Chapter Three
Marquis
“Caspian must have been a therapist in another life. He’s good at it. Even I’ve never gotten that story from you.” Rexford strolled in, phone in hand. A pained look flashed across his face.
“What’s going on?” Marquis bounced the babe on his hip.
“Mads is making sense. They want you to come in. And I want to, too…” Rexford didn’t make eye contact as he said it. “I don’t have questions or any anger left in me. So, don’t worry.”
Nite slipped through, a heavy trash bag scooting across the floor as he did so. After the coven had searched through all of her belongings, all that was left was to rid them of the eighty years of stuff she left behind. It all felt dirty since he’d found out. “You two heading out?”
“I suppose we must. I believe I’m in as good of a headspace as any.” Marquis sighed.
“Take the rugrat with you. If he’s here with me, papa’s getting zero work done.” Nite swept back around to give Rexford a kiss and Caspian a little nuzzle. “Emotional support baby.”
“Is Mads safe enough?” Marquis glanced at Rexford, who shrugged.
Caspian took a moment to lean over and chew on Marquis’s shoulder, drooling heavily while making a babbling, complaining noise.
“Is it naptime already?” Marquis glanced down as Caspian rubbed furiously at his eyes.
“Good, he can sleep on the way. Car naps are the best.” Nite grunted as he dragged another bag out to the garage.
“Don’t forget the baby strap.” Nite swept through again and flung a complicated array of straps and buckles at Rex, who stared at it with a long sigh.
“I recently changed him. Get him in the car seat while I pack a snack and a bottle.” Marquis sighed and went about prepping for the trip. He’d taken to modern child-rearing so easily. It was a great distraction.
After a few minutes, they were out the door, Nite still wand-waving about the house bagging up all of Doris’s presence. He wanted as much of her gone as possible. A bitter memory only.
The drive wasn’t all that far from his coven headquarters. The Penumbra coven had an estate rather like a retirement community that had a religious status as some sort of nature-worshiping cult for tax purposes, and it kept the mundanes away.
In the city proper, they had offices, an older small hospital they’d taken over for offices, with the basement serving as housing for special needs patients.
Mads was kept there under lock and key, every minute bite of food and drop of drink logged—especially after they’d discovered Doris’s tampering.
As they signed in, a rather pleasant woman, a siren, gave them a worried smile. “He’s been asking for you, Covenmaster.”
She was the wife of one of his mages, Paulina, tolerated in that their species were compatible and siren unions yielded less children, but a higher percentage chance of familiars. Something to do with seahorses… Marquis shook the thought away as she walked them down crisp, clean halls to his suite.
Caspian flailed and cried as they walked, and Marquis opened his arms. “Come, Rexford. Emotional support baby time.”
Rexford rolled his eyes and unbuckled Caspian, handing him over with a sigh. The child flopped over Marquis’s shoulder and clutched to him with pure, unadulterated love in the way only a child could. “Apa!”
“Grandpa, that’s right!” Rexford cooed, and Caspian bounced himself in Marquis’s arms.
Paulina unlocked the door and the yellow-bright light filtered into the dark hall from a crack as she announced herself. “Mads, you have visitors.”
Marquis tensed, holding the baby tighter as the door swung open.
“Marquis…” Mads looked up from a chair in a small sitting room. Piles of books lay stacked in a corner and on either side of a small TV that looked disused. He stood as they walked in, Rexford in tow.
“Oh, goddess… Rex…” Mads scampered up and Rexford stiffened, arms opening slightly, his body betraying all the anger he’d held. Even at his age, he still craved his papa’s love.
But it was all for naught.
Mads opened gentle arms and with a swift scoop, he had Caspian pulled away and tucked to his chest. “Rex… I’m so sorry, baby boy. I am so terribly sorry.”
Marquis made to reach for Caspian, to take him back, but Rexford halted him, hand on his shoulder. “Don’t.”
Marquis swallowed hard as bitter bile rose in his throat. Mads had no clue how long it had been.
“Mads… I’m here. They said you asked for me.
” Marquis stiffened, and Mads stared at him with beautiful wonder in his dark eyes, sparkling almost. The same look he had on the day Marquis had demanded his father allow him to be Mads’s mate, to allow them marriage.
It was like no time at all had passed, still that endlessly endearing young male who was enamored and spoiled by even the smallest luxuries.
“I did. I’ve missed you so much. I wanted to call and—” Mads’s face went slack as his eyes traced the air, glancing around. Part of him had to know that eighty years had passed.
“Why?” It was all Marquis could ask.
“I don’t know. It’s no excuse. I—” Mads gritted his teeth with a hiss and shook his head. “It’s like gravy in my skull. I swear on my life.”
Caspian stared at Mads with wariness and leaned his head and body back, lips pursed.
Marquis stared, keeping his face neutral, breath even. “Tell me what happened that you do recall.”
“I remember having Rex here. We argued about the names and you wanted something distinguished, and I wanted something short. We were bickering still with his naming coming up… I woke to feed him, and then I put him in his bassinet and…” Mads closed his eyes, tears streaming.
“And then I wrote a note for you, and Baron was there, and… I don’t know.
That’s a haze. I—Marquis, he made me do unspeakable… Used me. I—he and Damien. And…”
“Did you go with Baron willingly?” Marquis took a deep breath.
“Of course. I wrote the note.” Mads clenched his jaw as he frowned. “Justin was… Damien…”
Mads tapped his foot, an old habit when he was thinking. “Damien had twins. They took one of the babies overseas, and Damien went with them… Oh! And Baron asked me to come get Justin from the estate, asked me to wet nurse him for a while. I thought I’d be right back and—”
“What did you write in the note?” Marquis blinked the sting of tears away.
“That I was riding over to the estate to help with their baby and would be back before the baby needed fed… I didn’t want to wake you.” Mads shook his head. “It seems like that was only a year ago, but so many things are different… But look how you’ve grown, Rex!”
Marquis glanced over to Rexford and then back to Mads. “Mads, hand the babe to me and sit down. We need to talk.”
Mads nodded in confusion; his face twisted with worry and pain. He handed Caspian back to Marquis, who gave him to Rex.
“Who is that? Why is he holding our Rex?” Mads stared at Rexford, head tilted.
“Sit down, Mads.” Marquis took Mads by his shoulders, guiding him to a chair where he knelt by the svelte male. “That man is Rexford. That baby is your grandson. Caspian.”
Mads let out a soft squeak as his entire face contorted in agony and tears. With a soft whisper, he broke down into sobs. “No.”
“Shh.” Marquis leaned his head forward and pressed it into Mads’s hand. “I know it’s a lot.”
“How long have I been in this place?” He glanced around, brow furrowed.
“Just over a year.” Marquis gave Rex a serious stare that hopefully told him to stay put.
Mads put his hand to his stomach. “I know I was gone awhile… I had to have been. Justin grew up… And they did things. Wish…”
Mads stared at Marquis then glanced over at Rexford, eyes wide and gleaming as if he were trying to gauge math by presence alone. “How long since I went over to…”
Marquis took a deep breath, centering himself. “Eighty years.”
Mads let loose a wounded cry and tugged at his hair. “I missed my baby… I wanted to see him, and I begged, then I forgot and remembered again. My mind isn’t… Things are so torn apart.”
As if by some instinct, Caspian leaned into Rexford’s arms, making grabby hands toward Marquis, his face a twist of demand for comfort. Understanding lit Rexford’s face as he stepped closer, and Caspian ignored Marquis, reaching for Mads.
Rexford extended his arms, handing the baby to Mads. The little one snuggled up against him and buried his face in Mads’s neck with a coo.
“Thank you.” Mads hugged onto Caspian and held him, eyes closed, taking deep box breaths.
“I only meant to be gone an hour at the most. I honestly thought I’d end up taking Justin for a month or so while we waited. I didn’t—” Mads rocked gently with Caspian making his soft coos of happiness, being fawned over by an omega. A little alpha if Marquis ever saw one.
“Marquis?” Mads shivered, his wheedling voice mid-sob.
“Yes?”
“Baron is going to be punished, right? He’s not loose anymore, right?” Mads sniffed hard, tears flooding his nostrils.
“Baron is dead,” Rexford answered quietly, his voice soft and full of a kind of hope, if Marquis could put a finger on it.
“Can we go home, now? Please?” Mads squinted his eyes shut and continued his deep breaths.
Marquis shook his head. “There needs to be a lot of talking, Mads. I thought you ran away, left us.”
“No. How could you think that? I would never… I love you, Marquis. I love our ba—Rex.” Mads glanced up to give Rexford another stare as if trying to piece together the puzzle of eighty years between then and the moment.
“I tried to… Father said you’d left willingly. I was forbidden from trying to reach out.” Marquis found tears stinging his eyes, and his heart sang with Mads near him. Their bond, small and weak, was still present, humming in his chest.
“But you don’t want me back. After what Baron did to me. After all the cheating…” Mads closed his eyes and held onto Caspian, fawning over the little one as if trying to reclaim the baby Rexford once was.