look through
the weapons. “Hey! Where’s the sword Artemis
gave me?”

His father gave a shrug and an innocent look

that he couldn’t come close to pulling off. “I don’t
know what you’re talking about. I never saw it.”

Rage filled Sebastian. He should have known

that his father wouldn’t do something entirely
good. He never gave without taking a little nip for
himself. Even if the person he was giving to was
his own son.

“Bullshit!” Sebastian snapped. “You’ve been

after  that  sword  ever  since  she  gave  it  to  me  for
my  twentieth  birthday.  Not  that  you  were  even
there  to  see  her  hand  it  over.  You  just  heard  it
secondhand  from  the  people  who  bothered  to
show up to the party.”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Dionysus put his hand on his chest. “You

wound me, Bastian boy. You know how much I
love you.”

“Yeah, so much that the devil himself literally

had to raise me because you and Mom didn’t give
two  fucks  about  me.  I  was  nothing  but  an
inconvenience  to  you.  An  accident  that  you
wished  would  just  go  away.  Something  that
threatened your life of partying and having a good
time.”  Sebastian  wouldn’t  reveal  that  the  devil
himself was the best thing that ever had come into
his life. Dionysus would only use that against him.

Dionysus grabbed Sebastian by the front of his

shirt  and  gave  him  a  good  shake.  “You  need  to
remember  who  you’re  talking  to,  boy.  If  I  had
wanted  you  gone,  you  would  have  been  dead
years ago. So don’t push me into doing it now.”

For the first time in years, Sebastian felt the fear.

The  one  that  only  came  from  a  child  who  was
about to be hurt by a parent. To his great shame,
he began to shake as a cold sweat broke out over
his  body.  For,  even  though  he  was  now  a  fully-
grown  demi-god,  he  knew  he  was  no  match  to  a
full  god.  Even  one  who  was  out  of  shape  like
Dionysus.

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian whispered. “You can

keep the sword.”

It hurt to say those words, for that weapon

meant so much to him. But at that moment,

Warming Up Sebastian

Sebastian would say or do anything to save his
hide.

Dionysus gave a snide smile. “I knew you

would see things my way.”

He then vanished, leaving the rest of the

weapons  behind.  Sebastian  gasped  for  breath  as
he  realized  just  how  close  to  death  he  had  come
yet  again.  Day’am,  his  family  put  the  diss  in
dysfunctional.

He glanced up and saw Wren standing a couple

of yards away, just staring, his face an unreadable
mask. Sebastian had no clue as to whether Wren
was mad or not.

“How much of the conversation did you hear?”

Sebastian finally dared to ask.

“All of it,” Wren replied in a tight voice.
“So where does that leave us now?”
“Gather up your weapons, and we’ll go inside

and talk.”

Sebastian did as ordered, all the while praying

that he hadn’t fucked up yet again.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Chapter Two

ren seethed as he made his way back to the
house. There were so many things he’d

overheard that pissed him off it was going to take
fighting an entire pack of Blood Demons just to
calm his ass down.

Emotions swirled within him from anger, hurt,

and  inadequacy  that  once  again  someone  had
pointed  out  how  much  of  a  failure  and  weak  he
was  in  a  world  that  was  full  of  danger.  Dammit,
he’d  survived  this  long  on  sheer  strength  and
cunning.  What  the  fuck  was  it  going  to  take  for
everyone to believe he belonged?

The only one who had ever believed he

belonged  was  Athena.  No  one  knew  of  the times
that  Athena  had  come  to  see  him  personally  to
spar  with  him.  He  was  sworn  to  secrecy  by  the
goddess never to reveal their time together when
she  treated  him  more  like  a  son  than  one  of  her
warriors.

Warming Up Sebastian

Storming into the house, he went straight to the

vault to load up on his weapons. Grabbing a
samurai sword, daggers, knives, stars, he wanted
it all. They all had intel that the city was overrun
with Blood Demons. He was itching for a fight.

Descending the steps at full speed, he almost

ran over Sebastian as he made his way to the front
door.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Sebastian threw

down his weapons then held out his arms, like
that would stop Wren.

Hell, Sebastian was a demi-god. Who the hell

knew  how  strong  he  was?  Suddenly,  Wren  felt
that  a  complete  stranger  was  before  him.  Wren
tried  to  walk  past  him,  and  soft  fingers  circled
around his bicep.

“Please, we need to talk.” Sebastian pleaded

with his cerulean eyes.

“I need—” Wren swallowed. He did not want

to make a damn fool of himself. “To go out.”

He pulled out of Sebastian’s grip and went

outside to the SUV sitting in the driveway.
Blowing out a breath, he had to calm himself just
to start the vehicle.

He had a forty-five minute drive into Atlanta,

and that was if the traffic was good, which at this
time, it wasn’t. Wren needed to think about just
what in the hell he was going to do. First, he
needed to figure out how bad Atlanta had gotten

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

since  they  left.  The  world  was  falling  apart,  and
the more Wren analyzed the situation, the more he
thought  the  Birds  of  Prey  were  a  Band  Aid  on  a
compound  fracture.  There  just  weren’t  enough
Birds of Prey out there to get a foothold.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and Wren

pulled it out. “Yeah.”

“Where are you heading?” Night barked over

the line.

“Just doing a little recon. Seeing what damage

was done while we were away.”

“That’s not a good idea. Come back, and we’ll

get a team together and all go.”

“I’m heading to Tech’s campus. Have the others

come if they want, but I’m heading there now.”

Night’s cussing compelled Wren to pull his ear

away from the phone. “Damn fucking stubborn
bird. You’ll get your ass killed. Hawk, get a team!”

Forget it. Wren disconnected and pressed the

gas.

Forty minutes later, he pulled into the

downtown  campus.  The  place  appeared  to  be
deserted.  What  the  fuck?  He  knew  it  was  winter
break,  but  hell,  this  was  more  than  just  that.  No
one was around. No one. The air even seemed still
as Wren got out of the SUV.

“Oh fuck,” Wren whispered. It was eerily

peaceful, causing Wren to pull his sword out of

Warming Up Sebastian

his sheath. He grabbed a hold of his phone and hit
the number for Night.

Night answered on the first ring. “You stubborn

son of a bitch.”

“We can fight later, sweetheart. There’s

something really off,” Wren whispered.

“What’s going on?” Night sounded all business.
“Nothing…absolutely nothing. The place is

vacant and not a sound.” Wren whipped
around…waiting for the battle to come. It was
upon him, and he felt it all the way to his fucking
core.

“I need you to get back in your vehicle and get

out of there. Do you hear me, Wren? This is
serious.”

“How far away are you?” Wren mumbled.
“We’re two miles away.”
“I’m going to need backup.” Wren turned and

faced the terrifyingly beautiful winged female that
landed in a crouch twenty yards from him without
a sound. Her head cocked in a strange angle, and
those full red lips smiled wickedly, showcasing a
full set of razor-sharp teeth. The female eyed him
with such a savage hunger that Wren, for the first
time in all his years of fighting, took a step back.
This wasn’t a fucking Blood Demon. This was one
of the Keres, the Blood Demons’ leaders, one of
the creators of their vile adversary.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Wren knew in that moment he was in serious

trouble. There was no way he was a match for the
goddess. Turning, he began to retreat only to run
face-first into a shimmering web that felt like a
damn steel door. Fuck, that hurt!

Turning, cornered, knowing this might be his

last  show,  Wren  re-gripped  his  sword  in  two
hands, preparing for the inevitable attack. Behind
the  Kere,  shadows  began  to  form  around  her
before they took form and Wren cursed, realizing
that a swarm of Blood Demons were flanking her.
Wren  closed  his  eyes  and  groaned  before
reopening them. He was so completely fucked.

The Kere stood and slowly approached with a

grace  that  contrasted  with  her  looks.  Why  Wren
thought  she  would  limp  or  be  hunched  over,  he
had  no  clue,  but  the  female’s  hips  swayed  as  if
sensuality oozed out of her as she came closer and
closer.  Watching,  Wren  noticed  the  wicked  claws
and knew that one swipe would be the end of him.

The sound of tires screeching behind him had

him whipping his head around. Behind the
shimmer, he saw the Birds of Prey race out of the
SUV with Sebastian at their side.

“Fuck!” Wren screamed as he felt like a truck

had hit him. He fell on the brutally hard pavement
before turning and catching the bitch’s claws right
before she could gouge out his damn eye.

Warming Up Sebastian

Above him, he heard Night’s muffled

screaming on the other side of the shimmer. Wren
struggled with the Kere as she mounted him and
began  savagely  beating  the  hell  out  him.  Pain
exploded  as  the  claws  tore  flesh.  He  was  getting
his ass kicked, and there was nothing he could do
but  protect  himself,  his  arms  a  shield  against  her
claws. His arms were shredded.

He heard Sebastian above him, voice clear and

no longer muffled. “I have her, get the rest.”

Footfalls surrounded him, and Wren heard the

sounds of fighters engaging in battle.

A glint appeared above him and then the Kere

was screaming. Sebastian stood above him,
holding a bloody scythe. Birds of Prey were
running around him as they fought with the Blood
Demons.

How the hell did they get here so soon? Wren

watched  as  the  Kere  circled  Sebastian.  Sebastian
might have been small, but at that moment, Wren
knew  Sebastian  was  a  skilled  fighter.  The
confidence  oozed  off  him  as  he  faced  off  against
the Kere. It didn’t mean that Wren wasn’t terrified
as  he  watched  Sebastian  battle  against  the
goddess.

“Gods, get up off your ass and help them,”

Wren groaned as he put his hands on the ground,
trying to get to his feet. His arms were completely
shredded, blood coating them, droplets falling to

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

the  pavement.  The  burn  was  almost  unbearable,
but  his  mate  was  right  there  fighting  for  his  life,
and  that  alone  gave  him  the  strength  to  put  the
pain behind him.

An inhuman shriek filled the air, and the Kere

attacked Sebastian. He dodged the first claw
before Sebastian swung his scythe and sliced the
Kere across the back.

Wren finally got to his feet, pulled out a blade

for each hand, and went in to help Sebastian.

Wren watched the Kere go in for another attack,

and  that’s  when  he  fought  dirty,  coming  in  from
behind and knifing her in the back. His first blade
sunk,  and  then  he  got  the  other  on  the  opposite
side of her neck. She should have gone down, but
instead,  she  backhanded  Wren,  sending  him
flying.

“Wren!” Sebastian screamed.
Ears buzzing, Wren was so damn disoriented

he didn’t know what the hell was up and down.

He tried to sit up once again and saw a blurry

image of Sebastian sinking his Scythe into the
chest of the Kere. The goddess let out another
unholy scream before she disintegrated.

Blood Demons began to run after their goddess

fell. Wren blew out a breath before lying back onto
the pavement. His whole damn body hurt. Stellar!
Go out to recon and pick a fight, but instead, get
your ass kicked by a goddess. He was going to

Warming Up Sebastian

hear it from Night, and boy, did he ever deserve
the ass-chewing he was going to get.

Sebastian had him all screwed up in the head.

He wasn’t thinking straight and was going to get
killed if he couldn’t balance the two. If only he
could work through the wall Sebastian created.

Sebastian came into his vision above him. “Are

you all right?”

“Sure, sure, I meant to do…all of that.” Wren

sat back up, hissing in pain.

“I think you’re going to need to get checked out

by the doctor.” Sebastian began inspecting him.

“I am the doctor,” Wren mumbled.
“You are?” Sebastian asked in shock.
“Don’t act too surprised. I may just be a lowly

Bird of Prey and marked with a wren, but I’ve got
a brain.” Wren growled. He hated feeling beneath
the flock and to know his mate was a demi-god…
Sheesh, did fate even say, Can we give this guy a

bone?

“Well, you sure as shit didn’t use it tonight!”

Night snarled as he squatted down next to him.
“Damn, I think your modeling days are over.”

“Did you just say something funny? Wow,

David is finally loosening your uptight ass. Help
me up.” Wren reached out a hand, and Sebastian
grabbed it.

“I’ll take you back,” Sebastian murmured.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

They tucked him into the passenger seat. Damn,

the leather was never going to be the same. Blood
just never came out no matter how hard you tried.

Sebastian got into the driver’s seat before

following the other SUV back to the house.

The car was silent for a moment before

Sebastian spoke, “I wanted to tell you.”

Wren stared at Sebastian’s profile. Gods, he was

handsome. He should have known that someone
that looked that perfect could only come from the
blood of the gods. He had never seen a man who
came close in comparison to Sebastian’s beauty.

“About what?”
“About what I am. There are things that I’ve

had to keep secret for so long, not only to protect
myself but to protect others like me,” Sebastian
said as he gripped the steering wheel, knuckles
turning white.

Wren reached over and touched the closest

hand. “There are others like you. Demi-gods?”

“Yes and we are hunted far more severely than

even  you  are  by  the  Blood  Demons.  There  are
many  of  us  that  have  become  toys  of  creatures,
gods, and other beings. We have formed a pact to
protect ourselves because that’s all we have. Each
other. We are no different than your flock. Would
you  openly  talk  to  an  outsider  about  your  flock
after  only  knowing  them  a  mere  month?  I  have
seen  loved  ones  turn  on  each  other  with  a

Warming Up Sebastian

viciousness that is so sickening I can’t help but be
guarded.” Sebastian released the steering wheel
with one hand to hold Wren’s.

Wren watched as his blood smeared onto

Sebastian’s. “So not even David knows of what
you are?”

“No. Not only does it protect me and the others

but David as well. I thought I was protecting you,
too. I  am not the son of some great god that will
help us through these times. My father was never
there, never cared. I don’t talk about him because
we  have  no  attachment  to  each  other  outside  of
blood.” Sebastian glanced at him, and that’s when
Wren  saw  it.  Sorrow  and  a  touch  of
embarrassment.

“Where does that leave you? I mean, if you are

a  demi-god,  how  did  you  come  to  be  mated  to
someone  like  me?”  Wren  tightened  his  hold  on
Sebastian.  For  some  reason,  he  felt  if  he  pointed
out  he  wasn’t  good  enough  for  Sebastian  that
Sebastian would bolt.

“First of all, in the time I’ve known you, I’ve

seen  courage,  integrity,  and  complete  loyalty  to
the ones you love. That is rare. I want to give our
mating a try, and I’m involved now. I want to help
your  flock  and  the  mates  within.  I  know  there  is
someone  out  there  that  can  help  us  from  being
hunted  down.  I  want  to  help  because  I
care…about you.”

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Wren leaned back and closed his eyes, letting

the words sink in. After a few minutes, he
murmured, “I want to be involved.”

“In what?” Sebastian got on the highway and

floored the vehicle.

“Being with you every step of the way as you

talk to your connections, in finding answers and
help to our problems.” Wren didn’t even know
who they would see, but if they were going to give
this a try, they needed to start by being equals.

“I planned on it anyway. I think the whole flock

will need to know of me now, especially if I’m
going to become a part of it.” Sebastian went to
touch Wren’s arm, and he hissed. “We need to get
this cleaned out as soon as we get back.”

“I’m sure I have an alcohol wipe or two that I

can use.” Wren glanced down and groaned. Why
was it when you looked at the wounds, the pain
intensified?

“Try a couple bottles, buddy. Looks like you

had a run in with Edward Scissorhands.”

Thirty minutes later, Sebastian pulled into the

driveway,  and  if  there  would  have  been  any
fucking  snow  on  the  ground,  Wren  would  have
jumped  out  and  driven  his  arms  in  the  stuff.
Instead,  he  all  but  ran  into  the  house,  going
straight for the sink, turning the tap on as cold as
he  could.  When  it  was  cold  enough,  he  put  his

Warming Up Sebastian

arms underneath, moaning as the flames of pain
were temporarily extinguished.

Sighing for the minor reprieve of pain, Wren

sunk his head down on the edge of the counter.
Maybe he could sleep like this?

“We need to see if you require stitching up,”

Sebastian said as he rubbed his back.

Oh, Wren thought that felt good, but he could

also tell that he was going to be covered in bruises
come morning. “I might be able to instruct Night
to help me enough to get most of them stitched
up.”

“Or I could do it.”
Wren whipped his head up, and sitting on the

counter right next to him was the goddess Athena,
and for once, she wasn’t covered in blood.

“Hi, Bastian.”
“You know how I hate that name.”
“I know you do. Why do you think I’ve been

calling you that for the last fifty-four years?”

Wren turned, brow raised. “Just how old are

you, Bastian?” All along, Wren had thought
Sebastian was just a hair over twenty-one.

“Seriously? Now you’re calling me that,”

Sebastian sniffed, eluding the real question.

“How old?” Wren quirked a brow.
“Well, you know…sixty.”
Hell. Wren flopped his head back on the

counter.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Chapter Three

thena gathered all the soldiers into the living
room. Although it was tough to get Duncan

out  of  bed.  He’d  been  sleeping  more  and  more
lately,  and  he’d  been  more  snappy  than  Kanye
with  the  paparazzi.  Sebastian  had  been  told
numerous times it was because Duncan was closer
to  his  change  and  it  was  natural.  All  Sebastian
could think about was how if he’d acted that way
toward  either  of  his  birthparents,  he  would  have
gotten  a  fist  to  his  face  or  worse.  Yet  these
warriors,  who  were  not  related  at  all  to  Duncan,
put up with him and were as patient as could be
with  his  mood  swings.  It  was  yet  another
reminder to Sebastian how fucked up his life had
begun.  He  could  move  past  it  if  Dionysus  didn’t
continually show up and stir trouble. Thank gods
for  the  ones  who  saved  him,  or  he  would  have
never survived.

Wren sat gingerly, arms still bleeding. Athena

kneeled next to him. “Damn, one of the bitches got

Warming Up Sebastian

you, didn’t she?” She stared up at Wren and, for
the first time since Sebastian had known Athena,
she eyed someone with intense care.

Slowly, Athena rubbed her fingertips over

Wren’s arms, the cuts disappearing before their
very eyes.

“Thank you, Athena,” Wren murmured.
She ruffled his hair as if he were a boy and not a

man before she stood, waiting for everyone to
settle in.

Once they were all seated, Raven let out a sigh,

then said, “Okay, what news of gloom and despair
do you have for us today?”

She gave him a narrow-eyed glare before

saying, “Well, it’s full of gloom and despair, as you
put it, but it’s not new. It’s a story that I think it’s
high time you all heard.”

Sebastian’s heart dropped into his stomach.

Surely, she wasn’t going to spill everything about
him? She knew the rules just as much as he did.
What she was about to do was a big no-no. Plus,
he wasn’t sure how everyone was going to take it.
What if they hated him after they found out?
Sebastian had never had that many friends before.
He didn’t want to lose the few he had managed to
gain with the Birds of Prey and their mates.

Then he looked up and locked gazes with

Athena. While he saw compassion there, he also
saw grim determination. While there were great

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risks in telling the others, there were also greater
risks in not telling them. So, taking a deep breath
to steady his nerves, Sebastian gave her a nod to
go on.

Athena stood in the middle of the room. “Once

upon a time, there was a little baby boy named
Bastian.”

“You know how much I hate that damn

nickname,” Sebastian said between gritted teeth.

“You only hate it because he used to call you

that,” she retorted.

Anger swirled through Sebastian that she

would even think to mention Vio. Okay, to be fair,
she hadn’t said his name, but she had referred
about him, and that was more than enough in
Sebastian’s book.

“You can tell them everything else about my

life, but don’t mention him. He’s off limits. He’s
already ruined enough things in my life. Please,
don’t let him destroy this, too.”

Sebastian hated to beg, but he would do

anything to keep her from telling them about Vio
and  all  the  horrible  things  that  he’d  done  to
Sebastian.  Not  only  did  it  make  Sebastian  look
weak,  but  he  felt  embarrassed  and  angry  at
himself for allowing Vio to treat him that way.

“Fine, we can leave that part out, although I

think you need to tell Wren about it at some
point,” she said.

Warming Up Sebastian

Before Sebastian could agree or argue with that

one, she started up with her tale again.

“Seeeee…Bastian was the son of Dionysus and

human

woman

named

Alberta.

But

unfortunately, neither of them wanted a baby, so
Sebastian was unwanted and unloved. Dionysus
refused to have anything to do with Sebastian, so
he was left with Alberta.”

"Alberta turned out to be a candidate for worst

mother  in  history.  She  abused  Sebastian  terribly.
So  much  so,  that  Persephone  could  no  longer
stand  it  and  asked  her  husband  Hades  to  step  in
and take in the child when Sebastian was only six
years old.”

Night spoke up. “Are you trying to tell us that

Sebastian was raised by Hades? The most evil god
out there?”

Sebastian instantly became defensive of his

foster father. “Hades never did me any wrong. In
fact,  he  treated  me  as  his  own.  He,  Persephone,
and  their  son,  Fallon,  were  the  first  ones  to  ever
show  me  any  form  of  love.  Before  then,  I  didn’t
even know what it was.”

Wren gave a shrug and looked at the others.

“Hey, Sebastian can be very likable when he
wants to be. I could see him charming anyone,
even Hades.”

Sebastian could have hugged Wren at the

moment for sticking up for Hades. For while

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

many  would  have  trouble  believing  it,  Sebastian
really did care for the god and saw him as a father
figure. One thing  was for sure, he was more of a
dad  to  him  than  Dionysus  ever  had  been.  As  for
Fallon, he had been the one who had come in and
saved Sebastian from Vio and the huge mess that
relationship had been.

Sebastian wondered what Wren would think

about him if he knew about Vio and how abusive
he had been to Sebastian while they were together.
Sebastian’s biggest fear was that  Wren would try
to go after Vio, and since Vio was a demi-god, too,
he  had  the  strength  to  really  hurt  Wren.  If  that
were  to  ever  happen,  Sebastian  would  never  be
able to forgive himself.

Athena continued with her story. “Sebastian

was  happy  living  in  the  Underworld  for  several
years. Hades and Fallon trained him well.  Which
I’m  sure  you  guys  witnessed  tonight.  But
eventually,  Sebastian  grew  tired  and  bored  and
wanted to return to the human world. So he went
to college, met some Birds of Prey, and you guys
know the rest of the story.”

“So why didn’t he tell us he was a demi-god in

the first place?” Night asked.

“Like I told Wren, we don’t tell anybody in the

outside world about each other. It’s an unspoken
law,” Sebastian said.

Warming Up Sebastian

“So it’s like Fight Club, the first rule of being a

demi-god is you don’t talk about being a demi-
god,” David piped in.

They all paused, turned, and looked over at

David.  After  a  moment,  they  returned  their
attention to Athena. “He’s right, he’s not allowed
to talk about it. It’s not only for his safety, but for
that of others. Not only are they hunted by other
paranormal  creatures,  but  they  have  been  known
to turn on each other. So it is important  that you
all keep Sebastian’s secret.”

The warriors all nodded, and Sebastian let out a

sigh of relief. He trusted these men because
Athena trusted them. He knew deep in his heart
they would die to keep his true status hidden.

It was as if a huge weight was lifted off his

chest. He no longer had to hide who he was from
Wren and the others. Maybe…just maybe he could
even have a shot at being with Wren.

As soon as that thought went through his head,

Sebastian  shoved  it  away.  In  all  his  life,  nobody
aside  from  Hades’  family  had  wanted  him.
Everybody else had shunned him and pushed him
aside. So in the end, it would just be the same with
Wren.  The  only  reason  he  was  interested  in
Sebastian  in  the  first  place  was  because  of  the
stupid  tramp  stamp.  Otherwise,  Wren  probably
wouldn’t have looked at him twice.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“So if it’s supposed to be some great big secret,

why tell us now?” Raven asked.

“Because I think Sebastian’s foster daddy can

do us all a little favor and help us out with those
pesky Blood Demons.” Athena walked behind
Sebastian and put her hands on Sebastian’s
shoulders.

Sebastian grew stiff. He already knew that this

wasn’t  going  to  be  an  easy  assignment.  While
Hades might be fond of him, he pretty much hated
the  rest  of  the  world,  and  the  god  might  not  be
keen  on  helping  out  the  Birds  of  Prey  with
anything.

“I know what you’re thinking, Sebastian,”

Athena cut in. “But since you’re now mated to one
of  the  warriors  and  at  danger,  too,  he’s  going  to
want to protect you. While you might be a demi-
god,  you  can  still  be  hurt,  and  you  are  still
vulnerable  to  the  Blood  Demons.  Hades  is  going
to want to protect you from that.”

Sebastian had to admit Athena did have a point

there. Hades was going to do whatever it took to
make sure Sebastian was safe. With a little bit of
charm on his part, Sebastian could make sure
Hades extended that protection to the other mates.

Sebastian nodded. “Okay, I’ll talk to him. I’m

not making any promises, though.”

Athena smiled at him. “I knew I could count on

you. For doing so, I will forge a new sword for

Warming Up Sebastian

you to make up for the one you lost tonight. I
know it won’t be the same, but it will maybe take
the sting away a bit.”

Sebastian couldn’t help but be touched by her

gesture, especially since he’d been such a jerk to
her the past few months. “Thank you, Athena. I
would be honored to carry one of your swords.”

“I think one of us should go with him when he

talks to Hades. Otherwise, it’s going to make it
look like we’re weak and hiding behind
Sebastian,” Night interrupted.

After a moment, Athena said, “That’s probably

a good point.”

“I’ll be more than happy to go down with him,”

Night said.

“No, Raven should join him. I think he’s best

suited for this job,” she said. “When will they be
going down?”

Night rubbed his hand over his face.

“Tomorrow. I think we can all agree that we’ve
had enough excitement for one day as it is.”

Athena walked over to Sebastian and ruffled

his hair. “You may not believe it, but you’ve
always been one of my favorites. That’s why I
picked you for Wren. I knew you two would be a
good fit.”

For once, Sebastian didn’t lash out at her for

taking away his future. Maybe it was because he
was actually beginning to have real feelings for

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Wren. Or it could just be that Sebastian had finally
consigned himself to his fate. Whatever the reason,
for the first time, Sebastian felt at peace with his
future.

“I’ll be back tomorrow evening to see how

everything went.” Athena vanished from the
room.

Sebastian felt every gaze settle on him. “Hey,

don’t look at me. I can’t do that. Remember, I’m
only half a god. So I have my limitations.”

“Yeah, one of them being you can still get your

ass kicked by Blood Demon,” Raven cracked.

Sebastian immediately took offense. “I’ll have

you know that I did not have my weapons on me
at that time, and I wasn’t expecting the damn
things to be so strong or fast.”

“So you got a little cocky?” Night asked.
“Well…” Sebastian felt a heat come over his

face. “Yeah.”

Night pointed at him. “First rule of fighting.

Never get too cocky. Hades should have
drummed that into your head.”

“Yeah, he did. He wasn’t too happy with me

either when I almost got myself killed. In fact, he
tried to make me come back to the Underworld,
but I refused.”

“Why?” Wren demanded.
“Why, what?”

Warming Up Sebastian

“Why did you refuse to go back?” Wren’s gaze

seemed to bore right into Sebastian’s soul.

Sebastian felt himself squirming under Wren’s

glare. “Because I had reasons for wanting to say
here.”

“Everybody out! I need to speak to Sebastian in

private,” Wren ordered.

The others left, but not without a little bit of

grumbling. Soon, the room emptied out, and Wren
and  Sebastian  were  alone.  Sebastian  grew  a  bit
nervous  as  he  realized  that  now  that  Wren  knew
everything, he could very likely be using this time
to tell Sebastian that he didn’t want him anymore.
After all, he’d already said just as much earlier in
the evening. This could have been the final straw
for  him,  and  now  Wren  might  have  decided  that
he wanted out for good.

“What did you need to speak to me about?”

Sebastian asked when he couldn’t stand the
silence any longer.

“What were the reasons you couldn’t go back to

the Underworld? You kept saying you didn’t want
me. You would have been safer there because the
Blood Demons wouldn’t have been able to get to
you. So why did you stay?”

Sebastian looked down at his lap. “Well, for one

thing, I couldn’t leave David and Aaron alone to
face all this.”

“Was there any other reason?”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Sebastian gazed up from under his lashes. “I

didn’t want to leave you.”

Wren reached out and cupped the bottom of

Sebastian’s chin, forcing him to stare into Wren’s
eyes. “How am I supposed to believe that when
you kept saying you didn’t want me?”

“I never said I didn’t want you. I said I didn’t

want  a  mate.  I’d  just  come  out  from  a  bad
relationship,  and  I  wasn’t  ready  to  dive  into
another  one.  Plus,  I  know  that  you  would  have
never fallen for me had it not been for the mating
mark on me.”

Wren cupped the back of Sebastian’s head and

brought him in for a hot, open-mouthed kiss.
Sebastian was so shocked at first that he just sat
there like an idiot, but he soon caught on and got
in on the action.

He slid his tongue out to rub against Wren’s

and  nearly  came  right  then  from  the  warm,
masculine  taste  of  the  warrior.  He  tasted  all  man
and  then  some,  just  like  Sebastian  had  always
dreamed  he  would.  Sebastian  savored  in  the
flavor,  even  letting  out  a  moan  to  show  his
approval.

Wren grabbed Sebastian by the hips and lifted

him up so he was straddling Wren’s lap. The new
position made it so their hard cocks rubbed
together. The entire time, they continued to kiss,

Warming Up Sebastian

making out like a couple of teens who had just
discovered how much fun necking could be.

Dying for some relief, Sebastian began to rock

his cock over Wren’s. Shockwaves of pleasure shot
through his body, making Sebastian give out a
muffled groan. Wren replied by grabbing
Sebastian by the hips to control the rhythm.

It felt so damn good, and Sebastian was just

about to come when Wren pulled Sebastian off his
lap and dumped him to the side. Sebastian
bounced on the couch and was so shocked that all
that came out of his mouth was, “What the fuck?”

“You made me wait a while, so I think

turnabout is only fair play,” Wren said.

Sebastian felt a crushing disappointment. “Does

this mean you don’t want me?”

Wren reached over and ran a finger down

Sebastian’s cheek. “No, I want you so badly I can
barely control myself right now. I just think that
we need to get to know a little bit about each other
before we jump in the sack. I have a feeling there
are still a few secrets you are hiding from me.”

Damn it! But Wren was right. It probably was

wise they didn’t rush things.

“Can I at least sleep with you tonight? I

promise we don’t have to do anything. It’s just…I
have bad dreams whenever I see my father, and I
don’t want to be alone tonight,” Sebastian asked,
once again feeling a heat come over his face.

Warming Up Sebastian

Chapter Four

he next morning, the three of them set out to
go see Hades. Wren had no clue where the

destination was, so Sebastian drove while he sat in
the passenger seat and Raven sat in the back.

The tension inside the vehicle was palpable.

Wren couldn’t help but think that this was
probably a terrible idea. Sure, Athena seemed to
think it was the right answer, but Sebastian death-
gripping the steering wheel didn’t help Wren from
wanting to grab his weapons.

“We’re almost there,” Sebastian said as he

turned off onto a narrow red clay path. His vehicle
sloshed through since they’d gotten a dusting of
snow the night before. Hell, that was probably the
only snow they would see this winter.

Tall Georgia pines blocked any real view of

where they were heading until the tree line
dispersed and they were in front of a huge
greenhouse facility. What the…

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“I kind of expected to be going to a nightclub or

the morgue—hell, even a Hot Topic. What the hell
is this?” Raven wedged himself in the middle of
them to stare out the front. Wren was wondering
the very same thing.

Sebastian snorted. “This is where Fallon does

his  research  on  the  flora  in  this  region.  With  the
red  clay,  plant  life  has  a  tough  time  growing  in
these  regions.  So  he’s  working  on  a  formula  that
will allow the soil to loosen up so it’s not so harsh
on the root.”

Wren’s jaw dropped. Hades’ son is… “He’s a

botanist?”

Sebastian chuckled. “Well, yeah. His mom is

the  vegetation  goddess,  and  his  grandmother  is
the  harvester  goddess.  Somehow,  everyone
always  seems  to  forget  that  side  of  his  family
when they hear his dad is Hades.”

“Huh.” Wren couldn’t say more than that.

That’s exactly what he had thought—a guy who
was hard as nails, carrying souls to the
Underworld like his father.

“Don’t let it fool you too much, though. He

does have Daddy’s blood, too.” Sebastian smirked
as he climbed out of the vehicle.

Great, what the hell were they walking into

here? Wren followed Sebastian to the front
entrance, Raven right behind him. They didn’t

Warming Up Sebastian

even make it to the door when it opened and—

holy shit!

“Fallon.” Sebastian smiled and ran up to hug

Fallon.

Fuck, the guy was huge. Well over six and a

half  feet,  with  black  hair  that  was  tied  back  in  a
leather thong. He stood there in dark jeans and a
long-sleeved  black  shirt.  Menacing  didn’t  even
come  close  to  describe  this  guy.  Wren  had  never
felt a Fuck Off! like this one in his life.

“Why the fuck are they here?” Fallon rumbled.
Sebastian made a grab for Wren’s hand. Wren

grasped his hand and was pulled forward. “This is
my mate, Wren, and one of his fellow Birds of
Prey, Raven.”

Fallon’s black eyes flickered toward Raven and

then flashed green before an unnatural smile came
to his face, like the guy had never worked those
facial muscles before.

One minute, Fallon was standing there, the

next, he was grabbing Raven and pulling him into
the building.

Sebastian ran behind them, shouting, “Play

nice, Fall!”

The only thing Sebastian got in return was a

growl. Wren didn’t know if he should reach for
his weapons or not. Meanwhile, Raven was being
dragged.

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“C’mon! What the fuck, asshole!” Raven

snarled as he was pulled into a door. Wren
followed and assumed this had to be Fallon’s
living quarters.

The place was pristine, but comfortable with

soft plushy couches and thick oak tables. Wren
had to get over his stereotype of this guy because
once again he expected Fallon to live in a house all
black and reds.

Raven was flipped onto the oak dining room

table, and Fallon began ripping at his shirt.

Wren had enough and made to go after him.
“No, don’t interfere. He won’t hurt him.”

Sebastian was in front, blocking his way.

“Then what the hell is he doing?” Wren tried to

make another break for Raven, but Sebastian was
strong. They might not be the same size with
Sebastian being much smaller, but they were
equals in strength.

Sebastian glanced over his shoulder. “I

think…well, I think he’s playing.”

Playing, his ass! Wren watched the tattered

remains  of  Raven’s  shirt  fall  to  the  floor.  Fallon
was  searching  for  something  because  Wren  saw
his  eyes  wild  as  he  skimmed  Raven’s  chest  with
his  fingers.  Then  without  any  preamble,  Fallon
picked  up  Raven  and  flipped  him  face  down  on
the table.

“Fuck, that hurt,” Raven moaned.

Warming Up Sebastian

Wren could have sworn he heard a muttered

sorry coming from Fallon, but he had to be
mistaken.

Wren watched Fallon’s eyes flash green again

and remain that color as he skimmed Raven’s bird
on his back. Bending over, Fallon licked a path up
Raven’s spine where the bird was.

“Uh, Fallon, we kind of need to talk to you. Do

you think you can keep from molesting my friend
here? What’s gotten into you, anyway? Play nice!”
Sebastian pulled at Fallon’s arm.

Fallon remained where he was, behind Raven,

hands flexing as if he was planning to touch
Raven again before he pulled back.

“Would you like something to drink? I have

apple juice, sweet tea, and milk.” Fallon turned
and righted the chairs that had tipped over, acting
like he hadn’t just been a raving lunatic!

“I’ll have an apple juice, please,” Sebastian sat,

and Wren went over and took the chair next to
him.

“You?” Fallon looked at him pointedly. Wren

just shook his head.

Fallon leaned over to Raven. “You?” Fallon

questioned before he sucked on Raven’s lobe.
Raven yanked his head away, and Wren’s eyes
widened, surprised the lobe was still intact.

“I’ll pass,” Raven gritted out.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Fallon walked away, and Raven leaned across

the table. “What the fuck is wrong with him,
Sebastian?”

Sebastian shook his head. “I have no idea. I

haven’t really seen him act this way before, and
I’ve known him a long time. He’s like a brother to
me.”

“Well, can you tell dear brother to lighten up a

little and no touching? He’s scaring the shit out of
me here.” Raven leaned back and looked down at
his bare chest. “And could I borrow a damn
shirt?”

“No,” Fallon said as he walked in. Despite not

asking for anything, Fallon placed a sweet tea in
front of Wren.

Wren was wary enough as it was and wouldn’t

touch  it,  but  then  Sebastian  reached  over  and
purposely  took  a  sip  of  his  tea.  How  Sebastian
knew  Wren  didn’t  trust  Fallon  enough  to  drink
what  was  brought,  he  had  no  clue.  The  gesture
made Wren reach over and grab his hand.

“Gods don’t trust easily, either,” Sebastian

whispered. No reprimand that Wren was being
rude at not accepting the drink offered by his
brother, just acceptance.

Fallon reached over to Raven’s tea and took a

swig of it before placing it back in front of Raven.
“Are we all good that I’m not going to poison your
friends so I can find out what you came here for?”

Warming Up Sebastian

Fallon scratched his five o’clock shadow while
staring at Raven.

“We need to talk to you about the Keres and

Blood Demons in Atlanta,” Sebastian began.

Never taking his eyes off Raven, Fallon

responded, “Bunch of fucking thieves is what they
are. Those souls belong to Dad.”

“Why hasn’t Hades done anything about it

then?” Sebastian’s thumb brushed over the top of
Wren’s hand.

“He has been. It’s just that he hasn’t made the

final move yet. He’s pissed, but not pissed enough
to engage in a war on the mortal realm,” Fallon
said while looking at Raven.

“Seriously, this is important, and you’re

creeping me out here,” Raven glared at Fallon.

“Don’t like me staring at you, my little Raven?”

Fallon murmured.

“You’re good looking, I’ll give you that, but

you are bringing in a I’m-your-new-favorite-
stalker vibe that I can do without.” Raven’s nose
flared.

Wren could not believe Raven was saying this

to a full god. He either had bigger balls than Wren
suspected, or he was just foolish enough to land
himself in a world of hurt. Either way, by the look
in Fallon’s eye, the god saw it as a challenge.

“I’m being hunted, Fall.” Sebastian’s silent

confession broke the two up.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Fallon turned, an angry expression on his face

that scared the hell out of Wren. “What!” Fallon
roared.

“The Blood Demons. They’re hunting the mates

of  the  Birds  of  Prey.  I  was  cocky  and
well…yeah…I’m on the run for my life right now.
Athena  said  Dad  might  have  a  solution.”
Sebastian glanced down at their entwined hands.

Wren wondered if the confession humiliated

him, being half-god and all.

The hands weren’t enough, and before he could

think too much on the matter, Wren wrapped his
arm around Sebastian and pulled him closer. The
smile he got from his mate made Wren realize
he’d made the right move.

Fallon rubbed his jaw as if in thought. Wren

caught Fallon swiftly glancing over at Raven
before he answered, “What is exactly happening?”

Wren talked for the first time. “We’re pretty

sure they can detect the mating mark.”

“Your tramp stamp,” Fallon added, pointing to

Sebastian.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it

up and call it what you will, but the Blood
Demons are treating it as a damn homing beacon.”

Fallon tilted his head to the side and stared at

Sebastian  before  his  eyes  widened  in  shock.
“Clever  girl,  Athena.  I’ll  have  to  go  to  Dad  and
discuss the  situation to him. I  think  I  know what

Warming Up Sebastian

she’s up to. I can get back to you tomorrow and let
you know if I have the solution.”

Wren took a drink of his tea. Damn, that was

good. “What solution is that?”

“You can’t be sought after if your soul doesn’t

appear to be there.” Fallon smirked.

Sebastian grabbed at his chest. “What are you

talking about?”

“Charon’s obol.”
Wren knew what that was. “What does a

ferryman’s coin have to do with us?”

Fallon barked out a laugh. “They can’t track

you if you appeared to not be among the living.”

Sebastian gasped. “Of course. They won’t be

able to find us if we’re cloaked in death. Do you
think Hades will even loan us the coins?”

Fallon nodded. “For you, I do, and for me, but I

have a feeling you have more problems than just
being hunted.”

“You’re talking about Atlanta being overrun.

We’re trying to do our best, but the fact is that we
are grossly outnumbered. Athena has talked about
bringing in another team to help us out.” Wren
hated that they were losing this war. The fact the
god saw their failure was a bitter pill to swallow.

Fallon laughed. “A team. You think a team will

make any difference to the sludge that is all over
the city?”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“What else can we do? There are only so many

of us.” Wren was getting a little pissed at Fallon, at
the situation.

Fallon turned to Raven. “Come with me.”
“Not a chance in hell,” Raven scoffed.
“I didn’t ask.” Fallon got up and walked

around the table, staring down at Raven.

“I’m still not going with you. Are we ready to

go?” Raven got up and walked out of the room
before anyone could even answer his question.

Wren stood and waited for Sebastian.
Wren watched as Sebastian stared at his brother

before murmuring, “Fall…”

“Don’t worry about it, little brother. I have him

on  the  run,  and  I  like  it.  Go  ahead  and  catch  up
with him. I’ll be by to see you all in the morning
after  I  see  Dad.  We’ll  talk  about  the  situation.”
Fallon  came  over  and  hugged  Sebastian.  A
complete contrast from when they arrived. Maybe
it  had  all  been  a  front.  However,  even  though
Fallon  and  Sebastian  were  brothers,  Wren  still
wanted to beat the shit out of the guy for touching
his mate.

Fallon came over to Wren. “Take care of him

and yourself. Don’t be running into Atlanta until I
can come see you tomorrow. Tell Athena I think
we should plan a meeting as soon as possible.”

They walked outside and found, even in the

south, the air was bitter cold today. Wren grabbed

Warming Up Sebastian

Sebastian and held him close as they made their
way back to the SUV. After climbing in, Sebastian
started the vehicle and pulled out.

They were a good five miles down the road

before  Raven  piped  up  from  the  backseat.  “Well,
wasn’t  that  interesting.  I  think  I’m  going  to  be
sleeping  with  a  cross  tonight.  Thanks,  Bastian.
Nothing  like  meeting  your  family  and  having
nightmares…for the rest of my life.”

Sebastian snorted. “He wasn’t that bad.”
“Really? Really! Because my favorite t-shirt is

nothing but a memory and the guy licked my
back. My raven to be specific. My poor raven feels
violated!” Raven got in between them. “How
come he didn’t lick you?” Raven glared at Wren.

Sebastian busted out laughing. “Raven, first of

all, Wren is mated, and second, I think Fallon has
a little crush on you.”

“You say that like we’re in the fifth grade.”

Raven began to murmur behind him, “Maybe I
better start sleeping with my weapons instead of
naked. Guy gives me the creeps.”

Wren rolled his eyes, then thought of what

Fallon had said, “You think it will work? Will
Hades help?”

Sebastian pursed his lips. “If it does, then we

just gained a huge victory. Mates will be safe, and
we can gain a foothold in this war once again. As
for Hades, he’s been like a father to me almost

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

from  the  moment  I  went  to  live  in  the
Underworld.  There  are  a  lot  of  things  I  doubt  in
this  world—hell,  I  may  even  fear  him  at  times—
but I know he loves me.”

“He’ll help.”
“He’s had a lot of reasons to jump into this war

and  hasn’t  seemed  to  be  bothered  with  it  even
though  he’s  been  angry  with  the  Keres  for  some
time  for  stealing  what  was  his.  But  fuck  with  his
son or sons…yeah, Hades will help us out. I know
my  dad,  and  vengeance  will  be  coming  down
hard. I feel it.” Sebastian veered onto the highway
and took off for their home.

Wren thought about it. Were they getting in the

bed with the devil himself? Then he looked over at
Sebastian. Hades took care of Sebastian before
Wren ever knew him. Loved him and cared for
him. The man wasn’t the devil, and he had a heart
and loved. Maybe they would finally find an edge
in this war, and it all happened because his mate
was loved. Reaching over, he grabbed Sebastian’s
hand and leaned closer, giving him a small kiss on
the cheek. It wasn’t much, but he would leave that
for when they got home.

Warming Up Sebastian

Chapter Five

s soon as they arrived home and got inside,
Wren grabbed him by the wrist and dragged

him upstairs. Wren moved so fast that Sebastian
had to work his legs overtime to keep up.

“Hey, you want to slow down there, big guy?

I’m having trouble keeping up here,” Sebastian
called out.

“You’re a demi-god. You should manage just

fine,” Wren called back, not missing a beat.

Damn it, he would have to bring that up.
“That doesn’t make me Speed Racer,” Sebastian

argued.

“I saw you in battle. You seemed fast enough to

me.”

“Can you at least tell me where you’re taking

me?”

“To my bedroom.”
“Hell, yeah!” Sebastian hooted.
“It’s not for that, so don’t get too excited.”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“Buzzkill-ian. Here I thought the fun was really

going to get started.”

“Not until we clear up a few things between

us.”

Sebastian blinked as innocently as he could. “I

told you everything about me. I’m an open book.”

“Oh, I have a feeling there is a lot more that I

don’t know about you yet, and we’re not leaving
the bedroom until I find it all out.”

“And that’s supposed to be a threat?” Sebastian

asked.

Wren tugged on Sebastian and pulled him into

the bedroom. “I’m trying to be serious here and
you’re making jokes? What the hell are you
thinking about, Sebastian?”

Sebastian let out a sigh. Truth be told, he didn’t

know what was going on inside his head. He was
a mess of emotions. From seeing his birth father to
having to let the asshole take his favorite weapon.
Then there was the fact that everybody now knew
he  was  a  demi-god,  and  that  neither  one  of  his
birth  parents  had  wanted  him.  Then  there  had
been  the  weird  way  Fallon  had  acted  toward
Raven.  It  all  just  left  Sabastian  confused,  angry,
scared, and a little lost. Something he hadn’t felt in
a while.

Breaking free of Wren, Sebastian wrapped his

arms around his stomach, then said, “I honestly
don’t know what I’m thinking, Wren. A lot has

Warming Up Sebastian

happened over the past few days, and I’m an
emotional mess right now.”

Wren ran his hands through his hair and said,

“Okay, let’s start at the beginning and go from
there. You really are the son of a god?”

“Yeah, but you heard that for yourself. So that’s

nothing new.”

“Your birth mother. Was she really as bad as

they say she was?” Wren demanded.

Sebastian could feel a cold pit form in his

stomach. Even though he’d just been a small child
at the time, it still hadn’t been a proud moment in
his life. “She had her issues.”

“Such as?”
Sebastian turned away. “Do we really have to

talk about this?”

Wren walked around until they were facing

each other again. “Yes, we do. If for nothing else,
so you can have some closure.”

Sebastian hated to admit it, but Wren was right.

It  was  high  time  he  discussed  those  dark  years
with  somebody.  Nobody,  save  for  Persephone,
knew  how  bad  it  had  really  been.  Even  then,  it
had  been  because  she  had  seen  it  through
disguising herself, not because Sebastian had told
anyone about it.

Sebastian took in a shuddering breath. “Are

you sure you want to hear this? It was pretty bad.”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Wren cupped Sebastian’s face. “I want to know

everything about you, the good and the bad. You
mean that much to me.”

“Even though I’ve been nothing but trouble for

you since the moment you met me?”

Sebastian sucked in a breath as he waited for

Wren to answer him. By all rights, Wren should
hate him. Wren had said earlier that he’d given up
on having any kind of relationship with Sebastian.
Did he still mean it? Or had he changed his mind?

“I reacted too harshly yesterday, when I said I

didn’t  want  you  anymore,”  Wren  said.  “I  was
frustrated  and  not  thinking  right.  I  have  never
stopped wanting  you. You  have, and always will
have, my heart.”

Elation filled Sebastian. “I want you, too.”
“That’s great to hear. In fact, it’s the best four

words I’ve ever heard in my life, but I still want to
hear what your mother did to you that was so bad
that Persephone felt it necessary to come in and
take you away from her.”

Sebastian decided that it would be easier just to

get it all out in one rush. “She used to hit me a lot,
and  sometimes  she  would  forget  to  feed  me.
Whenever  she  had  parties  and  didn’t  want  me
there, she would lock me out, no matter what the
weather  was.  One  day,  when  I  was  six,  I  was
hungry  and  scared,  and  Persephone  came  and
offered  me  some  grapes…”  Sebastian  broke  off

Warming Up Sebastian

and  took  in  a  shuddering  sob.  “She  even  had  a
basket  of  warm  bread.  It  was  the  best  food  I’ve
ever  had  in  my  life.  She  took  me  home  with  her,
and I never looked back.”

“And Hades was okay with her just showing

up with some little boy?”

Sebastian let out a small chuckle. “It was a bit of

an adjustment on his part at first, but eventually,
we grew to care for each other as father and son.”

“What about you and Fallon? You can’t tell me

there wasn’t any jealousy there?”

“Strangely enough, there wasn’t. He accepted

me as his brother the very first day. We’ve always
been tight.” Sebastian gave a fond smile as he
thought about his adopted brother.

“So what happened when you grew up? I

already know that you were in a bad relationship
and that he hurt you. Who was it?”

Sebastian shook his head. “I can’t tell you. He’s

too  powerful.  He’s  almost  as  strong  as  Fallon.  In
fact, he almost won in a fight  against Fallon, and
Fall  never  loses  in  a  brawl.  If  you  were  to  go  up
against my ex, he would destroy you.”

“You’re confidence in my abilities just

overwhelms me,” Wren said sarcastically.

“Damn it. I’m trying to be serious and save

your life here. If I tell you who he is, do you
promise not to go running out of here and try to
go after him?”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Sebastian felt real fear for Wren’s safety. While

Wren might be a great warrior, Vio was the son of
the god of War. His very reason for being on earth
was to bring about violence, hence his name—Vio,
short for Violence. Vio lived to cause pain and
death, and he wouldn’t hesitate to unleash both on
Wren even though he was one of Athena’s Birds of
Prey. Nobody or nothing got in Vio’s way when
he was determined.

Wren gave a nod, but he didn’t look too happy

about it. “Fine, I’ll leave him alone…for now.”

“His name is Vio, and he’s a demi-god like me.

His father is Ares.”

Wren let out a low whistle. “You sure know

how to pick them, don’t you?”

“At the time, I was looking for somebody who

would love and protect me. Vio seemed capable of
that, and he seemed to genuinely care for me. We
dated a year before I moved in with him, and
during that time, he never showed any sign that
he could be abusive or anything like that.”

“You mean aside from his name and who his

father is?”

That last one cut Sebastian deep. “Look at my

father. Do you think I’m like him at all? My dad is
the god of passed out drunks and those idiots who
toss around beads at Mardi Gras.”

Wren let out a sigh. “Sorry about that. You’re

right. You act nothing like Dionysus. I should

Warming Up Sebastian

have never implied that you do. I’m just so upset
at the thought of somebody hurting you that I’m
not thinking straight.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t tell you what happened

after all. I can tell you later when you’re calmer.”

Wren grabbed Sebastian by the waist and

pulled him into an embrace. “No, I want to hear,
please. I promise to keep my calm, and I won’t do
anything rash.”

Sebastian so didn’t want to tell him, but he also

knew he had no choice. The time for disclosure
was here; there was to be no more secrets between
them. Not if Sebastian wanted to have a real
relationship with Wren.

“It started within weeks of us moving in

together.  It  started  first  with  him  just  yelling  at
me,  but  it  was  such  hateful  things.  He  would
throw it in my face how my father didn’t love me
or how my mom hated me so much. Then after a
while, it started to get physical. He began by just
shoving  me  around  and  stuff,  but  soon  he  was
using his fists on me. A few times, it got so bad…”
Sebastian shivered at the memories.

It was a good thing that demi-gods don’t scar;

otherwise, Sebastian would be covered in them.
He didn’t even want to think of the broken bones
he’d suffered or the times he’d seen his own blood
spilled on the ground. It happened so many times
that it had just become one big blur of memories.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“How long were you with him?” Wren asked,

his voice shaking just a bit.

“Ten years.”
Wren looked confused. “Why didn’t you leave

sooner? You don’t strike me as the type who
would put up with that kind of abuse. Any more
than Hades would stand by and let you suffer
through that treatment.”

Sebastian let out a bitter laugh. “In a brief

minute of stupidity, I let Vio put a tattoo on me. It
was of his symbol, the dog. At the time, I thought
it was just a sign of how much I loved him. Little
did I know it would bind me to him, making it
impossible for me to leave him. So I was trapped
and forced to endure his punishments.”

“How did you manage to get away?” Wren

gasped.

“Fallon finally managed to track me down. He

beat Vio within an inch of his life. It wasn’t easy,
either,  since  Vio  is  one  tough  mother-fucker.  But
in the end, Fallon won, and he made Vio break the
bond. Then after we got back to the Underworld,
Fallon  still  branded  the  tattoo  away  for  good
measure.  It’s  the  only  scar  I  carry  from  my  time
with Vio.”

Wren swallowed several times, but he kept his

cool, which was a good sign.

Or at least Sebastian hoped it was. “Do you

want to see it? The scar, I mean?”

Warming Up Sebastian

When Wren nodded, Sabastian stepped back

then lifted his shirt just high enough to expose the
front of his hip. There lay a small mass of scar
tissue, left behind by the brand Fallon had pressed
to Sebastian’s hip.

Sebastian expected Wren to recoil in shock and

revulsion. Instead, he did the most amazing thing.
He dropped to his knees in front of Sebastian and
then leaned forward to kiss the old wound.

Sebastian took in a shuddering gasp as spirals

of pleasure shot through his body. A simple kiss,
on a place that carried so many bad memories no
less, shouldn’t feel so good. Yet, it did, so much so
that Sebastian’s knees nearly gave out from under
him and he had to grab onto Wren’s shoulders for
support.

Dear Zeus! If this felt good, Sebastian could

only imagine how good it was going to feel when
they actually got around to some fucking.
Sebastian’s brain was probably going to explode
with pleasure.

Then just as soon as he’d started, Wren stood.

He gave Sebastian such a passionate kiss
Sebastian’s head spun. Especially when Wren slid
his tongue inside Sebastian’s mouth and Sebastian
got a real good taste of Wren.

Sebastian fisted his hands in Wren’s shirt and

encouraged him to continue. This time, he didn’t
want any interruption. He wanted them to go on

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

forever. No, better yet, Sebastian wanted the kiss
to lead to better and more fun things.

But, alas, all too soon, Wren pulled away. He

was gasping for breath, and his face was flushed.
Sebastian got a heady thrill in knowing that he
wasn’t the only one affected by the kiss.

“When are you going to make love to me?”

Sebastian asked.

Wren caressed the side of Sebastian’s face.

“Soon, very soon. I’m just waiting for the right
time. Right now, we’re both so tired we’d
probably fall asleep halfway through the act.”

“Can I at least sleep with you tonight? I need to

be held by somebody, and I don’t want it to be by
anybody but you.” Sebastian hoped he wasn’t
pushing things too far.

Wren smiled, relieving Sebastian of all his fears.

“Of course you can. You never even have to ask
on that one. I love sleeping with you in my arms.
Go get into something for sleep and come right
back.”

Sebastian rushed to his room, then quickly

changed into some sweat pants and a loose t-shirt.
When he got back to the room and saw that Wren
had only a pair of sleep pants on, Sebastian nearly
swallowed his tongue.

It really should have been a sin for a man to

have such a body as Wren’s. He had perfectly
sculpted muscles, from his tight stomach to his to-

Warming Up Sebastian

die-for pecs. It was so unfair that Sebastian wasn’t
going to get a taste of them that night.

But he could be patient. He climbed into bed

and snuggled under the covers. Wren put an arm
around Sebastian’s waist. Never had Sebastian felt
so protected, so safe, so at peace…how could he
have believed that he and Wren were not meant to
be.

As Sebastian drifted off to sleep, he realized, to

his horror, that Wren had come to mean a lot to
him. Sebastian also realized that if anything were
to happen to Wren, nothing would stop Sebastian
from unleashing all his powers as a demi-god to
seek revenge.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Chapter Six

he following morning, Wren reached across
the bed, feeling the warm presence of

Sebastian.  Gathering  his  mate,  he  brought  him
closer  since  they  had  somehow  separated  during
the  night.  Soaking  up  his  warmth,  Wren  thought
he could get used to waking up like this. For just
this  one  moment,  he  felt  completely  content  for
the first time in his life.

That was until he felt someone watching them.

Grabbing the knife under his pillow, he sat up,
ready to cut the fucker, only to see Fallon lying
sideways on the end of the bed.

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” Wren

was breathing heavily. “You took five years off my
life.”

Fallon waved a hand, dismissing him. “You’re

immortal. Anyway, I told you I was coming by
this morning.”

Warming Up Sebastian

“Hi, Fall, come back in five minutes,” Sebastian

moaned before rolling over and covering his head
with a pillow.

“Yeah, when you said you were coming by, I

kind of expected you to use the front door, not
pop into our room.” Wren went to get up and
realized he was half-naked. Great.

Fallon smirked at his predicament. “Go ahead.

You haven’t got anything I haven’t seen before.”

Before Wren could reply, Sebastian was sitting

up, glaring at Fallon. “Close your eyes. No
peeking, dammit. Those are my goodies.”

Fallon sighed before rolling on his back and

covering his eyes with his hands. “Only for you,
Sebastian.”

Wren scrambled out of bed and found a

discarded shirt on the floor, then pulled it on. He
wasn’t taking any chances as he quickly switched
his pajama bottoms for jeans.

Sebastian tossed a different shirt in his

direction. “Put that on before he opens his eyes.
The one you have on now is way too tight.”

Wren turned and silently laughed. He kind of

liked  that  Sebastian  didn’t  want  anyone  to  see
him.  Made  him  feel  owned,  claimed,  and  cared
for. Pulling the shirt over his head, Wren sobered
at  the  thought.  This  was  becoming  much  more
than  a  fate  mating.  He  was  really  beginning  to
care deeply for Sebastian.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Turning, he looked straight into Sebastian’s

eyes. The morning sun was coming in through the
window, surrounding Sebastian and making him
so handsome that it was hard for his eyes to look
upon him.

Shit! What the hell was he doing? Staring down

at  the  ground,  Wren  had  to  wonder  if  he  would
ever  be  worthy  of  the  demi-god.  He  never  knew
his parents, raised  by  Night much  like the others
in his flock. He didn’t have gods in his family tree.
Yes,  he  was  blessed  by  Athena,  but  with  a  wren.
Would he ever measure up?

Feeling a finger on his chin, Wren looked into

Sebastian’s eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Wren shook his head and made a swift glance

over to Fallon. “Nothing.”

Concern filled Sebastian’s features. “Will you

tell me later?”

Did Wren want to discuss with Sebastian that

he didn’t feel he would ever measure up and be
worthy of his mate? Not really, but Sebastian had
told him all his secrets; the very least he could do
was the same in return. Wren nodded, already
feeling exposed.

Fallon got off the bed. “Go gather the rest of

your flock. I’ll go wake up Raven.” No waggle of
the eyebrows from Fallon. Wren saw only stalker
eyes in the guy. Maybe he would tail the god.

Warming Up Sebastian

Wren went to follow, and Sebastian grabbed his

arm. “Don’t. He won’t hurt him.”

“Do you see the way he is with Raven?” Wren

walked out into the hall to see Fallon disappear in
Raven’s room. How he knew where Raven’s room
was only creeped out Wren more.

Sebastian pulled him in the other direction,

toward the living room. Hawk was sitting with
Aaron with a bunch of boxes on the floor.
Christmas decorations? Now? At a time like this?

Wren sat down next to Hawk. “We need to

gather everyone. Fallon’s here to talk to us.”

“He’s here?” Hawk raised a brow.
“Yeah, he kind of…showed up in our room.”
“Hmmm.” Hawk got up. “I’ll go get Night and

David, Duncan’s behind you.”

Wren turned to see Duncan spread out sleeping

on his stomach on the couch. His face was flushed
even with his shirt off. Fevers were common when
you were coming up into your immortality. Where
his bird would appear on his back looked red and
angry. Wren approached; that didn’t look right.
Were those blisters?

Night came in, and Wren pointed to Duncan’s

back. “Have you seen this?”

Night came closer. “No, I haven’t.” Night

leaned down, skimming his hand over Duncan’s
back.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“Fuck off,” Duncan murmured before turning

his face to the back of the couch.

Night sighed. “Just a couple more weeks and

he’ll turn and be back to normal again. I’ll ask
Athena about his blisters. None of you had those,
just the redness and swelling.”

Raven came in with only jeans on, strides

angry, hand flexing. “I swear,” Raven growled.

Fallon came in, swatting Raven on the ass as he

walked by. Raven turned and took a swing at the
god, but Fallon caught his fist. “Play nice.”

“Says the man who crawled into my bed

without me knowing it.”

“I promise next time, not only will you know,

but you’ll invite me to your bed.”

Raven snorted.
Fallon faced the group. “Shall we get started?”
This guy was nuts. The way he shifted in topics

was making Wren’s head spin. Wren finally gave
up trying to understand Fallon and just sat on the
floor, waiting for whatever this guy was going to
throw at him.

Fallon began, “Sebastian, I went and talked to

Dad last night after you left. I informed him of the
situation that you are in and how serious this is. ”

Sebastian clasped his hands, sitting down next

to Wren on the floor. “I understand, Fall. What did
he have to say?”

Warming Up Sebastian

“Look, all of you are in trouble. You need help.

You’re not going to survive this war. At this rate,
you’ll all be dead in a month,” Fallon stated flatly,
and it was like he’d sucked the air out of the room.
No one said a word.

Fallon continued, “Father gave me something

that is a solution to your problems, but you’re
going to have to trust me.”

Raven snorted.
Fallon smirked at Raven. “You will someday,

my Raven.”

“Trust doesn’t come easy for us.” Night came

forward. “What are you proposing?”

Fallon held out his clasped hand and then

opened it. Several necklaces with a circular
pendant fell from his hand to dangle for everyone
to see. They looked ancient yet beautiful in their
own way.

“What are those?” Wren leaned forward, drawn

to them.

“Charon’s obols.” Fallon stood and began

handing everyone a necklace. Wren smoothed his
fingers over the coin.

“I don’t get it. The coin the dead use for safe

passage into the Underworld? Wren and Sebastian
told us you were going to try and retrieve them
but how does it work?” Night asked.

“Those have carried the dead on a safe journey

just as they will allow you a safe journey. They

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

will cloak you in death. Blood Demons will never
be able to detect you because your soul will be
shielded from them.”

Aaron clasped the necklace to his chest. “You

mean we’ll be able to go out and not be in fear
anymore? Athena had the tattoos separating to
protect us.”

Aaron had been the first mate to come into their

world and had to face the loss of his freedom from
being hunted by the Blood Demons the longest.
Wren hated seeing the hopeful expression on him
because it meant how much he had lived in fear
before. Gods, this was a mess.

Night rubbed his jaw. “I think those are still

going  to  be  needed.  They  allow  us  to  get  to  you
quickly,  and  if  they  are  with  you  and  Blood
Demons  are  around,  they’ll  let  you  know  before
you run into them. Consider them your first line of
defense.”

Aaron nodded and leaned into Hawk.
“Dad gave you these,” Sebastian stated,

questioning Fallon.

Fallon nodded. “You may not be his blood, but

he  loves  you.  He  wants  you  safe.  Make  no
mistake, Dad is pissed. Those souls belong to him,
and  those  bitches  are  stealing  from  him.  He’s  in
talks  with  Athena  right  now  on  the  matter.  He’s
willing  to  offer  the  dead  army  as  long  as  I  lead
them to help you in this war.”

Warming Up Sebastian

Night stood, gripping the necklace. “Whoa

whoa, what the hell are you talking about? Don’t
you think the world might just get a bit suspicious
when an army goes marching through Atlanta?”

Fallon barked out a sick laugh. “And you don’t

think  anyone’s  suspicious  now?  How  many
mortals  have  Blood  Demons  killed  already?  I
assure  you,  my  army  will  be  as  undetectable  as
you are.”

David shrugged. “Well, thank gods they film

Walking Dead here, or we’d all be screwed.”

Fallon chuckled again. “You think I’m bringing

up walking corpses? I assure you, they look no
different than you or I.”

“Will they be able to fight the Blood Demons? I

mean…” Aaron stammered. “The Blood Demons
are so strong.”

“My dead army is the best of the fallen soldiers

from  history.  Great  warriors  of  battle,  supreme
gladiators,  and  they  know  of  the  happiness  they
have had in the paradise of Elysium. They are as
angered as Hades and I that these souls have been
stolen  and  tortured.  They  want  their  brethren
home  with  them.”  Fallon  walked  over  to  the
fireplace  and  sat  next  to  Raven  before  handing
him the last Obol.

Hawk crossed his arms. “You understand we

need to talk to Athena about all this. I’m not even
sure why you’re telling us all this now.”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

For a moment, Fallon lost all his darkness.

Wren furrowed his brow at seeing a true emotion
come from the god. “To give you hope. To let you
know that backup is coming because it will be.
Athena will agree. She’s intelligent and knows her
back is to the wall right now. It would be foolish
of her not to align herself with Hades, and Athena
is the goddess of intelligence. She can see things
even before other gods. She probably saw all this,
too.” Fallon smirked.

“Thank you,” David whispered on the couch

next to Night.

Fallon looked surprised, then nodded with a

soft smile. Wren had to admit, the god looked
handsome when he put the shields down.

Sebastian was the first to put the necklace

around his neck. Wren wasn’t sure what to expect.
Nothing was happening. Sebastian frowned. “Is it
working? Nothing’s happening.”

“It’s working. Want to try it out?” Fallon got

up.

Wren stood. “I’ll go with him.”
Night came to stand beside him. “I’ll go as well.

I think it’s best if Aaron and David sat this one out
until we know for sure that the coins work.”

“The rest of you should stay back, just in case

there is an attack on the house while we’re gone.”
Hawk began checking his weapons, and Wren ran
to get his from his room. He didn’t want to go

Warming Up Sebastian

unprepared, just in case it turned out to be a
clusterfuck.

Sebastian ran in behind him and grabbed his

scythe.

“Your weapon of choice—it makes sense now.”

Wren pointed to the scythe.

“Fallon and Hades trained me well.”
Wren walked up to him and cupped Sebastian’s

cheek, whispering, “I’m glad they got you out and
cared for you.”

Sebastian shrugged but grasped his hand.

“Yeah…me, too.”

“We better go,” Wren murmured.
“Uh hmm,” Sebastian was getting closer,

staring at his lips.

Wren closed the distance, lips connecting in a

hungry  kiss.  The  more  Wren  got  to  know
Sebastian,  the  more  he  was  falling  for  him.  Fear
coursed through him that Sebastian was going out
with them. All the other mates would be safe but
his.  Wren  just  wanted  to  protect  Sebastian  from
any harm. He didn’t want to lose him.

Deepening the kiss, he moaned at the taste of

Sebastian. He craved this man and couldn’t wait
until they got back so he could discover more
about his mate.

Sebastian returned the kiss and began pushing

him toward the bed. If they didn’t get this under
control, Fallon was going to bust in on them again,

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

and  Wren  wanted  to  save  this  moment  for  later.
Like  when  a  whole  group  of  people  weren’t
waiting  for  them  to  come  back  out  so  they  could
all leave.

Pulling back, Wren leaned his forehead against

Sebastian’s. “We have to go.”

Sebastian climbed up and wrapped his legs

around them. “They can wait.” Sebastian began
kissing him again, and Wren felt his back hit the
wall. Oh, hell.

Wren forgot everything as his cock thickened

and he began grinding his dick against Sebastian.
Tongues dueled, and the kiss became desperate.
Sebastian began riding him in his arms, and fuck,
Wren thought he might just come in his jeans.

“It’s time to go, boys,” Fallon said, just a few

feet away.

“Don’t you know how to knock, sheesh.”

Sebastian jumped out his arms, holding his chest.
No doubt his heart was pounding like Wren’s.

“We’re waiting out there. I don’t have all day. I

have shit to do.” Fallon opened up the door and
walked out.

“Give us a minute,” Sebastian called.
“For making us wait, you can walk the hard-on

walk of shame. Adjust and let’s go,” Fallon yelled.

Wren blushed for the first time in a century. It

was going to take some time to get used to Fallon.

Warming Up Sebastian

Hell, who was he kidding, he might never get
used to the god.

They walked out hand in hand only to find

Fallon  kneeling  next  to  Duncan.  He  was
whispering  soft  words  to  Duncan,  and  Duncan
was  nodding  back.  Wren  couldn’t  make  out  the
conversation. Fallon rubbed Duncan’s sweaty hair
out  of  his  face  before  he  stood.  “Those  that  are
staying behind need to go and get cloths and put
them  in  the  freezer  until  they  get  cold  enough,
then use cold cloths on his back. I have a salve in
the Underworld that will help him, and I’ll bring it
back  to  you.  That’s  about  the  only  ointment  that
will help him.”

Night went over next to Duncan, reaching but

not touching his back. “You know why he’s
blistering like this?”

“I do.” Fallon didn’t elaborate.
“Care to share?” Night glared at Fallon.
“No.” Fallon turned and opened up the front

door. “Let’s go. Raven, you’re coming, too.”

“I don’t think so.” Raven stood at the

doorframe.

“You’re coming, or I call the whole thing off.

Now,  are  you  coming?”  Fallon  zeroed  in  on
Raven,  staring  hard  at  him.  Wren  wasn’t  sure
what  the  hell  was  going  on  with  Fallon  and  his
obsession  with  Raven,  but  he  knew  that  he  was
going to have to discuss it with Night.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Could they be mates? It didn’t seem likely.

Fallon was a full god and wouldn’t he have
mentioned a tattoo to them? Or Raven, would he
have been able to so vehemently resist his mate?
Wren knew when fate had him meet Sebastian, it
was everything he could do to keep his hands off
him.

Raven growled, “Blackmail?”
Fallon smirked. “Persuasion.”
Raven angrily walked out the front door. Wren

thought he would actually see steam come off
Raven, but if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a
definite bulge in the front of Raven’s pants. Did he
like the challenge?

Wren followed the rest out the front. Night

went to get into an SUV, and Fallon stopped him.
“We’re not going that way. Grab a hold of me.”

“Aww shit, Fallon. You know how this makes

me  sick.”  Sebastian  grabbed  Fallon’s  arm  before
grabbing  Wren’s  hand  and  placing  it  on  Fallon’s
shoulder.  The  rest  followed,  all  looking  at  each
other uneasily.

One moment, they were standing in front of

their home, and the next, they were on the side of
some building in downtown Atlanta. Wren didn’t
even have a second to adjust before he was
bending over puking his guts.

Warming Up Sebastian

Chapter Seven

ebastian took several deep breaths so he
wouldn’t vomit like Wren was doing. Damn,

but he hated when Fallon took him on his special
rides. They never failed to leave him nauseated
and wobbling around like a drunken circus clown.

Raven took a couple of steps back, then

dropped onto his butt. Fallon, of course, was more
than eager to help the fallen warrior back to his
feet. He grabbed ahold of Raven’s hands and
tugged him up.

“Thank you, but you can let go of me now,”

Raven said in a tight voice.

“I was just making sure you had your balance

first,” Fallon said with an innocence he’d never
had and never would possess.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and instantly regretted

it when the motion sent him on his ass. Shit, but
he hated the after effects of popping in and out of
places. It was one of the good things about only
being a demi-god instead of a full one, like Fallon.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

And to think that Sebastian used to be a tad
jealous of Fallon when they were younger.

After a few moments, when they all gathered

their bearings and stood, Sebastian asked, “Okay,
so what do we do now?”

“We need to find some Blood Demons and see

if we can walk by them undetected,” Wren said.

“That shouldn’t be so hard. This place is

reeking of them.” Raven wrinkled his nose.

Sebastian had to agree. With as many guys who

were wearing all black, had grayish complexions
and soulless eyes, it looked like the entire town
was swarming.

“Okay, does everybody have their necklaces

on?” Night asked, adjusting his own obol on his
neck.

Sebastian knew he had his on, but he still put

his hand around his neck to make sure. After all,
one couldn’t be too careful when fighting Blood
Demons. Then making sure that his large trench
coat was hiding his weapons from view of all the
humans, he nodded to the others he was ready to
go.

They walked out from the side of the building

and  into  the  clearing that  led  to the  main  area  of
the  campus.  A  group  of  Blood  Demons  were
walking  right  in  their  direction.  Each  step  closer,
Sebastian’s  breath  quickened.  Another  step,  his
heart  beat  faster.  Another  step  and  Sebastian

Warming Up Sebastian

swore he could hear the bead of sweat that fell
from the tip of his nose.

Then before Sebastian knew it, they were side-

by-side with the Blood Demons. Sebastian tensed,
waiting  for  them  to  attack  or  at  least  give  some
indication  that  they  knew  the  Birds  of  Prey  and
Sebastian  were  there.  But  the  Blood  Demons
didn’t even give them a second glance.

Sebastian held in a breath. While he trusted

Fallon, a part of him still couldn’t believe that the
coins  had  worked.  It  just  seemed  too  good  to  be
true.  They  could  actually  have  some  freedom  in
life  and  not  be  hunted  all  the  time.  Sebastian
couldn’t  wait  to  get  back  to  the  others  and  tell
them.  Aaron  and  David  were  going  to  be  so
excited.

“I knew Fallon wouldn’t let us down,”

Sebastian bragged.

“Say what you want, but I saw the fear in your

eyes when those Blood Demons were coming,”
Raven snarked.

“Can’t you smack him around a little bit for me

or something?” Sebastian asked Wren.

Wren rubbed his hand up and down

Sebastian’s back. “Not while we’re on a mission.
Maybe later on when we get back home and there
are no witnesses.”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Fallon let out a small growling noise. “Nobody

better lay a hand on him or they will know my
wrath.”

The warriors all looked shocked, but Sebastian

just laughed. “Ease up with the drama, Fall, I was
just kidding. I wouldn’t do any harm to Raven. I
know he’s hands-off.”

“I don’t belong to him, so stop acting like I do,”

Raven snarled between gritted teeth.

“You may think so now, but you’ll find out the

truth soon enough,” Fallon said as calmly as ever.

Sebastian had to bite back his laughter at the

look Raven gave Fallon. Murderous would have
been an understatement. It was beginning to
become a great source of entertainment watching
the two of them tangle. Sebastian couldn’t wait to
see who won out on this one, but his money was
on Fallon. Once Fallon got something in his head,
he never stopped until he got it. This time was not
going to be any different.

“Let’s see if it stands up to the real test, and it’s

not just Fallon’s presence that’s masking us from
the Blood Demons,” Raven challenged.

“What do you propose we do?” Fallon said.
“I just saw a small group of Blood Demons go

between those buildings over there. Let’s follow
them, take off the coins and see if they still can’t
notice us. If so, then we’ll know that it’s you who
is hiding us,” Raven shot back.

Warming Up Sebastian

Wren shook his head. “No way. I won’t put

Sebastian in danger that way.”

Fallon laughed. “You forget. Sebastian is a

demi-god. He could beat any one of you in a fight
if he had a mind to. Now that he has his weapons,
he can take on any Blood Demon that comes his
way. It’ll be child’s play to him.”

Sebastian didn’t want to brag, but Fallon was

right. Now that Sebastian was ready and knew
what he was up against, he would be able to take
down any Blood Demon he tangled with. He
wasn’t going to be caught off guard again like he
had been before. Sebastian vowed to himself that
never again would he be on the receiving end of a
Blood Demon’s claws.

“I’ll be fine, Wren,” Sebastian reassured his

mate. “I can take them. I would tell you otherwise.
I don’t have a death wish.”

Wren rubbed one of his hands over his face.

“Fine, but I want you to stick to my side like glue.
You hear me?”

“I promise. I’ll be attached to you like a tumor.”
“Now that was a gross analogy,” Raven said.
They all ignored him and began to walk to the

grove of trees that the group of Blood Demons had
disappeared into. It only took them a few minutes
to locate the freaks. They were all standing in a
small circle, talking and smoking cigarettes. Which

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

just shocked the hell out of Sebastian. He didn’t
know that Blood Demons could pick up that habit.

“Okay, on my count, everybody start to take

them off,” Night said. “One…two…three.”

Sebastian whipped off his necklace and put it in

his pocket. The Blood Demons’ reaction was
nearly instantaneously, they all turned their heads
around and looked over at the warriors, Sebastian,
and Fallon.

“So do you think they can see us?” Wren asked.
When all the Blood Demons let out a collective

hiss, then started to advance, Sebastian said, “I
would take that as a definite yes.”

Sebastian shed his coat so he could have access

to his weapons, then pulled out his scythe. The
warriors all got into formation, forming a circle,
their backs to each other, and waited for the Blood
Demons to attack.

They didn’t have to wait long. The first one

lunged at Sebastian. He swung his scythe around,
taking the thing’s arm off in one neat slice. The
Blood Demon screamed in pain but continued to
advance.

Around him, Sebastian could hear the others

engaged in their own battles. He didn’t dare look
up to see how they were faring, though, not while
he needed to focus on his own fight.

The now one-armed demon lunged at Sebastian

again. Sebastian had to give it to the demon, he

Warming Up Sebastian

had balls and was tenacious, that was for sure.
Too bad for the demon Sebastian was highly
skilled at what he did and he wasn’t about to give
up until the demon was dead.

With a warrior cry that would have made

Hades himself proud, Sebastian swung the scythe
around, decapitating the Blood Demon. He had to
use all his strength, too, since it wasn’t an easy job
to take a person’s head off. It was only simple in
movies and books. But since Sebastian was a
demi-god, he managed to do the job.

Sebastian glanced up in time to see Wren

mouth the word wow, before another Blood
Demon was attacking Sebastian.

Sebastian let out a huff of irritation. Raven so

owed  them  for  getting  them  into  this  mess.  He
could  have  just  believed  that  the  coins  worked,
but noooooo…he had to be hardheaded and push
things. All to spite Fallon, and now they  were all
in  trouble  because  of  it.  Sebastian  didn’t  know
how, but he would find a way to get Raven back
for this. Even if it took a hundred years for him to
do so.

The Blood Demon let out a manic-sounding

laugh,  showing  off  its  gross-ass  teeth  before  it
swiped its arm at Sebastian. Sebastian moved out
of the way, just in time to avoid being eviscerated
by  the  creature’s  wicked,  sharp  claws.  It  was  so
close  that  Sebastian  was  surprised  that  there

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

weren’t rips in his shirt. Which would have really
pissed him off, because it was one of his favorites.

Sebastian struck back, swinging out with his

scythe.  The  demon  easily  rolled  to  the  side,
avoiding the blade. Well, well, well, this one was
actually going to be a challenge, unlike the others.
Instead  of  being  afraid  by  that  thought,  it  sent  a
heady thrill through Sebastian. It had been so long
since  he’d  been  in  a  good  fight  with  a  worthy
adversary. This might actually be a little fun.

With a laugh of his own, Sebastian lunged

forward once more with his weapon. He managed
to get the Blood Demon, but just barely. All that it
got was a mere scratch that hardly drew any
blood.

Letting out a hiss of displeasure, Sebastian

struck again, but the demon dodged to the left.
Although, this time Sebastian had been
anticipating the move, and he got in a good piece
of the demon. The Blood Demon let out a screech
as the scythe dug deep into its arm.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Sebastian asked as he

pulled his weapon free.

He readied it for another blow, but the demon

moved  with  superhuman  speed  and  attacked,
once  again  going  for  Sebastian’s  chest.  Sebastian
had to dive to the side and roll on the ground to
save  himself  from  losing  his  heart  to  the  mighty

Warming Up Sebastian

claws. He could hear the demon’s laughter over
him.

Okay, now Sebastian was really, really pissed.

This thing was getting downright cocky, and it
was all on Sebastian’s account. It was time for it to
die.

Sebastian jumped to his feet and ran at the

beast. Letting out a roar, Sebastian raised his
scythe in the air and brought it down hard, right
into the center of the Blood Demon’s head.

The Blood Demon gave a confused look at first,

as if it didn’t know what had just happened. Then
it slowly crumpled to the ground, taking Sebastian
down with it. Once on the ground, Sebastian gave
the Blood Demon a couple of extra strikes, just to
make sure it was truly dead before he turned
away from it.

“I think it’s pretty damn dead,” Raven drawled

from behind him.

Sebastian spun around and saw that all the

Blood  Demons  were  dead.  One  moment,  they
were there, and then they disintegrated into black
sand. Next, he quickly assessed Wren for damage.
Aside from some bruising on his arms and jaw, he
otherwise  looked  to  be  okay.  Sebastian  let  out  a
sigh of relief. They had both made it out alive; that
was  all  that  mattered.  A  few  bumps  and  scrapes
they could deal with.

“So do you believe me now?” Fallon asked.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Sebastian noted that his brother didn’t even

appear winded from the fight. Hell, he didn’t even
have a hair out of place. But then again Fallon was
so tough that he could take on a whole horde of
Blood Demons and walk away unscathed. The
jerk.

Raven held up a hand. “Okay, I believe you, the

coins work. You won’t see me going anywhere
without mine on anymore.”

“Just so you know, the necklaces only make

you undetectable to Blood Demons. I can still see
you whenever I want to,” Fallon informed Raven.

“Yeah, because that’s not creepy,” Night

muttered.

For once, Sebastian had to agree. Whatever

fixation  Fallon  had  on  Raven  was  beginning  to
cross the line. Sebastian would have tried talking
to Fallon about it, but he had a sinking feeling that
it would fall on deaf ears. For some reason, Fallon
was  obsessed  with  Raven,  and  Sebastian  didn’t
think  anything  was  going  to  change  that.  He
wasn’t Raven’s mate. He didn’t have the olive tree
tattoo. Sebastian was certain of it.

Raven grimaced. “Whatever. Just take us back

so we can report to the others that the coins
work.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian agreed. “David and Aaron

are going to be so happy. They’ll finally be able to

Warming Up Sebastian

take a walk without having to worry about being
attacked.”

After collecting their things, they all got in a

circle and held hands. Sebastian took a deep
breath and readied himself. Even then, it still felt
like a tornado of chaos as they were whipped
through time and space before landing back in the
living room at their home.

Sebastian held onto the wall to steady himself

while Raven and Wren collapsed on the nearby
couches. While neither of them vomited, they did
look a bit green in their faces. Night, on the other
hand, appeared totally unaffected. He just went to
the fridge and got a beer, opened it, then took a
deep drink.

“That was not fun,” Sebastian said.
“No, it wasn’t,” Night agreed. “But at least we

know the coins work.”

“They do?” David asked, from the kitchen

table, his eyes going as wide as saucers.

Sebastian nodded to his friend. “They sure do.

When we had them on, the Blood Demons didn’t
notice us at all.”

“Then why does it look like you guys just had a

battle?” Aaron demanded.

“Because somebody—” Night nodded in

Raven’s direction— “wanted to test out the coins
to make sure that they were really working.”

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

Aaron moaned. “Raven, you can really be too

impulsive sometimes.”

“I just wanted to make sure that those things

actually worked.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Your curiosity is going

to get the better of you one day.”

“How is Duncan doing?” Night asked.
“He’s still sleeping, but his fever is down

some,” David said. “He’s talking more, although
it’s mostly fuck you, get away from me.”

Night put a hand on David’s shoulder. “Like I

said,  don’t  take  it  personally.  He’s  going  to  be
cranky as hell until his transformation takes place.
Count  yourself  lucky  that’s  all  he  said  to  you.
Yesterday,  he  told  me  to  take  the  ice  packs  and
shove them up my ass.”

“Ouch!” Aaron said. “And you two are so close,

too.”

“Yeah, but we really need to go on patrol

tonight.  Wren,  since  you’re  the  most  banged  up,
we’ll  leave  you  in  charge  of  Duncan’s  care  while
the  rest  of  us  warriors  go  on  patrol.  The  rest  of
you, just try your best to stay out of the way and
out of trouble.”

“What about me?” Sebastian asked. “I can go

on patrol, too.”

“I think it’s better if you stayed back. I know

you’re a demi-god and everything, but Wren
wouldn’t want you to go out without him.”

Warming Up Sebastian

Sebastian felt a red, hot rage fill him. Why did

he  need  a  chaperone  when  he  went  out?  He  was
every bit as good a fighter as any of the warriors
there. In fact, he had just shown in the battle that
he could kick some serious ass. Plus, the Birds of
Prey  were  so  outnumbered  they  should  count
themselves  lucky  for  any  extra  help  they  could
get, not turning it away.

“Fine,” Sebastian said tightly. “I’ll stay here and

be a good little mate.”

But he might as well have been talking to air

because  all  the  warriors  had  turned  away  and
dismissed him. They had actually dismissed him!
Like  he  was  of  no  matter.  How  dare  they?
Sebastian  wasn’t  a  diva  by  any  means,  but  he
didn’t  like  being  treated  like  an  afterthought,
either.

Then as all the warriors left, an idea formed in

Sebastian’s mind. It was so devious and evil that
he knew he would have hell to pay for it
afterward, but he didn’t give a damn. Just so long
as he taught those jerks a lesson.

Once it was just he, Aaron, and David in the

room, Sebastian held up a pair of keys that he had
stolen from one of Wren’s pockets. Being raised by
Hades did have some advantages.

“What are those?” David asked.
“The keys to Wren’s SUV,” Sebastian answered.

“How about the three of us go and get a Christmas

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tree. This place could really use one. We could
also do a bit of shopping for the guys while we’re
out.”

They stole out of the house, all the while

Sebastian hoped that Wren would be too busy
with Duncan to hear them leaving. Until they
made it to the garage, started up the vehicle, and
were on the road, Sebastian was a mess. His hands
were shaking, and a cold sweat had broken out all
over his body.

Then he realized that they had done it. They

had managed to sneak out and nobody had been
the wiser. Letting out a whoop of happiness, he
used one hand to dig into his pocket to pull his
necklace out and put it around his neck.

“Where should we head to first?” he asked the

others.

It had been so long since he’d been behind the

wheel  of  a  vehicle  without  fear  of  being  chased
that it was all he could do not to speed and do a
doughnut  or  two,  just  for  the  hell  of  it.  But  since
he wanted to bring Wren’s SUV back in one piece,
he  refrained.  After  all,  they  were  probably  going
to  be  in  enough  trouble  as  it  was.  No  sense  in
adding more sins onto their list.

“Let’s get the shopping out of the way first.

That’s going to take the longest, and then we
won’t have to drive around a million places with a

Warming Up Sebastian

tree strapped to the top of the SUV,” Sebastian
suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Aaron said. “Let’s go to

the mall. It’s been forever since I’ve been able to
go there. There is so much I want to get Hawk. I
don’t know where I even want to start.”

“Me, too!” David chimed in. “I’m going to buy

Night some clothes that aren’t black. He needs
some color in his life, desperately.”

Sebastian silently agreed. Too bad Raven didn’t

have a mate. Maybe then they could buy him
something other than leather. Sebastian bet the
guy even wore leather underwear and socks.

They arrived at the mall and spent the better

part  of  three  hours  shopping.  Since  Sebastian
hadn’t  been  spending  the  allowance  Hades  sent
him every month, he had plenty to blow on gifts
for Wren. He might  have gone a little overboard,
but  it  was  their  first  holiday  together,  and
Sebastian wanted to make it very special.

Just as they were about to leave, Sebastian saw

a small, glass wren figurine. It was so beautiful
Sebastian knew he had no choice but to buy it for
Wren. After having the clerk wrap it up, Sebastian
carefully added it to his numerous packages.

They headed out to the SUV and loaded it up

with all of their purchases. It wasn’t easy, either,
since Sebastian hadn’t been the only one who had
gone overboard. By the time they were finished

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putting in their packages, there was hardly any
room left for the three of them.

They were in great spirits as they headed

toward the local tree farm.

David’s head whipped toward the window. “I

swore I saw…” he half-chuckled. “Never mind, I
am so paranoid. Just a bird.”

There had been some Blood Demons at the

mall,  but  they  had  just  passed  by  Sebastian  and
the  others  without  noticing  them.  So  the  three  of
them  were  celebrating  their  first  taste  of  real
freedom.  Plus  shopping  had  always  made
Sebastian happy.

As soon as they pulled into the tree lot,

Sebastian’s  happiness  took  a  quick  nosedive.
Three birds, an owl, a hawk and a wren, landed on
the  hood.  It  was  only  a  sparse  moment  before
Hawk  and  Night  were  standing  there  along  with
Wren, and he did not look happy at all. He had his
arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face
that was so fierce it was a wonder it didn’t set fire
to the trees around him. Night had his ear to the
phone,  no  doubt  calling  Raven  to  come  with
another vehicle so they could all get back home.

“We are so busted,” David said. “Should we

make a run for it?”

“No, we may as well go out and face the

music,” Aaron replied.

Warming Up Sebastian

“Yeah, Aaron’s right. Let’s get this over with

now,” Sebastian agreed.

They all got out of the SUV and went over to

the warriors. Sebastian went up to Wren and said,
“I can explain.”

“Really? I would love to hear you explain away

stealing my keys, taking my ride, then going away
from the house unsupervised.”

Sebastian’s blood ran cold. “I didn’t realize I

needed a chaperone. In case you missed it, I’m
quite capable of taking care of myself.”

“And what if a whole horde of Blood Demons

attacked you?” Wren seethed. “You not only put
your life in danger but also David’s and Aaron’s.”

“We have the coins on. Plus our familiars that

Athena gave us would have come and sought you
out.”  Wren’s  wren  landed  on  his  shoulder,  and
Sebastian  glared  at  him.  “Yes,  you  did  your  job.
Now tell him to calm the hell down.”

Sebastian turned back to Wren. “I could have

held  them  off  until  you  guys  came  to  help  us.
When are you going to stop treating me like spun
glass  and  realize  that  I’m  not  a  normal  person?
Sure,  I  may  be  small  and  thin,  but  I’m  just  as
strong  as  you,”  Sebastian  all  but  yelled.  “You’ve
seen me in battle, too, so you know I can fight just
as  well  as  you  or  any  of  the  other  warriors.  Yet
you continue to leave me behind when you go out
on patrol and protect me like I’m some weakling. I

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

hate to break it to you, bud, but you’re the ones
who are shorthanded, so you need me out there,
helping you.”

Wren hung his head. “You’re right. I’ve always

known that from the first time I’ve seen you in
battle. It’s just hard for me to let you go out there
and face those Blood Demons. I love you so much,
I’m afraid of losing you.”

Sebastian sucked in a breath. “I love you, too,

but  you  can’t  protect me  from  the  world.  I  know
more  than  anybody  how  dangerous  it  can  be.
Running  away  and  hiding  will  only  delay  the
inevitable. Eventually, I will face danger. I would
rather  it  be  on  my  own  terms,  than  theirs.  That
way I have the upper hand.”

Wren reached out and pulled Sebastian into a

tight embrace. “There’s no way I can change your
mind about this, is there?”

“I’m sorry, but no. Hades taught me never to

cower, so I’m not about to start now.”

Wren let out a deep sigh. “Just promise me

you’ll be careful.”

“Only if you promise me the same thing.”
“Always. Now, let’s go pick out a tree.”

Warming Up Sebastian

Chapter Eight

y the time they got home from getting the
tree, Wren was almost too beat to do

anything but fall face-first in his bed. He had been
tense all day, walking by Blood Demons without
being seen.

Walking into the house, Duncan was nowhere

to  be  seen,  no  longer  on  the  couch.  David  and
Night  came  in  behind  them,  holding  the  tree.
Raven  followed  them  in,  holding  the  tree  stand.
Wow, this was really going to be their first tree.

“Let’s head to bed. We can take care of

everything in the morning.” Sebastian grabbed his
hand  and  led  them  to  their  room.  Yeah,  it  was
their  room  now.  Wren  was  going  to  make  sure
Sebastian  never  slept  away  from  him  ever  again.
The night before had been too wonderful, and he
wanted to wake up beside his mate forever.

They made it to their room and closed the door,

and Wren leaned against it, almost too tired to
stand. Sebastian came up and pulled him to the

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

bed. “We are in no shape to do anything but hold
each other. Strip, I want to check out your
wounds.”

Wren moaned as he removed his shirt. He

might be immortal, but when he engaged in a
fight and took the hits he did that night, he felt it
for the next couple of days.

“Did you have fun today?” Sebastian

murmured.

“What? The fighting?” Wren flopped onto the

bed. He wasn’t going to last two seconds.

Sebastian chuckled. “No, I meant going to get

the tree. Finding a sliver of hope that us mates will
be able to go to the grocery store and not worry
about getting ambushed by the Blood Demons.”

Wren removed his shirt while Sebastian

removed  his  pants.  “C’mere,”  he  beckoned
Sebastian.  Sebastian  crawled  into  bed  and  sighed
when  he  laid  his  head  on  Wren’s  chest.  Wren
brushed  a  stray  hair  out  of  Sebastian’s  face.  “Of
course, I’m happy about both. I want you safe.”

“I want you safe, too” Sebastian mumbled.
They didn’t get much time to continue the

conversation. Sebastian’s breathing evened out,
and the sound lulled Wren into blessed sleep.

The next morning, Wren moaned as he started

to wake. Dear gods, he did not want to wake up.
He was having the most amazing dream of
Sebastian. Sebastian’s hot wet mouth was on his

Warming Up Sebastian

cock, and Wren groaned again when that tongue
began to lick the underside.

The more pleasure that came to Wren, the more

alert  he  became  and  the  more  he  woke.  Wake  up!
You’re  missing  this?  Eyes  fluttering  open,  Wren
glanced down blurrily to see Sebastian staring up
at him with his cock in his mouth. Sabastian was
nude, showing  that  he had stripped since getting
waking up.

“Fuck, what a way to wake up,” Wren hissed as

Sebastian took him all the way to the root.

Hands massaged his balls, and he was so close

to shooting. With the last of his will, Wren rasped,
“Stop.”

Sebastian pulled off his cock with a pop and

looked at him in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Wren got up on his knees, and his cock was

slick, hard and aching between his thighs as he
stalked Sebastian. “I want you.” Wren growled.

Sebastian smirked, straightening up on his

knees. Wren’s mouth watered at the sight.
Sebastian obviously enjoyed what he was doing to
Wren. His cock hung thick between his thighs.

“Lay down,” Wren whispered.
Wren crawled, his gaze stalking Sebastian as he

slowly laid down in the middle of the bed.
Sebastian closed his eyes before he stretched out
and grabbed his own cock, giving himself a slow
leisurely stroke.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“Do you have any supplies?” Sebastian hissed

as he cupped his balls.

Dear gods, Wren was going to come just from

the  sight  itself.  He’d  never  done  that  before,  but
there was a first time for everything. Drawing his
eyes  away,  he  went  to  his  nightstand  where  a
bottle  of  lube  was  stored.  Searching,  his  fingers
finally  closed  around  the  bottle.  Upon  coming
back,  he  saw  that  Sebastian  was  circling  his
entrance  with  a  wet  finger  while  continuing  to
stroke himself, in the throes of pleasuring himself.
Wren had never seen anything so beautiful in his
life.

Spreading Sebastian’s legs, he inserted himself

in the middle, front and center, to watch his mate.
Hands shaking, Wren uncapped the bottle and
poured a generous amount on his fingers. Damn,
he wished he could stop shaking. Why his nerves
were kicking up now was pissing him off, but he
knew. This was his mate, his lover and the man he
would spend forever with.

Drawing in a breath to calm himself, Wren took

Sebastian’s hands from his entrance and replaced
them with his fingers. Sebastian moaned, and
Wren slowly began to sink in a finger, watching
for any sign of discomfort.

“Let me know if you need me to slow down.”

Wren’s voice came out strained.

Warming Up Sebastian

Sebastian opened his cerulean eyes before

ordering, “More!”

No doubt the entire house heard that. Wren

was discovering that Sebastian wasn’t a quiet
lover, and that made him want to scream in
pleasure all the more.

Wren worked in a second finger, scissoring

them, loosening up Sebastian.

“I’m ready.” Sebastian reached for him.
“You’re not,” Wren murmured as he worked

three fingers in.

“It’ll only hurt for a second. I’ll be good in no

time.”

“I want this good the whole time. Patience.”

Wren felt the bead of sweat gather at his temple.
He was trying with all his might to not just take
Sebastian and pound him into the mattress, yet his
mate continued to taunt him.

“I’m going to come.” Sebastian panted.
That got Wren’s attention. He removed his

fingers before grabbing the lube and pouring some
on his cock. Lining up at Sebastian hole, he slowly
slid home. Fuck, the heat, the tightness. Huffing
out a puff of air, Wren tried to think of anything to
keep himself from coming.

With a shuddering breath, Wren pulled out

slowly, gauging Sebastian expression before
sliding back in. Moaning, he could barely keep
himself restrained.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“Fuck, this feels good,” Sebastian jerkedhis

head back, moaning.

“I…” Wren couldn’t even talk, and he began

really working his hips, putting power behind
each thrust. Already he could feel his balls
drawing up tight. Just a little longer.

He leaned down, taking Sebastian mouth in a

hungry kiss. This wasn’t gentle, this was an all-out
mouth  fuck.  The  two  of  them  had  lost  complete
control  as  tongues  dueled.  Every  moan  and
whimper  was  captured  by  the  other.  Sebastian
gripped  his  hair,  holding  him  as  he  groaned  in
pleasure, then pulling their lips apart.

“Come!” Sebastian ordered.
“Not until you,” Wren huffed.
Sebastian clamped down on his cock, the tight

heat  causing  him  to  roar  out  his  release.  Jets  of
cum  filled  up  Sebastian,  and  still,  Wren  couldn’t
seem  to  slow  down  until  he  was  completely
wrung out.

Before Wren could do anything, he was

bonelessly rolled over. His legs flopped open, and
Sebastian gathered him between his legs.
Sebastian’s cock was still thick and hard.

Wren was about to apologize when Sebastian

leaned down, whispering in his ear, “Please…”
Wren heard Sebastian swallow before he
continued, “Let me have you?”

Warming Up Sebastian

The desperate plea that came out of Sebastian

nearly  broke  him.  Wren  had  never  been  taken  in
his  life,  but  this  was  his  mate.  Looking  up  at
Sebastian,  he  saw  clearly  in  Sebastian’s  eyes  that
he wanted to put a claim on Wren just as much as
Wren had done a moment ago.

Reaching up, Wren brushed a sweaty stray hair

out of Sebastian’s face. “You know you already
have me. Right?”

Sebastian glanced away before he nodded. “We

don’t have to,” Sebastian trailed off.

Wren searched with his hand, finding the bottle

of lube before he held it up to Sebastian. “I want
you to,” Wren whispered.

Sebastian took it with trembling fingers. “Are

you sure?” His voice was soft, uncertain.

“I love you, Sebastian. Claim me and make me

yours just as I have done with you."

Sebastian nodded before uncapping the bottle.

Wren watched as he poured so much lube on his
fingers some fell onto the bed below.

Sebastian muttered, “Shit,” before Wren felt a

finger at his entrance.

Wren felt a small finger loosening the muscle

before breaching him. The sensation was a slow
burn, and as Sebastian slowly worked his way in
and out, the pain lessened and a fresh heat began
to come over him.

Stephani Hecht and Jackie Nacht

“Are you okay?” Sebastian looked at him in

concern.

Wren nodded. “I’m fine. Add another.”
Sebastian worked a second finger and then a

third finger. By the time Sebastian found his
gland, Wren was aching and hard again.

Sebastian removed his fingers, and Wren

wanted to protest, but then Sebastian was back,
cock lubed and working it into Wren.

Wren hissed at the burn and pleasure mixed

into one.

Sebastian leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on

his lips. “Wren, thank you,” Sebastian said against
his lips.

“You’re my mate, and I love you, Sebastian. If

you need something from me, you have it.” Wren
cupped his face and drew him in for a slow,
savoring kiss.

Sebastian took his time. Their lovemaking was

slow, but each time Sebastian filled him up, the
more he felt owned by his mate.

“Equals.” Wren moaned.
Sebastian glanced down, smiling, eyes glazed in

passion. “Equals, Wren. We walk side-by-side.”

Wren brought Sebastian down for another kiss.

Both of their souls healing. Wren would never feel
inferior in the eyes of Sebastian. He knew with all
his heart that Sebastian would always be by his
side. For Sebastian, he would never spend a day

Warming Up Sebastian

feeling inferior to the gods. They no longer
mattered as far as Wren was concerned. Wren
would show him more love and let his mate know
daily just how special he was.

Sebastian’s thrusts became erratic. His

breathing became uneven. “I’m close,” he
whispered, reaching down, grabbing Wren’s cock.

A few strokes from Sebastian’s hand and he

was having a slow lingering climax. Sebastian’s
eyes widened as Wren painted his chest. Sebastian
closed his eyes as a keening cry fell from his lips.
Wren felt the warm jets filling him up, and then he
twisted around and had his arms full of Sebastian
as his mate fell back on his chest.

The two laid there for a long time, content.

Wren  had  never  experienced  this  feeling  in  the
past  and  he  would  treasure  this  moment  forever.
Kissing  the  top  of  Sebastian’s  head,  Wren  closed
his  eyes,  knowing  that  he  might  very  well  fall
asleep again.

A knock had Wren flicking his eyes back open.

“Hey, we’re about to decorate the tree if you two
want to come out,” Night called through the door.

Footsteps walked away and Wren groaned.
“Do you not want to go out?” Sebastian asked,

turning to look at him.

“It’s just a tree.” Wren tried to pull of

nonchalant and failed. Truth was that he had
never decorated a Christmas tree in his life. He

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100

wouldn’t know the experience if a branch came
back and whipped him in the face.

Sebastian smiled down at him. “If it’s all the

same, it’ll be my first time, too. Not like we were
lugging a lot of trees down in the Underworld to
celebrate. Usually, Hades was in a bad mood
because Mom was summoned back to Olympus
by then.”

Wren laughed, staring up at the teasing blue

eyes. “We’ll need to shower first and dress."

Sebastian jumped up, tugging Wren out of bed.

Wren couldn’t contain the joy at seeing his mate’s
excitement. That excitement spread to him, and
soon he was pulling a laughing Sebastian toward
the bathroom to shower.

A half hour later, Wren was descending the

stairs with Sebastian. Turning the corner, Wren
stopped in his tracks at the living room. The entire
place was lights and boxes upon boxes of
ornaments.

“Oh my,” Sebastian said behind him. “Looks

like Christmas puked all over the room."

Wren barked out a laugh and gingerly stepped

over boxes as they made their way into the room.

Night was on the floor, checking out the lights,

with David next to him, showing him what to do.
Fuck,  they  were  all  newbies  at  this.  Give  them  a
knife or a sword, and they were pros. Decorate  a
tree  and  it  was  like  they  were  in  beginner  home

Warming Up Sebastian

101

economics once again. Yeah, Duncan could relate
with that or maybe even Raven since they were
the youngest. He remembered them coming home
with various assignments.

Thinking of Duncan, he turned, searching for

him on the couch, and saw that he was there,
sleeping shirtless once again. He was murmuring
in discomfort while his back was coated in cloths.
Leaning closer, Wren realized that the cloths were
coated in medicine. The smell was terrible!

“How’s he doing?” Wren asked Night.
Night scrubbed his face. “I don’t know what we

would  have  done  without  Fallon.  Duncan  was
really  bad  last  night,  and  I  was  about  to  call
Athena  when  Fallon  showed  up  with  this  salve
and told me how to prepare it and put it on him.
His back was covered with blisters. The medicine
began to work right away. I never had to do any of
this  with  you.  I’ve  called  Athena  to  talk  to  her
about  it  this  morning.  I’m  just  waiting  for  her  to
get back to me. She’s still preoccupied.”

Raven came into the room, grumbling.
“What’s wrong with you?” Wren’s brows

furrowed as Raven sat down next to him and
plopped his head on his shoulder.

“Fallon was sitting on the edge of my bed

watching  me  this  morning.  I  swear,  Mr.  Crazy
would  be  hot  as  hell  if  he  didn’t  have  stalker
written  all  over  him.  I’m  beginning  to  think  I’m

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102

crazy, too, because it’s working. I almost invited
him to bed before I came to my senses. I think I
need to go get laid.” Raven sighed.

Sebastian chuckled. “I wouldn’t advise it. I’ve

never seen Fallon so…focused.”

Raven sat up and glared. “Well, tell him to

focus on someone else’s ass. He’s creeping me
out!”

“Well, aren’t we all a chipper bunch.” Aaron

came in holding a plate full of cinnamon rolls. The
smell wafted over to Wren’s nose, and in no time,
everyone was crowding Aaron, taking two apiece.

They sat down quietly and were munching on

their cinnamon rolls.

Hawk, Aaron’s mate, spoke up., “So how do we

do this?” Hawk said between mouthfuls.

David swallowed. “We team up. Some of us can

put up the lights while others can do the
ornaments. Oh, and we got outdoor lights, too.”

“So some of us are going to freeze our asses off

as we put up lights outside?” Raven complained.

“It’s forty-five degrees out. You’ll hardly freeze.

Do you complain like this when you go out on
rotation?” David gave Raven the stink-eye.

“Well…no.” Raven’s shoulders slumped under

the glare of their leader’s mate.

“We’re going to have fun. Hell, we’re going to

celebrate. We have our damn freedom back! I’ll go

Warming Up Sebastian

103

out with you and show you what to do.” Aaron
got up and pulled Raven to his feet.

“So I have to be the one to go outside?” Raven

grumbled. “I’m tired. I was stared at all night. I
could feel him, you know, but every time I opened
my eyes, he wasn’t there.”

Sebastian stood up, laughing. “I would say

you’re paranoid, but you’re probably right.”

“This isn’t funny,” Raven growled while

putting on his coat.

“Oh, but it is, and I think you like it.” Wren

stood  and  went  over  to  a  box  of  delicate  glass
bulbs.  He  would  break  them  for  sure.  Maybe  he
should  have  someone  else  do  this.  Glancing
around, he saw candy canes. He’d stick to putting
those suckers up.

“Do not.” Raven adjusted his cock as he walked

out of the house.

Sebastian chuckled. “I think Raven is in

trouble.”

Wren shook his head. “They can have fun, but I

don’t think Fallon is Raven’s mate.”

Sebastian shrugged, but he was smiling.
Hawk and Aaron grabbed coats and went out

to help Raven, carrying several boxes of lights.

David and Night worked together as they

wound the lights around the tree. Sebastian and
him organized the ornaments and got them out of
boxes. It was a pain to put on the hooks with his

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big callused fingers, but he had to admit he was
having fun. Duncan woke for a moment, moaning
in discomfort.

Sebastian got up and changed his bandages

before Duncan fell back asleep.

The house was really starting to come alive as

Night and David finished up the lights. Wren
shivered as Sebastian came up and kissed the nape
of his neck as he bent down over him. “Pick an
ornament and start decorating.”

Wren picked up a blue bulb and scrambled to

his  feet,  walked  over  and  put  it  on  a  branch.  He
felt  like  a  little  kid  for  getting  so  excited  over
something  so  little  and  silly.  Sebastian  came  up
next  to  him  and  put  a  glass  icicle  on  another
branch.

Hawk Aaron and Raven came back in, bringing

in a cold crisp air with them. They immediately
came over and began grabbing ornaments, and
soon the whole flock was decorating the tree.

Wren stared at his flock, seeing happiness on

everyone’s  face.  No  one  was  worrying  about  the
war  or  being  hunted.  They  were  at  peace  and
enjoying  a  holiday  as  a  family,  and  that’s  what
they were…a family.

Duncan sat up shakily. “Can I help?” His voice

sounded weak to Wren’s ears.

Night walked over, the father figure of their

flock. Sure, Wren had changed his fair share of

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105

diapers,  but  when  it  came  down  to  it,  they  all
looked at Night in a different light. Night gathered
Duncan,  careful  of  his  back  and  guided  him
toward  the  tree.  David  handed  Duncan  a  bulb,
and he placed it on the closest branch. For the first
time in days, Duncan appeared happy. He stared
up at the tree, a little smile on his face as his hand
reached up to touch one of the branches.

“I think we should do this every year,” Duncan

whispered. Wren saw that his legs were trembling
from the effort just to stand. Duncan’s twentieth
birthday was next week, and it showed. He would
get weaker still, and the moods would really be up
and down from here.

Night kissed the top of Duncan’s head. “We

will.”

David came over, and they helped Duncan back

down on the couch.

Aaron took back off with David into the

kitchen, and ten minutes later, they were all
coming back out with mugs topped with whip
cream. Wren grabbed one, then sipped it. It tasted
good, damn good. “What is this?”

“Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.”

David  handed  Night  one,  then  sat  down.  Wren
watched  the  two  mates  cuddle  and  reached  for
Sebastian. They all sat in silence, staring at the tree
as they  sipped on their drinks. Wren leaned over
and  kissed  Sebastian,  feeling  all  the  love  for  his

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106

mate.  Athena  was  right.  They  were  missing
something.  Something  big.  Love,  warmth  and
happiness  were  now  beginning  to  fill  the  flock’s
lives.  “Thank  you,  Athena  and  Hades,”  Wren
whispered.

“What did you say?” Sebastian murmured,

leaning his head on Wren’s shoulder.

“I love you,” Wren murmured.
“I love you, too,” Sebastian smiled.
“What time is it?” Aaron asked lazily.
“One,” Hawk said.
Aaron shot up. “Shit, we have to go!”
Sebastian shot off the couch, and David was

right behind them, already grabbing their coats.

“Wait, where are you going? It’s not safe.”

Night stood, going after David.

David swung the obol around his neck,

showing Night, “Oh yes, we are, and we’re going
out shopping. We have five hours until the stores
close, and Duncan and Raven needs presents. We
already shopped for you three and are done.”

The three ran out of the house, slamming the

door  behind  them.  Wren  sat  there  stunned  for  a
moment.  Peace  and  then  chaos.  He  would  never
be  bored, that  was  for  sure.  Wait…”Did  they  say
they were shopping…for Duncan and Raven, and
already got us gifts?”

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107

“Yeah.” Night scratched his jaw, staring at the

door and obviously trying to catch up from the
sudden shift, like they all were.

“Did you get your mates anything?” Wren

asked.

“Shit.” Night got up and went toward the door.
“Fuck.” Hawk grabbed his coat, opening the

door.

“Damn.” Wren grabbed his coat, following

others. He had some Christmas Eve shopping to
do.

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108

Chapter Nine

ebastian woke up and felt like a little kid in all
those holiday movies. He even did a little

hopping on the bed before he turned and shook
Wren. “Wake up, it’s Christmas morning!”

Wren groaned and buried his head farther in

the pillow. “Go away, and let me sleep.”

“I bought you lots of presents,” Sebastian sing-

songed.

Wren opened one eye. “What kind of

presents?”

“You won’t know until you get up and see for

yourself.”

Wren sat up. “Fine, but you better make me

some coffee first.”

Sebastian got dressed, then ran down to the

kitchen only to find David and Aaron already
there, setting up the coffeemaker. Sabastian
laughed. “Let me guess, your mates wouldn’t get
up until you had a cup of joe ready for them, too.”

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109

David nodded. “I even tried jumping on Night,

but it was a no-go. He said only caffeine would
motivate him to move.”

Sebastian went to the cabinet and began to get

the mugs out. “I can’t wait to see Duncan’s face
when he opens our gift. I hope he likes it.”

“How can he not?” David asked. “It’s only the

most awesome thing ever.”

“Don’t worry. He’s going to love it,” Aaron

assured Sebastian.

Once the coffee was finished, they poured it

into the mugs, then fixed it up just the way their
mates liked it. Taking a mug for him and Wren,
Sebastian went back upstairs to their room.

Climbing carefully onto the bed so he didn’t

spill any of the liquid, Sebastian waved one of the
mugs under Wren’s nose. “I brought you coffee.”

Wren sat up and took the mug. “Now this is a

great start to Christmas. I’ve never had anybody
deliver me coffee to my bed.”

“Hmmm…” Sebastian said, loving the look of

pure satisfaction on Wren’s face. “Maybe I’ll have
to do it more often. Tell me, what do you like
better, this or the blowjob?”

Wren cocked a brow. “Is there a way I can get

both?”

Sebastian laughed, then gave Wren a kiss.

“Now you’re just being greedy.”

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110

“So I guess this means I have to get out of bed

now,” Wren said with a heavy sigh.

Sebastian wasn’t fooled for a second. “Oh, stop

with the poor-me act. We both know you’re just as
excited about this as I am. Now get your butt up,
and let’s get downstairs with the others.”

Wren grinned, then got up and quickly got

dressed.  They  then  went  downstairs.  Sebastian
was  surprised  to  see  that  they  were  the  last  to
arrive. Even Duncan was already there, lying face
down  on  the  couch,  but  for  once  he  had  a  small
smile  on  his  face.  No  doubt  thanks  to  Fallon’s
salve. Sebastian was glad that it was bringing the
young  warrior  some  measure  of  relief.  Nobody
should have to suffer that much, especially during
the holidays.

They sat down and began to rip open gifts.

Sebastian  was  amazed  at  the  amount  of  things
Wren  had  bought  for  him.  Sebastian  thought  he
had overdone it, but he hadn’t even come close to
what  Wren  had  bought.  He  bought  Sebastian
weapons,  clothes,  books,  a  new  e-reader,  a  new
smart phone, and too much more to even list.

In return, Wren treated each gift Sebastian gave

him  as  if  it  was  a  special  treasure.  He  especially
seemed  to  love  the  small  wren  figurine.  Wren
turned it over and over in his hands several times
as  if  he  were  trying  to  memorize  every  single
detail of it.

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111

When it came time to give Duncan his gift from

the mates, it was so heavy that only Sebastian was
able to carry it over to Duncan. The room grew
silent as everybody stopped what they were doing
to watch.

“You guys bought me a present?” Duncan

asked, his voice a bit raspy.

“We thought you could use a little pick-me-

up,” David said.

They had to help Duncan unwrap the gift and

then  the  box  under  all  the  paper.  When  Duncan
saw  what  was  inside,  he  let  out  a  gasp.  “It’s  a
sword.  A  real  sword,  not  a  practice  one  like  I’ve
always been forced to use.”

He reached out with trembling fingers and felt

the black blade. The hilt was also black, and in the
center was a large red ruby with smaller ones
surrounding it so they formed a star.

“I had Hades make it just for you.” Sebastian

gave a small chuckle and scratched his head. “He
actually said it would be an honor to be the one to
give you your first weapon. When I asked him
why, he said I would have to be patient and see.”

“Do you have any idea what he’s talking

about?” Night asked.

Duncan shook his head. “Not a clue. But if it

got me this wicked sword, I don’t care.”

“Wait, wait wait…we’re all missing a really

important point here. Sebastian took Aaron and

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112

David down to the Underworld. Doesn’t that
bother anybody?” Hawk asked, his face tight with
anger.

Sebastian made a shooing motion with his

hand. “Oh, that’s no biggie. I grew up in that
place. It’s home to me. They were perfectly safe.”

“But…” Hawk began.
Sebastian interrupted him. “Seriously, dude. I

used to play with Legos and toy cars down there.
The Underworld is probably one of the safest
places they could be. If anything or anybody tried
to lay a finger on them down there, Hades would
be eating their innards for lunch.”

“Great! We have the god of the Underworld on

our side,” David drawled.

“I wouldn’t count him out. He has a lot of

power, and he just may be able to help turn the
tide of this war if he really were to help us out,”
Sebastian pointed out.

“Do you think he would be willing to interfere?

He never has before,” Wren said.

“Yeah, but he didn’t have a son in the mix of it

before, either,” Night replied.

Wren gave a nod. “You do have a valid point

there. There is no way that Hades is going to want
Sebastian to get hurt. He cares too much about
him.”

David looked around the room. “Hey, has

anybody seen Raven?”

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113

“No, not since we all went to bed last night,”

Night said. Night ran up the stairs and came down
a few moments later. “He’s not in his room, either.
He’s missing.”

Sebastian’s stomach dropped as he came to a

horrible realization. “I know where he is.”

“Is he okay?” Night asked.
“Well, let’s just say that he’s having one hell of

a good time."

* * * *

Athena  walked  down  to  the  gate,  waiting  for
entrance.  She  had  gotten  caught  up  and  couldn’t
get down there when she’d needed to. Too many
problems were going on in the mortal realm. The
Los  Angeles  flock…gone.  Tears  formed  in  her
eyes, but she refused to let them spill. They were
all  more  than  her  men,  although  she  couldn’t
show that to them. She could never show that she
cared  too  much  because  others  would  come  and
toy  with  her  boys,  destroying  them.  One  enemy
was enough for them to fight.

Hades walked up, Cerberus, his three-headed

dog next to him. Glancing behind her, she checked
to make sure no one was following her and tried
her best to show no grieving. Hades would never
use it against her but still…

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114

Hades nodded, the gates swung open, and

Athena entered.

No matter how many times she traversed down

here, it always seemed to amaze her how dark
could be so beautiful. Rock shimmered in beauty,
and the souls down there for the most part were
happy. Sure, there was a section that Hades had to
guard over most rigorously, but Athena had never
seen that part of the Underworld.

Hades led them to the opulent home of his

family. Upon entering, she scanned the area.
Although she trusted Hades, she was always
worried their enemy would somehow come upon
them when they were meeting. The home was all
dark marble, beautiful statues of Persephone lined
the wall. Hades loved that woman with all of his
soul.

The high ceiling had beautiful mosaic art that

she  could  look  upon  for  hours.  Beautiful  lamps
made  the  place  glow  in  a  stunning  beauty  that
even  Olympus  didn’t  compare  to.  If  only  Zeus
knew that. He would hate to know the brother he
cast down lived in beauty and joy while Zeus was
constantly  dealing  with  the  politics  of  the  other
gods.

The world had death and evil paired with this

god, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Death, yes, but he was a god that loved his family
deeply, which was one of the reasons when this

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115

war turned south, she knew Hades needed to be
contacted. It involved him, too.

Carrying the small package, she could hear

faint moans of pleasure as she bypassed the family
living  quarters.  Knowing  who  was  in  there,  she
tried  her  best  to  tune  it  out.  It  was  like  a  mother
hearing  her  child,  and  this  was  their  time  for
privacy.

They finally made it into Hades’ den where he

sat behind his large desk while she stood in front.
A fire roared off to the side, giving them warmth
in the office. Athena dropped the small gift before
him.

“Persephone?” Hades whispered.
Athena nodded before she dropped the letter as

well. “She said to open that in private. The note is
for Fallon. She’s fighting mad that she’s away
while…”

Hades cut her off with a swipe of his hand.

“Don’t  even  get  me  started  on  my  witch  of  a
mother-in-law. She doesn’t realize that not only do
I  suffer  but  her  grandson  as  well.  Fallon  told  me
he  never  even  wants  to  see  his  grandmother
again.”

“Fallon still has never set foot on Olympus.”
“He never will. He told me so.” Hades leaned

back with a menacing look.

Athena glanced down at her bloody armor.

With a thought, she changed into a thick sweater

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116

and  jeans  with  knee  high  boots.  For  once,  she
could  be  herself.  The  blood  was  gone  from  her
fighting,  and  she  sat  down,  bone  tired.
“Persephone told me to never have him set foot up
there. She fears he will be trapped like her.”

“We all do,” Hades mumbled. “How are you,

Athena?”

“You already know why I’m here, so you know

how I am.” Athena rubbed her brow, worried. She
knew she was losing this battle and her birds. Oh,
her poor birds.

“Just ask what you need, and you shall have it.”

Hades folded his hands on the desk and leaned
forward.

“I need your son to gather the dead army and

help me take back control of the mortal realm. The
Blood  Demons  have  multiplied.  My  flocks  are
outnumbered.  I  fear  they  won’t  live  through  the
month.  Thank  you  for  giving  the  Atlanta  flock
their  coins and Duncan the salve.” Athena stared
at her old friend.

“I love Sebastian. I want him safe and his

friends. Those two boys mean everything to me.
As for Duncan, he’s special and rare.”

“I know.” Athena thought of the young one.

Just a few more days.

“I’ll talk to Fallon. He is ready to lead. He has

gained their respect, and they’ll aid you. He’s also

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117

invested now. Family is involved, and you’ll find
no one more loyal than my sons.”

Athena nodded. “Thank you.”
“You do know why the Blood Demons have

gained power, don’t you?” Hades separated his
hands, and his fists clenched until the knuckles
turned white.

“I’ve been battling the Keres, and they are

stronger. That is all that I know.”

“They have an alliance,” Hades growled.
“What? Who?” Athena knew for a fact that no

one  on  Olympus  would  ever  align  themselves
with  the  women  who  were  stealing  from  Hades.
They might not want to help in the war, but they
certainly  wouldn’t  go  up  against  Hades  or  her.
Who was foolish enough to even dare?

“Violence.” Hades’ voice was laced with hatred.
Athena’s brow raised in disbelief. “Violence, as

in Sebastian’s ex?”

Hades jerked a nod.
Yep, a foolish man would go up against them.
“You have my army, and as soon as I fuel

Fallon with this information, it will take a miracle
to  quench  his  thirst  for  the  wrath  he  will  bring
down  upon  their  heads.  Fallon  has  a  hatred  for
Vio the likes I have never seen. He told me of how
he had found Sebastian. It is a surprise the demi-
god  is  still  alive.  I  want  him  here  so  he  can  see
what imprisonment feels like. He will know what

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118

true torture is like when I get through with him.”
Hades stood and began pacing around the room.

“He is protected by his father,” Athena stated.

She hated that son of a bitch just as much as
Hades, but when a god protected a demi-god, it
was hard to destroy them, even someone as vile as
Vio who needed to be wiped out.

Hades grunted, “I have never feared Ares.”
“I know, but we need to be careful in going

forward.”

Hades nodded. He stood there for a moment in

silence, then added, “I feel the need to thank you.”

Athena laughed. “Why? To bring this burden

upon you?”

Hades smiled but shook his head. “You found

happiness for Sebastian. It is a love match.”

Athena smiled. “Why do you think I paired him

with Wren? Wren has always had a special  place
in  my  heart.  He  was  meant  to  be  with  Sebastian.
They’ll  never  feel  inferior  with  each  other  even
though their past has made them to feel that way.
They  are  equals.  Their  strength  will  be  each
other.”

“You always favored the Wren.” Hades

chuckled.

“I always root for the underdog.” Athena stood.

“Would you like me to give anything to
Persephone for you?” Athena asked gently.

Warming Up Sebastian

119

Hades went to his desk and pulled open a

drawer. He pulled a small box out and handed it
to her. “Thank you once again, my friend, for
being our liaison.”

Athena nodded and grabbed the box. When she

turned  to  leave,  Hades  guided  them  out  of  the
home.  A  noise  in  the  distance  caught  Athena’s
attention,  and  she  turned  toward  it.  Off  in  the
distance,  she  could  make  out  the  legions  of  the
death army. They were already preparing.

“You already knew why I was coming here

today. You never miss a beat, my old friend.”
Athena turned back to face Hades.

“When Fallon came back requesting the coins, I

knew you were in trouble. If you hadn’t come to
ask, I was already prepared to offer you my aid.”
Hades held the gate open for her. Cerberus came
up next to Hades.

“Thank you, Hades. I’ll be back next week with

a new package from Persephone.” Athena walked
out into the light. For the first time in days, she felt
a ray of hope for her flocks. Now all she had to do
was make sure they remained alive until help
could arrive.

About the Authors

Short, sexy and sweet—where a little love goes a long
way.

That’s the best way to describe Jackie Nacht’s

stories.  I  was  introduced  to  M/M  Romance
through my sister, Stephani, and read it for years.
Then, I thought it was time to put my own stories
on paper. I began writing short and sweet stories
that  ended  with  a  happily  ever  after…and
sometimes  more  than  one,  in  the  case  of  my  YA
Fork  in  the  Road  series,  which  has  interactive
endings.

Thinking back to my own book addiction,

where there were many nights I stayed up way too
late so I could read just one more chapter—yeah,
right—I decided to write short romances for young
adults as well as adults. Hopefully, they will give
high school and college students or working men
and women something they can read during their
lunch hour, in between classes or just when they
want to briefly get away from the daily stresses of
everyday life.

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter and at

my webpage.

Email : Jackie.nacht@yahoo.com
Website : www.jackienacht.com/

Stephani  Hecht  is  a  happily  married  mother  of
two.  Born  and  raised  in  Michigan,  she  loves  all
things  about  the  state,  from  the  frigid  winters  to
the  Detroit  Red  Wings  hockey  team.  Go  Wings!
You  can  usually  find  her  snuggled  up  to  her
laptop, creating her next book.

Contact her at:
Email Address: stephani@stephanihecht.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht
FaceBook:http://www.facebook.com/profile.p

hp?ref=profile&id=110935385

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