Chapter 11
SELENE
H e’s amazing, Jade.” I take a sip of my extra-sweet iced coffee. “Is weird to say that I’m already in love with him?”
Jade and I sit at the cafe across the street from Shadow and Light Gallery, grabbing a snack before the start of tonight’s show.
“Pffft!” Jade waves a dismissive hand at me. “Not at all. When you meet your fated mate, it does feel like some weird insta-love, but that’s just fate pulling you together.”
“Did you feel that way about Flint?” I ask, referring to her husband.
She nods. “But imagine being teenagers at the same time.”
“Ah! Puppy love.”
“Exactly.” She breaks her s’mores cookie down the middle and offers me half. “Just enjoy the ride.”
“Thank you,” I say, taking my half of the treat. “I’ll do my best to stop caring so much about societal expectations when it comes to romance.”
“Just remember that you’re thinking of human expectations. They are different than us monsters in that regard.”
“You’re right.” I shrug. “And Caiden doesn’t seem to want to slow down. Why should it matter?”
She snaps her fingers. “Bingo!”
I take my last bite of cookie and stare across the street at the gallery. “I guess I should head over there.”
“Ah!” Jade claps her hands. “I’m so excited. Sorry I couldn’t make it last night, but it seems you had your hands full with Caiden.”
“It’s okay.” I offer her a soft smile. “I’m just glad you’re here tonight.”
“Well, then.” She stands, gathering our trash. “Let’s go!”
Jade and I make our way across the street and when I walk through the door, Frederick is waiting for me, bouncing from one hoof to the other.
“Oh! Thank the goddess you’re here,” he says, his voice a higher pitch than usual.
I quirk a brow. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
He shakes his head and I exchange a long look with Jade. This can’t be good. Frederick is a pretty calm satyr and doesn’t let anything bother him too much. What could have happened?
My mind begins to race. Did he get fired? Is his husband okay? Or what if I got kicked out of the show?
“Tell me,” I demand in a hushed tone.
“It’s about Caiden an?—”
“Selene, there you are,” Sebastian’s voice purrs from behind me. “I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”
Something about his voice causes an icy shiver up my spine. Does Sebastian know something about Caiden?
“Hi, Sebastian.” I somehow manage to keep my voice steady despite my racing heart. “Are you ready for another showing tonight?”
His lips curl into a wolfish smile. “I am.” He glances at Jade, but then flits his eyes back to me. “I was hoping to speak with you about your future here at Shadow and Light Gallery.”
I clear my throat and motion to Jade. “This is my best friend, Jade. Jade, this is Sebastian, he owns the gallery.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jade says, her voice tight despite the giant smile she’s plastered on her face.
Sebastian lifts the corner of his mouth in acknowledgement before fixing his predatory gaze back on me. “Selene …”
“Oh … umm … yes.” My wings quiver, itching to fly away from this weird-ass interaction, but I can’t blow off Sebastian. “Let’s talk.”
Frederick scurries behind his desk, grabbing his notebook. “I’m ready to take notes, sir.”
Sebastian dismisses Fredrick with a lazy flick of his wrist. “Frederick, why don’t you show Miss Jane the other exhibits?”
Jade clenches her jaw. “It’s Jade, actually.”
“But sir,” Frederick interjects, “don’t you need me to take notes?”
“Not everything has to be a meeting,” Sebastian snaps.
Frederick fidgets with his beard while Jade narrows her eyes at Sebastian. She opens her mouth, and I just know she’s about to tell him off. But I can’t risk her saying something that will get me kicked out of the show.
“Sounds good, Sebastian.” I shoot Jade a pleading look, silently begging her to stay out of it.
Sebastian’s teeth glint in the harsh fluorescent lighting of the gallery lobby. “Follow me.”
I allow Sebastian to lead me down the hall. We’re heading toward my display. Something horrible is about to happen, I just know it. I force my breathing to stay regular. Now is not the time to have a panic attack. I can’t let my anxieties win.
“Your exhibit did really well last night, Selene,” Sebastian says, once we reach the warm glow of my pieces. “In fact, you were mentioned by name in The Eye ’s blog.”
My head spins. “ The Eye ?” Being mentioned in The Eye, Nashville’s leading art review blog, is every local artist’s dream.
I wobble on my feet. All the big rushing emotions are overwhelming. I’ve oscillated between happy, nervous, and thrilled in less than ten minutes and it’s too much to process. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. Oh goddess. If I start crying, I won’t be able to stop.
“Those better be happy tears,” Sebastian remarks with a soft smile.
I wipe at the tears. “I’m just overwhelmed.”
He takes a step closer to me and rests a hand on my shoulder. “Understandable. It’s not every day your praised by the biggest art blog in the Southeast.”
Another big emotion washes over me. Fear. My wings stiffen and I fight the urge to put distance between us. He just gave me the best news of my career. I shouldn’t be so scared. If anything, I should be thanking him.
“But,” Sebastian begins, “I need to know something?”
His question is oily, making my skin crawl. “What’s that?”
“I need to know if you’re serious about being an artist.”
“What?” My brow furrows. “Of course I’m serious.”
“Then why do you spend your time with uncultured swine?” he spits, his cold blue eyes becoming dark.
I take a step back, but Sebastian steps with me, not allowing me to keep my distance. “What are you talking about?”
“Tell me,” he says, leaning forward, so close I can smell his rancid breath, “what do you see in a common club bouncer?”
My mouth falls open. “Caiden?”
“Is that his name?” Sebastian snorts. “Fine. What do you see in Caiden?”
What the fuck? I attempt to increase the space between us, but he just follows me yet again. “I think this is wildly inappropriate.”
“So, you aren’t serious about your career?”
My eyes narrow. “What is this, Sebastian?”
“I’ve met your little boyfriend before,” he says with a sneer. “And I don’t like him at all.”
“What does that have to do with my career?” The tears are now flowing.
“Do you know why I collect art, Selene?” he asks softly.
I shake my head, too choked up to say anything.
“Because I like beautiful things and I want them to be mine.” Sebastian reaches out and attempts to wipe the tears from my cheeks, but I turn away. He clenches his fist as a frown twists his face. “I will not have something beautiful dangled before me and be told it can’t have it.”
I flinch away from him, finally putting some distance between us. “What are you saying?”
“Leave him, Selene,” he says through gritted teeth.
Angry heat flushes to my face and neck. The audacity of this motherfucker. “But Caiden is my mate.”
Sebastian scoffs. “As if that matters. I don’t believe in fate anyway.”
“You can fu?—”
“I would be careful with what you say next,” Sebastian interjects. “Because if you don’t dump him by the last night of this show, then I’ll never show another piece of yours in this gallery.”
I gasp. “You can’t be serious.”
He nods. “And if you tell anyone about this, I’ll make sure you never work in this town again.”
“What kind of monster are you?” My hands fly to my mouth as I stare up at Sebastian, eyes wide.
“Amusing coming from a literal monster,” he says with a snicker. Placing his hand on my shoulder, he gives it a too-hard squeeze. “Great talk.”
Sebastian brushes past me, knocking me with his shoulder. My lip trembles, but I dare not let the sob clawing up my throat to release. He may have seen my tears, but I won’t allow him to see me lose control.
Just as he’s about to round the corner, Sebastian stops in his tracks. “And Selene? I always get what I want.”
I hold my breath until his footsteps have faded, leaving me alone with no sound except the humming of the neon. This can’t be happening. Sebastian Johnson just threatened my entire career.
The sob I’ve been holding back escapes and I bury my head in my hands and cry.