Chapter 6
Six
Aiden sat with a book in his lap later that evening, but he was spending more time staring out the window than actually reading.
Hours had passed since Ronan had left the house, and now Aiden couldn’t decide if maybe he’d overreacted to Ronan’s mention of Julianna.
Common sense said that Ronan hadn’t meant anything by the playful comment.
There hadn’t been an ounce of disdain or jealousy in his tone.
Why had he flown off like that?
His mind shied away from the answer to a more difficult thought. Maybe it would be better if Ronan left his domain and they went their separate ways. So much time had passed. How could they possibly just pick up where they left off? That didn’t make any sense at all.
“That must be a really horrible book,” Winter murmured, drawing a chuckle from Aiden. “You’ve been staring out the window for the last five minutes.”
“Maybe I was just wondering which son would bring trouble to my doorstep next,” Aiden said with a smile.
Putting the book on the table at his elbow, he started to rise, but Winter was already waving him to stay seated.
Closing the distance between them, Winter wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him as tightly as he could from the awkward position.
Winter released him and dropped onto the couch next to Aiden’s chair. “My money is on Rafe. He’s been too quiet recently.”
“That might be because he’s got all his energy directed toward building a new nightclub after the destruction of Blush.
” Winter only shrugged. Not that Aiden was fooled by Winter’s casual appearance.
His youngest son didn’t do anything casually.
He didn’t simply drop by for a visit to spend time with his family.
There was no question that he loved his brothers, but Winter always had another reason for doing things like this.
Something was on his son’s mind, but there would be no getting it out of him before he was ready.
Aiden had been quick to learn over the years that while all four Variks stuck very close together, they were all very different and had to be handled differently.
Marcus was the only one he could hit head on, but everything had to be taken seriously.
Rafe danced and avoided. With his second oldest child, he needed hugs, gentleness, and a firm hand accompanied by a smile.
Tenderness always broke down his walls. Bel wasn’t a secret-keeper.
He tended to spill almost immediately what was on his mind.
Most of the time, he just needed someone to listen to him and he’d find his way to the truth.
But Winter…his youngest had required a lot of trial and error.
He couldn’t be pushed, or he’d feel cornered and never speak.
He’d met few who could be more stubborn than Winter—though Fox was giving his son a run for his money.
He couldn’t be teased or even hugged into talking.
No, the best course proved to be silence and patience.
When he was ready, he would speak and not a moment sooner.
“How is the house?” Aiden asked. Not long after the destruction of Damon, Winter had bought a large piece of land adjacent to Bel’s home and built a house for him and Fox.
Aiden had been more than a little surprised by the decision.
From the moment Winter moved out on his own, he’d always lived within the city like Rafe.
He wanted to be in the middle of things.
However, Zelda had mentioned that Fox would need to be close to nature to help recharge his magical batteries.
Winter hadn’t hesitated to buy the land near Bel, which was outside the city and somewhat remote, but it was adjacent to some forest land that ran between their territory and the local werewolf pack.
Building the home there kept him close to his brother, close to Bel’s mates, who were becoming good friends with Winter and Fox, and gave Fox the nature he needed.
It was sweet to see Winter immediately putting the needs of his mate first.
“Good. We’re moved in and mostly unpacked. We’ve got furniture that needs to be delivered. Fox hasn’t decided on a design for his greenhouse yet, but we’re not looking to break ground on it until early March.”
“Will you be able to get anything planted for next season?”
Winter shrugged. “Probably. Right now, he’s got this crazy idea that he wants to landscape all of our yard himself using deadly plants.” Winter shoved a hand through his thick hair. “I have no idea what that even means, but it scares me.”
Aiden grinned. “Yeah, definitely sounds scary. And the tunnel?”
Winter brightened, his smile returning. “Fully operational. We’ve used it several times during the day to travel back and forth.” Winter paused, a strange smirk forming on his lips.
“What?” Aiden prodded.
“Fox and River like swapping food and recipes. Fox has recently come to the painful realization that he does not have the metabolism of a shifter.”
“Gained some weight?” Aiden said, struggling not to laugh.
“Just a little, but it has required him to go up a size in pants. For a guy who never gains weight, it was a harsh reality check. I think he’s perfect, but he’s not happy. He’s been sending healthy food and recipes to River, and the wolf isn’t amused.”
“Wyatt’s and Bel’s responses?”
“Laughing their damn asses off at River.”
Winter shook his head, and Aiden finally let out the laugh that he’d been trying to hold in. “Poor Fox. Trapped between vampires who don’t eat and wolves who burn off everything they eat almost instantly. We’re screwing with his sense of normal.”
“True. I’m keeping an eye on him. I don’t want him to swing to the other extreme of not eating.
I want my Fox to stay healthy for as long as possible.
” Winter’s expression immediately became dark, his brows meeting over his nose and his lips turning down in a frown.
There was no asking what new thought clouded Winter’s face.
Fox’s mortality. It was a thought that troubled Bel here and there.
As vampires, they didn’t age. Existence would stretch on and on for them. Werewolves aged at a much slower rate, but they did age. Werewolves could be changed into vampires, but it was a very tricky and dangerous process. They also lost their ability to shift.
Fox’s lifespan as a witch, assuming he didn’t die in a car accident or vampire assassination attempt, was unknown.
Zelda was hundreds of years old, but she was also incredibly powerful.
Fox had no interest in becoming a powerful witch like Zelda, which meant that he was aging and would one day, far too soon, die.
“Have you talked to him about it?” Aiden asked. There was no need to clarify. His son would know.
Winter sighed heavily. “Fox has had a couple of conversations with Zelda and confirmed that a witch can be turned into a vampire. It’s only been done a few times that she knows of, but she doesn’t know of any cases where a witch retained their ability to use magic.”
“He’s against being turned?”
“No, but he obviously wants to wait. He wants to learn some more magic, play with it a bit. I’ve told him that my love isn’t contingent upon him being young. I’ll love him no matter how he looks—old, young, fat, skinny. Doesn’t matter to me.”
“But you want him safe, and humans are fragile.”
“Yes!” Winter snapped, clenching both of his fists in front of him.
They shook for a moment and Aiden could easily imagine Winter wanting to shake some sense into his mate.
He released a loud breath and dropped his hands back to his lap.
“But he’s at least willing to discuss it. He wants to talk to Marcus about it.”
“Marcus?”
A low groan left Winter. “He thinks Marcus will be more logical about it. That they can draw up some kind of guidelines about when he would want to be turned if he’s not conscious or able to relay his desires. As if I can’t be trusted with something like that.”
“Can you be trusted?”
“No, of course not!” Winter said, throwing his arms up in the air. “He’s my mate. If he gets a paper cut, I want to turn him. I want him safe. I want him with me forever.”
Aiden smiled at his son. “Mates can be a conundrum, but I’m sure you and Fox will figure this out.”
Winter’s frown eased a little as his eyes moved to the window where snow flurries were dancing lightly in the darkness. “Any chance you’d be willing to talk about your current conundrum?”
New tension hummed through Aiden’s frame, and it was hard to hold on to his smile. He wanted to redirect it to concerns about the European Ministry or the fact that members of the old MacPherson clan were in town causing problems, but he knew that wasn’t what Winter was referring to.
“Which one called you?” Aiden asked, trying to keep his voice from turning cold and hard. He wasn’t upset. He knew they were only worried about him.
“I got an interesting picture from Marcus…of you dancing with Ronan.” Winter paused and scratched his jaw. “I don’t think I’ve seen you dance in years. At least not since I was human.”
He’d danced with Julianna every chance he got. He didn’t think she was the last person he’d danced with, but she would be the last partner Winter would have seen him with.
“Does it bother you?”
“No,” he answered quickly and then winced, as if realizing he’d replied too quickly.
He shifted on the couch and pulled out his phone from his back pocket.
He moved his fingers around on the screen for a moment before finding what he wanted.
Leaning forward, he turned the screen so Aiden could see it.
“I don’t mind when I see you smiling like that. ”