Chapter Twenty

"Do not excuse them, Monica. Not tonight. Not to me. Just don't." Benedict knew he couldn't get through the rest of the evening without talking to the only person in his family who would still talk to him. There might have been others, Benedict didn't know. But if he was going to get one thing out of his business in England, he was going to get some resolution with the Dules that hated him purely and simply because of what he could do. He was heartbroken, resigned, and more importantly, done.

Monica was the only exception. She was mated to Dixon's best friend, and more importantly from Benedict's perspective, she was the only member of his family who'd stayed in touch with him after he left for the States. Aunt Silvia's weird texts really didn't count, that was just something Aunt Silvia did for everyone. Monica had told him once even the postman got cryptic texts from his aunt, so they hardly made Benedict feel special or supported.

"Why didn't you warn me Percival was there? You know how he is, how he's always been. But instead of warning me, you pretty much led me to him and then disappeared."

"Mom needed a hand in the kitchen, and I didn't think he would be that bad." Monica flicked at her skirts, not looking at him. They'd eaten at a restaurant that believed in hearty cooking – something Benedict appreciated. But once the coffees were done, Monica asked if she could talk to him alone, and Benedict didn't have any energy left to refuse.

Sitting on the pier, hearing the waves lapping against the foundations was soothing, especially knowing Dixon and Gordon weren't far away. Not that the night ever held any fears for Benedict or Monica for that matter. "Mom really wanted this to go well. She did listen to me when I said the family needed to do better by you."

"Well, we've all seen how that went." Benedict was trying so hard not to be bitter, but with the shit going on with the Council, the fact he really wasn't sure his parents would talk when he summoned them, and the memories being back in England seemed to trigger…

"Just think for a moment would you? Try and see this from my perspective. You and Gordon meet, he shifts and carries you off like a damsel in distress, and you've been beaming ever since. You're wearing dresses, and smiling, for goodness' sake. This was from someone who grumbled every time we chatted, and you made a uniform out of the pants you always wore.

"Am I happy for you? You bet your ass I am. You absolutely deserve the long and happy life you'll have with Gordon. But can you see the difference between your mating and mine? Ever since I met Dixon we've had to fight for five minutes to spend alone without dealing with shit. Tonight was just the latest step in the shit show we're living."

"You are happy with Dixon, aren't you? He is treating you right?" At least Monica was looking at him now.

"Dixon isn't the problem. He's the best mate I could hope for." Letting out a long breath, Benedict rested his head in his hands. "I love him. I adore him. But if we haven't been dealing with his drama, we've been dealing with mine. Tonight was a perfect example. Dinner with family. A chance for Dixon to meet the people who knew me growing up. Isn't that what everyone wants to do with their mates? Didn't you do that with Gordon when you first got back to Cornwall?"

"Gordon met Mom, Douglas, and Penny the night we arrived." Monica nodded. "They love him."

"What's not to love? But how does that excuse tonight? My gods, our mates are shifters. Didn't you notice how badly someone's wards were stinking up the house? How did Gordon manage to breathe at all?"

"I gave him a spell," Monica admitted. "Hey, truthfully I expected you would do that for Dixon too, knowing you'd already been to the Council buildings. They stink from a shifter's perspective as well."

"Yes, I did do that for Dixon while we were at the Council, but being able to scent things is a huge part of a shifter's makeup, so it's not like I'm not going to have him hampered by suppressing that ability outside of the offices. The spell was short lived, and no, before you ask, I didn't think I needed to do it tonight when I already knew Gordon was going to be at your mom's house. I kinda had other things on my mind."

"I get that, but what happens now?" Monica went back to swinging her legs over the edge of the pier. "That was quite a rant you did back at the house. Did you mean what you said? Are you truly not going to help the family with any Council business anymore? Only I know Adam was hoping to talk to you after dinner about getting a recommendation to the Herbology Department at the Council."

"It might have helped if I'd been allowed to eat that dinner before being accosted in my Aunt's house. But oh, yes, Cousin Adam. The one who was doing a good impersonation of a bobble head puppet while Percival was spouting his verbal abuse, because make no mistake, that's exactly what Percival was doing." Benedict snorted. "Ironically, Adam would be a good fit for the Council – he's a yes man to the core. They'd love him there."

"He would be a good fit, he really would, and he's got the skills necessary for the job. But you know what the Council is like. He needs a recommendation from his family head for his application to proceed. Those HR policies seriously need updating, but for now he has to work through the system if he wants the job. He's only related to Percival by marriage – he comes from your mom's side of the family. Can't you help him?"

"Did he help me tonight?" Swiveling on his butt, Benedict faced his cousin. "I'm not saying I live my life by quid pro quo. I've signed off on letters of recommendation and various other civil and even criminal matters for at least fifty-odd family members in the past ten years. It's part of my duties as the head of the family, and I would've kept doing that, except for what happened tonight."

He caught Monica's hands in his own. "I love you dearly. You're the one who has stood by me since day one, and you've never wavered. I can't imagine how difficult that has been for you at times, and I'm thrilled you've got your happily ever after waiting in the shadows for us to hug and let things go."

"Our mates aren't very subtle about keeping an eye on us, are they?" Monica giggled.

"No, and that's because they do care for us. But Monica, answer me this. Why can't I have the same happily ever after you've got? Is it purely and simply because I'm a Necromancer? Why can't my extended family support me? Why do I have to be the odd one out? I have never ever done anything harmful to any of them. What did I ever do that resulted in tonight's debacle? Can you tell me? Do you even know?"

"No, I don't know." Monica shook her head sadly. "You know I don't think like they do, so I don't understand why they're so discriminatory about what you can do. But Mom did try – she had good intentions when she set the dinner up – and Douglas even wore pants."

"Things I didn't know about because they didn't even come and say hello to me when Dixon and I arrived. I didn't even see them, and they definitely didn't intervene when Peckerless Percy was delivering his abuse."

"Gods, it's been decades since I heard that nickname. He's always been an ass, hasn't he."

"I suppose he couldn't help it, growing up under Hugo's shadow." Benedict paused for a moment. He didn't want what happened to influence his relationship with Monica, but he was ten years overdue in standing up for himself. "Look, I'm going to say that part of what happened tonight was my fault. I should never have accepted your mom's invitation…"

"Why did you?" Monica always had known him best. "I mean, I believed all the stuff you said back at the house about wanting Dixon to meet the people who knew you growing up and who could talk about your immediate family, but it was more than that, wasn't it?"

Benedict nodded. "I was hoping something someone might say, if they were talking about my dad, could let me know what dealings he had with the Council before he died. I genuinely think whatever that was is what killed him and the others."

"Surely if someone knew something they'd have said something by now."

"You'd think, but look what happened tonight. My extended family still thinks I'm the murderer. If they can't believe that someone else is responsible, then they're hardly going to give me any information that might suggest it was someone else."

"Good point." Monica sighed. "Look, you know I love my family. They're maddening at times. Mom especially can drive me batty more times than I can count, but Mom and Dougal, and even Penny most of the time, they have good hearts."

"I believed that to be true of my parents, too," Benedict said, nodding. "I'm not saying you can't love your parents because of what happened tonight. Surely you wouldn't think I'd demand something like that from you?"

"No, no, it's not that at all. But you know they'll come to San Francisco occasionally, and I… I want you and Dixon to be a part of that, too. I don't want to be in a position of saying ‘hey, no, it's not a good idea to come along for barbecue tonight because the British contingent is in town'."

Benedict side-eyed his cousin. "It might be the best idea. No, look, I know what you're saying and… and… can we deal with this once we are all back in the States? I have the summons on Thursday and then frankly, I just want to be on the plane and head for home. I've truly had about enough of traditions that don't serve anyone and mindsets that never change."

"You're truly going to summon your family in front of the Council members?"

"Both Dixon and Langley think that's what my father is waiting for. To be honest, I'd rather he came and told me that himself, but as that's not happening…" Benedict stopped. He really wanted to think about something else. Then he grinned. "Hey, did Dixon tell Gordon how his parents came through in their bear form in the Tower when we all got attacked the first day we were there?"

"By the Goddess, really?" Monica's laughter rang across the water. "Tell me about it, please. I bet that upset a few Councilors who'd have been watching from the shadows."

There was something settling about sharing a story with someone who could see the funny side. Shortly after Benedict started talking, Dixon and Gordon came out from their lurking in the shadows and sat on either side of them, everyone making a point to keep the conversation lighthearted and fun. As far as having a family moment went, that was the best Benedict could hope for, and having that simple acceptance went a long way to soothing the hurt he'd been carrying for so long.