After a moment, Malachite knocked on the door without turning around.
“What is it?” came Magpie’s voice from inside, but he sounded relaxed rather than annoyed by the intrusion.
Once Magpie loudly declared they were to be let in, the guard opened the door wide, and Beast walked into the small chamber where air was thick with the scent of sex.
On the large modern bed with a leather-covered headboard lay Magpie, and the guy he’d taken out of the orgy space earlier was curled by his side like a dog satisfied after a long walk.
“Ah, Laurent, my favorite,” Magpie said, and Beast didn’t miss the sarcasm in his voice.
Instead of making a snide remark in return, Laurent smiled, pretending the naked guy wasn’t there, and staring straight at Magpie. “I was hoping you could spare us a moment before you leave.”
Magpie tapped both his hands on the bedding. “Ah. Of course. More requests. I’m such a busy man.” He looked at the naked guy with a smile. “That’s your cue to leave, precious.”
The young man groaned, but his face didn’t show hurt feelings, and he stretched before sliding off the bed. He only managed to put on his top when Magpie urged him, “You can dress outside. We have more pressing issues to attend to,” he said, adjusting his frizzy curls by patting them down.
Beast wondered if he was being offensive on purpose or genuinely didn’t understand how inappropriate it all was. But the young man soon left with his butt still naked.
Laurent approached the bed as if Magpie’s naked chest didn’t bother him at all. “First of all, I wanted to apologize for my earlier inquisition of your character. It was rude of me to insinuate bad intentions when we all strive for a common goal.”
Magpie raised his eyebrows high. “I’m happy to see you come to your senses.”
So was Beast. Bad blood between the club and the man who’d brought them so many lucrative contracts over the years was the last thing he needed.
“It’s been a difficult time for him,” he added, patting Laurent’s back in encouragement.
Magpie adjusted the heap of pillows behind him and leaned back like a king accepting his underling’s tribute in the comfort of his bedroom. “I understand. And perhaps I’ve been too hasty to judge your character, Laurent. The truth is that we wouldn’t have gotten the ruby without all of you, and for that I am grateful. My existence depends on this just as yours. I would like to offer you a reward for all those efforts.”
Beast’s cheeks heated. Magpie had so much cash he wouldn’t have even noticed if a million was gone from his account. If they had hard cash to invest in development—
Laurent spoke first, taking a step forward. “Oh, no, that is too generous. We all worked for a just cause. We would have never asked for material goods, but to be honest, there is a matter that only a being of your kind could help us with.”
Beast cleared his throat, squeezing Laurent’s arm to stop him. “Laurent sill doesn’t entirely understand certain things about the modern world. The club is at a low point, financially speaking.”
Laurent glanced over his shoulder for half a second, but his breath became frantic. “Money comes and goes,” he said, as if he had it stacked in heaps, “but family is what really matters in life, and I believe Mr. Magpie can grant us that.” He entwined his fingers with Beast’s, looking at him with a pretty flush to his cheeks.
“I can?”
“He can?” Beast asked at the same time as Magpie.
“Yes, I’ve been told by the ghosts—and, well, I’ve looked into this, and I believe it is a possibility, Mr. Magpie, for you to grant us a child. A child made of our blood.”
Beast’s head was so empty if Laurent were to poke it, the echo would have deafened them both. Surely, he misunderstood whatever Laurent was saying. He couldn’t have just made a decision about something so important without talking to Beast first!
Magpie’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward, the emerald necklace he wore glinting against his bronze chest. “Did Baal do something like this?”
“Y-yes, this lady, Maureen, she was a patient here years ago, and Elliot let me talk to her ghost. It turns out that’s how she managed to have a child. She was barren, and—”
Beast couldn’t take it anymore. “She was a woman, Laurent. Baal might have helped her get pregnant, but she was still the one to carry the child to term. How do you think babies appear? Out of thin air? Or do you expect one of us to grow a uterus?”
Laurent gasped for air and only spoke faster. “It wasn’t her womanly organs that were affected. She told me all about it. Her lover provided a ruby, they each offered their blood, and Baal fashioned those components into an egg.”