Ferris Braden [Beyond the Marius Brothers 6]

by Joyee Flynn

  “I’m King,” I gasped as I wiped tears out of my eyes. I took another deep breath before explaining. “All my people are dependent on me as your people depend on your High Council. This whole meeting is a moot point. My people are already in your coven, our mating has been consummated.”

  “Why is that still so funny?” Elena asked me as the rest of the High Council whispered.

  “Because I was looking to see if your laws covered my baby brother. Worse case I would give you or the Queen guardianship over him if I had to leave with my people to check out our other options. And then I read that,” I answered.

  “You’d give up your own brother?” Bas asked, hushing everyone else with a wave of his hand. “Why?”

  “Because Queen Magdalena and Elena Marius gave my brother a look I knew well, having seen it on my own mother’s face many times. They would protect Paolo with their very lives if it came down to that. I would as well, but if we find another home, there will be growing pains and I wouldn’t have the immediate support I’ve found here. Yes, I’d temporarily give him up to make sure he was safe. I love him and that means doing whatever is necessary to make sure he lives.”

  “Anyone want to deny a King with that kind of devotion and his people into our coven?” Bas asked, smiling like the cat who ate the canary. Everyone shook their heads and some seemed relieved that the issue was over. “Good. King Rylan, I hereby decree that you and any of your people who wish to reside in this coven as full members of the community can. Welcome, Ry.”

  “Thanks, Bas. And my offer to supply your warriors with blood still stands.”

  “Why would you do that when our own laws let you into this coven?” Councilman James asked, looking at me with a whole new respect.

  “Because I meant what I said about community. For all my people’s faults, we believe in pack. There is nothing we won’t give to help someone in our pack and our blood can help the people we are to live and fight side by side with. And I will grant Brian and Banning O’Hagan the additional land they need to keep providing food to this coven now that your numbers have more than doubled.”

  And just like that, it was over.

  We stuck around for a little bit, mostly thanking Elena, Desmond, Queen Magdalena, and Bas for their help. After that, the next madness began. As Ferris drove to the farm I wanted to buy, I was emailing the heads of the packs of my people, letting them know what had happened. I also got several e-mails from Desmond’s friends that my people were welcome to join their covens.

  I’d have to look into each of those covens, but for now, I gave the packs closest to those covens permission to approach them. Of course, I added that I wanted to be kept in the loop on what was going on and to let me know of any issues immediately.

  When we got to the farm, I smiled at the nice older couple who were kind enough to not balk at the fact that we just dropped in and didn’t even call.

  “Again, I apologize for coming unannounced. When your neighbors told me you might be selling your land, they didn’t mention an asking price.”

  “The man we talked to at the realtor’s office told us we should ask for a million two,” he answered. “But we haven’t signed with them yet so we’d be willing to go slightly lower to not have to pay the commission fee.”

  I nodded, appreciating their honesty and knowing that was still low for the worth of this land given it was very fertile from the crops we’d seen. “May I ask why you’re selling? I can see you’ve put a lot of love into the land and your home.”

  “Our son died overseas last year,” the woman whispered. “We were always going to give it to him but now there’s no one. His wife doesn’t want it, and we can’t keep it going until our grandson might want it.”

  “I’m very sorry for your loss,” I said gently. “I lost my parents recently. That’s why I’m moving. The warring going on has left my home unsafe for my people.”

  “Are you like the nice boys with the fangs?” she asked as if it was no big deal. I almost fell off my chair as my head snapped to Ferris. He shook his, signaling they weren’t in the loop. “Oh please. I’ve lived on this land all my life. Most of the town knows about the vampires but they’re not the ones of legend and they’re some of the nicest people we’ve ever met. We won’t ever tell anyone.”

  “I’m not a vampire. I’m a margay shifter, but yes, that’s why. The same enemy the vampires fight slaughtered my parents yesterday. I need to move my people and keep them safe.”

  “I’m sorry for you. No one should ever have to go through losing someone they loved like that. I like the idea of our land helping people who need refuge, but I need to know if you will still use it for farming. It’s such good, nutrient-rich land, that it seems a waste to only build on it,” the man asked hesitantly.

  “Part of it I’m going to give to the vineyard next door. There will be extensive gardens as my mother had and lots of the land will be kept intact because we’re a people of nature and need to run. Basically I’m going to try and recreate the palace my parents had in Italy as much as I can here without drawing too much suspicion.”

  “Good, that sets our minds at ease. Is the price acceptable or should we talk turkey?”

  “No, it’s not enough. I’ll give you three million and you can set up your grandson for life after you travel and enjoy the world after working so hard all your lives.” They both stared at me with wide eyes for several minutes and I felt the need to squirm. “Or, if you want to. It was just a suggestion.”

  “This isn’t a prank?” she whispered and I realized the shock was for the money.

  “No, ma’am. I’ll call your attorney and have the money wired in an escrow account in five minutes if you want.”

  “Oh we won’t be ready to move right away.”

  “Take all the time you need. This part of the property I was going to give to your neighbors anyways. I was hoping for a tour for the rest of your land to see the best building site. You don’t have to leave now as long as we can start building and getting crews out here.”

  They shared a glance and smiled at me. “We have a deal.”

  We shook on it and then the man gave us a quick tour. I found the perfect site, by a large stream, and smiled. My mother would have loved this place.

  When that was done, I called my lawyer and gave him the contact name and number of their lawyer and said I wanted it done immediately so the couple knew this was a real deal. After that it was a flurry of setting up appointments with builders and warning them it would be a very fast, immediate, and large project even though winter was coming.

  Then we stopped over at Brian and Banning’s and told them what I was doing. I apologized for having eavesdropped but since I didn’t know them then, it wasn’t like I’d been doing it to buy the land out from under them. They were very gracious about it and happy to have the extra land they needed.

  Next it was a meeting with the survivors from the attack on the palace telling them everything that was going on. I named Bevin my advisor, much to his shock. His first order of business was to coordinate the packing of the palace with our people and the Queen’s help.

  After that, I went to go check on my brother, thanking Cynthia once again for her help. I’d have to get a full-time nanny because there was no way I’d be able to take care of him like he needed and be King and be a good mate. It just wasn’t happening. I asked Elena Marius if she wouldn’t mind asking around if anyone with experience was looking for the work. She agreed and by then it was so far past lunch, I realized my stomach and head hurt.

  I hadn’t even gotten breakfast. We ate and checked in with everyone, making sure there were no issues. But then I was exhausted. Like bone-weary, mind-numbingly exhausted and I ended up falling asleep at the table in the middle of a conversation with my mates and checking e-mail. Smooth move, I know.

  * * * *

  Ferris Over the next week Rylan got more done than most people I knew could in months. At first he was set on doing it all himself, but
after Onah and I pinned him down and fucked him all night long when he told us no we didn’t need to help yet again… He changed his tune. And he did it with a big smile on his face.

  Onah, who had been trained as our idea of a medic on this plane, took over the blood donations. Riley had said the margays would not feel any effects with their heightened healing abilities if they donated once a week or every other week.

  I was Rylan’s new liaison with the covens closest to the other margay packs. Granted, not all wanted to help and get involved, but I was proud of most of my people. They were willing to jump right in and welcome the margays into their households. It was a lot of hard work and schmoozing I wasn’t used to but at the end of the day I was still doing my duty as a warrior.

  Which was keeping people safe.

  We’d also been invited to have dinner with Emmett and Travis at the warrior compound where they were staying until their house was finished being built. It was nice to relax with two men I thought of as my friends and let my mates get to know them. Both of them had gone and let Ayden help them and they were stronger for it. Sure, Travis was still a jealous newly mated vampire, but they both were handling things better.

  I was just glad Emmett was learning that real friends don’t just turn to each other only when they need help. He’d started texting me every so often, updating me on the house or telling me something crazy that happened.

  “I don’t have to worry about the fact you’re always texting another man, do I?” Rylan asked quietly a week and a day after his parents were killed. We were visiting the site of the new palace, already having approved blueprints as the sale of the land was done. They were making amazing progress and Rylan was sparing no expense to build the place right.

  “No, baby,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him. “I love Emmett. He’s a good friend who helped me when I needed it and we’ve had some ups and downs but we’re working through it. But there are only two men who I’m in love with and have given my heart to.”

  “I love you guys too,” he sighed and I smiled at Onah over his shoulder. The grin on the huge man’s face lit up the whole day.

  “Really? I’m not the only one?” Rylan giggled as we shook our heads. Onah gave out a loud whoop and raced over to us, lifting us both up as if we weighed nothing. He spun us around and I started to feel nauseous. “I love you both so much.”

  “And now that the Queen reversed the effects of your blood on vampires, I can drink from both the sexy men I love,” I teased as he set us down. There had been so much going on but that had been a priority to him. When he’d asked me to drink from him, he’d been crushed when I’d said no. He hadn’t been around when everyone found out what fae blood did to vampires.

  He understood when I’d explained it to him, but he’d wanted to go wake the Queen up and get it fixed right in that moment. Never mind it had been two in the morning and she probably would have zapped our asses for disturbing her. Luckily, Rylan and I had talked him out of it and set up an appointment with her the next day when we woke up.

  “Glad you’re so excited, Onah,” Rylan teased as he snuggled in both our arms. “What do you think of our new home so far?”

  “I think it was genius to dismantle parts of the palace and bring it over here to be put in the new one,” he answered quietly. I nodded my agreement. Last week when we’d gone to bury the margays’ dead and hold a service for them, and then Rylan pledging his oath as the new King, everyone had been so sad to leave the old palace behind.

  The next thing I knew, Rylan was calling in Italian workers to pull up the marble floors, safely remove columns, and a bunch of other building materials that had made the palace. He said that he’d never be able to sell the land anyways because too many people would question what the palace had been for. Plus, it was his family’s land and he didn’t want it gone before Paolo could grow up to appreciate it.

  He’d talk about when the war with the demons was over that we’d build some luxurious summer home there that any supernatural being who’d helped in the fight could go enjoy.

  I didn’t have the heart to tell him the war with the demons had been going on since before I was born and would probably always be fought. But I was pretty sure he knew that and it was his way of dealing with leaving his homeland. Who knew? Maybe the fight would end one day and we’d be victorious.

  Either way, as long as I had Rylan and Onah, I’d keep up the good fight.

  “After the foundation is in and the frame of the house is put up, Tyler agreed to help me put in several secret escape passages. If we’d had some of those, the attack from the demons wouldn’t have gone the way it did. We need to be prepared for every contingency. He said we can do that while the builders are working on the roof of the palace and then when we’re done they should be too and we can start moving in.”

  “How long are they estimating before it’s done?” I asked, eyeing over how far they’d already come. The stone foundation and extensive basement were finished. Now they were working on the outer walls of the main floor.

  “Two to three weeks,” he answered with a bright smile. “Finding a vampire building crew that could fit us in was lucky as fuck. They move so damn fast and no one has to feel awkward because humans are around.”

  “But you got humans in Italy excavating materials at the old palace. Won’t that raise questions?” I didn’t have a problem with humans. But I’d learned that people, whether they be human, vampire, or any other kind, liked to talk.

  “Nope, Caleb set that one up. There were several fae builders who went over to Greece that were looking for work. The Queen let them in the palace and then magically sealed it back up. We’ve got a crew getting the materials out, and another helping my people pack up all the history in that palace. All the while, several of the warriors agreed to stay there and be security for the project.”

  Just then a man came running over to us with a big smile. “Your highness, if you can find us some lights so we can keep working tonight, my crew has agreed to keep going. We figure if the weather holds out on the nicer days before we end up with snow, might as well work the extra hours.”

  “I will get them here. Are you sure your men aren’t pushing too hard? I don’t want anyone hurt,” Rylan replied gently.

  “No way,” the man chuckled. “The blood you gave us this morning will keep us going into the night. I’ve never felt so energized. We had to adjust our normal working habits because my guys kept accidentally throwing stone with their newfound strength, but we figured out how to compensate.”

  “Good. We’ve got another shipment of it coming in tomorrow.” Rylan had gotten all his packs to donate blood for the workers and ship it out to get the palace done as quickly as possible. Next week they’d start giving it to the covens they were staying in to help them. But until then, they had all been more than happy to get stuck with a needle to see the new palace built. To them it meant their people were safe and going to make it so they all jumped in to help.

  The man nodded and headed back to the site.

  “We have some lights in the warrior compound’s garage,” I said, wanting to keep that smile on my mate’s face. “I’ll get some guys to help me bring them over.”

  “You guys are the best,” Rylan purred, rubbing up against us. “What would I do without you?”

  “You’ll never have to find out, baby,” Onah said and I couldn’t agree more.

  Chapter 9

  One Month Later Onah “And this is Paolo in his fairy costume,” I said like a proud papa as I passed around one of the dozens of shots Rylan had taken of his baby brother from his first Halloween. “Rylan said it was important for his brother to appreciate all the different people in his family.”

  “I’ve never seen a boy dressed in a Tinker Bell costume before,” Elena Marius chuckled. We were all in one of the larger drawing rooms in the new palace. It wasn’t fully decorated yet and everyone hadn’t unpacked, but it was built and habitable. “He is the cutest ba
by. Cutest one ever next to my sons and granddaughter of course.”

  “Of course,” I agreed with a snicker as I rubbed my fingers over Paolo’s cheek as he cooed from my lap. I knew he was Rylan’s brother, but to me, he was my son. And he would want for nothing ever and always know he was loved. We’d found a permanent nanny for him, Katrina, who also used to work in a human grammar school and could teach Paolo when he was ready.

  He was the smartest baby ever though. He was already playing games and doing things that were for kids three years old and he wasn’t even a year old yet. His birthday was in January and I knew we were going to throw him a party like the coven had never seen.

  “He needs a pony,” I mumbled, having remembered seeing it on the television that a man said every child wanted a pony. “No, no ponies for him,” Rylan chuckled, shaking his head. “Maybe once he’s old enough to ride it you can get him one and we can teach him.”

  “Fine, but if he asks for one when he starts talking, he’s getting one,” I replied with a pout. Everyone laughed at that and Paolo clapped his hands and giggled as if he had any clue what was going on. Did I mention how cute he was?

  “Your highness, have I mentioned lately how much I love that portal of yours?” Ferris said before stuffing himself with another piece of freshly caught, grilled with garlic, calamari. “And the chef we have just knows how to prepare everything. I swear I’m going to get fat.”

  “We keep you on a strict workout regimen,” Rylan purred, eyeing over our mate. “Eat away, my love.”

  “I have to agree with you, Ferris,” she said as she popped a piece in her mouth as well. “The portal was always for necessity if someone needed to cross onto this plane. It’s brought me such joy to use it for something fun like this. And when Elena told me about those Alaskan King crabs she loved, we had such fun going to get some.”