Mark couldn’t resist the command in his tone, even as he battled for every shallow breath. He met gray eyes, a thin red circle around the pupil, a subtle indication of his nature.
“Breathe.”
Tears stung as his lungs inflated against his will. The deep intake of much-needed oxygen was so good, he closed his eyes and did it again. The same unique scent blanketed his body the longer they remained close, his wolf howling out its delight.
“That’s good.”
A rush of warmth spread through him at the Crown Prince’s pleasure, and the last vestiges of his torn heart fell apart.
“I need to…”
The Crown Prince stepped back and away from the door, giving him the room he needed to get as far from this as he could. He thanked him for not questioning his reaction, even though Mark would have had no choice but to answer.
It took everything in him not to run. The night air hit his body, and he trembled with the force of his breaking heart. He’d managed to hold back the dam that threatened to break every time he thought of him for years, but now he could hear its walls creaking. Away from any prying eyes at the edge of the forest surrounding the house, Mark’s legs gave out, and the dam broke. Tears he couldn’t control, didn’t know he wanted to, streamed down his face.
This session, like all other times, was a silent cry, taking away a huge piece of his heart with it. He’d been aware of his need for a dominant force in his life for a long time, but always assumed only one could fill that role. When he’d been taken away from him, Mark had resolved to endure whatever was left of his life alone.
Once in the last decade, he’d tried to find a temporary replacement, but no one could take control of him like he wanted, and he’d given up. How can a vampire make him feel this way? He wiped at his face, unsure of how this much heartbreak hadn’t killed him yet.
Then an image of the witch, her extended hand ripping the man she loved to shreds in front of him, rose from the recessesof his memories, and his reason for staying alive, for surviving, grew clearer. There was only one thing left to do. Avenge Zeke. Dominant vampires whose presence confused him wouldn’t get in the way of that. Nothing would.
Caster made his way to his study, baffled by what he’d just experienced. He was used to some level of a submissive’s discomfort in his presence, but this was beyond the pale. Mark seemed more than uncomfortable. It was a good thing he was so obedient, or he would have passed out.
That he was attracted to the Prime Alpha’s brother was not in question. Caster was never one to deny his desires, but he had little intention of doing anything about it. As beautiful as he was, there was something fragile about Mark, and Caster didn’t do emotional entanglements. Still, the desire to ease his distress earlier had been damn near impossible to resist. He couldn’trecall ever feeling that way about any submissive he played with. The need to exert his control, to direct their every move, was present, but never a desire to ease their pain.
A single rap on the door drew him away from his ill-placed thoughts, and Riley, Damien, and Dean walked in. Working with these three would be much easier than dealing with the council’s politics.
“Riley tells me we have a plan?” Dean was never one to waste time, as he’d demonstrated on the battlefield so many times before.
“Well… I don’t know if you’ll like it, but it seems it’s our only hope.” Caster hoped the Prime Alpha would be agreeable. They’d tried everything else, and still, the witch remained out of reach.
Riley sat on one of the couches lining the left wall of the study, the only one without the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that were the room’s main feature. “I think I can enhance your tracking abilities with magic.”
To his credit, the Prime Alpha didn’t react, at least not the way Caster had expected. Instead, he crossed his massive arms over his chest. “That’s not going to go down too well.” He shook his head. “Not with Mark.”
“He doesn’t have to do it. We don’t need all of you.” Damien sat next to Riley.
The Prime Alpha chuckled, a sound that held little humor. “Then you don’t know my brother at all.” He sighed. “How will you do it?”
“It’s a simple enhancement spell,” Riley said. “Once done,you should track her scent with increased accuracy.”
Dean nodded. “But don’t we still need to have an idea of her location? We are good trackers, but not that good.”
“One of my locator spells has narrowed down her location to a few thousand miles.”
“Oh, that sounds doable.”
Caster needed him to understand. “You’ll have to be in wolf-form to track her, right?”
Dean nodded, still towering over them. “Of course.”
“It’s a good thing she is surrounded by thick forest cover. We don’t want humans reporting wolf sightings where there have been none for centuries.” Damien’s concern is something non-human species have learned to live with. So far, not enough humans believed vampires, werewolves, and witches were even possible, which was great for everyone. It was safer for them all if they remained cloaked in myth, legends, and stories.
“You want to do this tonight?” Dean asked.
“I assumed you wanted to gather more wolves. The three of you are not enough, I don’t think.” Caster wished the animosity between the two species could go away, but knew it would take time.
“We can handle it. And it’s two. Only Mikey and I will do the tracking.”