Chapter 29 Of Exes and Friends
twenty-nine
Of Exes and Friends
*MARCELLUS*
Julianus arrives together with Alex, and I make sure to act like I don’t mind him being here.
Technically, I truly don’t mind, but no one likes to have their lover’s ex strolling around close to them.
He is a handsome man, I have to give him that, a bit more on the serious side, but that might be due to his major fallout with Silas years ago, and then his second fallout with psycho-brother Aloysius.
He isn’t a bad guy and has done a lot these last couple of months to help us and the vampire community, so I try to keep it civil between us.
Silas loves his fancy scarves and all, but he is not wearing one today.
His beautiful neck with my mark on it is very prominent to see.
When his brother and Julianus arrive, he even demonstratively turns his head, giving a full view of his mark.
A silly sense of pride and happiness fills me.
That’s my mate, and he is showing off his mark!
Julianus looks surprised, and a tad shocked, which makes it so much better.
“You are marked,” Alex says, equally surprised. But then he smiles, giving Silas a swift hug. “I am happy for you, brother.”
Silas hugs him back. “Thanks, brother.”
“One of us and a werewolf,” Alex chuckles. “How the times have changed.”
“Envious?” Silas teases.
“You know, a couple of months ago in Paris, I met this beautiful, stunning and smart female lycan. She was fantastic. I was head over heels for her.”
“But?”
“Unfortunately, mated, and not to me,” Alex grins. “But you could say she piqued a certain interest in our hairy friends.”
“Your hairy friends?” I repeat.
“No offense,” he says. “I mean that in the best way possible.”
“Yeah, sure.” I don’t know Silas’ brother well, but he is a cynical douchebag, albeit a reliable one.
“I am happy for you, too,” Julianus says all of a sudden.
Silas glances at him. “Thank you.” There is no teasing or anger in his voice.
It must be hard facing his former beloved and the man who betrayed him, and maybe imagining the things that could have been.
For a moment, I feel a twinge of pain, because I wasn’t there back then and even if I were, I doubt that Silas would have chosen me over Julianus.
Silas turns around to look at me, a warm smile curling his lips, making me feel like an idiot.
Silas let me mark him; he gave himself willingly to me and claimed me in return.
He is a man who sticks to his commitment and doesn’t half-ass things.
There is no reason to be jealous of Julianus for what both of them once had.
In fact, I am lucky to have my whole future with this man.
“What’s with the boy you saved?” Silas asks, turning his attention back to the other two men. “My nephew.”
“Alex has told you most of it already,” Julianus says. “I dug deep, really deep, to find this woman and her son.”
“How come you even found her?” Silas asks. “I have so many difficulties finding anyone Aloysius had an affair with.”
“I have a good memory,” Julianus says.
“Yeah, so do Silas and I,” Alex snorts. “So how did you do it? I am curious, too.”
“After Lord Silas left, Aloysius began to drink more,” Julianus explains. “He was a rough drunk, but he also talked more when he drank.”
“That’s not quite the explanation I was thinking of,” Alex mutters.
“Me neither,” Silas agrees.
Julianus eyes them curiously. “Why? What did you think would have happened?”
“I don’t know… I thought you might have stolen a folder or snuck around or something,” Alex says.
“We all know I am not exactly a brave man,” Julianus mutters.
“You are helping now,” Alex says. “And you found our nephew. That counts as something.”
“I agree,” Silas says. “He is well, isn’t he?”
“Yes, a healthy and happy boy, albeit a bit shy,” Julianus says.
“Have you met him already, Alex?”
“Yes,” Alex says. “He and his mother. A very smart woman. She immediately understood the danger she was in.”
“She must have known that Aloysius is a vampire,” Silas concludes.
“You need to meet them,” Alex says. “I need you to put a protection charm on them, something to make sure that Aloysius won’t find them. You are easily the strongest vampire to exist.”
“The same could be said about Aloysius,” Silas points out. “There is no guarantee that he won’t be able to break the spell.”
“We don’t know that,” Alex argues. “You have never measured your powers. I think he underestimates you and that you are far stronger than he expects.”
“Well, it’s worth a try,” Silas says. “We also need a place for the two of them to stay, a safe place. Julianus is currently hiding them, but that’s not safe enough.”
“That’s where I come into the game,” I say. “Time to call one of my allies.”
“You want to hide them in a werewolf pack?” Alex muses. “Not the worst idea.”
“That or a witch coven,” I say. “I want to discuss this with one of my lycan supporters.”
Alex grins. “Aloysius fears the lycans, so that’s going to be the last place he’d search.”
“And he knows werewolves aren’t too fond of humans,” Silas points out. “He will not expect one of his exes in a pack.”
“I will make sure to find a safe pack, and maybe one of the warriors there could pose as the woman’s mate,” I suggest.
“Another good idea,” Alex says. “You are on a roll, wolfboy.”
“Call him that again, and your annoying smirk will meet my fist,” Silas says before I can even react.
Hot, the way he defends me!
Alex seems to be surprised and raises his hands in defense. “I didn’t mean any insult.” When Silas glares at him, he swallows thickly. “I won’t mean any insult from now on.”
“Alright, I will give Alpha Liam a call,” I say.
“Oh, not Cassius?” Silas asks.
“No, Liam has a lycan-werewolf pack, and they are very progressive. He has also helped us a lot in the past, and we’ve helped him. I think he would be up for supporting us once more.”
“Right, Charlie is his pack member, and he is still iffy about the stunt Aloysius pulled a couple of months ago.”
“Exactly.”
“I agree,” Julianus frowns. “Alpha Liam just wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflict and bloodshed, or he would have attacked Aloysius.”
“I have no idea what the three of you are talking about,” Alex mutters. “But if this Alpha Liam helps us and is trustworthy, I have nothing to oppose.”
“Alpha Liam is the brother of the beautiful she-wolf you met in Paris,” Silas says dryly.
“What, really?” I laugh. “You mean, you have a crush on her, Princess Aurelia?”
“Oh, you know her?” Alex says, his interest clearly piqued.
“Did you forget? We are allied with her father,” I explain. “And her brothers. She is going to take over her father’s pack, so of course, we meet regularly.”
“Then by all means, give her brother a call,” Alex says. “Any friend or relative of hers is mine, too.”
“Goddess!” I chuckle.
“Didn’t know you could be that silly,” Silas says, amused.
“What can I say? She was a sight for sore eyes,” Alex says.
“You do remember she is mated?” Silas asks.
“I know, which is why I’m just pining for her from afar,” Alex retorts. His lips curl into a smirk, and it’s obvious he is just joking around. He has no interest in pursuing her, but I do think if Aurelia were unmated, he would have made a move on her.
“I will give him a call now,” I say, excusing myself from the gathering to go to my office.
Liam and I have built something like a friendship.
I truly respect him for the alpha he is, and strive to be like him, while he respects and supports Silas’ and my project.
I work closely with one of his brothers, who is helping victims of abuse and assault to escape their perpetrators and get a new start somewhere else.
Some of them even moved to Sunset Hills.
“Marc?” Liam answers on the second ring. “Funny, I was just about to call you.”
“You can go first,” I offer.
“You are calling for something business-related, right?” he asks. “Please start. My matters are a bit more personal.”
His words pique my curiosity, but I decide to go with his suggestion, telling him about Silas and Alex’s nephew and his mom, who need a place to hide.
“Aloysius does not know about the kid’s existence?” Liam asks.
“He has no idea, at least for now,” I explain. “Alex and Julianus found him before Aloysius could. But at one point, he will try to track the boy’s mother. She is one of his exes after all.”
“I see,” Liam muses. “Leave that to me. I will find a safe place for her,” he says. “Anything to bring that creepy Aloysius down. He makes my blood boil whenever I think of him. Can’t believe I had to let him get away.”
“We are working on bringing him down,” I say. “But it’s more difficult than expected.”
“Yeah, a cunning mastermind like him is hard to tackle,” Liam admits. “Tell Julianus to contact me with the details. Let’s go over the plan in a meeting next week. We can do it online if it’s easier.”
“Sounds good,” I say. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Okay, listen, there are two male wolves, both omegas, only aged sixteen. They are orphans and have been bullied and abused by their pack, severely. My brother Marius was informed about them through another alpha, who has saved them and currently lets them stay in his pack.”
“They are so young,” I mutter. “How bad is it?”
“Marius met with them and said the trauma runs deep. He thinks it would be best for them to join you and Silas. You have the proper tools to help them.”
“Yeah, Marius has set me up with a couple of therapists lately,” I say. “We have some resources at hand. We also just got a couple of new pack members, all victims, and are working to help them heal from their trauma. There is still room for two more.”
“I knew you would say that,” Liam says. “Marius will contact you soon.”
“Why didn’t he call directly? He normally does?”
Liam stays quiet for a while. “Well, that’s the reason I wanted to go last with my news.”
“Yeah, you said it’s a more personal matter. Just tell me, I can take it.”
“The alpha who contacted Marius is Alpha Eugene from Blue River pack.”
I am stunned, silence engulfing both of us, as I am not able to say anything, and Liam gives me the time to process what he just said.
My brother… and my old pack. My thoughts are running wild.
I knew at one point that my past would catch up to me, but I believed I had some power over how it would happen.
This, however, just hits me out of the blue.
“Does Eugene know?” I ask.
“No,” Liam reassures me. “He doesn’t know about you or any details about Sunset Hills; he just knew about Marius, and has heard about a pack that helps victims to claim back their lives.” He pauses. “What are you going to do?”
I take a deep breath, pushing my own issues aside. “Nothing,” I say. “These two kids need help, and we’ll take them in. They just happen to be kept in my old pack right now.”
“I am really glad to hear that.” Liam sounds relieved.
We both exchange some more information with each other, and set up our next meeting before we hang up.
I remain sitting in my office, just staring at my hands.
Alpha Eugene. Blue River Pack. I haven’t thought about Olive much ever since I met Silas, but Eugene still haunts me, as does the thought of my parents.
I feel like a young teen again. Insecure, overwhelmed and anxious.
“Marcellus?” The door opens slightly, and Silas steps inside. He gazes at me. “The mate bond is a peculiar thing,” he mutters. “Ever since you marked me, I feel different. Sometimes I feel you. Like now.”
He steps closer, hugging me from behind. “So, what happened? Did Liam reject the plan?”
“No, he is on board,” I explain. “But he told me we have two potential new pack members. Two teenage boys who were abused by their pack.”
“Okay,” Silas says tentatively. “We have the resources.”
“I said the same.”
“But?”
“They are currently at Blue River pack,” I admit.
I can feel the surprise in Silas’ stance, before he hugs me a bit tighter. “I will go and fetch them,” he says. “I know usually it’s you and Micah going, but I can do it this time.”
“Is that really okay? It’s inevitable that…” My voice trails off, but Silas gets it anyway.
“Yes, it’s inevitable, and sooner or later, they will find out about you and realize where you are.
In fact, I think the moment we take in these new pack members, they will know.
For various reasons. Your smell is all over me, then the bureaucracy following the whole exchange.
They will ask questions. But it doesn’t mean you need to go there. Let them come to you instead.”
“Alright,” I say, taking a deep breath. “I will let you handle it, but I won’t run away anymore. If they ask questions, don’t lie to them.”
“Got it,” Silas says. “I have a couple of meetings scheduled with Alex. I want to meet my nephew and Liam, but if you set the meeting in your brother’s pack for Saturday, I should be fine.”