CHAPTER 3
Summons from his father, from the King, interrupted his latest sparring session with Damien, and Caster had retreated to his assigned room to clean up before appearing before his King.
Marcus insisted they travel to his father’s house in England.
It was a short trip, made even shorter by Riley’s teleportation spell, but Caster remained hesitant.
Blood, a consequence of an overzealous Damien, tinged the water collecting at his feet, but he didn’t register the effect of the shower. He needed to see Mark, but Marcus was not a patient man, and his father even less so. Was he still using his duty as an excuse?
He braced his hands against the wall, allowing the now warm water to trickle down his back, and he narrowed his senses, trying to find the unique beat of Mark’s heart.
He’d memorized its signature in the short time they’d been together, and he doubted he would ever get away from it even if Mark chose Zeke.
The throb in his heart every time he thought of that particular wolf’s unexpected return interrupted his attempt to find Mark.
He dropped his head, held his eyes shut, and fought past the loud throb of his own heart to zero in on Mark.
A second, perhaps two, passed before he was able to filter through the myriad of noises and sensations in Damien’s house to find the signature beat.
He gasped. It was steady, strong, awake.
He pushed away from the wall, all sense of duty lost as his senses grabbed hold of the steady rhythm, unwilling to let it slip past his senses or be infected by anything else.
He was out of the bathroom, moving in the direction of that strong, steady beat before he could talk himself out of it, before he could come up with another excuse.
Mark was awake and moving. There was no other explanation for the strong rhythm of his heart. Was he coming here, to him?
Caster dried his body in quick movements as his mind worked through the sequence of events he’d been imagining every time he tried and failed to go to him.
He stopped with his shirt halfway through his biceps, clinging to his still-damp skin.
What could he say? Should he apologize for staying away for too long?
He was too busy trying to find the right words to explain his distance that he failed to notice the footsteps approaching his room until the door swung open.
He glared at Kyle, who was supposed to keep everyone out, but his bodyguard shrugged.
His mother walked in, looking every bit the regal queen she was. She tilted her head to the side, and he bristled, readying his mind for an admonishment that didn’t come.
Instead, she pointed at the shirt he was now trying his best to button, his connection to Mark’s heartbeat lost. “Your father will not wait.” She narrowed her eyes. “Honey, are you OK?”
He closed his eyes, nodding even though he wasn’t sure he would ever be, not with Zeke in the picture again.
He’d hoped their “everything” day and the glorious way Mark had opened up to him had pushed the Alpha’s influence to the past, but now he didn’t know what he hoped for.
It was a rare thing for him, not knowing what to do.
“He loves you.” His mother’s soft voice broke through his self-pity, and hope blossomed where pain persisted.
Caster nodded again, unable to find the words to communicate the confused position he found himself in. He took a breath and smoothed the sides of his shirt. “I thought you left with Edie and Adella.”
His mother smiled, and he thanked her for accepting the change of topic with all the grace of a loving mother. “Mark needed Edie for something…”
A gasp tore from his lips at his name, unsure he could hide his reaction if he tried. “He’s awake?” He didn’t wait for a response, already striding towards the door, his desire to confirm it almost unbearable.
His mother was faster; the admonishment she’d restrained earlier now apparent in her beautiful features as she blocked his path. “Yes, but you and I have to go to your father. Riley and Damien are waiting.”
He frowned, shaking his head.
She stood firm. “Listen to me.” She waited for him to draw his attention away from the door, away from Mark, to her face.
“He needs time. Edie is helping him come to terms with some things.”
She reached for his hand, and he released the breath he’d been holding on to for dear life. “He’ll come to you.”
Her confidence, her comfort, did nothing to ease the pain of a heart shattered by the news. Mark didn’t want to see him? Had he already chosen? He closed his eyes, gripping his mother’s hand tighter as he took a fortifying breath. Was it possible to survive a soulmate’s rejection?
“No. No, honey, don’t think that.”
His eyes popped open. He hadn’t lost control of the mental barrier protecting his thoughts since… He shook his head, unwilling to go back to the darkness that had almost consumed him, back to a time when he’d been sure he would never see Mark again.
His mother pulled him into her arms, and he accepted the additional comfort. “I love you, my boy. You’ll see. It will all be all right.”
He reached for the mental barrier, refortified its walls, squeezed his mother, committing her comfort to memory, and drew away from the embrace.
Weakness was not needed in this moment. He was still the Crown Prince of the Vampires, responsible for the safety of every vampire on the planet.
His pain was irrelevant. There was a traitor in their midst, a witch too powerful to contain, and a resurrected Alpha wolf threatening his kind.
His feelings, the real and loud shattering of his heart, had to wait.
***
The familiar tingling sensation of Riley’s power faded as he met Marcus’s eyes from across the conference room.
His father’s right-hand man and the second most powerful vampire in the world held his gaze for a second, a hint of concern coloring his impassive expression.
He hid it well, but Caster had known Marcus all his life, and the tiny emotion was apparent to him, and it did more to soothe the pain he did his best to conceal than he was willing to admit.
There was no need to burden his father with his problems, not with everything Uncle Lucien was up to.
Marcus gestured for them to sit around the conference table as the King walked into the room. He glanced at his wife, a small smile replacing his grim expression, and Caster braced himself for the council only to relax when his father’s bodyguard closed the door.
“Where’s the council?” Damien’s question drew his attention.
“This is not that kind of meeting.” Marcus’s tone was professional as ever, but the concern hiding beneath it was still there.
When he felt both his parents' eyes on him, he sighed.
“This is about me?” He started to stand, ready to reiterate that he didn’t need their concern, when the subtle shake of Marcus’s head pinned him to his seat.
Marcus didn’t exert his dominance often, but when he did, it was almost impossible to overcome.
He glanced at his mother, whose indulgent smile grated on his insides. Riley shrugged, and Damien shook his head. Traitors, both of them. They’d known about this.
“Son?” His father waited for him to meet his gaze. “You need to bring your wolf here. This house will offer him more protection.”
His father’s pronouncement didn’t shock him. Nothing escaped the King’s knowledge. Still, he’d wanted to be the one to tell him about Mark. He glanced at his mother.
“Yes. I told him. I worried about you. About both of you.”
He nodded. “You’re right, Father. But what if he doesn’t want to?”
“The Prime Alpha will convince him.” Marcus sounded certain, and Caster begged the Goddess he was right. “We’ve received information this morning that may force the Prime Alpha to work with us more closely.” He nodded in Damien’s direction.
“Julian is all but certain that the Werewolf Council is compromised.” Damien gave him his most apologetic stare. “He thinks the Prime Alpha already knows.”
“How?” Caster glanced at his father.
“That wolf, Zeke, was against the treaty from the beginning, and he may not be alone,” Marcus said.
“And you think he might want to what? Get Mark to join him?” The words increased the tear in his heart, causing his chest to constrict. He gripped the table, the force of his tightening hold causing the heavy wood to creak and groan under the pressure.
“No. We have no reason to doubt the Prime Alpha.” The King’s confident tone took away some of the anger roiling in his gut. “He is a level-headed leader, much like his grandfather.” He leveled Caster with a look that brooked no argument. “Besides, I want to meet your wolf. Mark?”
Caster nodded.
“We will sort through all of this.” Marcus’s assurance and his mother’s hand easing the grip he maintained on the table brought his breath back.
“In the meantime, the best way to keep Mark from Zeke’s grip and to contain the damage is to bring him here.”
His intense blue gaze held Caster captive for a moment before his attention shifted to Riley.
“Do we need extra protection on the house?”
Riley shook his head. “She can’t get through here. It’s the only reason… I think… she hasn’t dared to try.”
The King’s residence was cloaked under layers of protection spells dating back to before Riley was born, reinforced with each subsequent remodel. The latest reinforcement, done soon after Uncle Lucien had gone missing, had been one of Riley’s most potent protection spells.
“I need you to send for your brothers.” His father pushed off his seat, his directive aimed at both Caster and Damien.
“All of them. Don’t let Cyrus and Xavier out of your sight.”
He braced both hands on the table and leaned forward.
“I will hold both of you responsible if they disappear again. And Damien…”
He waited for Damien to acknowledge him.
“Bastian too. Find a way to reach him. Can you do that?”
Damien nodded. “Yes, Uncle Leon.”
“Good.” He glanced at the Queen, his expression softening. “I have many matters to attend to.”
His mother smiled, her hand a welcome weight on Caster’s.
Marcus didn’t follow the King as Caster had expected. “All of this needs to be done today. Can you handle that? Do you need more men?”
Caster nodded. He wasn’t sure how he’d convince Mark to come here. But Marcus was right; they’d all be safer here, and he’d do anything to keep Mark safe, even if it meant dragging him here against his will.
Marcus accepted his answer with a curt nod before leaving the room.
Caster breathed a sigh, the weight of his mother’s comfort and the conviction of his family's unwavering support easing his burden.
His desire to get back to Mark, even when he didn’t know what to say, was almost overwhelming, and now that he had his family’s support, the courage to find the words should be easy, right?