Claiming Marcus (Lords of Discord 1)

“I certainly hope that your other suggestion is better, dear brother,” Rafe drawled. “Because this one is utter bullshit.”

“The other option is to become the power-hungry clan that they claim we are. We set the factions against each other and sow discord among the vampires while dismantling the American Ministry. They brought this on themselves. They killed our mother. This is the same Ministry that would have been in power when Ethan’s family was slaughtered. This villain attacked Aiden and me at The Bank, and they attacked my home, putting the entire clan in danger. We can’t let that slide.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Bel said, his voice low and anxious. “Are you suggesting that we take down the Ministry? Are you wanting us to claim the seats?”

“There are five of us. We could take it and hold a majority if we rearrange the Ministry to be a count of nine instead of eleven,” Winter pointed out.

“Is…is that what we want?”

Rafe gave an elegant shrug. “I would not be opposed to destroying the Ministry altogether. We become rabble-rousers and then use Winter to spread whispers in favor of making Aiden the King of North America.”

“Aiden does not want to be king,” Bel said sharply.

“No, but he would very much like to punish Julianna’s murderers. And I believe he would want to destroy those who attempted to destroy his family.”

Marcus nodded. Aiden was extremely protective of all of them and once he was through his mourning for Julianna, Marcus could easily imagine him seeking revenge for the sake of not just Julianna but also his adopted sons. Being king would give him the power to more easily do that as well as make sure that such strikes didn’t happen again.

“I know it’s none of my business, but when the dust settles from your uprising and discord, what does the world look like?” Ethan stood and walked over to stand in front of Marcus. There was worry etched deep in his handsome face. “I know what it’s like to get lost in the need for revenge. How many innocent people are going to be slaughtered? Will humans be forced to finally admit that vampires are among them? I know it’s horrible to lose your mother, to have your family attacked, but are you really advocating making the world a worse place than it is now?”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Bel interjected, and it gave Marcus a little hope because he didn’t have a good answer for Ethan. “If we took over the Ministry, we could come up with a system for vampires to settle their grievances that didn’t include wiping out entire clans. We could also protect my research. I know there are plenty who would rather see me dead than allow me to work on a cure for our blood issues.”

“Ethan, I think we would all prefer to avoid a complete bloodbath,” Winter said. “Humans tend to notice these things.”

“True,” Ethan replied with a smirk.

Rafe shifted in his seat, placing both feet on the ground. “But with the system we have now, there is no avoiding it. Vampires deal in blood and violence. It’s who we are.”

“It’s not all we are.” Marcus looked down at Ethan and ran one finger across his cheek. “The world has changed, and we must change with it if we are to survive. I’ll not have my family threatened again.” He shifted his gaze to his brothers, his voice hardening. “Our first focus is uncovering those who attacked us. Their attack on us will be answered, blood for blood.”

“And then stage two is to secure allies,” Winter said with a growing smile. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands together with a rarely seen glee. “I know we aren’t the only ones dissatisfied with the current system.”

“Marcus,” Rafe said with a note of surprise in his voice. “I never knew you had such aspirations of power. Just over your brothers. Not for the world.”

Marcus allowed a small, devilish grin at Rafe. “I will do what I must to keep my family safe.” He placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder and pulled him against his chest. Ethan was very much a part of his family now. It didn’t matter if he was human. He would do whatever it took to keep Ethan safe.

“I want to help, please,” Ethan said quickly.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“But I feel like this is at least partially my fault. If I had talked to you sooner, if I hadn’t been wrapped up in my own pain—”

“You were used, Ethan,” Winter said firmly. “The League used your pain to get information about us. And vampires used the League as fucking cannon fodder in the attack to weaken us.”

“Are we being used?” Bel demanded pointedly. “We’re in pain over Mother the same way Ethan was in pain over his family. Are we being weaponized to upset the order we do have?”