Justice thanked Henry for the food that was placed in front of him, and pointed to his left. “Henry. This is my youngest brother, Taleb. And, apparently, he’s my only brother that still has his manners. Taleb this is Henry FitzWell, he’s Wick’s Lord Chamberlain, which means—”
“He’s the master of King Bentley’s home. Home being wherever the King is,” Taleb said easily, cutting Justice off, reaching his large hand out to shake Henry’s.
“That’s correct. Oh wow, your hands are really warm, too,” Henry said softly. He didn’t look into Taleb’s eyes long, instead focusing on a blank spot on the table. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d be honored to prepare a plate for you as well, Alpha.”
“That would be most appreciated. Thank you. I didn’t know vampires could sense our rankings?” Taleb raised one brow.
Wick watched an interesting exchange between the quietest of Justice’s brothers and his chamber lord. It was as if the room shrank down to only them.
“No, we can’t. But your strength is… you’re really… you present yourself as an alpha, so I assumed you were,” Henry said, fumbling, still casting his eyes away.
“You assumed right. Our bloodline can only produce alphas,” Justice said, around a mouthful of lamb. His admission drew the intrigue of the other vampires.
As the brothers ate and the vampires sipped what only looked like tomato soup from large bowls, they talked. Questions and answers about both species were the primary subject. The specific topics varied widely, from feeding on blood, to shifter dynamics, to the hierarchy in vampire covens. It was imperative they learned about each other again, their species having been separated and declared natural enemies for too long. There was nothing natural about hate, his mate told them. Wick and Justice were here to show there was another way to exist. A peaceful way. Soon, they’d all be traveling and working together to protect each other.
Justice hugged his brothers right before they shifted and headed back to the Humboldt lands. It was after four in the morning and shifters didn’t usually keep twilight hours. A moonlight run was fun and liberating... sometimes. The cabin was quiet for the most part, except for Henry humming as he cleaned the kitchen. Wick sent the others to go let loose a little steam in the city and feed from a live donor, saying they’d earned it.
“Does he hum a lot? He sounds different. Sounds—”
“Happy. And, no. In the thirty-seven years he’s been with me, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him hum. But I’ve also never seen him prepare a rack of lamb and successfully feed four large alphas, so… New things abound, moja milosc.”
Justice smile got wider. “What language was that?”
“Polish. It means ‘my darling’.”
“How many languages do you speak?” Justice crowded even closer, always eager to learn more about him. He felt good. His pack was happy, his belly was full, and his mate was back in his arms.
“I speak nine fluently and I can hold a minimal conversation in quite a few others.”
“That’s so impressive.” Justice pushed his growing hardness against Wick’s pelvis, pulling a salacious moan from him.
“Sure, for a regular person who’s in their forties. That’s an extremely difficult accomplishment to master in the short amount of time. It’s not really all that spectacular for a nonhuman who’s going on two centuries old. I should know all six thousand plus languages having lived that long.
“You hate giving yourself any kind of credit don’t you. Come on. Let’s go for a run. You’re not ready for bed?”
Wick looked at his expensive timepiece. “But it’ll be daybreak in a couple hours.”
“No worries. I’ll have you back in plenty enough time.”
He and Wick alternated between running, tousling, wrestling, to simply walking and talking under the moon’s light. Justice shifted when they got back to the lake and dove in, hoping Wick would join him. Justice slung water off his face when he resurfaced. Sputtering water out his mouth he grinned back, his naked mate still standing at edge of the water. “What are you waiting for?”
“Didn’t you say cats don’t like water?” Wick sat down on the bank and sprawled back against the cool earth.
Justice flipped over his back and floated along the surface while talking. “No. Big cats can swim but they avoid it. Now, tigers on the other hand, are great swimmers.”
“I still think I’ll just stay right here, dry and comfortable.”
“Buzzkill,” Justice grumbled.
“Why would you want to have sex in the water the shifters use to drink from? That’s not proper,” Wick scolded teasingly.
“I didn’t say a thing about having sex. I just wanted to see you dripping wet.”
“Then watch me shower.”
“You’re asking for it. Smart mouths lead to sore asses.”
Wick’s contentment and joy flooded Justice while they continued to banter. “I don’t think that’s how the saying goes.”