CHAPTER 28
The warmth of the covers was a nuisance when he woke.
His wolf reached for the outside, hammering at the barrier, but Mark brushed away his animal’s desire for a transformation.
His need was for the person next to him.
Joy, unfamiliar at this time of the day, burst forth as soon as he opened his eyes to meet the warm smile on Caster’s face.
He smiled back, reveling in the way they could communicate without a single spoken word between them.
He pushed closer to the love of his life, to the security of the moment, and the joy grew to uncontainable proportions. What were the chances the witch and Zeke would just leave them alone, and he could have this every day?
He regretted that thought and his open mind as worry seeped into Caster’s expression, but even that would not be enough to diminish the joy.
They were so close he could feel Caster’s breath on his face. His voice was a whisper. “No, baby. I wish they would. But we have to kill them. It’s the only way to get them out of our lives.”
Caster’s touch on his forehead was a distraction, heightening the underlying arousal simmering between them. He wanted to lean forward, erase the scant space, keeping the unique taste of Caster’s lips out of reach, but last night had ignited a new desire in him.
Caster frowned.
He shook his head. “No. Nothing bad. Just…” He took a breath. “…I want what Riley and Ben have.”
Caster’s smile returned. “They’ve been together more than two centuries.”
Mark couldn’t contain his gasp. He hadn’t expected that. How have they survived so long?
“Riley loves my brother too much.” Caster sighed in rhythm with his hand now on Mark’s lower back, making him wish they weren’t dressed. “The proof is in the immortality spell that should have been impossible even for someone so powerful.”
Yesterday had proven how little Mark knew of Caster’s world and ignited the desire to find out everything.
“My brother had a very difficult time accepting his vampire. I thought he wouldn’t make it. Some Made-Vampires don’t survive a process that can take months, sometimes years. If it hadn’t been for Riley…”
He closed his eyes, and Mark didn’t need to read his mind to see the concern for his brother.
He opened them with a sharp exhale. “At the time, witches weren’t immortal. They could extend their lives with potent healing spells, but they could die.”
“Riley chose immortality for Ben?” He couldn’t keep the awe from his voice. Immortality seems like a gift on the surface, but forever can be a long time to spend in grief or loneliness.
“That’s why I’d trust him with you.”
Mark shifted even closer, their clothes proving more than a nuisance. “They seem so close, like they’re the same person.” He looked away from Caster’s gaze, in case his confession was too much for the moment. “I’ve always wanted that.”
The kiss was unexpected, catching him mid-breath, but his reaction was in perfect synchrony with his confession.
He moaned his acceptance, total in its capacity.
He left everything open, his heart and mind, but he pulled away from the overwhelming presence that was Caster’s dominance sooner than he wanted.
If they were to be one, there was one thing they needed to discuss, the only thing they had control over.
Caster, in his infinite patience, waited, giving him the room to gather his thoughts.
“I loved him.” Those three words did not clog his throat as he’d expected they would when he’d resolved to do this in the midst of the joy he’d experienced with Caster’s family.
He closed his eyes, holding them shut in anticipation of the usual pain, only to open them in surprise when it didn’t come.
“I am not sure he loved me. I think he never did. But I loved him.”
Caster remained silent, his steady gaze communicating his presence, his awareness of the importance of the moment.
“But I love you, now.” He shook his head, a smile fighting past his vulnerability.
“I want you, forever.” He found Caster’s dependable gray gaze, needing him to understand the certainty he’d found last night in his family’s boisterous acceptance of him.
“When he came back, he terrified me. He’s not the same. But Caster…”
“No.” The dominance in that single word filled the room, stopping all of Mark’s thoughts, halting his breath. “I know what you want to ask, and it's not going to happen.”
Mark frowned, foreign anger battling his desire to please Caster. “I need to see him. I…”
Caster’s hand moved to his forearm, tightening to the point of pain. His voice was an eerie, calm whisper. “No.”
He started to argue, but the grip lost its edge, the caress it had become moving past his shoulder and into his hair, drawing a half-moan, half-sigh from him.
“I’ve never been more afraid of anything as I was when you drew me into your mind space. Look at me, my love.”
So lost in Caster’s touch, Mark had no memory of closing his eyes.
He gasped when he opened them to find more naked pain in Caster’s expression than he thought was possible.
His need to comfort him overtook his resolve to find closure, and his hand closed around Caster’s arm, trying to offer that comfort.
“I have been in a lot of battles, each one a significant threat…” Caster closed his eyes, sighed, and when he opened them again, the pain was gone, in its place his usual determination. “Whatever he wants with you, it is not good. I will not let him have you.”
Mark locked away his argument that if he couldn’t find a way to close that chapter, Zeke would always be a presence in their lives. But like everything else in his mind, he couldn’t keep it from Caster.
“Your brother is here. Let’s go see what he’s dealing with. Then, we’ll make a plan to take care of it all, yes?”
He wanted to see his brother, make sure he was OK, as absurd as it was to worry about the strongest wolf in existence.
But he wanted to stay here just a little longer.
The evil threatening their love had reared its ugly head again, and with it their resolve to find a way over that hurdle.
They would have scant few happy moments as long as Zeke and the witch were out there. It was time to take the fight to them.
***
It still took a while for them to make it to Marcus’s study. The spacious room appeared smaller as everyone with a stake in vengeance against the witch, which was everyone in this house, crowded the space.
The King was not present, and although Mark had hoped to see him again, Marcus was all the authority the room needed.
Cy smiled at him with a curt nod as he walked in, and he returned the greeting.
He heard his brother before he saw him, and relief, misplaced, given Dean’s habit of always being OK no matter what, washed away all his worry.
He released his hold on Caster’s hand and strode towards his brother, who was engaged in what seemed like a heated argument with Xavier, Julian, and James.
His brilliant, very Dean smile broke through as soon as their eyes met, and Mark braced himself for his Alpha’s presence in his mind. It didn’t come, and he frowned at his brother.
Xavier, Julian, and James stepped away from the little circle, and Mark’s breath left his lungs in a rush when Dean surprised him by pulling him into his arms. Had he missed something? It's not like they’d been apart for weeks. Dean’s hug was brief, but a bit tight, and Mark worried.
But when he searched his brother’s face for what he seemed unwilling or unable to talk about, Dean just shook his head and smiled. “It’s good to see you, is all.” He shrugged, but Mark didn’t believe him for a second. He was hiding something, something Mark would not like.
He glanced at James, seeking an inkling of something, but the Alpha, who was always privy to Dean’s every move, was noncommittal as always, his face revealing nothing.
Whatever it was, they didn’t seem willing to share it with vampires.
He resolved to get it out of them later, just as Marcus’s booming voice called a halt to all the side discussions going on.
Mark’s gaze found Caster, and the small smile on his lips was enough to ease some of the worry.
“OK. First things first. Is there a possibility of finding the witch?” Marcus addressed the only person in the room who would have an answer to that question.
Riley sighed, but even subdued, his power could not be denied.
Now that he had full access to his wolf, Mark could almost see the halo of his immense power even in human form.
“Locator spells won’t work. We need a new way. All of that darkness, the source of it, is enough to protect her from the most powerful spell.”
“You’re right.” Marcus’s commanding stature was not diminished even though he was the only one who chose to sit.
“It is best to use our resources wisely. That’s why I thought we’d all get everything out in the light.”
He stared Dean down, and Mark couldn’t help glance at his brother.
“The only way to deal with this threat is together. If we let that little witch divide us, she has already won.”
Dean nodded. “Well. There were the beginnings of a revolt in my ranks, but I have that handled. Most wolves remain loyal to me.”
His unwavering pronouncement was emphatic, and Mark knew his brother well enough to know that it was all true. Dean didn’t stomach dissent. It was the one aspect of his rule that made him the best Prime Alpha the wolves had had for a long time.
“There is the issue of that resurrected Alpha,” Caster said, earning nods from the rest of the room and drawing Mark’s attention. Zeke wasn’t just after him, although he did seem fixated. He was a threat to all of them.
“Is it true?” Everyone turned to Cy, who shrugged and tipped his chin at Dean, his demeanor relaxed. “We need to know what we would be dealing with. Is it true that you can control all other wolves?”
There was a smile on Cy’s face, the same disarming charm he’d displayed last night, but Mark still braced himself for a less-than-cordial response from his brother.
That secret had been a guarded one. It was the only reason wolves had survived so long, against long odds.
Giving your enemy the chance to counter that strength was not wise.
But when he glanced at his brother, there was a small smile. The familiarity between him and Caster’s brother was not surprising. Of course, they knew each other, perhaps had even fought each other on the battlefield.
Dean nodded. “It's true.”
“That’s a problem.” Riley’s low voice settled over the room as everyone turned to him. He sighed. “We don’t know the extent of Zeke’s power now or how different it is from yours.”
Dean stepped forward. “What do you mean different?”
Riley shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about it ever since Caster told me about it.” His blue gaze found Mark. “And if it is borne of Ethel’s darkness, there is a chance it will progress faster than we can counter.”
“What can we do?” Caster asked, drawing Riley's attention and everyone else’s away from Mark.
Riley nodded at Caster as if seeking his permission, and then he looked at Mark again. “There is a spell to help me find the signature of his influence. He was in your mind?”
Mark nodded.
“It's different magic…” Riley smiled. “… a little outside of the Coven’s practices, but it can help us…” He waved a hand between them. “…kind of get a sample of his influence if you will, so that we can then use it to track and maybe stop him.”
“You think that’s possible?” Marcus asked.
“Yes.” Riley’s confidence didn’t waver. “I got the idea when your wolf pulled Caster into your mind space…”
“What?” Dean’s shock was not unexpected.
His full, almost dangerous attention was on Mark.
“What is he talking about?” This time, Mark didn’t have time to fortify his defenses.
His brother’s Alpha sailed past the psychic barrier so fast, Mark gasped and held his eyes shut.
His wolf woke with a start before submitting to Dean’s more dominant Alpha.
He grabbed his brother’s arm. “Dean…”
His brother relented, and he breathed a sigh. When he opened his eyes, Caster was at his side, a challenge in the look he leveled on Dean, and everyone was looking at him.
He sighed, shook his head at Caster before turning to his brother. “I was going to tell you…”
Dean glanced between him and Caster and then nodded, accepting Mark’s unvoiced request to keep this discussion private.
“And the traitor?” Marcus asked, his gaze on Damien, and Mark thanked him for easing the tension building between his brother and Caster.
Damien nodded at Riley, silent communication between the two, before a significant portion of Riley’s power filled the room, and less than a second later, a vampire Mark had never met materialized in the middle of the room.
His features contorted with what looked like a mixture of pain and surprise.
No visible bonds were holding him in place, but his body struggled as if he were bound by the strongest of ropes.
Mark looked at Caster, and there was underlying pain behind his murderous look. Cy wore the same expression, as did Damien. Marcus retained his calm composure, but there was a sudden shift in the room’s energy that had little to do with the power Riley had not reined in.