Chapter 56: Confusing Feelings

Chapter 56: Confusing Feelings Zane~ Sebastian’s pause on the other end of the call stretched long enough to make me uneasy. When he finally spoke, his voice was uncharacteristically serious. "Last night, Alex was having trouble sleeping," he said. "So, I decided to play a little game with him to take his mind off it." I frowned. "What kind of game?" Sebastian sighed. "A simple one—name game. I asked him to tell me his favorite names, and I’d do the same. You know, just a harmless way to distract him." I felt an odd prickle of apprehension. "And?" Sebastian hesitated before continuing. "The first name he said was Natalie." That wasn’t surprising. Alex adored Natalie. Sebastian went on. "Then, he said your name." Still not surprising. "And then," Sebastian added, "he mentioned someone named Mist." I stiffened. Mist? That was unexpected. "Who the hell is Mist?" "Good question," Sebastian said. "I asked him, but he clammed up and wouldn’t explain so I let it go." A strange sensation settled in my gut. "So what happened next?" Sebastian exhaled slowly. "I decided to test a theory. I wanted to see if there was a name that would trigger a reaction. So, I started throwing out random names. First, I said Abel. No reaction. Then Roland. Still nothing." I narrowed my eyes. "Go on." "Then, I said ’Charlie.’" A cold sensation crawled down my spine. "And?" Sebastian’s voice turned grim. "Alex started shaking, Zane. Visibly shaking. And then, when I said ’Nora,’ he broke down completely—crying, refusing to play anymore, completely shutting down." My grip on the phone tightened. "That doesn’t make sense. Nora and Charlie are like parents to me. They raised me. They trained me. They changed Alexander’s diapers. They would never hurt him." "I don’t know what it means either," Sebastian admitted. "But something is wrong. And I don’t like it." I took a deep breath, trying to process what he was saying. "You think they did something to him?" "I don’t know," Sebastian replied. "But I do know that Alex is terrified of them. And that’s enough for me to start digging." My heart pounded against my ribs. The thought of Nora and Charlie—people who had been my family—hurting my son was something I couldn’t wrap my mind around. "But Zane," Sebastian added carefully, "until we figure this out, I agree with your relocation plan. Get Alex away from them." I swallowed hard, my throat dry. "If it turns out they did do something... what the hell am I supposed to do?" Sebastian was silent for a moment before answering. "I think you already know the answer to that." I closed my eyes. He was right. If it turned out they had harmed Alex, there would be no forgiving them. And I didn’t want to think about what that meant. "Thank you, Sebastian," I said quietly. "For helping me with this." "Of course," he said. "I’ll investigate as carefully as I can. But now that we’ve covered the depressing part of this conversation..." I heard the smirk in his voice before he even said the next words. "What the hell are you going to do about the celestial princess hunt?" I groaned. "Sebastian—" "No, don’t ’Sebastian’ me," he interrupted. "Your father gave you four years to find her and make her your chosen mate. And if you don’t, you’ll be stuck looking over your shoulder for the rest of your reign as king." I rubbed my temple. "Keep looking for her." Sebastian clicked his tongue. "And if—by some miracle—we do find her?" I sighed. "Then I’ll deal with it when it happens." Sebastian was silent for a beat. Then, in an infuriatingly smug voice, he said, "And what about Natalie?" I stiffened. "What about Natalie?" "Don’t play dumb," he said. "You and I both know you have feelings for her. Even if you refuse to admit it." I scowled. "I don’t—" "Zane," he interrupted dryly. "Don’t lie to me. I’m a vampire. I can smell your emotions through the damn phone." I exhaled sharply. "It doesn’t matter." "Doesn’t it?" There was an edge to his voice now. "So tell me, Zane. If the celestial princess appears, are you going to walk away from Natalie?" I opened my mouth. Then closed it. Because I didn’t know the answer. Sebastian sighed. "I thought so." I clenched my jaw. "Just keep searching. When the time comes, I’ll figure it out." Sebastian hummed like he didn’t believe me, but mercifully, he let it go. "Fine. But when you do figure it out, don’t take too long. Because some decisions don’t wait forever." I changed the subject. "Make sure you bring Alex yourself. If you send anyone else, he won’t go." Sebastian groaned. "You’re really making me do this?" "You’re the only one he let touch him," I said. "And besides, you love the kid. Admit it." "Never," Sebastian said. "But fine. I’ll bring him. Remember, you owe me for this." "I’ll add it to the tab." I ended the call and immediately dialed Abel. He picked up on the second ring. "Your Highness?" "Abel," I said, getting straight to the point. "I’m relocating to Paris. For four years." There was a pause. Then, like always, he didn’t question me, Abel simply said, "Understood. I’ll handle the arrangements." I nodded in approval. "Once everything is set, I need you and Roland to meet me there." "Got it." Just as I was about to end the call, I hesitated. "One more thing," I said slowly. "Make sure Nora and Charlie don’t know about this." There was a beat of silence. Then Abel asked, "Is there a problem?" I pressed my lips together. "I’m not sure yet." Abel didn’t push. "Understood. I’ll make sure they don’t find out." I exhaled in relief. "Good." As I ended the call, my mind was a storm of thoughts. Alex’s fear. The celestial princess. Natalie. The throne. And, most of all— The gnawing dread that everything I had ever known was about to change. ********* One month in Paris, and my once-quiet life had turned into something out of a fantasy novel. At first, everything had gone exactly as planned. I had settled into my villa, a luxurious estate nestled just outside the city, where the view of the Seine was breathtaking. Like he promised, Sebastian had brought Alexander to me before leaving to handle our business back home. Natalie had spoken to Jacob, and to my utter shock, he hadn’t protested against her staying with me instead of with him and his brothers. That should have been my first warning that something was up. Natalie and Alexander had been inseparable since their reunion. I had never seen my son this happy before. Every morning, Alex would wake up and rush to Natalie’s room, throwing himself into her arms like he was afraid she’d disappear again. The warmth between them was undeniable, and despite all my efforts to remain detached, seeing them together stirred something deep inside me—something I wasn’t ready to name. Jacob, as promised, had found the best college for Natalie, and I had personally helped her with the application process. Now, all we had to do was wait for their response. Everything was going smoothly. Except for one thing. My house was no longer my own. I should have known Jacob’s quiet acceptance of Natalie staying with me came with a price. That price turned out to be his brothers treating my villa like a public park. They were practically living with me now; they always appeared and disappeared whenever they liked. And when I say they appeared and disappeared, I mean it literally. The first time Fox materialized in my kitchen, I nearly killed him on instinct. I had walked in that morning to find him calmly restocking my fridge, muttering to himself about "ensuring Natalie doesn’t starve to death in this emotionally repressed environment." "WHAT THE HELL—?!" My claws and fangs had appeared on instincts, only to have Fox glance over his shoulder, unfazed. "Oh, morning, Zane. Want some coffee?" I retracted my claws. "What are you doing in my house?" Fox gestured at the food he was carefully arranging into the fridge and cabinets. "Saving Natalie from your questionable ability to provide nourishment." "I’m rich, Fox, I do feed her," I snapped. Fox simply hummed. "If by ’feed’ you mean shoving takeout at her and calling it a day, sure." I opened my mouth to argue that I took her out to fancy restaurants all the time, but—damn it—there was no talking to someone like Fox, so I just made myself a cup of coffee and left the kitchen quietly. Then there was Bubble. Bubble, it seemed, had taken it upon himself to redecorate my entire villa. One lazy afternoon, I stepped into my study and nearly had a stroke. The once sleek, modern room was now filled with floating lanterns, mystical waterfalls cascading from the ceiling, and—was that a portal in the corner?! I turned slowly, my jaw clenched. "Bubble." The ethereal being beamed at me, his blue shining with happiness. "You’re welcome." "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HOUSE?!" "Improved it!" He spread his arms dramatically. "Now it’s got ambiance, mystery, enchantment. Fit for a prince." "IT HAD A PERFECTLY FUNCTIONING DESIGN BEFORE!" Bubble tsked. "So basic." There was even a room—a freaking room—that now opened into what looked like a mystical forest straight out of Narnia. It was disturbing and mesmerizing at the same time. Then there were Tiger and Eagle. I learned quickly that they had appointed themselves as bodyguards—not just for Natalie, but for Alex and even me. It was exhausting. Everywhere I turned, one of them was lurking. I’d be drinking my coffee, look up, and see Tiger leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, nodding in approval at my caffeine choice. I’d be reading in my study, and Eagle would materialize beside me, inspecting the book over my shoulder. "You know," I muttered one evening, after nearly choking on my wine when Tiger suddenly appeared, "normal people use doors." Tiger smirked. "Good thing we’re not normal." If there was one thing that baffled me the most about my current situation, it was Alexander’s reaction. I had expected my son to be overwhelmed—definitely frightened—by the strange beings constantly appearing in the house. I even half expected him to try and make a run for it. But to my utter disbelief, Alex loved it here. He was happiest I had ever seen him. He had taken to calling all of Jacob’s brothers uncles; and as for Jacob, Alex called him "Uncle Mist," which I found both hilarious and confusing. I wondered why Alexander loved that name so much that he even gave it to Jacob. Jacob, naturally, encouraged it, much to my dismay. "I don’t get why he doesn’t push them away," I muttered to Natalie one afternoon, as we watched Alex run around the garden with Bubble and Eagle. Natalie chuckled, hugging herself as a soft breeze played with her hair. "I think he sees them as magic, children loves those kinds of things." I glanced at her, and my heart did that thing again—the stupid thing where it sped up just because she looked at me. "You’re blushing," Jacob whispered into my ear from behind me, making me nearly choke on my drink. I turned sharply. "Get lost, Jacob." Jacob just smirked. "Admit it, you like her." I scowled. "It’s not like that—" "Oh, please," Jacob drawled, rolling his eyes. "Even Alexander knows you like her. The only one in denial here is you." I shot a quick glance at Natalie, who was now laughing softly as Alex tackled Bubble to the ground, and I looked away quickly. Jacob was wrong. If I like Natalie like that, Red would have said something; unfortunately, Red was as confused as I was. I should have been frustrated. I was frustrated. But then, those confusing feelings couldn’t still keep me away from her. ********* Natalie was worse than an advanced math problem. Every time I was near her my brain seemed to fog over and then, this city, this house, seemed to make things a lot more worse for my poor heart. It first started with small things. Like the way she’d sit across from me at breakfast, absently stirring her tea while the morning light softened her features. I’d find myself staring before I realized what I was doing. Or the way she’d blush whenever our eyes met. Or the way my heart would lurch whenever she smiled at me. It was pathetic. I was pathetic. And yet, I couldn’t seem to stop. One evening, I found her in the library, curled up with a book. She looked up when I entered, and for a moment, I just stood there, completely caught off guard by how utterly soft she looked in the dim glow of Bubble’s lanterns. "Do you need something?" she asked, blinking up at me. I cleared my throat, struggling to find a reason for my sudden appearance. "...No," I said finally. "I was just—" What? Wandering around like an idiot because I can’t get you out of my head? She gave me a small smile. "You can stay, if you want." I sat down before I could think better of it. We didn’t talk. She read, and I sat there, pretending I wasn’t completely aware of every time she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Eventually, she dozed off, her book slipping from her grasp. I picked it up, marking the page before setting it aside. Then, without thinking, I reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face. My fingers lingered against her soft cheek for a second too long. I pulled back as if burned, heart hammering against my ribs. This was bad. This was very, very bad. Goddess, what the hell was happening to me?