Chapter 16 Seth
SETH
Seth woke up alone.
He also woke up warm and toasty, wrapped up in the comforter he’d been lying on when he’d fallen asleep. But definitely alone.
It was a surprising turn of events, considering Riley seemed the type to strangle-cuddle a guy all night long.
Maybe he was giving Seth the space Seth had claimed to need. Space Seth should take advantage of to make his escape. It was the principle of the thing, really—he couldn’t just stay here after they’d stranded him on purpose. If nothing else, they’d think he lacked backbone.
And Seth needed to get out of here before he saw Riley and had to remember all the lovely things his supposed mate had said.
And I think you’re beautiful, but maybe that’s obvious.
Yeah. Things like that.
It was still dark outside—Seth was an early riser, unasked for day off or no. He tried his best not to think of his bakery staying closed for the day without warning. He hoped his regulars would forgive him the inconsistency.
After poking his head out the door, Seth made his way to the bathroom across the hall Daphne had been so kind as to point out the day before.
(Although, after sabotaging his car, providing him with a restroom was really the least she could do.) There was a toothbrush still in its packaging and a tube of toothpaste on the counter.
Seth assumed they were meant for him and used them accordingly.
There was also a clean hand towel with cheery sunflowers embroidered on the hem, and he splashed water on his face while he was at it, patting his face dry and trying to ignore how soft the fabric was.
Then he grabbed his tote from the guest bedroom and went downstairs.
Seth could hear music in the kitchen—Etta James, if he wasn’t mistaken. He found Daphne and Sybil sitting at the table, delicate cups of tea in hand. They were both wearing silk robes. They looked timeless, stylish in that type of way that didn’t seem to belong to any particular era.
“Darling Seth!” Daphne greeted with a smile. “Good morning! How did you sleep?”
Kidnapping or no kidnapping, Seth couldn’t be anything but polite in the face of a smile like that. “Really well, thank you,” he said. “Could I get a ride home now, please?”
He could still open the bakery for a half day, with limited offerings. It would be at least some semblance of normalcy to cling to.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Daphne told him. She once again looked perfectly regretful. Seth was beginning to wonder if she’d spent some time on the stage. “I’m afraid we’ve lent our cars to a friend in need.”
Seth rubbed a hand over his jaw to stop himself from screaming like a lunatic. He was fine. This was fine. He should have expected it, really.
Still, he couldn’t stop himself from pointing out, “It’s a little after four in the morning.”
“Yes,” Daphne said with a nod, bumping Sybil with her shoulder when the other woman started smirking. “They wanted to get an early start.”
Seth sighed. “Everyone here acts a lot nicer than they are, don’t they?”
But just like that, he was already resigned. He couldn’t help it—it wasn’t in his nature to stay angry for long, and he’d always been good at going with the flow. He was trapped in this beautiful house. Whatever. At least the towels were nice.
Sybil let out a low, rich laugh. “Now you’re getting it, my darling.” She waved a hand in the direction of the counter behind her. “Riley told us you prefer coffee in the morning. There’s a carafe for you.”
There was, and it was still piping hot, with adorable pitchers of cream and sugar next to his waiting teacup. Seth almost hated how perfect it all was, how much he loved this house they were trapping him in.
“Riley’s out hunting,” Daphne told him, beaming at Seth when he joined them at the table. “He wants to be very full with you staying here.”
“I’m going to lose my customers,” Seth said without any real bite.
“Our friend promised to put up a sign explaining your absence.”
“Closed due to kidnapping?”
Another laugh from Sybil. “Something a little more vague, I believe.”
Seth sipped his coffee. He’d fallen into the kind of numb calm that could only follow an episode of pure panic. How he might feel when he saw Riley—Seth’s future mate, if no one here was pulling his leg—was anybody’s guess.
The three of them sat in a more or less comfortable silence, letting the music take center stage as they drank their beverages. Eventually Daphne slipped out with one more beaming smile, and Seth was left alone with Sybil.
His numb calm left him in an instant. It made him nervous, being alone with this particular mother. She had all the allure and sharp edges of her mate with none of the sweetness.
Riley cleared his throat, no longer satisfied with relative silence. “Is Riley hunting animals or—”
“Animals,” Sybil confirmed. She gave Seth a piercing look. “You do realize you’re the only human he’s ever tasted, aside from blood bags?”
Seth swallowed hard. “I didn’t.” He should have, probably, based on what Riley had told him. But Seth hadn’t exactly been thinking clearly yesterday.
“You’ve wounded him.”
The directness of the statement caught him off guard, and Seth choked on his coffee. “I didn’t mean to.”
“We know.” Sybil folded her manicured hands on the table, cocking her head. “But I’m very protective of my son.”
“I’ve noticed.” Seth had the vague suspicion that at any moment a shotgun was going to appear from under the table. But then again, Sybil had no need of one—she only had to use her fangs.
“Is it his youth that has you running scared? I promise he’s had his share of life’s growing pains.”
Seth pushed his coffee away from him. It seemed like a heart-to-heart was on the menu, whether Seth wanted it or not.
High-handed fucking vampires.
“It’s not just his age. It’s the…intensity.
” Seth tried to figure out how to word what he meant without saying more than was decent to the mother of his would-be suitor.
“I’ve been wanted before but not…like this.
” He met Sybil’s searching gaze. “I’m just me,” he explained.
“Normal, average me. I don’t know if I’m—if I’m strong enough to handle that kind of devotion. ”
Because that was what Riley was offering him, wasn’t it? Complete and total devotion. Seth had been blind not to see it before.
Sybil was silent for a long moment. “But it’s not about strength, is it?
” she eventually asked. “It’s about generosity.
It’s about welcoming all that devotion and still finding more within yourself to give in return.
It’s about resisting the impulse to take it for granted.
And I do believe that underneath your fear, you are that generous. ”
“That’s…flattering,” Seth told her. He’d been dealing in understatements lately, and there was another one for the books.
“But don’t you think—I mean, he’s never even dated.
He’s barely been outside this house since he was a child.
Don’t you want him to have choices? Other, more impressive options? Wouldn’t that be…healthier?”
Seth knew he wasn’t a major catch, just like he knew his hair was brown and his baked goods delicious.
He’d once had a fun, flirty thing going with a lawyer he’d met at a club.
It had seemed like it was going somewhere beyond simple flirting, and then the lawyer had found out Seth worked at the local bakery.
He’d dropped Seth like a hot coal. As if Seth working in the service industry had meant he wasn’t worth the time of someone of any caliber. Like the rest of his charms weren’t enough to make up for his relatively simple ambitions.
And that had just been an average, decent-looking lawyer, not a beautiful, devastating creature of the night.
Sybil tapped her crimson-painted nails on the table. “Riley may be young, but Daphne and I are anything but. Did you know Daphne was turned first?”
Seth shook his head. Riley hadn’t told him anything about how his moms had met.
“Daphne had been turned by someone very old and very cruel, and she was making her way by pretending to fit in. Hiding all that inner sweetness, that softness deep inside her she displays so perfectly now. And she found me on the streets, selling myself to survive.”
Sybil waved a hand, like she was dispersing Seth’s sympathy before he could give it to her.
“Mine was a pathetic, common tale. But Daphne saw something in me, and she made me as she was, and instantly, we were everything to each other. And we still are.” Sybil leaned across the table, freezing Seth in her gaze like some vampire Medusa.
“I don’t care about your modern concerns about what’s right or healthy.
I want to give our son what he wants. I want him to have what we have. ”
“Jesus.” Seth lowered his head into his hands, peeking out at her from between his fingers. “Each of you is somehow the most intense person I’ve ever met.”
Sybil gave him a slow smile. “And you’re fascinated by it. Aren’t you?”
Seth let his eyes fall closed, even as he failed to deny it. “Anyone would be.”
“But could anyone dance with it the way you do? Draw out the sweetness in Riley, the simple need for joy hiding under all that hunger? Tame the monster within while providing a haven for the lost boy?”
“You’re putting a lot on my shoulders.”
A graceful hand gripped Seth’s wrist. “We didn’t know if Riley would have a mate—too much is unknown about those who are turned so young.
And then you appeared, so much sooner than we ever dared to hope.
You’re our miracle, and we’ll cherish you accordingly.
” Amusement laced her tone. “Being what we are, our affections sometimes come with a bit of a bite.”
With that, she released her hold and rose from her seat, pressing a kiss to Seth’s hair before gliding out the door. Seth gave in to temptation and let his forehead fall to the table.
Holy. Fucking. Shit. How was he supposed to ever catch his breath with people like this?