As soon as Wynter had driven inside the magical circle around the huge house, Marcus was on his feet and pacing his office. He felt like a tiger in a cage, eagerly awaiting the arrival of his next meal, and found himself staring at the camera feeds on his computer as the group arrived and began unloading. He watched as they made quick work of bringing in their bags and all the bits that came with the baby, and before he knew it they were crossing the threshold and Wynter was showing the others inside with a timid smile.
Marcus wanted to rush out there and go to her, but he forced himself to hold back. She could wait just a couple more minutes. He didn’t want to appear too eager, after all.
Nineteen
Wynter’s nerves were on fire as she stood and ushered the rest of their group inside, but she did her best to hide them as she gave the alpha the nod to go and fetch his master. She knew full well Marcus was aware they’d arrived, but he was busy playing it cool, no doubt. Too cool to come rushing out to greet them, or so it appeared.
She took a look around and was disappointed to find the humans all gone. The noise and the busyness had been comforting before, but now the house was deathly quiet, and she had to wonder if there was anyone there at all. Even baby Rosa was strapped across her torso in her sling, and had fallen back asleep, so she was adding to the quietness.
“Seriously? This is where you and Marcus live?” Archie asked, breaking the silence, and she was glad he did.
“Yep, plus a few choice others of course, which now includes you,” she answered, and Archie nodded, as if he’d forgotten.
“We’d like a room towards the back though, perhaps in the old servants quarters?” Brodie asked, and while Wynter tried not to make a face, she forced herself to nod. There was no way she wanted to go back down there. She’d simply give them the go ahead and walk away.
“That can be arranged,” she promised, but then Archie interjected and she was beyond pleased that he did.
“Nah, I want one of the top rooms. After living in a cave for a year, we need a view.”
Brodie grumbled but he seemed ready and willing to give his beau whatever he wanted and shrugged.
“I’ll show you the way,” Wynter told them, and then shuddered when she felt an icy wave wash over her from across the huge hallway.
She turned to find Marcus standing watch over them all at the top of the first staircase, looking perfect as ever in his crisp grey suit and blue tie. He seemed utterly at ease with what he’d found, and yet was giving her one of his dangerous looks that meant he was willing to play whatever game she dared try. But today wasn’t about games. It was about making things right and finding a way to instigate a new chapter in all of their lives.
“Permit me,” he called down to the others, who then turned and looked up at their vampire host in surprise. Marcus looked utterly impressed with himself and Wynter watched as he descended the stairs with hardly a sound. “Welcome to our home, I trust you will both be very comfortable here.”
“Forgo the formalities, Marcus,” Brodie growled, and his unmasked hatred surprised Wynter. She had expected him to play nicely, when instead he’d gone straight on the offense.
“Nice to see you too, Brodie,” her husband answered, and then fixed his icy blue stare on the human beside him. “And what do we have here?” he asked, taking a deep inhale of Archie’s scent.
“Not supper, I hope,” the human replied, always the jokester, and Marcus seemed to enjoy his jovial approach to breaking the tension. He stepped back and eyed Archie up and down with a smile, and Wynter found she was grinning along with them, until a second later when Marcus had her in his sights. She was soon peering up into his immense blue eyes and as their gazes connected she felt as if everything within her shifted. Mara’s influence or not, she gravitated towards him and it was as if she was finally whole in his presence. No longer disjointed or unsure of anything, but completely driven towards one path and one goal for her future—and he was it.
Damn him for making her care so much. Their souls were truly united once again and it was like a breath of fresh air, much like the two halves of the proverbial whole coming together at last.
“Welcome home, my sweet,” he whispered before leaning in for a soft kiss, and in spite of their audience it strangely didn’t occur to Wynter to stop him.
After he pulled away, leaving her swooning, Marcus then took her hand and led the way. He took the group upstairs in silence, and stopped outside what she knew was the largest of all their guest rooms. He was evidently being nice, for a change.
Marcus pushed the handle and let the door swing open to reveal the huge space, complete with its high ceilings and ornate carvings, but which had been decorated with modern colours and textures. The room also had a huge four-poster bed in the centre made of black oak. “Archie, I trust this will suit?” he asked, and they watched as their guest stepped inside and took it all in with an open mouth. “This room has its own bathroom and closet, plus an incredible view…” Marcus continued, and Archie followed his cue and looked out at the astonishing scenery all around their magnificent home.
“It’s perfect. Thank you,” he answered.
“Excellent,” Marcus replied with a smile, and then he turned to Brodie and Wynter’s stomach dropped when she realised what he was about to do.
“And you requested a room in the servants quarters, did you not?” he asked, putting him on the spot when she was sure he knew damn well they intended on sharing. Marcus also had to know this was all new to Brodie, and that he wasn’t comfortable being so open about his relationship with Archie. Being together on that island had to have been one thing, but to be out and proud? She had the feeling he wasn’t there yet.
In a surprise move, it was Archie who stepped forward and answered for the stunned jinni, and he looked thoroughly unimpressed by Marcus and his games.
“He’ll be fine here with me,” he demanded, and didn’t seem to notice as her vampire husband drew in a deep breath, savouring his animosity. But she noticed. She always did, especially when it came to those she cared about, and Wynter felt the need to remind them all of the terms she intended to lay out for their future together. However, she wouldn’t do it in front of the others. Instead she decided to distract them all by unwrapping the sling and unveiling the little bundle she had brought back with her.
“Marcus, this is Rosa,” she told him, and could sense the tension in the room dissipate in an instant with the reminder of their precious cargo. Even Marcus thawed, and she watched him look the baby over with a gentle smile. He didn’t say a word, but leaned down to place a kiss against Rosa’s forehead, and Wynter’s heart leapt. He was so gentle it made her want to weep, and when his eyes locked with hers again, she saw warmth in them for the first time in what felt like forever.
“Please excuse us, gentlemen,” he then told the others, and whisked Wynter away before she could add anything or direct her friends more.
Still clutching Rosa to her, she followed Marcus upstairs to where their bedroom dominated the top floor of the mansion, and let out a cry when she saw that he’d had some work done while she was gone.
“You built her a nursery?” she cried, looking around at the new corner bedroom that was equipped with everything a newborn might need.
Marcus grinned as he took Rosa from her and hugged the baby to his chest, and Wynter’s heart felt like it was going to burst at seeing him this way. “Marcus, does this mean…”
“You’re going to make a wonderful mother, Wynter,” he answered, and then laughed. “While I will strive to become as good of a father as I can.”
“I’ll settle for adequate,” she joked, watching as he placed Rosa down into her new crib and then rocked it back and forth to soothe her.
Once she was back off to sleep, he was on his feet and standing over Wynter in a heartbeat, and she curled her body against his, feeling drawn to him. It was like they were starting over somehow, and in spite of all the wrongdoings and the games, she couldn
’t deny still wanting him.
“You seem different,” Marcus whispered against her lips, and she smiled.
“I am. I went to that island to learn and grow, and started by putting Mara back in her box. Did you know what she was up to?” she asked, and was surprised when he nodded. “And you didn’t stop her?”
“Why would I? She was helping bring us together, and thanks to her you’ve reunited Jack with his family. That was more important than me or Marcella putting a stop to the influx of power growing within you. Plus, I trusted that you would get there in your own time. My little fighter,” Marcus replied, and she knew he was goading her, but didn’t take the bait.
“Thanks to Brodie I found the strength I needed, but in doing so I also had to own up to some things,” she told him, “like how I feel about you…”
Marcus lifted Wynter off her feet and placed her down on the bed, where he joined her and nestled himself between her thighs, his eyes roving over her face as he pressed their still clothed bodies together.
“And?” he asked when she didn’t elaborate.
“I thought it was her influence making me love you. I always felt so sure of it, until her voice went quiet and I was left with my own. And…I found myself missing you. I lost count of how many times I picked up the phone with the intention of calling.”
“I felt the same, my sweet. I wrote to you every day and then burned the letter afterwards because I was ashamed to miss you so damn much,” he admitted, and the revelation only made Wynter burn harder for him. “I was so lost without you that I couldn’t stand the noise of all the humans here so I sent most of them away.”
“I noticed,” she joked, but Marcus shook his head solemnly.
“I almost drank dry those who remained. It was Marcella who had to stop me, before I got in even more trouble with the Committee.”
He began peeling away at her clothes, turning them to smoke as they left her body, and soon she was tearing his away too, feeling desperate to reconnect.
When he entered her, the world seemed to fall away and all Wynter could see was him. Marcus was everything, and she peered up at him in awe as he made love to her. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear, and Wynter felt her body sing with the notion of it. She’d wanted this her entire life, to be loved so powerfully that she was everything to the man behind those words, and now that she had it, she realised just how important those words were.
Marcus had given her everything in his quest to make her his, and had stripped her life bare in the process of rebuilding it. She would hate that part of their history forever, but that didn’t stop things from having changed this past year.
“I…I love you too,” she whimpered, her voice little more than a whisper, but he heard, and Wynter was rewarded with the most genuine smile she thought she’d ever seen on his darkly handsome face.
The next morning, as Rosa roused and began grumbling for her feed, Wynter watched with a smile as Marcus gathered her up out of her crib and brought her to bed with them. He was still cooing at her with a soft smile when the door to their bedroom opened and the alpha walked in, a bottle of formula in his hands at the ready.
He handed it to Wynter, but she passed it over to her husband, and then showed him how to feed the babe in his arms, who readily sucked down her breakfast and then fell back into a food-induced doze.
“She’s such a gentle baby,” Marcus said as he watched her, and Wynter nodded.
“And alert. It’s like she knows exactly what’s going on already.”
“Maybe she does,” he mused, and Wynter simply shrugged. She then showed him how to change and dress her, and together the three of them headed downstairs to see how Archie and Brodie were settling in.
They found them in the kitchen, where Archie had found the stash of human food and was enjoying some breakfast, and he took one look at hers and Marcus’s formal wear and laughed.
“Not even nine-am and the ball gowns are out?” he teased, but she paid him no mind. Wynter simply handed baby Rosa to Brodie so he could have a cuddle and then she turned back to find Marcus staring at Archie with a serious, intense look on his face. At first, she panicked, thinking he was going to face the consequences for speaking to them both so casually, but then Marcus smiled.
“Would you like to come and work for me, Archie?” he asked, taking them all by surprise, and Wynter wasn’t the least bit shocked when Brodie jumped to his feet and start spewing profanities at the vampire he clearly still detested. And she couldn’t blame him either. It had taken a lot for her to move on without wanting to murder Marcus every time he gave her that sly smile of his, whereas for Brodie he was on day two and was understandably at odds with their host.
Marcus simply continued to smile, clearly relishing in her maker’s reaction. “Relax, jinni. I don’t mean as a Blood Slave. I mean as an assistant of sorts. A familiar.”
Wynter had heard the term before in the movies and such, and didn’t know if it had the same meaning she presumed or not, but she knew one thing for sure. If Archie signed on that fateful dotted line, he would belong to Marcus entirely. She couldn’t allow that. Not after everything she’d seen and lived through as one of those elite few who were close to the powerful vampire.
“Let’s not discuss it now, surely? Let him think it over and figure out the terms,” she tried, and was met with nothing but stony silence from them all.
Marcus then drew in a deep breath and smiled across at their human guest.
“You don’t hide your resentment very well, Archie. I can taste it from here. Let me guess, you despise me for what I did to the assassin? He was your friend,” he surmised, and then approached at superhuman speed before pinning Archie to the refrigerator door. Marcus lifted his prey’s hands and inspected the cuts to his palms. Cuts from where he had bled for Jakob. “You didn’t let him feed from the vein, good choice. Things get messy very quickly that way. And if you chose to serve me, I would protect you from any other vampire who might want a sip of this precious blood.”
“He doesn’t need your protection, Marcus,” Brodie seethed from his spot a few feet away, “I’ll make sure he’s safe.”
“I know…I can smell your stench all over the poor boy. But I’m willing to overlook it, if you serve me. To fall for a jinni is a foolish thing indeed, Archie. He will need a host and when that time comes, you’ll of course offer yourself to him, and will pay the ultimate price for doing so. But I can offer you something more,” Marcus carried on, and Wynter could see for herself how none of this seemed new to Archie. He’d clearly been thinking about this himself, and had perhaps been plotting ways in which he and Brodie could make this work using another way.
And Marcus had to know. He was playing on his fears in an attempt to lure him in, and so she stepped out of Brodie’s way so that the jinni could intervene on Archie’s behalf. If something was going to be done about their predicament, then it would be thought out and planned. Not rushed or forced. They had time yet.
Her maker passed Rosa to her and then wrenched Marcus away and lifted him off the ground by his neck, and at first Wynter hung back thinking he deserved it, but then she found herself moving forward on instinct. Her husband was doing nothing to stop Brodie, and then she found herself reaching up with one hand and wrapping it around his neck, mirroring him.
“Let’s not do this,” she growled.
“Don’t let Mara control you, Wynter,” he tried, but still dropped Marcus and stepped away, which in turn made her release her grip on him. She stared at them all and shook her head. It wasn’t Mara who had made her move, but some other instinctual need to protect her husband.
Something more powerful than any gift his Priestess could offer her.
“He’s the other half of my soul, Brodie. You can’t hurt him without hurting me. We’ve played this game before with disastrous consequences, remember?” she reminded him, and then stormed away, clutching Rosa to her as she headed for the door and out into the cool morning sunshine.
She needed some space from them all, and so took her daughter for a walk around the grounds, muttering the entire time about how much of a pain in the arse they all were—especially the men.
Twenty
Wynter ended up taking baby Rosa on a long walk that took a good couple of hours, and by the time she returned to the house was feeling much calmer than when she left it. On the way in, she came to a stop below the tree in which she had lost herself for days. It’d taken a lot for her to come away from that as strong as she’d felt, and she vowed to herself that she wouldn’t ever let herself feel so lost again.
“I’m going to stay calm, for you,” she told the tiny babe in her arms, who was looking up into the branches of the huge oak with awe. “Wanna see?” she then cooed, and began climbing the branches to the spot she’d laid in before. At first, it was wonderful looking out at the lands all around them, but then a vision began creeping in around the edges of Wynter’s conscious thought. Much like when she had touched items before, she was seeing a memory that had been ingrained in the ancient wood. And a recent one.
Jack had been tortured in this tree. Her tree. Marcus had let him suffer and had offered the poor man no mercy, not even when he had screamed in agony. And all for a crime he hadn’t even committed. “Yes,” she told Rosa again, and herself. “We’re going to stay calm and focussed. We’ve got an entire household in there who need us to take charge and stop them from killing each other…”
“Easier said than done,” someone answered, and Wynter looked down to find Marcella standing beneath the tree with two babies in her arms—her twins. “But I’ll help.”
Given their history, Wynter’s first instinct was not to trust Marcella, but then she remembered everything that the witch had done for her these past few months. Everything she had given her. The heart she shared with Marcella’s daughter fluttered, and she nodded.
Even in Death Page 18
