Chapter 32 Yet Another Second Chance
thirty-two
Yet Another Second Chance
*MARCELLUS*
It’s very early in the morning when Silas and I get up.
I swear, once this issue with his brother is dealt with, I want a whole sex-filled weekend with him, preferably a week, but I want to keep it realistic.
I am not sure if Silas has similar thoughts, but at least he is as displeased as I am to have so much work early in the morning.
He doesn’t look too happy when he steps outside onto the porch and meets Durant, Alex and Julianus there.
“You know I love you, Alex,” he grumbles. “But it’s too early.”
“Wasn’t my idea,” Alex mutters. “These two wanted to come so early.”
“I don’t want Aloysius to get suspicious,” Durant says quietly. “If I leave too often during the day, he will sense that something is off.”
“Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” Silas tells him. “But since you are here already, do you have something for us?”
“Yes, Aloysius recently made a whole list of human women he slept with,” Durant explains.
“Please tell me you know the names on it.”
“I do.” To my surprise, Durant indeed hands Silas a piece of paper with names scribbled down on it.
“There are a lot,” I remark.
“Humans are easier to seduce with our powers,” Julianus explains. “It’s actually pretty gross to do that, if you ask me.”
I can’t believe I am agreeing with him on something, but I have nothing to add to it. He is right. It’s gross.
“Marc, Silas!” I hear a high-pitched voice calling out to me, making me turn around to see Maddie running towards me. She stumbles over her own feet, but gets up again and giggles before running towards us.
Silas catches her and picks her up. “What are you doing so early in the morning?” he asks, gently poking her cheek.
She giggles. “I heard your voices.”
“You heard us from that far away?” Alex asks. “You’re already showing quite some talents, pumpkin.”
She blinks. “Pumpkin?”
“Because of your orange onesie,” Alex grins.
Maddie frowns. “Okay, Broccoli.”
Alex looks stunned. “Wait, I am broccoli?”
“You have a green shirt,” she says confidently.
“Now that’s settled, say goodbye to Broccoli,” Silas says before Alex can intervene. “I have notified Lucian. He will take you home to your mom. We don’t want to worry her, do we?”
“No,” Maddie says. “When mommy is sad, she doesn’t make cookies.”
“You have your priorities right,” Julianus says with a smile.
“Yes, Mister,” she says.
“Why is he Mister, and I am Broccoli?” Alex asks.
“He doesn’t have a green shirt.”
That logic successfully shuts Alex up, until Lucian appears and picks up Maddie to take her back to Sheila.
“What a cutie,” Julianus chuckles.
“We don’t have many children here yet,” I say. “It’s lovely to have her around. One of our pack members is pregnant, though, so soon we’ll have another pup running around.”
“She has really good hearing, doesn’t she?” Durant asks.
“Yeah, it’s incredible that she could hear us,” Alex admits, his eyes following Lucian’s frame and how he disappears between some houses. “She was pretty far away, yet she heard us.”
“Some pups receive their gifts quite early,” I say evasively, hoping they won’t catch on that she isn’t a pup. “Not to the full extent, but it can happen that they can partly access their gifts early.”
“Interesting,” Durant says.
“For real. You werewolves are still a bit of a mystery to me,” Julianus agrees.
Alex doesn’t say anything, just gazes briefly at me and then at Silas. Whatever he thinks, he fortunately keeps to himself. I decide to use the moment to study the sheet of paper Durant brought along, searching for the name of one human in particular.
Fuck!
I hand the paper to Alex and Julianus, who skim it as well, both of them furrowing their brows in worry.
“Is there someone you know?” Durant asks.
“No,” Alex answers smoothly. “One of the names sounds familiar. I think I met her once when she was with Aloysius.” He points at a completely random name. “Hope she is okay, and he won’t kill her.”
“I don’t think he will as long as she didn’t have his child,” Durant says.
We have agreed to keep the appearance of Silas’ and Alex’s nephew a secret.
Julianus obviously knows about it, and Alpha Liam.
But we all want as few people to know as possible, just to be safe.
You never know who’s listening in on us.
Also, in Durant’s case, he is still living with Aloysius.
If Aloysius ever catches him betraying him, he at least won’t be able to spill any secrets.
The vampires are still discussing the list when I spot Nova’s car coming closer. My gaze instantly goes to the backseat where Benjamin and Lori are sitting, my heart making a happy leap for him when they get out of the car and she takes his hand.
It’s then that I notice Nova getting out, too, staring at us intently. Then, without further ado, she suddenly walks towards us in long confident strides. She truly is a capable, confident young woman; I know Cassian really respects her.
“Nova,” I greet her. “It’s nice to see you.”
She doesn’t answer, actually, she doesn’t seem to notice me at all. Instead, she walks towards Julianus, her eyes flashing black. “Mine,” she growls.
Now that was unexpected!
I am as stunned as the others around me. I thought he was gay, I link Silas.
No, he is bi, Silas explains.
Well, at least that explains it.
Does it? Silas wants to know. We know vampire and werewolf mates are rare. You and I are a huge exception.
Maybe, but Julianus has barely any connection to the vampire world. I hate the guy, but he is an outcast, and as that, I kind of pity him.
Silas is silent for a while. You are right.
Meanwhile, Julianus seems to be completely dumbfounded by the situation. “I… Hello,” he says. “My name is Julianus.”
“I am Nova,” Nova introduces herself.
“Are you a pack member here?”
“No, I am from an allied pack,” Nova eyes him curiously. “You are a vampire… which means you aren’t an alpha.”
Julianus’ face seems to fall. “I am sorry to disappoint you.”
“You don’t lead a pack or coven, do you?”
“I am sorry, no. I am pretty much a nomad.”
“Thank the goddess,” Nova exclaims, surprising us all. “I am Alpha Cassius’ sister, and the future beta of my pack.” She rubs her hand in joy. “The goddess indeed sent me a fitting mate!”
“You are quite the personality,” Alex comments. “I like that. You know, if Julianus dumps you, you can always call me.”
Julianus looks seriously offended by that suggestion, while Nova completely ignores him. “I just want my mate,” she says with insistence. “Do you want to grab some coffee?” she offers, before pausing. “Do vampires drink coffee?”
“Yes, they do,” Julianus glances at us, and I can see the conflicted emotions in his eyes. He is confused and shocked, but also intrigued.
“Just go with Nova,” Silas encourages him.
“I just need to take Kitty home,” Nova says. “Then I am all yours.”
“How about you drive your friend home, and then you return,” Silas offers, because Julianus is still completely spellbound.
Nova gazes at Julianus. “Is that alright?” she asks, and her voice is soft, all of a sudden, much softer than I have ever heard her. There is a twinge of vulnerability in it, too. This is what finding our mates does to us.
She clearly is pretending to be tough, but I can see her hands trembling slightly. Finding our mates is the biggest emotional roller-coaster we can experience, the biggest joy, but also the biggest fear. Julianus is a vampire, so I am sure Nova fears rejection.
I know the feeling all too well. Olive never wanted me, and I knew a rejection was inevitable.
Alex elbows Julianus, making him nod. “Yes,” he says awkwardly. “That’s fine for me.”
Nova bids us goodbye and leaves for her car, while Julianus simply keeps standing in front of us, literally speechless.
“Nova is a friend,” Silas says quietly. “She is a fantastic young woman.”
Julianus gazes at him. “I’m not planning on hurting her. It’s just… this is so weird! A mate.”
“Well, I have a werewolf mate, too, and don’t regret it one bit,” Silas points out.
“But what about your different life-spans?” Julianus asks.
“Marc and I decided to take one step at a time,” Silas explains. “This is still a topic we are discussing, but we are going to decide on a solution together.”
Julianus places a hand on his chest. “It feels weird.”
“Yeah, that’s the bond,” I say. “You feel it, too, although you aren’t a werewolf. For her, it’s far more intense, though.”
“Listen,” Silas takes a deep breath. “The past is the past, but please take my advice. Mates are everything for the wolves. Always be honest with her. You can take it slow, but always communicate with her. For her, being mated to someone who isn’t a werewolf is a risk.
Not because of what you are, but because the chance of rejection is higher.
” He pauses. “Marc and I always communicated well.”
“Silas is right,” I say. “Being rejected is the worst. But if you know you don’t want a mate, then don’t beat around the bush.
Be honest with her, and also concerning your past. Nova is not judgmental at all.
Having a mate is also something really beautiful.
Something connects you to each other on a deeper level, and it’s intense, but it’s only the initial push.
We can’t solely rely on the mate bond; we have to make the relationship work ourselves. ”
“It’s a sense of belonging,” Silas adds. “Like something was missing, and you weren’t even aware of it. That’s how it feels for me, and I am not a werewolf.”
Julianus looks at us thoughtfully, then he smiles. “Thank you for the advice. It… it means a lot to me that it’s coming from both of you.”
We wait for a bit longer until Nova returns. She has changed her clothes and freshened up, and looks absolutely stunning. Her face and eyes seem to glow when she spots Julianus. He notices it, too, because he looks completely stunned.
“Well then, see you later,” Alex says.
“Have fun,” Durant adds with a smile.
Silas nods at him, and Julianus takes off, following Nova to her car. We watch them drive away before we turn back to our work. “Well, now that it’s just us four,” Durant chuckles. “Shall we continue?”
“Yes, but maybe let’s move inside and have some tea,” Alex says. “I am starving. And how come I don’t have a beautiful werewolf mate?!”
Silas pats his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Broccoli, you will find your love, too.”
At that, Durant and I can’t help but laugh. Even Alex looks amused. “That little munchkin is truly something else.”