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“I can’t help it,” Peregrine sniffed. “I know feeling isn’t any part of my purpose, but I feel everything. I feel too much. Everything hurts, Sebastian. Not just my body, but my very being. But I’m not supposed to feel, and so I’ve no idea what to do. My only purpose in life is to please a dragon. To please you. And I failed.” At this, Peregrine’s crying became sobs as great and frightening as a dragon’s roar.
Weeping omegas were not something Sebastian had ever prepared to deal with, but somehow that didn’t matter. The man before him wasn’t just any omega. He was Peregrine. He held Sebastian’s heart. So he scooped Peregrine up into his arms, noting he felt lighter than he ever had, and carried his love back to their bedroom.
Sebastian didn’t know what to say to help Peregrine, so he laid him down on the bed and then stretched out beside him and took Peregrine’s hand into his own much larger one. The small hand enveloped in his fluttered, much like a captured bird might, so Sebastian reminded himself to be gentle, gentle, gentle.
He held Peregrine’s hand like it was the most prized possession in his hoard.
His dragon wasn’t much of a talker, but he agreed with Sebastian. Mine. Take. Keep. Forever.
“Sebastian,” Peregrine said quietly.
“Yes, love?”
“You said you loved me. It was to your brother, but I did hear the words.”
“Aye. I did say that.”
Peregrine turned so he lay on his side, facing Sebastian. “You can’t.”
“I can,” Sebastian assured him. “I can do anything I wish.”
“You shouldn’t.” Peregrine sniffled. “It isn’t right. You are worth so much more than I can offer.”
“I don’t care.”
“But you should.”
Sebastian shrugged. “I am not easily swayed. You should accustom yourself to it. I don’t imagine that will ever change.”
Peregrine let out a shaky laugh. “No, I don’t suppose it will.”
“I love you,” Sebastian said, “with all of my heart. And don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do, Perry. I am a dragon. I live as I wish.”
“And what of the council?”
Sebastian shrugged again. He would keep Peregrine safe. He would do so for the rest of his life. The council would have no say in the matter. He had more than sufficient income to father a clutch and if it came to it, he’d protect his children and his mate until the very end. “The council does not factor into my decision. I will always keep you safe, Peregrine. You and any children you might bear for me, be they dragon or human, or be there no offspring at all.”
Despite his tears, Peregrine managed a shaky smile. “And if I bear a Disgrace?”
“I will love him, because he comes from you.”
More tears streamed down Peregrine’s cheeks, and Sebastian hastened to wipe them away.
“We are taught,” Sebastian murmured as he pushed Peregrine onto his back and climbed atop him, straddling his narrow hips and lowering his face so they were lip to lip, “from our earliest days as whelps that Disgraces are unlucky creatures, but I do not agree. For you are a Disgrace, and I have never felt more lucky in my entire life than I do now here, with you.”
Peregrine whimpered pitifully and drew a shaky breath. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s neck and slid just the tips of his fingers into the hair of his nape. It was gentle affection, but it was affection nonetheless, and it bolstered Sebastian’s spirits.
The pain of losing the babe was severe, for Peregrine even more so than him, but as vulnerable as it now was, there was still love in their hearts for each other. It was buried by grief, but it had not died, and no matter what it took, Sebastian would excavate it.
Peregrine was his, and he would not let anything pull them apart.
Heart full to brimming with love for his omega, Sebastian pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss. It was a promise, and it was one Peregrine earnestly returned.
How strange yet wonderful it was how something so innocent could leave Sebastian breathless.
Peregrine.
His Peregrine.
