Sebastian

a couple of times.
    "Then that thing really was…"
    "An incubus." Sebastian sighed. "A pureblood. The real thing."
    "Then what are we?"
    "Mongrels." Sebastian forced himself to smile. "The result of incubi and succubi mating with humans and having the seed take hold."
    Teaser stared at the whiskey bottle. "So… I'm part human?"
    "Looks like it."
    "Do you know why I wanted to be your friend?"
    Sebastian shrugged. "When I first came to the Den, there weren't many incubi and succubi here, and you and I were the youngest ones. Since we liked each other and had fun trolling together, I didn't give it any thought."
    "I wanted to be your friend because you knew how to be human," Teaser said softly. "We learn how to imitate humans in order to blend in enough to stay in a place for a while and hunt, but you knew . The first time we ate at Philo's, you said 'please' and 'thank you.' "
    He shifted, feeling embarrassed. "Well, my aunt is a stickler for good manners."
    Teaser nodded. "You knew those things. You knew how to do more than hunt. You knew how to have fun living in the Den. I wanted to know those things, too. Not that I didn't like you," he added, letting his head roll so he could give Sebastian an earnest look, "but you were more than any incubus I'd run across.
    And the times when Lee came to visit, and the three of us would strut on the streets… I saw how it must be for humans, having friends, being foolish, just having fun."
    "Were you lonely before you came to the Den?" Sebastian didn't expect a reply. Teaser never spoke of where he grew up or what it was like or how the incubi and succubi lived, or even if there was some landscape that was "home" for them.
    "Lynnea hugged me," Teaser said softly. "I've never been hugged before, just for a hug."
    If it wasn't for the times he'd lived with Nadia, he wouldn't have known the warmth and comfort of a hug, either. What kind of man would he have become without Nadia and Glorianna and Lee?
    "One day soon I'm going to have to take you to my aunt's house for a couple of hours."
    Teaser's eyes were filled with a blend of panic and hope. "Your aunt? But I'm… and she's… Won't she mind?"
    Now he could smile and mean it. "Aunt Nadia has a soft spot in her heart for bad boys. She'll put you to work and make you feel human in no time."
    Teaser chuckled. His eyes started to close.
    Sebastian stood up, put the whiskey bottle on the table by the bed, and hauled Teaser to a somewhat vertical position. "Go to bed and get some sleep. You won't wake up happy if you end up sleeping on the floor."
    Teaser swayed gently as he studied his shoes. "My feet are way down there. How'd they do that?"
    "It's a mystery." The barest push had Teaser flopping on the bed. Sebastian took off the shoes, rolled Teaser closer to the center of the bed, and tossed a blanket over him.
    Then he went back to his own room.
    He made excuses for not touching Lynnea. He needed a bath. He was tired. By the time she came out of the bathroom, he pretended to be asleep.
    I'm doing this for her. I know what's inside me now. Really know. I can't let the stain of it dim her life.
    When she cuddled up against his back, he didn't turn to let her rest her head on his shoulder. And when her dreams invited him in, he stayed away—and had never felt so lonely.
     

 

     
     

Chapter Seventeen

 

     
     

     
    Alight breeze softened the summer heat, and the combination of wind chimes, stirring leaves, and water trickling into the koi pond made a kind of music no human-made instrument could match.
    Glorianna sat on the stone bench and watched the flashes of gold as the koi went about life in their own small world, fearful of nothing but the occasional heron that might decide to go fishing in the pond.
    A feeling of change brushed her skin, whispered in the air. Turning her head toward the wooden bridge that arched over a "stream" of decorative stones, she watched the man who suddenly appeared a step beyond the bridge.
    Seeing her, he smiled and raised a hand in greeting.
    Returning the smile, she shifted on the bench to make room for him. "Good morning, Honorable Yoshani."
    "Good morning, Glorianna Dark and Wise." He sat on the bench, put a glazed, covered jar between them, and continued to smile. "I woke this morning and had a feeling that if I came to this part of Sanctuary before the sun rose too high, I would find you here. So I heeded my feeling, and here you are."
    "And here I am."
    "Where is your