CHAPTER 25
Even now, as he couldn’t help but stare at Mark from across the large table in his parents’ formal dining room, Caster was struck by his sudden and total lack of objection when Mark had brought up the subject of children.
He glanced at his mother, knowing how much that would please her, but also knowing they were nowhere near ready for that discussion.
As Mark’s unguarded mind had communicated, he wasn’t sure of much, except that he wanted a future with Mark more than he wanted anything else.
In their voluntary desire to please his mother, everyone had been on time, even though most of them didn’t care for the formality of it.
The Queen had forbidden discussion of the threat the witch posed at the table, and as everyone laughed at the unbelievable story of Xavier and Cy’s latest adventure, Caster saw the wisdom in it.
Tomorrow, or whenever Zeke saw fit to attack Mark again, there would be enough time to deal with the threat.
Right now, they needed to reinforce the bonds that brought them together.
Both his brothers had demonstrated their unwavering support by dropping everything to be here.
But it was Damien and Riley that he knew he would need soon.
Marcus’s support was as sure as his breath, and as he looked around the table, Caster felt safe enough to bask in Mark’s smile.
Mikey’s presence and Dean’s promise to attend the meeting Marcus had scheduled for tomorrow further reinforced the promise that the treaty would hold.
The only complaint he had was that Mark was sitting too far away.
His mother had shrugged when he’d questioned the seating arrangement, saying his father had wanted Mark close to him.
It was impossible to miss the familiarity that had grown between the two most important men in his life.
Mark didn’t shrink from his father’s imposing stature; he seemed to revel in it.
“It seems your father has a new favorite.” His mother’s voice was a gentle whisper meant for his ears alone. But it still rose over the boisterous conversation around the table, Cy’s loud rendition of a story he’d told before retreating to a distant hum.
Her gaze was on Mark, a warm smile softening her features even more.
“I really should have seen it.” Her soft tone stayed low. “They are alike.”
Caster frowned. “No…”
“He softens him, the same way he softens you.”
Caster wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but he shrugged. His mother had a knack for seeing things everyone else missed. “I want him to stay here. Stay safe.”
Her laugh was soft. “You think you can convince him to stay out of the coming fight?”
He would tie him up if he could.
“Don’t try.”
How did she… He checked that he hadn’t lost control of the mental barrier keeping her out of his head. No. It was still there.
“I know what you’re thinking.” There was renewed earnestness in her still soft tone. “You can’t take that away from him. It is the only way for him to get closure.”
Caster resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
He knew that. He just hoped he could deny it a little longer.
Mark had proven himself in battle more than once.
Their sparring session a few hours earlier was clear evidence he was not to be trifled with, not when he was at full strength.
Still, Caster couldn’t help the tightening in his chest every time he pictured the danger that was on its way.
The immense danger the joyous discussions around the table chose to deny.
He jumped when his mother reached for his hand, an action his brother noticed.
She squeezed his hand. “Trust that good will win over evil. It always does, and…”
She nodded towards Mark, who laughed at something his younger brother was saying.
“…enjoy this moment. These are the moments we’re fighting for.”
Something wrong? Cy’s voice infiltrated his mind as he resolved to find a way to follow his mother’s direction.
No.
You sure? Your frown is too loud. Even Ben noticed.
The tone was loaded with the same mocking mischief that made his brother both maddening and charming, but Cy’s face remained impassive, his attention on their younger brother Ben, who peppered him with questions of all the exotic stuff he’d seen and done in his travels.
Caster resolved to ignore his brother, knowing any response would fan the flames.
But he could admit he’d missed Cy. Like their mother, his sunny optimism was never too far away.
Behind it lay the heart of a warrior, one Caster would need if he was going to keep Zeke away from Mark.
With his mind clouded by the threat to his soulmate, he would need Cy and Damien to see the bigger picture.
Zeke’s new abilities posed a threat to all vampire-kind, and he couldn’t lose sight of that.
***
“Have you spoken with Dean today?” Mark asked Mikey.
He looked good, happy, and some of the guilt he carried after seeing his brother before the dinner eased.
He’d been so lost, first in the dread that Zeke’s attack had brought and in the comfort that Caster and his family offered, that he’d forgotten all about his brother.
Mikey's nod was absent, his attention torn by something Mark couldn’t quite decipher. He followed his younger brother’s gaze to Caster’s cousin Xavier. They’d met briefly, and while he wasn’t as unsettling as Caster’s brother Cyrus, there was an air of superiority about him.
“Do you know him?” He tried to get his brother’s attention again, and Mikey shook his head, but he lowered his gaze.
Mark looked at the vampire his younger brother didn’t seem to want to talk about, but couldn’t stop looking at.
He bore some resemblance to the only member of this family that Mark wanted to tear apart, but that was expected.
They were brothers after all. Damien’s striking resemblance to Caster had been the only reason Mark could keep thoughts of Bastian from interfering with his peace of mind when they were together.
He didn’t get bad vibes from Xavier; he seemed amiable enough, but did he want his brother tangling with him?
“Did you speak with Dean today?” He repeated his question, keeping his voice low. The parlor they’d all retreated to after dinner was large enough, like all other rooms in the house, but wolf business needed to remain wolf business.
Mikey tore his gaze away from the vampire who was now also looking at him with similar intensity. “He will be here tomorrow.”
“I know. I just mean… how is he?” Mark feared that his paralysis from the threat of what Zeke would do had made him a blunt tool, one his brother would not find use for.
Mikey’s full attention was on him. “He’s Dean.” He smiled. “I would worry more about those traitors than him.”
Mark smiled back. That was true. The Werewolf Council had chosen the wrong Prime Alpha to rebel against.
Dean didn’t stomach betrayal. He was fair, firm, and ruthless when he needed to be.
Mark feared that ruthlessness would come out again, which meant the Dean with the effortless charm and easy smiles was gone.
The intense but welcome and unsurprising feeling of Caster’s gaze tore him away from impending werewolf problems he could do nothing about.
He leaned against the door, talking to his brother Cyrus and Damien, a glass of whisky in his hand, a small smile teasing his lips when their eyes met.
Their tone was low, but Mark could eavesdrop if he wanted to.
Instead, he chose to enjoy Caster’s attention.
The smile on Caster’s face turned to a frown, and Mark caught the last teasing words from Cyrus.
He glanced at the vampire, who unsettled him with a carefree demeanor, and found a smirk on his lips.
“I’d ask for the cliché story of how you two met, but I already know.”
He moved away from Damien and Caster, ignoring his older brother’s warning, and sat next to Mark.
“What I’d like to know is how you got my brother to be so… domestic?”
Mark bristled, the room’s attention on him.
Cyrus’s smile widened. “The stories I could tell you…”
“Cyrus!” This time, Caster’s warning was more of a growl. Still, Cyrus chose to ignore it, the mischief in his demeanor increasing.
Mark leaned back into the couch. He was used to dealing with this from his older brother, and perhaps he might take him up on that offer. He wanted to know everything about Caster, even his past. “Maybe I’ll let you tell me someday.”
Cyrus’s eyes, blue like the Queen’s, widened a fraction, and then he burst into laughter.
Like Dean, his joy was infectious, and Mark knew he’d just made a friend.
When he sobered, he leveled Mark with a look that revealed the warrior his easy smiles hid just below the surface.
“I like you.” He glanced at Caster. “You’re important to him, so you’re important to me.”
His smile was gone; in its place, a hardened expression, the vampire his handsome face hid so well, causing the red ring around his pupils to expand a tiny fraction. “Let’s kill that witch, yeah?”
Mark couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah.”
“You’ll have to find her first,” Ben said, drawing his brother’s attention.
Cyrus leaned back in his seat, his teasing expression returning so fast, Mark thought he’d have whiplash. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re scared, baby vamp…”
Ben’s anger was almost tangible, his voice rising. “Don’t call me that.”
Cyrus laughed. Mark glanced at Caster to see a smile on his face. This exchange was common, familiar to them.
Ben didn’t seem amused. “I will kick your ass, Cy.”
That made everyone in the room burst out in laughter, and even Mikey joined in. Mark couldn’t contain his smile.
“You’re an asshole.” Ben started to turn away from a room that seemed determined to make fun of him, but Riley reached for him, pulling him into his lap. Riley whispered something in his ear, and he settled, still staring daggers at his brother.
“Forgive me?” Cy asked his younger brother, his smile still teasing. “The last thing I want is for Riley to disintegrate me.”
Riley sighed. “Will you ever let that go? It was one time.”
Mark glanced at Caster, but all he got was a noncommittal shrug.
“You could have killed us all,” Xavier said, laughter coloring his words despite the content.
Cyrus turned to Mark. “It was a lesson in never threaten Ben.”
“What happened?” Mark couldn’t contain the curiosity any longer. Cyrus’s energy was too infectious.
“I shouldn’t have been there…” Ben said, settling further into Riley’s lap like he belonged, which it seemed he did.
Cy waved him off, intent on remaining the focus of the room. “We are at this wild party…”
Ben scoffed, earning a glare from his brother.
Cyrus pointed at him. “He shows up out of the blue and freaks out on cue.”
“He’s not telling you what they were doing. Of course I freaked out,” Ben said, unbothered by his brother’s glare.
Xavier sat on the opposite couch with a glance in Mikey’s direction that Mark didn’t miss. “It wasn’t that bad. You really didn’t need to react the way you did.”
“Why? What happened?” Mikey asked, earning Xavier’s full attention.
“You think Cole’s parties are unhinged; you should see what these two do.” The outrage in Ben’s expression didn’t seem genuine.
Xavier shrugged. “It was just a little blood sharing.”
Mark glanced at Ben, and the look on his face was all the evidence he needed that Xavier had misrepresented that event.
“Yeah. Just a little,” Cyrus said. “But my brother shows up.” He leveled his younger brother with a look that could have been admonishment. “Uninvited and freaks out.” He turned to Mark. “The problem is, when he freaks out, Riley freaks out, and that is a problem.”
Everyone except for Mark, Ben, and Riley laughed. He glanced at the powerful witch to find an expression that seemed more like embarrassment, but familiar, like he’d been through this before.
“You see…” Cyrus said, drawing his attention. “The protection spell that he has on Ben is so powerful it immobilizes the threat.” He sat up, the mischief in his expression returning. “It held the whole room, what…” He glanced at Xavier. “…fifty people?”
Xavier nodded. “More.”
“Everyone in the room was paralyzed.” Cyrus reached for his neck, his frown seeming rehearsed, manufactured for dramatic effect.
“It felt like his power was tearing at my cells.”
Then he shook his head, the corners of his lips lifting with the smile he was working too hard to contain.
“And all because my little brother freaked out.”
Mark smiled with him, but he didn’t need to imagine that feeling. He’d experienced it when he’d reached into Riley’s mind uninvited.
“How many times do I have to apologize for that?” Riley smiled. “I stopped, didn’t I?”
“Yeah,” Xavier said. “The humans there didn’t have a chance, though.”
Riley rested his forehead against Ben’s hair, his sigh earning laughter from the rest of the room.
My father wants to speak with me. Will you be OK?
Caught up in the story and Cyrus’s infectious joy, he jumped at Caster’s unexpected words in his mind. Cyrus frowned, and Mark checked on the barrier that would keep him out of his mind, relief making him smile when he found it intact.
He nodded his reply, and the unease he expected when Caster and Damien walked out of the room didn’t come. Cyrus narrowed his eyes at him, but then shrugged and jumped right into another story, having had enough of teasing Riley.