by Leta Blake
He finished his brandy and headed upstairs. He entered the room where he kept his memories of Riki and lit a stick of incense, saying a few prayers to wolf-god for his beloved.
Then he added on a prayer for Xan.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Morning dawned, cold and confusing, as Xan stared out at the ocean view he’d chosen with his bedroom. He stood gazing at the grey-green water, the undulation of it soothing his nerves. The unfamiliar creaking of the old house and restless thoughts of Urho had disturbed his sleep. He’d spared some tossing and turning for Janus, too, letting his mind run wild with the implications of his cousin’s presence.
He sipped the still piping-hot coffee that someone had brought in while he slept. Carrying the mug in his hands, he opened the door that led to a private passage. It cut through to the room Caleb had chosen for himself. Caleb’s doorway at his end was open, and Xan spotted Ren by the foot of Caleb’s bed, laboring under a pile of baroque cushions as Caleb issued orders.
“This room is my worst nightmare.” Caleb’s voice drifted to Xan, pinched and tired. “There’s so much stuff in here. Take it all. All of it. Out, out, out. Find some nice white linens, and unpack my white things from the boxes I shipped ahead. I suppose there’s nothing to be done about all this gilt ornamentation around the ceiling without destroying the history of the room, but call in painters to remove this stripey nonsense from the walls. I want them white too.”
“Of course,” Ren said, swaying under the pile of red and gold decorative cushions he held in his arms.
Xan hit the first of two bathrooms within the hallway, the opposite side of the small corridor being made up of two large closets, and shut the door behind him. A piss, shower, and shave later, he felt like a new man, and he summoned a smile as he found Caleb in his room all pink and glowing from his own ablutions.
Caleb sat at the baroque vanity in his room, pinning a silver and gray barrette into his hair to keep the blond strands out of his face.
“Ren tells me that your cousin has already eaten and headed into town,” Caleb bit out when he spotted Xan leaning against the doorjamb of his room. “Perhaps he’ll stay gone.”
“I’m sorry for his rudeness yesterday. I loathe him so much myself that I can’t say much more than that.”
Caleb shrugged.
“He said you’d already met. How?”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “I’ve met plenty of alphas in my time, Xan. It was at a Philia soirée.”
“Oh, of course.”
Caleb hated discussing the strain he’d been under at the Philia soirées before Xan came along, so Xan dropped the subject. “I heard you telling Ren how you’d like the room arranged.”
Caleb dotted some silvery powder over his eyelids and smoothed the shimmer out. “Yes. I would have preferred to be at the end of the south end of the hall where wind blows hardest, but as we agreed last night, it’s better for me to room beside you so Janus has fewer oddities to report home about.”
“When he goes—” surely he would go! “—you can move into any room you like.”
“Once I have this one the way I like it, I suppose I’ll be content enough.” Caleb smiled. “I’m sorry if I’m cranky this morning, darling. I had trouble sleeping with all this red and black everywhere.” He waved a hand around at the canopy over his bed, the blood and coal striped wallpaper, and the still-lingering cushions. Xan couldn’t imagine how many there must have been since he knew Ren had taken away an armful and a half already.
His own room was pleasantly masculine with heavy wood furniture and thick, warm blankets. The color scheme was beige, brown, and cream, with a hint of green to bring in the color of the sea from the windows. He was content with it as it was. But whoever had decorated the room Caleb had taken possessed very different tastes.
“We can switch rooms tonight,” Xan ventured.
“No. I prefer the view out this one.” He nodded toward the bed. “Lay down and see for yourself.”
Xan plopped onto Caleb’s bed, missing the soft nest of their old home, but awed by the scene out the window. With just a turn of his head, he could watch the giant ocean waves beat against the base of the cliff at the end of the beach on their property.
“Dramatic,” he murmured.
“A real show.” Caleb smiled and stood from the vanity. “Speaking of, we should get our show on the road. There’s so much to still be done. And you should call Ray, don’t you think? Find out what’s expected of you and when you should start.”
The servants they’d brought, as well as betas Ren or perhaps Janus had hired from the village, scurried all around the lower floor of the house, removing dust cloths, polishing wood, shining silver, moving furniture, and generally waking the house up after years of sleep.
Xan found his way to the library, positioned just off the great hall, and then into a small interior room that could serve as his office. It had a view of the north-eastern grounds, and out the window he saw some servants from wolf-god only knew where mulching and preparing flower beds within a small, twisting walk of a garden.
He supposed Ren had arranged for it in anticipation of his and Caleb’s orders. The man was good at his job.
The small office contained a functional desk—less overwrought than the giant, sprawling one in the library—some filing cabinets, and a private phone on the desk. There was a comfortable-looking sofa pressed up against one wall and a small record player on a table by the doorway. Xan opened and closed the doors of the filing cabinets, making sure that Janus hadn’t claimed this room for himself, and then, satisfied that it was sufficient for his needs, he shut and locked the door behind him.
His sat at the desk and picked up the receiver. His fingers itched over the dial, an urge to hear Urho’s voice claiming him. He wanted to know how his lover—would he ever stop feeling the exclamation point after that word?—had liked the roses. Had wooing him like an omega worked? Or had Urho hated it?
Xan swallowed hard and put the receiver down again. He took slow breaths and watched the men outside his window carting wheelbarrowfuls of mulch and carrying slats of violet, gold, and yellow winter flowers. He decided to put off the call to Urho for last. The dessert could come after the vegetables.
Picking up the phone again, he put in a call to Ray, who asked, “How are things there?” His voice was warm and familiar in a way that uncoiled the knots from between Xan’s shoulder blades.
He tucked the phone against his ear and twisted the long cord between his fingers. “Fine, except for the surprise guest we found already set up here upon our arrival.”
Ray snorted lightly. “I’m guessing Janus was his usual charming self, then?”
“He immediately offended Caleb.”
“Ah, well, he’d better watch that.” Ray sounded a bit distracted, and Xan could hear papers rustling in the background. “Father wouldn’t want your omega unhappy, especially with his heat coming up.”
“Heaven forbid we do anything to upset an omega before his heat.”
“I know you understand how important it is to keep Caleb joyful and eager to conceive,” Ray scolded. “Father wouldn’t want Janus or you doing anything to offend him.”
“But father doesn’t mind if Janus offends me. Which he does just by being here.”
Ray sighed. Xan heard the roll and scrape of his brother’s chair against the floor of his office, and knew Ray had risen to pace. “It’s actually not all about you, Xan. Has it occurred to you that Father has his own reasons for sending Janus to Virona?”
Xan stood and pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the window, staring out at the men digging in the dirt. “Business reasons?”
“Personal ones, mostly, if you must know. But, yes, some business ones too.”
“Like what?” Xan wasn’t sure if he was asking about the personal or the business, but Ray continued on like he knew, of course.
“Janus has experience setting up satellite offices, like he did when he was sent to G
rundytown after his last big romantic scandal. And you, little brother, have none.”
Xan pulled away from the window, leaving a smudge behind. He flopped backwards onto the sofa, the thick cushion catching his fall. It seemed unfair that Janus could stay in good standing with their father despite his many illicit affairs simply because they were all with omegas. But Xan had a few rumors flying around about his involvement with other alphas and he’d become the family pariah. “And how will I prove myself to Father if Janus is here to do all the work?”
Ray shuffled papers, a heavy sigh on his lips. Xan idly wondered how long his brother had already been in the office that morning. Caleb was right to point out that that Ray had no personal life.
Pages scraped and rustled, and the rumble of a drawer convinced Xan that, yes, even as they talked on the phone, his brother was toiling away. “First, get along with Janus. That would impress Father a great deal since you haven’t been able to accomplish that since you were toddlers together.”
“I was a toddler. He was older than me and a bully.”
Ray sighed again. “Second, don’t just sit back and let Janus take over. Exert yourself and put yourself forward, give your opinion, make good deals, and use good judgment. Especially on when you should concede to his.”
Xan rolled his eyes. “Why does Father respect him so much?”
“Respect isn’t the word for what Father feels for Janus.”
“Admiration then.” Xan’s throat went dry. “Adoration. Love. Whatever it is, he doesn’t feel it for me.”
Ray clicked his tongue. “You and Janus aren’t so unalike.”
Xan huffed. “If you’re talking about his love affairs and scandals we both know Father doesn’t care about them because he has them with omegas.”
Ray was silent for a moment, and Xan realized what he’d admitted. He sucked in a breath, the phone receiver sliding against his suddenly slick palm.
When Ray spoke, his voice was gentle with compassion. “Xan like I told you in my office, if it was only me, I wouldn’t care who you love. But as Father’s representative, I have to report that, yes, our board of directors and Father himself understand Janus’s antics a great deal more than they could or would understand yours. But that doesn’t mean Father thinks Janus hung wolf’s moon.”
“No, he saves that high opinion for Pater and you.”
“He loves you, Xan, and he wants you to learn how to run the company.” Xan could picture Ray rubbing between his brows in frustration and kicking back in his desk chair. “Let’s not have this argument again. I hate having to defend him to you and then turn around and defend you to him.”
Xan rose and crossed to the window again, watching the workers. “Being in the middle stinks, I know. I’m sorry, Ray.”
As usual, his brother was willing to shrug off his own problems and focus on Xan’s. “Make sure this next week gets off to a successful start. If Janus gets inappropriate with Caleb, let me know and I’ll take care of it. It’s almost like he can’t help himself when a contracted omega is around. He has to test the boundaries of propriety.”
“Caleb is special,” Xan said fiercely. “I won’t have him feeling harassed in his own home.”
“All alphas think their omegas are special,” Ray mused. “And I suppose they all are. But you’re right. I don’t want my brother-in-law feeling put out, either. We all like Caleb. But Father insists Janus stay with you for the time being.”
“How much of his duties here consist of spying on me to make sure I’m behaving?”
“I suppose that depends on you.” Ray sounded so tired. Xan wanted to tell him to go home and take a day for himself, but he knew Ray would ignore him. “Give Janus nothing to see or report, get the satellite office open as quickly as possible, and there will be less of a reason for him to stay on.”
Xan remembered the papers he’d gone over on the train ride the day before, in between worrying about Urho, dreaming of his cock, and irritating Caleb with his insecurities. “According to the schedules and reports you sent me, the office won’t be up and running for a couple of months at least.”
Ray laughed. “I’m just impressed that you read what I sent. Already this Virona experiment is proving to have good results. Now I need to work and you need to go into town to see whether or not the building is progressing as promised.”
Xan swallowed hard. He’d already forgotten that Ray had asked him to do that by phone the day before. He should have been down there first thing this morning to meet with the contractors.
Ray didn’t scold him, though. “Behave yourself, little brother. We’ll talk again soon.”
Xan hung up and stood in a hurry. He wanted to call Urho and hear his soothing voice, but he was already hours late to the very first assignment Ray had given. With his luck, that was where Janus had disappeared to this morning and why he wasn’t there to bug Caleb at breakfast.
He hustled out of the library, past all the busy servants, and back up to his room to put on something more commanding in appearance. If he was going to show up late, the least he could do is look like he meant business.
That evening, the roses perfumed the air of Urho’s library with a taunting sweetness he couldn’t escape. He stared up at the portrait of Riki while running his fingers over the smooth, cool bone of his phone receiver.
They day had passed much like any other before the madness with Xan started, and yet he’d felt wrong from the moment he’d rolled out of bed. The distance between them seemed vast, and some part of him kept seeking Xan’s scent, like an alpha looking for his omega in a crowd. He never found it.
He’d even driven past Xan’s house in the city like a lovesick alpha mooning over a reluctant omega, and he’d found himself breathing deeply, trying to find residual Xan-ness in the air.
Urho had half expected a phone call from Xan throughout the day, but none ever came, and he’d returned home after dropping by Jason and Vale’s house to sit in solitude and brood on his feelings.
He was ridiculous. He knew that. But he couldn’t seem to stop.
The cool receiver beneath his fingers beckoned to him. He considered something Vale had said once he’d mastered his glee at hearing that Urho had taken Xan as a lover, though Urho had refused to provide more details than that as he’d measured Vale’s stomach that particular afternoon. “If you’re not certain about this, now is the time to jump ship.”
He could do that. Just swim away from temptation and pull himself up on the shores of wolf-god’s rules and the country’s regulations. He could watch that ship sail onto the horizon and then disappear. All it would take was…not making that phone call. Not answering if one came in. It would be so much safer. Saner. Smarter.
He swallowed hard and his gut knotted.
He lifted the receiver and placed the call.
When a servant answered on the other end of the line, he asked for Xan and waited with his eyes closed.
There was the sound of another extension connecting, and the first one disconnecting. And then Xan said, “Hello?” His voice was a blessing in Urho’s ear, and he shivered.
“This is Urho. I wanted to make sure you arrived safely.”
“Oh! It’s you!” Xan’s pleasure rolled through the line to him like the sweetness of an opiate being spooned into Urho’s mouth. He swallowed it down and it warmed him inside and out.
“It’s me,” Urho confirmed.
“I spent all day in endless meetings arguing with the contractors who are building the physical space for our satellite office and I assumed this call was going to be from my brother checking on the progress there. This is such a better surprise!”
As he rambled, Xan’s voice grew a touch nervous. It made Urho want him close, to put his hands on him, and shove him down to his knees and stopper his mouth with his—
Wolf-god, he was depraved now.
“I wasn’t sure when I’d hear from you. I’m glad it’s now. Tonight, I mean. Did you get the roses? I wanted to surpr
ise you with them, but maybe they’re a little too much. I mean, you did get them? Right?”
“I got them. Thank you.”
“Yes, of course. I’m glad. Okay, wow. I’m not sure what to say.” Xan sounded out of breath and the sound of shoes clacking as the young man paced echoed through the receiver. “I should probably start with something simple, but I already blew that. I guess I’ll try it now. Can’t lose anything by trying, right? So, hi! How was your day?”
Urho chuckled and relaxed back into his chair. “Not as enjoyable as it would have been if I’d been able to see you.”
Xan made a soft sound that woke Urho’s cock. “Mine either.”
Urho pressed his hand over his crotch, feeling the rush of blood there. “Was the train comfortable?”
“It was. I hired a private compartment so I could sleep. Caleb read a book.”
As Urho listened, Xan described the journey, the house—which sounded like a large project in and of itself—and his frustration at discovering that some cousin, a thorn in Xan’s side, obviously, would be staying as a houseguest there at Xan’s father’s behest.
Xan’s voice wove into Urho like a thread of sharp contentment, bordering on pleasure. Urho closed his eyes, letting that thread stab and pull through him again and again. He shivered.
“Caleb doesn’t like him, either,” Xan concluded irritably.
Urho stroked slow fingers over his thigh, sliding against his stiff cock. It’d filled as he’d followed the melodious ups and downs of Xan’s animated descriptions.
“Why’s that?” he rasped, teasing the fat head of his dick where it pressed against his trousers. He shifted his hips and imagined Xan at his feet, his head resting against his knee as he complained about his cousin. If Xan were at his feet, he’d stroke his hair, hear him out, and then fuck his mouth so roughly that—
He broke off his thoughts again, his nipples hardening beneath his shirt, and his balls drawing up tight.
