Chapter 17 Commitment
seventeen
Commitment
*MARCELLUS*
Iam not sure if I did right with Benjamin, but at least he seems to be calmer now and follows me home. He even eats something before heading to bed.
“And?” Silas asks me quietly.
I shrug helplessly. “Nothing hurts more than a rejection,” I admit. “Even when you know it’s coming. Though I will say that at least my former mate had a valid reason.”
Silas almost drops the cup he is holding. He presses his hand against his chest. “A valid… a valid reason?” He gapes, before taking a couple of steadying breaths. “Okay, calm down. Countenance, Silas, your significant other just happens to be a goody-two-shoes.” Another steadying breath.
I feel my cheeks flush in embarrassment. “You don’t need to be that dramatic. Eugene-”
“Oh, please! Your brother and his favorite fruit… vegetable… whatever, still did you wrong, reason or not. She was in love with someone else, but there was no need to betray you the way they did,” Silas says bluntly.
“As for Isla, she is a fool. Cassian told me some about her. Her goal is to get a mate with a rank and live a glamorous life. I don’t think she even truly cares about Benjamin’s past. If he were a rich boy in a suit, she would have immediately accepted him. ”
“Benjamin told me the same about her wanting a comfortable life,” I say.
Silas shakes his head. “When will that kid ever catch a break? I know he made some mistakes, but he was a victim, too. Remember when he came here and thought even the tiniest mistake would make us beat him?”
“At least he warmed towards you,” I say. “He is still wary around me. Maybe I need to do something differently.”
“No, you are doing fine,” Silas reassures me. “But you are an alpha. It will always trigger him. He is starting to open up to you, though, don’t worry.” He gets up to wrap his arms around my neck, smirking at me. “You need to give yourself more credit sometimes. I can teach you if you want to.”
I try to blink my confusion away. It’s rare that Silas is that flirty. “Yes? So, what’s good about me?”
“First of all, you are funny, smart, and witty. Three qualities I find tremendously appealing,” Silas says. “You are generous, strong and kind.”
“Okay,” I mutter, starting to feel flustered. “I didn’t expect you to be that blunt.”
“I know,” Silas chuckles. “Makes it even better. But for the record, I meant what I said.”
“Hm,” I hum. “Why do I have difficulties believing that?”
“You always do,” Silas says seriously. “Why is it so hard for you to accept someone complimenting you?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug.
Silas tilts his head, his eyes looking directly into mine as if he is gazing into my soul. He has blue eyes, leaning towards gray, a mesmerizing color.
“Maybe, I do know,” I admit.
“Then tell me.”
“Well, Dr. Freud,” I say. “For one, I might not be used to it. Eugene was always the more gifted between us.”
“That’s what you believe,” Silas says quietly. “But I doubt it’s true. Didn’t you say the beta of your pack focused particularly on you?”
“Yes, I thought he hated me,” I admit.
“But in fact, he was just seeing your potential and invested more work and time in you compared to your brother. And your mother saw it, too.”
“Mom loved Eugene and me; it’s as simple as that. And Dad loved Eugene more,” I say. “It’s a fact that Eugene always did better academically and was more popular in the pack.”
“I don’t know your brother,” Silas says. “Only what you told me about him. I can’t say I like him because it’s obvious how much he hurt you, despite how much effort you put into your relationship with him. Even when you two were still inseparable, did he ever show you the same effort?”
“Not directly,” I admit. “I doubt he even realized it, though.”
“See, there you have it. You are way more attentive about your surroundings and put others before yourself. Do you think your brother would have treated Benjamin the way you do? There is no other alpha who could do the work you are doing here. That’s the person you are.
You are giving people a second chance and helping them achieve it.
You don’t judge them, but instead lead them with compassion.
As a teenager, your brother was so popular because he was more extroverted and more into team sports, while you enjoyed your small circle of friends and reading.
As adults, I strongly believe you would have become a truly popular alpha in your pack, more popular than Eugene. ”
I can feel a knot in my stomach, something I haven’t felt in a long while. I didn’t know how much I needed to hear what Silas said. Instead of an answer, I just hug him, burying my face into his silky hair.
“I want to start introducing you as my beloved,” Silas says all of a sudden.
I draw back to look at him. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, because the thought of someone else coming along and flirting with you is truly enraging, and I might end up clawing their eyes out,” Silas states. “It’s better to make everyone know you are mine.”
“Does this mean you will let me mark you?”
“Yes, but I want it to be special,” Silas says. “Not just you fucking me and biting into my neck. I am high maintenance, remember?”
“Got it,” I chuckle. “I will make sure to come up with something you like.”
Our talk gets disrupted by Silas’s phone ringing. “That’s my work phone,” he mutters. “Who can that be? Mind if I answer it?”
“No, go ahead,” I reassure him.
Silas lets go of me and grabs his phone, answering it with a frown. He hates being called from a number he doesn’t know. Due to his past, he is always on guard. To my surprise, though, his frown just grows. “Julianus?” he asks, sounding less than pleased.
Oh, awesome, his ex!
I know that Silas and Julianus are done for good, but it’s still not great to watch my mate being contacted by him.
I know Silas is loyal, probably one of the most loyal people I have ever met, and he just told me he wants to officially commit to me.
I trust him, and I try to tell myself over and over again that just because I was betrayed by someone I trusted once, it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again.
“What?” Silas exclaims. “Are you for real?” He turns to me. “He is saying that he freed two vampires who were locked up. He is asking if we’d take them in.”
“What did they do?” I ask.
“They chose humans as their beloved,” Silas explains.
“Wait, that’s all?”
“Aloysius hates humans,” Silas says. “I am not surprised he has apparently made it possible for covens to imprison their members for interacting too much with humans.”
“Of course, we will take them in,” I say. “Can we do it safely?”
“Yes, they are not from my brother’s coven,” Silas says. “I will discuss the details with Lucian later.”
It’s been a while since we had new vampires joining us, so this is an interesting development and certainly not a bad one. Vampires are very traditional, but it seems recently more and more seem to be unhappy with Aloysius, which can only be good for our cause.
Julianus’ call forces us both into action immediately. The two new vampires, together with their beloveds, are supposed to come to the pack tomorrow night, meaning Silas is definitely going to pull an all-nighter again, together with Lucian.
Meanwhile, I reach out to Micah and have him come over so that we can help as much as possible.
But we also have the additional new pack members to think of, who will arrive by the end of the week.
I don’t want to work Micah into exhaustion, though, so shortly after midnight, I make sure to send him back home so he can get some sleep.
“You should do the same,” Silas tells me when he spots me wishing Micah a good night.
“Are you sure?” I ask. “You still have plenty of work to do.”
“Yes, I will probably sleep in tomorrow,” he says. “But even if not, I can go without sleep for a while. You, as a wolf, meanwhile, need sleep to function properly. We will also need to meet with my undercover agent tomorrow morning. Keep that in mind, please.”
“Oh, you were notified by Juniper?” I ask.
Juni is one of Silas and Lucian’s most trusted vampire contacts.
She is fiercely loyal to Silas because he saved her life once and protected her from being tortured and killed.
Aloysius never knew about the connection between them, which is why she volunteered to stay behind and keep an eye on what’s going on in his coven.
“Yes, she called an hour ago,” he says. “How did we manage to get swamped with this much work all in one day?”
“Beats me,” I groan. “But we will have to manage. Where did Durant and Alex head to?” I ask, remembering that I haven’t seen them for the whole day.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you!” Silas groans. “I apologize. Alex headed out to meet with some of his contacts to gather more information, and Durant went back to Aloysius. Officially, he is still working with him after all. We decided it’s better for him to return, or Aloysius will grow suspicious.”
“Alright,” I sigh. “You are right. I will go and get some sleep, so I will have a fresh mind tomorrow. I am still worried about Benj. I will try to involve him in some of the work. Is that okay for you?”
“Sure, that’s a great idea. Feeling needed will help him for sure.”
“Don’t overdo it with work either,” I tell him.
Silas nods, but before he can leave, I grab his arm and pull him back into a kiss. “I love you,” I say.
Silas’ cheeks flush red at my confession. For a man who usually never blushes or looks flustered or embarrassed, that’s certainly a sight to behold.
“Don’t worry,” I reassure him. “You don’t need to answer. I just wanted to tell you.”
“You wolves,” Silas groans. “I told you I want you to be my beloved, so I hope you know what that means.”
“I do,” I reassure him. “I know you love me.”
At that, Silas turns even more flustered. Interesting. I didn’t know this was how to tease him. Despite being sophisticated and stoic, he has a cute, adorable side to him, but it’s hard to bring it out sometimes. I might have to remember that.
I am up early the next morning, and to my relief, see Silas lying next to me, which means he indeed didn’t overdo it. Making sure not to wake him, I grab my clothes and decide to use the bathroom downstairs.
“You are up already?” I ask, surprised, when I walk into the kitchen and spot Benjamin. He has already set the table and is making pancakes.
“I thought I could make breakfast,” he says, looking flustered. “I know you are always up early.”
“You are making them for me?” I ask.
“Well, you and Silas worked late, didn’t you?”
“True, but how did you notice? Couldn’t sleep well, huh?”
“Not much,” he admits. I let my gaze wander over him, noticing how pale he looks. In his eyes, it looks like something has broken in him. I sincerely hope we can mend it again.
“Let me make some strong coffee for us both,” I offer.
Benjamin nods while proceeding with his own task. When we sit down at the kitchen table to have our pancakes with coffee, I grab the folders with the information Micah and I collected last night, and pick up the topic I had discussed with Silas yesterday, filling Benjamin in on what happened.
“So many new poven members in just a week!” Benjamin exclaims.
He said ‘poven’! Pity that Silas wasn’t here to hear it.
“Yes, we have the two vampires coming later today, then the wolves Cassian saved, and the two additional ones that are in a pack a bit further away. I will visit them as soon as possible. They are supposed to join us at the end of the week.” I pause.
“Are you up to lending Micah and me a hand or two? I already told you I want you to tend to some of the new pack members - the two shifters, who arrive at the end of the week. But I could do with additional help before that.”
Benjamin’s face lights up immediately. “Are you for real? I would love to help! Is it really okay?”
“We definitely need the help,” I say. “You are doing us a favor.”
It was obviously the right decision to ask him because he is instantly sparked with motivation, asking me what he can do, and even offering some ideas himself, like making sure the housing situation is well organized.
I notice some color returning to his cheeks, making him look more lively.
I originally wanted to pair him up with Micah to make sure he wouldn’t hurt himself or do something stupid, but seeing him now, I decide to give him a real chance to prove himself and give him some tasks he is supposed to do on his own.
Organizing the housing situation is on him now.
“Are you really letting me do this on my own?” he beams.
“Yes,” I hand him the folders. “Here is all the information you need about our new pack members, both for the wolves who will be joining us and for the vampires with their human mates. Make sure to take into consideration that we’ll have humans on pack grounds.”
“I will talk to Lucian,” he says. “To think of a way to involve them in the pack properly. No one should be an outsider here.”
“That’s the spirit,” I say. “You got this, Benj.”
He takes the folders and holds them tightly against his chest. “I won’t disappoint you!” he promises.