“That I don’t know.”
Tension, potent in its intensity, permeated the study as they gathered for the meeting. James was the last to arrive, and he walked up to Mark, acknowledging Dean with a nod.
“Where’s Mikey?” Mark whispered to him.
“Safe,” James whispered back. “He refused to go home, but he’s protected. Some of my guys are with him.”
“Plus, he has Riley’s protection spell,” Dean said.
Mark dared to look at Caster and frowned at the worried expression he wore. Their eyes met, and a slight hint of a smile was all the recognition he got.
“We all suspected this was much bigger than a witch with a lust for blood and death.” Caster’s tone was devoid of the worry Mark had seen on his face a moment earlier. He nodded at the only vampire Mark didn’t recognize. “Julian…”
The Born-Vampire was a fraction smaller than Dean, but what he lacked in the bulk that made his brother so formidable, he made up for with a striking confidence.
The demeanor denied by his calm facade spoke of a threat hiding under the surface, ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice.
“Should I start from the beginning?” So did his voice.
Caster nodded and glanced at Mark.
“Ten years ago, vampires attacked the Prime Alpha’s brother.
It would have gone down in history as just another skirmish between the species, had their intent not been more malevolent.
” His blue, unyielding gaze landed on Mark as he became aware of everyone’s eyes on him.
“I’ve learned from one of them, it was more than it seemed. ”
“You have one of them?” Mark couldn’t contain himself if he’d wanted to. The prospect of vengeance was too enticing.
Julian nodded. “He’s told me they were working with the witch and their orders were to take you alive.” He looked at James. “You interrupted an elaborate kidnapping.”
“Why would they want my brother?” Dean’s question, what should have been his question, filtered through the haze of his rage.
“That I don’t know.”
“Where is he, this vampire? Perhaps my interrogation will provide more information?” Dean’s tone was tight, although his rage couldn’t be anywhere as intense as Mark’s.
“Let him finish, there is so much more to this,” Caster said, and Mark was powerless to keep from meeting his gaze. Concern was evident, not an ounce of pity.
“It is clear that Bastian and his cohorts are working with the witch,” Juian continued. “She was there that night, wasn’t she?”
It took a moment for Mark to realize the question had been directed his way. He nodded. Her face, the triumph on it as Zeke breathed his last, was seared into his brain, and he thanked the Goddess he’d remembered to fortify his thoughts from intrusion before he’d walked into the study.
“She wants you for reasons my prisoner doesn’t know.” Julian’s academic analysis of the worst night of his life almost made him laugh.
“The problem is, all of this points to the treaty.” Damien’s tone was tight, his voice a perfect match to the tension coalescing around them.
“How?” Dean asked, even though James had made the connection earlier.
“My father has been against the treaty for a long time.” Damien’s sigh was loaded. “Bastian is not smart enough to come up with all of this on his own. My father’s influence is all over this.”
Mark wanted to follow the conversation’s hard right turn, but he was still stuck on the witch and her intentions.
Why would she want him alive? All this time, he’d never questioned her motives, but it made sense that she would have a much larger goal.
The attack hadn’t been random. It had been a well-laid trap, an ambush.
He’d thought the only reason he’d survived had been James’s intervention, but she’d wanted him alive?
“… vital for you to have all the information. This calls for all of us to work together.” Caster’s words filtered through the rush in his head, drawing him back to the present.
“What do you propose we do?” Dean said. “The treaty has to hold. Another war would not end well for any of us.”
Mark looked at Caster. How had a simple quest for vengeance ended up here? All he wanted was to end the witch who’d caused him so much pain. Now he battled an attraction to a vampire whose family held a deep connection to that pain.
“First, we need more information.” Julian pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against. “With your permission, Prime Alpha, James and I can find all the vampires involved and interrogate them further.”
“I’ll go with you…”
An emphatic and final “No” from both Caster and Dean silenced Mark mid-sentence, and he glared at Caster, ready to challenge him.
“Not you.” Dean’s tone held no room for argument. “We don’t know why she wants you, yet.”
His explanation made sense, but it did nothing to ease his rage, his desire to face the vampires who’d torn his life apart.
“What do you need?” Dean asked Julian.
“Just James,” Julian answered. “For now, I think it’s best if we keep our search discreet. Lucien and Bastian are not the only ones opposed to the treaty.”
“I’ll need to see the one you have now,” James said, and Julian nodded. Then he squeezed Mark’s arm. “Don’t worry, they won’t get away this time.”
Mark wanted to believe James’s conviction, but his need to feel the warmth of their blood staining his fur was too great. “I want to face them.”
“You will.” The firm conviction in Caster’s voice drew his attention. There it was again, the veiled promise of vengeance he’d offered this morning, and his body relaxed, the war waging in him dying down to a simmer.
James followed Julian to their assigned task, promising periodic communication of their progress.
“And the witch? Any progress with that?” Dean’s question had everyone’s attention turning to Riley, who’d so far remained a silent observer.
“My mother and my aunt Edie will be here later today to help. Between the three of us, she will not hide for too long.” Then he stood. “I should prepare. The sooner we can coordinate the search, the faster we can stop whatever she’s planning.”
Damien said nothing as he followed Riley out, the loaded look he gave Caster saying everything he couldn’t.
His father and brother were at the center of this, and his presence in this room communicated where his allegiances lay better than any words could.
Mark didn’t know him, but he wouldn’t wish the choice on his worst enemy.
Dean moved to the couch Damien and Riley had vacated as soon as the door closed behind them. He stared at Caster for a long moment. “Are you fucking my brother?”
Mark gasped. “Dean!” He turned to Caster. “Do not answer that.”
Caster didn’t seem bothered in the least, pushing out of his chair with zero urgency.
“I wasn’t going to.” He grabbed his phone, pushed it into his pocket, all the while meeting Dean’s challenge.
“It seems you have a lot to discuss.” Then he too walked out, leaving behind a different kind of tension.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Amusement hid behind Dean’s even pronouncement, and Mark dared to glance at his brother.
“Why are you smiling?”
“You’re getting some. I thought that would never happen.” He leaned back, too pleased with himself. “Even your wolf seems happy.”
That was a subject he wasn’t ready to share with his brother. Not until he understood it better. “I thought you wouldn’t approve.”
Dean jumped off the couch and put an arm around his shoulders, an embrace Mark hadn’t known he’d needed. “You could do worse.” The side-hug grew too tight for comfort, and Mark shrugged out of it.
“Hey…”
The smile was gone; in its place, the concern he’d come to expect from his brother at least once a day since that night.
“He’s a good guy, and I was serious when I said I wanted my brother back.” He smiled, the signature brilliant Dean smile. “If his magic cock helps…”
Mark punched his brother’s shoulder with enough force that he stumbled backward.
“Ow, fuck.” He rubbed at the spot, his playfulness replaced by a serious expression. “You know I will go to war if he breaks your heart, right?”
Mark rolled his eyes, but couldn’t contain his smile. “This isn’t that.”
Dean’s arm around his shoulders returned, the comfort it offered less than he needed. “You’ve always been clueless, even about your own life, little brother.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Whatever it is, you two aren’t hiding it as well as you think you are.”