“I’m getting really tired of this shit,” Sebastian growled. “You’re not getting the little guy so bugger off.”

“Mine!” the shifter shouted.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. He just wanted to go home, no fuss, no muss. He didn’t want to fight his way out of the damn castle. It didn’t look like he was going to get what he wanted without a fight.

Of course, if he took the reason for the fight out of the picture… Sebastian turned to see the little man he’d held a few minutes earlier huddled against the wall, hugging his knees to his chest. Sebastian gestured with his hand for the man to come to him.

The man frantically shook his head, his wavy white hair bouncing around his face. Sebastian growled deeper, gesturing with his hand again.

“Come here!”

Violet eyes widened fearfully. The small man climbed to his feet and walked the distance between them until he stood directly in front of Sebastian. His thin little body trembled. Sebastian almost groaned with the way the man’s eyes dropped submissively down to the floor.

“Do you want to be mated to this man?” he asked softly, hoping his gentle voice would calm the man.

“No,” he whispered. “Please.”

The moment the words were spoken, Sebastian opened his mouth and let out a billow of smoke, enveloping the man. This smoke wasn’t pure black like normal, but gray and tinged with blasts of red flames.

It was the mating fire of his kind. As long as he didn’t exchange blood with the little man, the effects would wear off in a few hours. For now, it would mark the frightened man as his, warning all others to steer clear of him or suffer Sebastian’s wrath.

The man trembled and cried out, grabbing the back of his neck. Sebastian knew he was feeling the brand that all mates felt when they were claimed. Sebastian’s life symbol would be burned into the man’s skin, only fading when he died—or if Sebastian didn’t complete the mating in the next twenty-four hours.

Satisfied that the man had been saved from the shifter, Sebastian grabbed him by his arm and jerked him close to his side. He turned back to give the shifter a bored stare. “Now it’s no longer an issue. He has been claimed and is no longer available.”

“You’ll be sorry,” the shifter sneered. “He was mine. He’ll be mine again.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sebastian made a shooing motion with his free hand. “Get along little doggie. We’ve had enough of you.”

Sebastian knew he had guessed the shifter’s race when the man growled and suddenly sprouted fur and fangs and two pointed ears. There were some things that were instantly recognizable in certain breeds… like ears and a tail. Fur was a big one, too. Sebastian had scales.

“I’m going to kill you!” the shifter snarled.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. Like he had never heard that before. He didn’t usually start fights, just because he hated the drama involved. But he would certainly finish one, given the chance. He wouldn’t back down from a challenge.

“When and where, furball?”

“How about here and now?”

“Very well.” Sebastian twisted his head left and right, popping a few vertebrae, then pushed the small man at his side behind him. He flexed his claws and let his teeth extend, a small billow of smoke coming out of his nostrils. He gestured with his hand for the shifter to come toward him. “Let’s get to it then.”

The shifter tensed and crouched as if getting ready to pounce. Sebastian braced himself for the fight to come then dropped his jaw in shock when someone barreled into the shifter, sending him crashing to the floor.

Before the shifter could gain his feet, he was yanked up and a vampire sank his teeth deep into the shifter’s throat. A long frustrated wail filled the air as the shifter was claimed by another. Sebastian almost felt bad for the guy—almost.

The shifter was yanked to his feet and dragged off before he could protest. Sebastian snickered and turned to head to his rooms again, only remembering the small sprite when he nearly tripped over him again.

“Well, what am I going to do with you?”

Sebastian’s mouth dropped open when the man before him suddenly shifted, dropping through his clothes to the hard floor beneath him. He reached down and started sifting through the clothes, just barely catching the sight of white fur before it started scurrying across the floor.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Sebastian snapped as he grabbed the bunny by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up into the air. He looked the rabbit over, a slow smirk starting to cross his lips as an idea came to him. “Yes, I think you’ll do just fine.”

The bunny started to struggle. Sebastian hissed when the little furry’s hind legs came up and scratched his arm, leaving deep bleeding welts. “Knock it off,” he growled, shaking the bunny. “I’m not hurting you.”

The bunny glared, flattening his long ears against the side of his head.

“Now, you just be a good little bunny and we’ll get along fine,” he said as he tucked the bunny under his arm and walked back into the main gathering room, heading for the dais of elders. The fighting seemed to stop the further he walked into the room, people parting to give them a wide berth.

“You’re not being a good bunny,” Sebastian said as the bunny continued to struggle. Sebastian lightly thumped him on the back end. He almost chuckled when the bunny stopped struggling, but flattened his ears down to his head even further. At least he listened well.

“Elder Burke,” Sebastian called out when they reached the dais, “I wish to have my mating recorded.”