Chapter 38 Getting Physical
Getting Physical
Ronan
I’d dressed a lot flashier in my youth, a product of the city-state, my friends, and the lifestyle. Patterned silk shirts, gold chains, pleated pants, and rings carved with our family crest and encrusted with precious stones.
Ugh. And my dad had the audacity to equate my car with douchebags when this was what I used to wear?
I still had at least one clean outfit I’d brought with me, my trademark black T-shirt and jeans, and I left it on the bed while throwing the rest in the hamper, heading towards the bathroom.
Seeing all of the products still half-used on the counter got a snort out of me, until I looked up and saw my face in the mirror, barely recognizing myself for a moment.
My hair was starting to get greasy, black strands hanging limply over my forehead and ears. Dark circles had formed under my yellow eyes, my beard longer than it had ever been. I’d keep it, but it looked messy.
I opened up my drawer, finding the trimmer right where I’d left it ten years ago. But when I clicked it on, the battery was, understandably, dead.
The charger was tucked a little further in, so I plugged it in while I got undressed and hopped into the shower, pulling the door closed.
Steam fogged the glass as the water hit my shoulders, hot enough to sting. I braced my hands against the tile and bowed my head, letting it run down my spine as I inspected my skin.
I hadn’t really looked at my tattoos in years.
The mirror opposite the shower was already clearing in streaks where condensation slid away, and when I straightened, Ravaric stared back at me from my own reflection, the god vast and coiled across my back, dark and furious.
The demon god’s horns arced over my shoulders, their tips just visible from the front if I turned the wrong way.
His eyes burned citrine beneath the water, his mouth pulled into a cruel curve, fangs bared as if mid-laugh.
Smoke and flame twisted around him in deliberate, practiced lines, work that had taken hours upon hours of pain to earn.
But he was unfinished.
The background dissolved into bare skin just above my hips, the lower flames never filled in, the patterns and runes meant to anchor the piece to my legs still only outlined in fading gray.
My sleeves told the same story, of dense work over my shoulders and upper arms, fire tapering into nothing halfway down my biceps, where the artist had stopped and I’d never gone back.
Ravaric’s eyes met mine through the steam, staring at me like he’d always known I’d come home.
I dragged a hand down my face, exhaling slowly, and I wondered briefly if Sage would like my tattoos as much as she liked my beard.
Because from now on, every breath I took was for her. Every step would be to close the distance between us. Every mark on my skin was one less that would be made on hers.
I finished getting ready, heading downstairs and into the kitchen, where a few of my dad’s grunts lingered, drinking our coffee and going into sordid detail about the previous night.
“Beta chicks are always so desperate, man,” one guy started, pulling their attention. “You gotta find the ones who are out with their omega friends. Buy them a drink, act like you didn’t even notice the omega next to them, and they’ll be choking on your cock in minutes, I swear to Ravaric.”
The guys were all laughing, which unfortunately encouraged the asshole to continue.
“And then…” he paused for dramatic effect. “You can go back and bang the omega.”
Laughter erupted again, and he held out his hands to quiet them down. “Trust me! They’ll be feeling super insecure that you chose the beta over them, and will be eating out of the palm your hand.” He took a smug sip of his coffee. “Works every time.”
I rolled my eyes in disgust and took my old mug from deep in the cabinet, blowing off the dust as I searched for the tea bags next.
“You got something to say?”
I found the box of my favorite brand of green tea, unopened.
It looked like it had been purchased recently.
There was no way my dad would have ever noticed what I liked to drink, which meant this was either Maia or the housekeeper’s doing.
Zilla’d always had a soft spot for me, especially after my mom died.
I opened up a tea bag and put it in the mug, looking for the hot water dispenser.
“Hey!”
“Hm?” I turned around to see the asshole cracking his knuckles and rolling out his shoulders, his track jacket open to reveal the tank top underneath, tattoos peeking up around the neckline.
“I’m talking to you, walking in like you think you own the place. Or do your ears not work or something?”
“Oh, they work just fine,” I replied, my voice calm and even. “I’m just wondering why some pissant grunt who needs to rely on tricking women to get laid thinks he can speak to me.”
I stepped up and grabbed his shirt, pulling him up on his tiptoes as smoke curled out of my nostrils and I grinned. “Because I actually do own the place, dumbass.”
Recognition finally flashed in his eyes and he began to shake. “R-r-ronan, sir. I mean, Mr. Oniguro… I’m sorry, I—”
Lowering my mouth to his ear, I whispered, “Now get the fuck outta my sight.”
I released him and he fell backwards, the other grunts who had been laughing seconds ago backing away and letting him land hard on his ass. He scrambled before finally getting to his feet and dashing out of the front door.
Ah, I loved it when the trash took itself out.
With a bow, one of the guys took my mug, filling it for me with hot water before handing it back with two hands, averting his gaze. “Welcome back, Mr. Oniguro.”
I rolled my eyes. I’d need to do a lot more cleaning house before I brought Sage back here, because there was no way I’d force her to listen to this kind of shit in her own home.
I went back to my dad’s office, ready to find out what my first “test” would be.
Fuck, I really hoped he wouldn’t make me kill anybody.
Two suited alphas stood outside the doors as usual, hands folded in front of them.
“He in?”
With a nod, the guy on the left slid the door open for me, and I stepped through, surprised to see Maia was already here.
“Good morning, dipshit,” she grinned. “Sleep well?”
I grunted my response, taking the empty chair next to her. I’d barely slept a wink, and she knew it.
My dad didn’t notice or care. “As much as I look forward to longer talks about your return, I won’t insult you by taking too much of your time. The return of your mate is our priority right now.”
I raised a skeptical eyebrow. Making me take a bunch of performative tests to prove my “loyalty” seemed like the exact opposite of making Sage’s rescue a priority, but as Maia pointed out, reconnaissance would take time anyway. Hopefully not less than this kraken shit, though.
My dad could read the doubt clearly on my face, and I realized I’d have to remember to school my expressions around him. Any sign of dissent, snark, or weakness, and I’d lose what little goodwill he had for me at the moment.
“If she’s your mate, then that makes her the future mother of my grandchildren. That makes her family.” He leaned forward with a sneer. “And we don’t turn our backs on family.”
My dad had turned his back on me more times than I could count, so his words weren’t exactly landing on me the way he’d probably hoped, but I flinched to make him think otherwise.
“And besides,” he added, leaning back in his chair. “I fucking hate vampires. Especially Corvane.”
“Ugh,” Maia agreed, sticking her finger in her mouth and pretending to gag. “He’s the worst.”
On that, at least, I could agree.
I sat forward, placing my elbows on my knees to keep them from bouncing. Something else my dad hated. “So what’s the plan? For me and for Sage?”
“I’ve always got eyes and ears on the Premiers,” my dad answered, a proud smirk just starting to tug at the corners of his mouth.
I expected no less.
“And those eyes and ears are about to multiply in Noctis, because what do you know? Corvane is currently looking to double the security detail at the Premier’s mansion.”
“I told you,” Maia chimed in, her sing-songy response light.
“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “So you got a couple of vamps on the payroll. Do you know anything already?”
“Nothing that doesn’t already coincide with what you’ve told us.
That for the past five years he hasn’t slept at the mansion, that he’s increased in strength and power, and has refused to drink blood he doesn’t bring himself to social events.
And that he was employing a pretty heavy glamour the past two weeks. ”
I sighed, rubbing my face in my hands. Why hadn’t I looked into all of this myself before I’d signed that stupid contract and made that Ravaric-damned deal? It would have been obvious he was hiding his mate.
But if I’d never looked into Sage, I wouldn’t have discovered that she was actually my mate. And as much as I hated the road that had led me back here, it was worth taking it if she would be the one walking by my side.
“What about his wife?” I asked. “She’s an alpha werewolf, and she’s just given birth to their child. Does she know about Sage? Is she a risk?”
Alpha werewolf moms could be territorial and vicious. Everyone knew you didn’t mess with one, so I could only imagine the damage she might do if she knew the Premier was keeping his “mistress” in their actual home.
It wouldn’t have been as shocking a hundred years ago or so, but these days, it would be a huge scandal to discover a Premier stepping out on their spouse. It still happened, of course, but they were expected to at least be discreet.
My dad closed his eyes for a moment before responding. “We’ll look into it, but from what I learned, she and Corvane lead very separate lives behind the cameras. She might not be as committed to him as she appears.”
Well, I didn’t really know how she appeared in terms of her feelings towards the Premier, but I supposed I would have to take his word on it for now.