Chapter 21
Twenty-One
Bel sat at Marcus’s computer, his fingers flying across the keys.
While the fire at the house had cost him his laboratory, equipment, and physical notes, it wasn’t a great loss.
He kept all his experiment results, journals, and other important information in a series of files that were backed up to his cloud.
He could access his data from anywhere that he had a computer and internet connection.
And today, he was looking for something very specific. Something that wasn’t supposed to exist.
He’d fallen asleep wrapped around his lovers, but he’d managed to find only a couple of hours of peace before he was awake, and his brain was churning over the situation.
The wolves were going to keep coming. Albert was going to keep coming for them. He needed a scapegoat, a distraction, for his pack. If he could destroy the evil gay werewolves and their equally evil gay vampire lover, then he was a hero. His pack would accept him and his lies.
Bel was not going to let anything happen to Wyatt and River.
There had been some part of his brain that had lied to him.
That had clung to its overconfidence. He’d been so accustomed to having no threat outside of the Ministry.
Yes, other vampires could be dangerous, but he was a Varik.
They wouldn’t mess with the Variks without very good cause.
Plus, he felt he knew what to expect from vampires.
But Albert and his wolves had attacked his home during the daylight hours. They hurt his Wyatt, and they nearly killed his River. They would keep coming until his wolves were dead. Might even attack until they’d wiped out his brothers as well.
Bel needed to make sure that it never happened, even if it meant taking more drastic measures.
He’d eased out of bed while Wyatt and River were still deep in sleep.
After a quick shower, he was relieved to find a large stack of his clothes sitting outside his bedroom door.
They were many years old, things he’d left at Marcus’s long ago and never bothered to replace. But they fit and were clean.
He found jeans and sweaters that would fit Wyatt and River as well.
Thank God for Ethan. The young man had been Marcus’s assistant originally, helping with his brother’s move to Connecticut, and he continued to serve in that role here and there.
He was far more adept at getting his hands on things quickly than any of them.
The clothes for his wolves looked brand new.
Maybe he’d called Marcus’s business assistant, Janice, to fetch a few things during the daylight hours.
Either way, he was grateful. Wyatt and River would be able to move comfortably around the house and not have to put on their filthy clothes from the night before.
“What are you working on?”
Bel’s head popped up as the young vampire strolled into the room. Ethan’s blond hair was still damp from the shower. There was something still very young and fresh-faced about him. As if he hadn’t quite shed all his humanness yet. But then, Ethan had been a vampire for only about four months.
“Just looking for something,” Bel evaded and forced a smile on his lips. “Thank you for the clothes.”
Ethan gave a little shrug. “No problem. We can order more for you, Wyatt, and River later so you have plenty.” He paused by the desk, his expression turning sad. “Marcus just got off the phone with Winter. He was leaving your house and heading here.”
“And?”
Ethan shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Bel. He said it’s a total loss.”
“That’s what we figured. It’s okay. It was just stuff. We will rebuild. The important thing is that Wyatt and River are now safe.”
“And you.” Ethan reached across the desk and placed his hand over Bel’s wrist. “You know that you’re all welcome to stay here as long as you want. We’re happy to have you.”
“It’s not getting too crowded?”
Ethan laughed and tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Not as much as you would expect. Jullien is now living with Lola. Ryder and Gideon are here most days, but if there’s some big party or event at Blush, they stay over at Lola’s since it’s closer to the club.”
Bel grunted and turned his gaze back to the computer screen.
That explained where the rest of the clan had been when they arrived at Marcus’s home.
Ryder, Gideon, and Lola were all new additions to the Variks through Rafe.
The trio had been Rafe’s close friends and trusted allies for years before they were finally brought into the fold.
Jullien had followed Philippe into the Varik clan after the destruction of the Arsenault clan.
Ethan glanced at the pieces of paper where Bel had written some notes. He frowned at the scratches. “What’s this? A new experiment?”
“Something old. I can’t remember all of it, and I thought I might have some notes saved that will help jog my memory.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. His old notes were supposed to be destroyed, but there could still be copies out there. Backup copies that hadn’t been wiped from the computer yet.
“Bel…what is this?” Ethan asked very carefully, but something in his tone made Bel think the man had already guessed. He knew his brothers would find out eventually, but he was hoping that he could at least make a test batch first and then deal with their negative comments.
“It’s the only way, Ethan,” Bel said in a hard voice.
“It’s not. You gave your word to the Ministry that you’d delete all records and would never make it again.”
“And the Ministry gave its word to protect us. They broke their promise first. I don’t see why I should have to keep mine.”
“Because the Variks have more honor than that,” Ethan said coldly. He leaned over the edge of the desk. “That argument is beneath you, Bel, and you know it.”
Bel dropped his hands to the edge of the desk, holding it so tightly, his knuckles were turning white.
He kept his eyes down on the desktop and the notes.
The formula would save them. “You don’t understand, Ethan.
I came so close to losing River today. I-I don’t think I’m going to get a second chance if he almost dies again.
I have to make sure that no one touches Wyatt or River.
Or the rest of my family.” His head jumped up and he leaned close to the young man.
“They’re going to keep coming. How do we know they’re not going to come here?
What if they kill you and Marcus? What if they find Rafe and Philippe?
This war is going to spread to encompass all of the Variks…
and I can’t allow that. My formula worked on the vampires and I can make it work on werewolves. ”
“You’ll do anything to keep us all safe.”
“Yes.” It took an extra second for the deep sadness in Ethan’s voice to register, and his heart skipped. The fresh-faced youth was suddenly gone, and Ethan looked older than all of the Variks.
“I do know firsthand what it’s like to lose all the people you love.
I know what it’s like to go to extreme measures to protect people from a threat, to get revenge—and don’t deny that you aren’t looking for a little of that too.
It’s natural. They hurt your River, so now you want to hurt them back.
Hurt them more.” Ethan paused and shook his head, his eyes falling to the shiny surface of the desk.
“I’m begging you, Bel, don’t do it. If you live through it, you will regret it for a long time.
I don’t regret becoming a vampire to spend my life with Marcus.
I love him. But this long life means that I have a very long time to live with my bad decisions and regrets. ”
Now Bel reached for Ethan, wishing he could take away some of the pain. “Ethan, don’t. What happened with Minerva and that bastard from the Humans Protecting Humans League was not your fault. They would have found a way to attack us without you.”
“But they did it with me. I might have tried to protect you by lying to them, but if I’d spoken up sooner, worried less about losing Marcus and more about your safety…everything could have been different.”
Bel sat back in the chair, his eyes locked on the computer screen in front of him without really seeing it.
Ethan had a right to want revenge. Minerva and two other vampires had slaughtered his entire family when he’d been a child.
He wanted to punish the monsters who hurt his family and stop them from hurting anyone else.
But his winding path delivered him on the doorstep of the Variks.
Ethan didn’t give them any critical information, but there was always the question in Bel’s brain: If Ethan had warned them that the League was watching them, would they have been better prepared for an attack? And if they were better prepared, would Julianna Varik now be alive?
But if Julianna was alive, would any of them be where they were now?
Marcus would not have his Ethan. His oldest brother had already been in love with the young man before the attack, but Marcus wouldn’t allow the human or even a fledgling vampire anywhere near him if Julianna was alive. He wouldn’t have risked Ethan’s life.
Rafe would never have gotten his Philippe. His brother had kept a protective barrier around himself at all time, keeping the world at a distance. It was to safeguard the world as much as himself. Rafe would never have allowed Philippe to fall into Julianna’s sights.
And his wolves?
Bel closed his eyes at the phantom ache that throbbed in his chest as disloyal thoughts crowded his brain.
He knew without a doubt he would have sent Wyatt and Ethan away immediately.
Even if it meant handing over a briefcase of money and a car, he would have tried to get them away from him as quickly as possible.
He would have never known their wonderful touch, would never have enjoyed River’s laughter ringing in his ears, never been wrapped in Wyatt’s loving concern.