He dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and went looking for Dean. If they were going to capture the witch this time, they needed a plan.
Mark’s stomach clawed at him as he approached the dining room. The Prime Alpha, his assistant Thomas, and Samuel, the Council’s Head of Populations, sat around the table. Mark had expected the full twelve-member council, but it must be taking the others a while to get here.
Thomas and Samuel left as he sat with his cup of coffee in his hands. Ava approached the table with a plateful of eggs and bacon for him. He accepted the plate with thanks, all the while doing his best to avoid his brother’s stare.
He took a sip of his coffee and placed the mug on the table with more force than was necessary. “If you are getting ready to ask me if I’m OK, prepare yourself to get punched in the face.”
The sudden burst of laughter from his older brother was familiar but not the reaction he’d expected.
He shoveled his food into his mouth, his impatience to hear his brother’s plan making it difficult for him to enjoy his meal. “I’m not joking.”
Dean raised his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. I won’t ask.” He chuckled. “But I’d like to see you try.”
None of this was funny. “You know I can.”
“Hey.” Dean pointed at his plate. “Do you wanna slow down there? Food’s not going anywhere.”
Anger at the situation they found themselves in burst forth, and he slammed his fist on the plate, breaking it in half. The smell of blood was the first indication he’d hurt himself. Heignored the stinging pain.
Except for a raised eyebrow, his brother remained unfazed, his voice calm and even. “You done?”
The last thing he wanted to do was anger the Prime Alpha. As much as he hated the idea of working with vampires, he needed this particular hunt for his peace of mind. He nodded before Dean could repeat his question, deferring to his more dominant brother.
Dean rose from the chair. “Take a moment to gather your thoughts and then come into the conference room.”
He started to stand, but Dean shook his head. “I know this is hard, but I need you. I need you thinking straight.” He placed a hand on Mark’s shoulder. “This anger that you can’t seem to control will come in handy when we find that witch. You gotta learn how to aim it.” He squeezed Mark’s shoulder once and turned towards the conference room.
Mark pushed the remnants of his meal to the side, no longer hungry. He’d acted like an idiot again, and his brother, in his infinite patience, had handled it. This was another thing the witch and vampires had torn from him. Without him, whose name he couldn’t even think of without breaking into a million pieces, he was unsure of his true North. He was no longer grounded, unable to find even the tiniest modicum of control.
He took a deep breath. It was just another day he had to endure, and he’d do his best. He was so close now to the end. His only purpose was to kill the witch. After that, he was unsure he could keep going. Not like this. Not if his wolf was out of reach. Not if the only person who understood him was no longer here. In the more than ten years he’d longed for vengeance, he’dnever been this close. All he had to do was endure a few more days.
§
Twenty minutes was all he needed to get himself back in some control before he was ready to face the Council and his brother. In this room, Dean was not his older brother; he was the Prime Alpha, and that had to be respected.
“The Vampire Crown Prince says they are working on multiple ways to locate the witch, but they’re not having much luck.” Dean acknowledged his presence with a small nod as he addressed the Council. “They need us to go to them. He thinks our combined efforts might do the trick.”
“Do we all have to go? There is still a lot to do here,” Anton, the Council’s Head of Health Services, asked.
Mark nodded. They couldn’t just drop everything and go to Europe.
“No. You’ll stay. Only Mark and I will go for now. Mikey is already there. If we need more of you guys, we’ll let you know,” Dean said.
“Mikey’s already there?” Mark was not sure he liked the idea of their baby brother in the company of vampires on his own.
“He left last night. You know he and Caster’s brother are friends. He’s fine.”
Mark wished he could be as cavalier as his brother. He never understood the friendship between Dean and the Vampire Crown Prince. He hadn’t met the vampire royal family after the war, as their father had insisted on his staying away from the war and its aftermath. His desire to get to know them diminished even further after everything that had happened, but both Mikey and Dean maintained relationships with the vampire royal family. To Mark, any connection to them betrayed the memory of the best person he’d ever known. He couldn’t do it.
“So what is the plan?” he asked, drawing his attention from his constant pain to focus on his task at hand, finding and ending the witch.
Dean shrugged. “You and I will travel to Caster’s. Hear him out. He’s requested that we work together with his Council to locate the witch.”
Mark couldn’t hide his contempt if he’d tried. “You think they want to work with us?”
Silence engulfed the room. Everyone was aware of the error he’d made, questioning the Prime Alpha. He dared to glance at his brother to find a thunderous expression on his face.
“Everyone out!” Dean’s voice was so quiet, it was almost a whisper, but the others scrambled to obey the command it concealed. When he started to rise, Dean pointed at him. “Not you.”