Chapter 4: Red

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Red

One week before the wedding

Palatine’s royal palace had stopped pretending it was merely a residence.

For the last several days, entire wings had been surrendered to florists, security teams, caterers, ceremonial officers, and relatives who arrived with enough luggage to suggest the wedding might continue for a month. The central courtyard was being covered for the reception overflow, musicians occupied two rehearsal rooms on the western side, and somewhere below Sebastian’s suite a decorator had been arguing about table linens for nearly forty minutes.

His parents were involved in all of it.

Trevor had somehow been absorbed into security coordination after pointing out three flaws in the original plan and making the mistake of proving himself useful. Lucas had been claimed by Zion’s wedding staff almost immediately, partly because he understood the palace better than most of the younger organizers and partly because saying no to Lucas Fitzgeralt when he decided something needed fixing had historically proven futile.

Sebastian had avoided both of them since breakfast.

At the moment, that required locking himself inside the bathroom of the guest suite permanently assigned to him whenever he stayed at the palace.

The sink was full of blood.

Sebastian stood over it with both hands gripping the marble counter.

His reflection looked normal enough from a distance.

Dark hair, recently cut but already refusing to remain precisely where it belonged. Green eyes. Broad shoulders stretching the black T-shirt he had pulled on after training that morning. Grey lounge trousers sat low on his hips, and there was nothing visibly wrong with him beyond the blood smeared across his mouth and the dangerous pallor beneath his skin.

Up close, the lie became harder to maintain.

Another spasm seized his abdomen.

Sebastian bowed over the sink.

Pain ripped upward beneath his ribs, crossed his chest, and reached his skull so quickly that his vision disappeared beneath a wash of red.

A violent, endless red that swallowed the bathroom, the marble, his hands, and every coherent thought before he could brace against it.

For one second Sebastian did not know where he was.

Something inside him clawing for release.

His pheromones surged.

The lights above the mirror flickered.

A thin fracture appeared along the edge of the glass beneath his right hand.

Sebastian stared at it.

His fingers had tightened hard enough to crack marble.

He released the counter immediately.

"Fuck."

The word came out low and rough.

He straightened carefully and opened the cold tap. Pink water spiraled down the drain as he rinsed the blood away, watching it disappear until there was no evidence left except the metallic taste in his mouth.

The red remained behind his eyes.

That was new.

Or, more accurately, it had become harder to ignore.

Sebastian opened the mirrored cabinet.

Three suppressant cases sat behind his toiletries.

The first was ordinary prescription strength.

The second contained the stronger formulation provided to dominant alphas working prolonged military deployments.

The third had no commercial label at all.

Military grade.

Emergency use only.

Sebastian took out the third case.

The injector inside was designed for a dominant alpha already showing early signs of pheromonal collapse, something meant to buy hours until proper stabilization could be provided.

He had used one yesterday.

Sebastian looked at the remaining doses.

Then removed another.

The cap came away between his teeth.

He pressed the injector against his thigh through the thin fabric of his trousers and activated it.

The medication burned.

His leg tensed automatically.

Sebastian remained still until the entire dose emptied, then dropped the injector into the medical disposal unit beneath the sink.

He waited.

Thirty seconds.

A minute.

The pressure behind his eyes eased slightly.

His heartbeat still felt too hard inside his chest, each contraction sending another pulse of heat through his bloodstream. His pheromones remained restless beneath his skin, searching for something that was not there.

A compatible dominant omega.

Sebastian hated even thinking the phrase.

He opened the case again.

The dosage instructions were printed along the interior in bold black lettering.

One dose within twelve hours.

Maximum two under physician supervision.

Sebastian had taken one less than eight hours ago.

He removed another injector.

This time he did not hesitate.

The second dose hurt worse.

His hand shook afterward.

Sebastian stared at it until it stopped.

He was thirty-one years old. A dominant alpha. One of the strongest active officers in Palatine’s military command structure and someone who had spent years walking into environments other people were ordered to evacuate.

He was not going to lose his mind in a palace bathroom because his biology had decided to become bothersome.

The red receded another fraction.

Sebastian cleaned the sink again, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and stood beneath cold water until the blood smell disappeared completely.

By the time he stepped back into the bedroom, there was no visible evidence of what had happened.

He changed.

Black tailored trousers. White shirt. Dark waistcoat left unbuttoned for the moment. A watch at his wrist. His hair pushed back neatly enough to satisfy Lucas if they crossed paths.

The suite beyond the bathroom was bright with afternoon sun now that the clouds had cleared. Cream stone framed tall windows overlooking the eastern gardens, where staff were erecting temporary lighting among clipped hedges and old trees. Two security officers crossed the terrace below while palace vehicles moved steadily through the far service entrance.

A knock came at his door.

Sebastian checked himself once in the mirror.

"Come in."

Lucas entered without waiting for permission anyway.

He wore pale trousers and a fitted lavender shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms, a tablet tucked beneath one arm and reading glasses pushed onto the top of his blond head. At his age he still moved with the light, controlled ease Sebastian had inherited only in fragments.

"There you are."

Sebastian picked up his jacket.

"I was here."

"You disappeared after breakfast."

"I had work."

"You are attending a wedding, not invading another country."

"Those are not mutually exclusive activities."

Lucas gave him a look.

Sebastian smiled.

Lucas crossed the room and adjusted the collar of Sebastian’s shirt without asking.

"You look tired."

"Everyone keeps telling me that."

"Perhaps because you are."

"I slept."

"How much?"

Sebastian slid his arms into the jacket. "Enough."

Lucas studied him for half a second longer.

Sebastian held his gaze without effort.

Then Lucas accepted it.

Everyone did.

That was the useful part about being competent for long enough. People stopped questioning whether you could carry something simply because it looked heavy.

"The family dinner moved to seven," Lucas said. "Your father is threatening Zion’s security director. Dean arrived an hour ago, and someone has already hidden the expensive liquor from Nero."

Sebastian’s hand paused briefly at the front of his jacket.

"Nero is here?"

"His plane landed twenty minutes ago."

The red moved behind Sebastian’s eyes.

Pain followed it, and as always, he pushed everything back enough to look normal.

He buttoned his jacket.

"Wonderful."

Lucas laughed, completely unaware.

"Try not to kill anyone before the wedding."

Sebastian walked with him toward the door.

His smile came easily.

"I’ll do my best."