Virgil [Marius Brothers 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (14 page)

“No,” Victor said gently. “Damian, you might have to shoot your fucking in-laws. Could you really do that? And, Cyrus, we might come up against your
family
, man. Don’t put yourself in that spot. We got this. Trust us, brother.”

“I need to see with my own eyes this time,” Cyrus argued. Everyone of course starting yelling as if that would solve
anything.
Yeah, because by now we should know it didn’t. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled loud enough to hurt everyone’s ears.

“It’s not your call, Victor,” I reminded him. “As Councilman, Father named Mareo and Foma leads of the team because they know the area. It’s their call.” I shot them a sympathetic look and they gave me a curious one back. They knew there was a reason for it but still weren’t mad at me for putting them in the middle.

Nice.

“Fill us in then,” Mareo said, ignoring the sounds of Victor practically grinding his teeth to the gums. He and Foma listened to both sides of the argument, taking in others’ perspectives as well. When they were done he nodded towards the terrace as he met my gaze. “We’re going to discuss it for a moment.”

“If you get to decide as team leads, your mate doesn’t get a vote then too,” Victor bitched.

“No but I’ve not heard his perspective yet and I’ve listened to yours,” Mareo shot right back. “You have a tough decision and you don’t consult your mate for his counsel and to bounce ideas off of?”

Victor glanced to Malachi and sighed. “All the time. Yeah, you’re right. I just don’t like the situation.”

“None of us
like
this, Vic,” Damian said gently. “But if one of us went dark side there is not a force on this earth that would stop you from being the one to end it, to save us so we can be with our souls again. Just let them discuss it. Virgil’s logical and Mareo and Foma have an outsider’s perspective, being new to the family. They’ll make the right call.”

I appreciated the vote of confidence more than Damian would ever know. Plus, he included my mates in the idea of our family already.

“Why did you get us involved in this?” Mareo asked evenly once we were outside but I could see he was shaking with anger. “We just mate and now you’re pitting us against half your family.”

“That wasn’t what I meant to do,” I answered honestly. “I did it for the reasons Damian said. You guys are new to this and you have a different perspective. Victor says no because he loves Damian and respects Cyrus. I say yes because I know Cyrus’s code of honor and his love for my brother and that will trump his lingering feelings for his family that are now demons.

“We all could have gone on fighting for hours but the best answer was my mates before my family said things in anger that couldn’t be taken back. I promise you that my family won’t hold your answer against you after today is over. Even if it goes ass up whatever way you decide, they won’t blame you. If they held a grudge I wouldn’t have put you in this position.”

He nodded as I explained, eyeing me over. Then he glanced at Foma and they shared a look. “Fine, but we each want a fang blow job before we go for the stress this has caused us.”

“Deal and done,” I chuckled, thinking I got off easy on that one. “Which way are you leaning?”

“Damian is a valuable asset,” Mareo answered as Foma nodded. “All your brothers agree he is the best shot and we might need that. Cyrus could be an asset or a liability on numerous counts. Not just could he freeze up if we come into contact with the demons that were his relatives, but someone might recognize him. If they see him they might give us information.”

“Or they see him and they sound the alarms because they realize it’s him and not his brothers,” Foma added.

“That’s something I didn’t think about,” I hedged. “We are planning on staying out of sight though.”

“Right but we’re coming in from a distance and—” Mareo started to say.

“Carrying weapons,” I argued. “It’s not like we’re walking down the main street here. If we get hooked up, having Cyrus could save our asses because they’ll think it’s his brother. I say we make sure he’s disguised unless we need to play that card.”

Foma nodded. “That should work. Yes, then I agree he should come as long as he realizes he is not to engage. He can’t go flying off the handle. He stays at the back and covers our rear if shit goes down.”

“I think he’d accept that. If he freaks, we’re opening a portal anyways and we throw him in it while the cavalry comes.” I shrugged since it was the best I had.

“Agreed then.” Mareo nodded and we headed back inside. Everyone was watching us and I could tell they were dying to know what we’d said, probably having reached deep into their self-restraint not to have pressed their ears against the glass while we were talking.

“I didn’t tell,” Caven announced proudly.

“Never thought you would,” Mareo replied with a wave. “An Alpha is a position of honor and to have it at such a young age, you must have a very moral code.”

“He does,” Gabriel agreed.

“We have conditions,” Mareo said to Cyrus and Damian. “We want Cyrus to be disguised as much as possible, ball cap, glasses, something. If we’re spotted he might be a huge flag and we wouldn’t know which way for if we’re truly going to be around where his family is. They would recognize him if the resemblance is as Virgil says.”

“It is. I didn’t think of that,” Cyrus agreed. “Except I’m the only warrior of the family so I’m like a larger size of them. I can’t pass for one of them if they know my brother or father well. If they’ve only seen them from a distance then yes.”

“Well, that still doesn’t change that we want your face hidden then,” Foma said, taking in the new information. “And if we see your family you don’t engage. We go in, you pull up the rear. Something goes wrong or you can’t handle this, we hit the stone and throw you back through the portal while the cavalry comes as my mate put it.”

“I agree to your terms. Thank you.” Cyrus extended his hand to my mates and they each shook it in turn. Damian did the same and then hugged me before Cyrus did. “Thank you, brother. This means a lot to me.”

“You love my brother too much to let
anyone
hurt him or ever risk him,” I said firmly. “Even the demons that used to be your family. I don’t doubt if the time came you would pull the trigger. Do I want this for you? No, but you know your own mind and what’s best for you and Damian better than I do. So I trust you. That’s all I told them. Your record as a warrior speaks for itself and Damian’s the best shot around so we could use him.”

“You’re right,” Victor agreed quietly. “I’m sorry. I still don’t like it but Virgil’s right. I
hate
the idea that this is what you might have to do, Cyrus. You’re my brother now too and I would save this heartache. I don’t want you or Damian anywhere near this.”

“We don’t want you near it either, Vic,” Damian said firmly. “It’s just not reality. We’re all ass deep in this shit and who do you trust to have your back more than us?”

“No one,” he admitted. “Good, so we leave in three hours. Gear up and someone let King Rylan know. Where are we portaling from?”

“The Queen is bringing everyone and their gear here first,” Father explained. “Riley has medical equipment here in case anyone gets hurt. The warrior compound would make more sense, but since we don’t know who the traitor is…” He trailed off and spread his arms as if to say,
fuck that idea.

“Okay, so those of us not going, we’ve got a lot to get set up before it’s time,” Stefan said loudly, taking charge as the second-oldest brother. “Riley, who do you want to boss around?”

“I’ll take Patrick and Malachi,” Riley chuckled. “The rest you can boss around for weapons or whatever else you’re going to start getting organized.” Stefan nodded and then started working with Father and Mother on getting all the extra weapons and supplies we could here right away. Even if we couldn’t get to the massive gun hold at the warrior compound, most of the founding families or families with warriors had a selection at their house.

Hell, I’d
seen
the one Isaac had and it would make just about any man hard.

“Virgil, can I have a moment?” Riley asked quietly.

“I don’t want to fight, Riley. We have to get ready and I want to spend some time with my mates before we possibly walk into the belly of the beast.”

“No, no fighting. Please?” He looked so worried, so earnest that I nodded. Micah started to follow us but Riley waved him off which my mates took as a signal to give us some space as well. Okay then. Once we were in the foyer Riley ran his hands over his face in frustration. “Why is this so hard to say?”

“I don’t know,” I drawled. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say. I guess no one likes saying they’re sorry.”

“That’s not the part I’m having a problem with,” he chuckled. “I
am
sorry, Virgil. I was an epic-sized douche and came to conclusions when I didn’t have all the facts. I suck and I’m sorry. I’m just not sure how to explain why I reacted the way I did. Ayden made me see some things in our session and basically it was fear. We’re a lot alike in some ways and it was fear that everyone saw me how you felt your family saw you and I—I don’t know.

“I’m not sure it all makes sense in my head yet. I
was
trying to help. I saw you and how you interact with people as me before I found Micah. What I was trying to say is mating changes us for the better. We’re always better people after we mate. It wasn’t that I was trying to list your faults to pick on you. Fuck, I have the same ones.”

“Queen Magdalena pointed that out,” I snickered.

“I’m sure she did.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry is what I’m really trying to say. I get where you’re coming from and I was trying to help you, brother. I’m sorry I botched it to shit and then lashed out when you told me you fixed my mistakes. I sucked again then. And I never said what I should have.

“Thank you. Thank you for saving Stefan and my asses so we didn’t get hurt testing the stuff. Thank you for helping us design it all. And thank you for whatever else you’ve stuck your nose in and fixed for me. I would like to know the list one day.”

“When we get back and have some downtime I’ll tell you.”

“And I’d like to come to you next time I’m stuck with equations or solutions that aren’t necessarily medical,” he hedged.

“But you have your own think tank now,” I teased.

“But it’s you I trust more than all of them combined.”

I searched his eyes and saw the truth of his words shining at me. “Okay, fight over and I love you too.”

“Thank god,” he gushed. He hugged me tightly and we joked a little bit more before he headed back into the kitchen.

Moments later my mates came out to find me and I gave them a wink before darting up the stairs. They gave chase and the moment we were back in my suite I dropped to my knees. “I believe the two loves of my life requested blow jobs with fangs.” I let them slide out and they both shivered.

It didn’t take long until their pants were undone and I was sucking Foma off with everything I had while Mareo was whispering the dirtiest things in my ear while playing with my ass. Then they traded places before each fucking me silly.

That was the most fun I’d ever had preparing for recon and maybe a battle.

“
Mom
, are we there yet?” Damian whined. “I’m hungry and this is boring and we’ve not see anything
fun
.”

“Seriously, why did we bring you?” Victor bitched and I saw he was trying not to laugh. We were on our way to check out the third possible place out of five, the first two being duds. “Virgil came up with the plan, his mates know the area, Rylan and Caven can smell a bird taking a shit from fifty miles away, and of course their mates wouldn’t let them come without them. I’m kick-ass, Cyrus is too, and this is personal for him. Why are you here?”

“Because I have a fabulous ass,” Damian answered with a straight face. Then his fangs slid out and he growled. “And I can shoot that bird shitting before it even knows we’re close.”

“Right. Not sure that makes up for all the wisecracks and comments we have to deal with,” Ferris drawled. We kept moving, everyone ribbing each other as Ferris bumped me with his hip so we moved a little off to the side. “You good? I saw I missed your call and then you didn’t answer when I tried to get you back. Were you telling me you found your mates?”

“I’m good now,” I answered, smiling as I glanced at the gorgeous gods of men that were mine. “I wasn’t when I called. I was all muddled up inside and just confused. I felt like a shipwrecked boat and then I found them and I should have been glad but all it did was kind of make me feel like I was drowning.”

“I know the feeling.
Believe
me, I know the feeling.” It was true. Ferris had been dealing with so much crap when he met his mates and then Rylan lost his parents, became King, and basically Ferris got a son in the form of Rylan’s baby brother.

“I know, which was why I called you. Instead I called Riley and it blew up but I’m kind of glad now that it did. I was finally honest about a lot of things and myself for once. It’s time to just be me. I’m almost four hundred years old for crying out loud. I’m not going to change into someone else and I don’t want to. I am who I am and not letting people see the real me hasn’t worked. So time to be me and if they don’t like it, they can fuck off.”