57. Tyson

Tyson

I t’s been a few days since we returned from Malta.

Things have been uneventful except for Rueben being kicked in the nuts by Juniper. At least we had a good laugh each time we saw Rueben walk around like he was wearing a diaper. He flipped us the bird each time, making us laugh harder.

I forgot how beautiful and simple life can be.

Yet, not everything is so simple in my life.

Things with Ansel are…strange. He’s more quiet than usual. Not even Olivia can pull him out of his state.

I don’t know what to make of him. I don’t know how to talk to him. He probably thinks that we see him differently because he’s a Nephilim. I won’t lie and say it didn’t come as a shock when I learned about who he used to be. The others weren’t happy either, especially since we know that Nephilims want to destroy us.

Olivia risked her life for Ansel. She wouldn’t have done so if she didn’t think he was on our side.

It wasn’t until Ansel gave us a brief explanation of what happened that I and the others remembered that Ansel was our blood-brother and had saved our butts more than once. Ansel has been my friend ever since I moved to Veross City. If he had any ill intention toward any of us, we would have realized it by now.

The meeting at the Blood Lodge is tonight. Unbeknownst to Ansel, Jasper has already told the Elders what is happening. Jasper didn’t want the Elders to be taken by surprise. While they are not happy with Ansel deceiving them for so long, they are willing to listen.

Ansel is not the only one acting strangely.

Mose has been spending more time in the kitchen, lost in thought, burning food, which he never does. Olivia has been eyeing him from time to time, a slight frown on her face.

When I asked Olivia if she knew what was going on with Mose, she told me that he was worried about Alma. While I don’t doubt that is true, after all, Mose and Alma have been business partners for more than three years, I have a feeling Olivia hasn’t told me everything.

Amongst the chaos, there’s a little ray of shine.

My son.

Spencer is a joy to have around. He is smart and curious, and his questions never stop. I love being a father so much. I’ll never repeat the same mistakes my father made with me. Spencer will only experience love because all children deserve parents who love them. Unfortunately, not all parents deserve children.

Mine didn’t.

No wonder I turned out so fucked up in the head. Maybe my family knew it all along; that’s why they mostly ignored me. Only Rueben and Ansel loved me. Camila, too, in her own way.

But the only one who loved me deeply and unreserved, giving her entire heart and soul to me was—

The cabin’s door opens, and someone steps out. A sweet fragrance envelops me.

—Olivia.

She sits next to me on the top step of the porch, wrapping her arms around me. I snake my right arm around her shoulders.

“What are you doing here?”

I take a swig of my beer before replying, “Thinking.”

“More writer's block?” Olivia inquires.

I lean my head against hers before replying. “I was thinking about how much I wronged you. All of us did.”

Most Lords are unapologetic, but Olivia deserves to be loved the right way.

Olivia stiffens for a moment. “You know I left all that in the past when I decided to accept all of you as my men. Besides, not all the memories from the farm are bad.” She looks at me, her gaze full of love. “Life is not always easy. We all made mistakes. Me, maybe more than others. But I am finally starting to live the life I have always dreamed of. I’m so happy, Tyson. I got my son and beloved grandparents back. Let’s not dwell on the past.”

Jon and Khloe plan to tell Olivia soon about how she came to be. I kiss her forehead. “I’m glad to hear that. We will have to leave soon to get there in time for the meeting.”

“Right. The meeting. The Elders won’t harm Ansel, will they?”

I want to lie to her, but all I can offer her is what I know. “I don’t know, Olly. This is the first time something like this has happened.”

Olivia chews her bottom lip for a moment or two before saying, “I won’t hesitate to protect him.”

Rueben is right. We did become too lenient with Olivia because of our guilt, but no more.

I don’t know why her hellstar mark is a butterfly since she is so quick to put herself in danger for the sake of others. Ansel’s tattoo of the butterfly with broken wings represents Olivia the best. Only, her wings are not broken anymore.

“If you even think about putting yourself in danger, I won’t hesitate to leave you home.”

Olivia glares at me. “You can’t tell me what to do. Not anymore.”

I wrap my fingers around her slender neck and say into her ear, “You might have powers, but if you ever put yourself in danger like you did in Malta, I will punish you, Little Queen.” A shiver runs through her body. Good. She might be the most amazing hellstar out there, but she’s our bonded. As Lords, it is our right to correct her when she is wrong. I run my thumb over her pulse. “Even if you don’t like it, I’ll spank you, Olivia. The others will do the same once I’m done with you. And after that, we will fuck you until you learn to obey us.”

“I’ll behave.” Her tone is strained, and while it pains me, she needs to have some boundaries. We can’t let her do whatever she wants all the time.

I kiss the shell of her ear. “Good. Now, go get ready.”

Olivia quickly disappears inside the cabin.

Rueben, who’s painting the picnic table close to the lake’s shore, nods at me approvingly. I’m not sure how much he heard, but I’m sure he guessed what I talked about with Olivia, since I’ve been worried about something bad happening ever since Senator Deymar set foot on the farm.

Cirro is very close to having someone being the Senator’s new secretary. When his man is in, we will know the schedule of every move the Senator makes. Jason is still on the run, but I’ll get my hands on him sooner or later. From what Cirro knows, Jason is in Canada. He has yet to find out the identity of the woman who’s with Jason.

I finish my beer while I watch Ansel and Jasper teach Spencer how to play baseball. When Spencer finally hits the ball, he turns to me with a huge smile on his face. “Daddy, did you see?” he yells while running toward me.

I catch him in my arms. “One day, you will play for a big team.” Spencer’s eyes light up. I kiss his temple. Knowing how much he likes baseball, I add, “And I’ll be your biggest fan. Always.”

Spencer looks into my eyes. “I love you, Daddy.”

He’s not afraid to show his emotions. As a future Lord, Spencer needs to learn to hide what he’s thinking about, but not right now. There’s time.

He needs to be a child a little longer before this world destroys his innocence.

Lords from other Blood Lodges come to Veross City for tonight’s gathering. The pornais are busy serving them drinks or sucking cocks, making Olivia frown. Rueben has his arm around her waist, keeping her close to him in case she decides to put on another show for everyone to watch.

After glancing at a group of seven blood-brothers taking turns fucking a petite woman in a corner, Olivia huffs, “I thought we came here to talk about how to stop Azael and the Nephilims, but I don’t know what to make of the orgy. Are we going to participate, or are we just watching?”

Remembering the first time she set foot in the Inferno Room, Rueben says while grabbing her ass, “Only if you are willing to let us destroy all your holes and lick our cum from the floor.”

Olivia narrows her eyes. “You’re an asshole.”

Rueben kisses her cheek. “An asshole who will be in your ass tonight.”

Olivia rolls her eyes at Rueben, but I can see the corners of her mouth twitching. She is starting to like anal sex even if she says otherwise. She especially likes it when Jasper eats her out. He’s very generous in that regard. My gaze goes to him. He winks at me, making my pulse quicken. I might say that I started noticing him only after Rueben hit me with the baseball bat, but I am lying. I have been lying to myself all this time.

The truth is that I’ve always loved Jasper’s company. I never saw him like Ansel or Mose, who are good friends, nor like Rueben, with whom I have a blood connection. Jasper was… more. He was always there when I needed him.

For a long time, I was afraid to love because I didn’t want to have my heart broken again. But now that I know the entire truth of what went down with Olivia, I have opened myself up again to love. Maybe it wasn’t the hit that made me see Jasper, but Olivia, who fixed whatever was broken inside me.

I wasn’t into men, not until Jasper, but fuck, he’s so…manly.

And when he looks at me the way he does now…

I should think of something else before I kiss him in front of everyone.

I let my eyes wander around, taking in the men present.

Alekos, Reyes, and Stefan are close to the Inferno Room, talking to a group of four blood-brothers. While they are not from Veross City, the four Lords look familiar to me.

As I try to remember where I’ve met them before, one of them turns his head in my direction.

“Tyson?” Dimitri’s thick accent reaches my ears, taking me back to the half-year I spent in Russia.

Rueben, Ansel, and I were sent there by the Elders to take a look into a case of corruption with the Lords. Dimitri and his blood-brothers—Dominick, Ivan, and Uri—opened their home to us. We became friends, and after we returned to the States, we kept in touch. In time, the friendship fizzled out. It’s been a year since I last talked to them.

“I’ll be right back,” I say to Olivia before Rueben and I head over to Dimitri and the others. Ansel remains behind.

Many Lords from Eastern Europe are involved with the local mafia. Dimitri and his family have connections with the Russian Bratva.

Dimitri gives me a strong handshake before hugging me. “Long time, no see,” he says. After pulling away from me, he adds, “You look happy. When we first met, you looked miserable.”

My time in Russia was a gloomy one. It was too soon after Olivia, after the facility,and I often found myself drinking with Dimitri. Vodka helped me forget, and so did the drugs, and I got addicted fast. If not for Ansel and Rueben, I would have died of an overdose.

“My wife and child are the reason for my happiness.” Olivia has no idea of the surprise we are planning for her. The proposal will be even better than the one we had in mind for Malta.

I shouldn’t let others know about Spencer’s existence but Lords take care of their own. Jon and Khloe have kept Spencer safe until now—and for that, I’ll forever be grateful for them—but now it is my blood-brothers’ and my responsibility. When it is time, Spencer will come to the Blood Lodge to learn what it means to be a Lord.

Alekos casts a confused look. Dark circles are under his eyes. Reyes and Stefan look just as tired as him. Having a newborn must be very tiring. “You got married?” he asks.

“Not yet, but since Olivia is my bonded, that technically makes her my wife,” I explain.

Rueben puffs out his chest. “Mine as well.”

Dimitri’s gaze goes from me to Rueben. “I am glad for you, my friends. My blood-brothers and I have yet to find the woman who will belong only to us.”

Dimitri is nearing forty. Most Lords don’t make it so far without a bonded. But Dimitri was never in a rush to find a wife. From what he just said, maybe he has decided that it is finally time to find someone.

“Don’t tell me you came to the US to find a bride,” Rueben says.

Uri explains, “Zak made some very dangerous people angry. We are here to remind him that the Russian Lords are not as forgiving as the US ones.”

Before a future Lord receives his demon, he has to take an oath before Cain and the Elders, that he will never reveal anything from what he hears or sees in the Blood Lodge. Those who break the oath are no longer trusted and are often stripped of their position within the organization.

Zak Raptou is one of the few Lords who went rogue, betraying everything we stand for, and siding with Dukes in financial and political matters. Since he never crossed any serious line before, the Elders never considered him a threat, but Alekos has been warning them about his uncle’s shady business for years. The Elders never stopped turning a blind eye, probably because of Nikolas, Alekos’ father and Zak’s brother.

Nikolas was one of the best men I have ever known. My father respected him greatly. Nikolas was expected to become the Emissary, the only Lord allowed to set foot in Hell. Cain himself was the one training Nikolas. His death has been a great loss, destroying all the progress we made with Lucifer. This wasn’t known by many.

I only found out when I started my training as a Priest. As an acolyte, I was to interact with Cain when my father wasn’t around. I learned many things during that time. After my father’s death, when I decided to become a blood-brother to Rueben and Ansel, the Elders spent many days trying to convince me to continue with my training in another city. They even tried to tell me that they would take care of all my expenses.

The only reason I wanted to become a Priest was that I thought I couldn’t share Olivia with others. Even now, I struggle with jealousy, but it’s not as bad as back then. Now, Olivia’s happiness is all that matters. I’m not the only one she loves or who makes her smile, and I’ve learned to live with that.

It took a while to find a new Priest for the Blood Lodge. Alma’s father, Juan, performs most of the rituals in Veross City.

If Dimitri and his blood-brothers are here to kill Zak on behalf of the Bratva, Alekos will do whatever is in his power to help them. Zak turned the entire Raptou family against Alekos, thinking he would get his hands on Alanes Tech Company. The company was started by Nikolas and Zak’s father, and from what I heard, Zak was furious the day Nikolas was made the new CEO and had a mental breakdown when Alekos took over after his father’s death.

Alekos’ fists clench. “Zak has been like a festering wound for years. My father tried to make the Elders see it, but they always held on to the hope that Zak would return one day. I don’t know what the fuck they expect.”

“Maybe they really think Zak will return?” Stefan suggests.

Alekos’ eyes flash red. “If he dares to set foot here, I won’t hesitate to kill him. He kidnapped my secretary and did God knows what to her. Since he refuses to answer my questions, I’m inclined to believe he killed her.”

Reyes chimes in. “While I don’t care about Sherry—”

“Cherry,” Alekos corrects him.

Reyes keeps talking. “—Angel was fond of her. Zak will pay for upsetting my wife.”

Uri snorts softly. “The Elders in Russia would have never allowed this kind of bullshit. The last Lord who went rogue was sent to Siberia along the Road of the Bones.”

“To protect it from polar bears,” Ivan snickers.

Rueben has always sided with Uri, especially in Lord’s matters. “I have been saying this for years. The Elders are too lenient.” His attention turns to Alekos. “You know this better than anyone else.”

Alekos glances around, making sure no one is listening to us, “The Elders are mostly stuck in the past.” His head jerks toward Olivia. “They couldn’t believe your woman could be so disrespectful. They are still fuming about it. Women are not as submissive as before.”

Reyes speaks next. “If Angel would have pulled that shit on us, we would have spanked her the entire night.”

Rueben narrows his eyes. “How you treat your woman has nothing to do with Olivia.”

Rueben got over the humiliation Olivia made him endure in front of the other Lords from this Blood Lodge. Even so, he hates it when someone reminds him of it.

One of the pornais lets us know that the Elders are ready to start the meeting.

While my blood-brothers and I have our own shit to take care of, I still say to Alekos and Dimitri, “If you need help with Zak, let me know.”

Reyes, always thirsty for blood, says, “Only if you let us help with the Senator.”

Dimitri has a habit of sticking his nose everywhere. “What Senator?”

“Give me your phone number,” I reply.

After Rueben and I exchange our new personal information with Dimitri and his blood-brothers, we return to Olivia and the others.

There’s a hint of curiosity in Olivia’s eyes, so I let her know, “They are some friends from Russia. I met them while Rueben, Ansel, and I were there.”

Olivia’s gaze goes from Rueben to Ansel before returning to me, “I didn’t know you three went to Russia.”

There are things I haven’t told Olivia. Not because I want to keep secrets from her but because, in many cases, details of missions are not to be shared with anyone, not even other Lords.

“I’ll tell you about it on the way home,” Ansel promises her.

We go to the Inferno Room and take our seats.

Many of the Lords who were present at the gathering that Olivia came to throw us curious glances; some even mention how we still have our nails painted. It makes Olivia happy to have all our nails with matching colors. So what if I have pink and violet nails? Rueben has neon green and navy blue.

Olivia sits on Rueben’s lap and kisses him long and passionately. It’s enough to close everyone’s mouths. When the gossip centers around another topic, Olivia rests her head on Rueben’s shoulder, her palm against his chest. Rueben snakes his arms around her waist and kisses her forehead. She glances up at him, a smile on her lips.

She should be sitting in my lap, her smiles only for me, but for tonight, I’ll let Rueben enjoy her attention.

More chairs and tables have been brought to accommodate all the Lords present tonight. The pornais are busier than ever, trying to please the men requesting their services.

After Olivia spoke to them and explained how the Dukes are in reality, many women living in the Blood Lodge became more loving toward the Lords—especially the single ones. I wonder if, with Olivia’s help, we can get most of them on our side. It would be ideal to have all the pornais loyal to us, but even if half of them stop hating us, it’s a win for the Lords.

The Elders are on the dais, their expressions worried. Jasper and Rueben told them about the events in Malta and everything we have learned so far. Learning about Asa made them understand the danger we are in.

When everyone is seated, Elder Janoah starts the meeting.

“For many centuries, Lords and Dukes alike have been the keepers of many secrets regarding how humankind came to be and who made the Garden of Eden, among other things. But there are secrets that we are only starting to learn about.”

Elder Janoah makes a slight pause, and someone seizes the opportunity to ask, “Like what?”

Olivia straightens her back.

For now, the Elders have decided to keep Olivia’s true identity a secret. With so many people around, we don’t want anything that's said here tonight to reach Azael’s ears.

Elder Janoah dismisses the pornais. Tonight’s meeting is too important to have any of them around. The only woman allowed to remain is Olivia. Not as the most powerful hellstar but as Ansel’s bonded. It is important to show everyone that Nephilims can have bondeds. At least Ansel can.

When the last pornai leaves the Inferno Room, the doors close behind them.

As per the accord, Ansel goes to the dias. “The Blight. And how strong the Nephilims are.”

All the Lords across the globe know about the Blight and Ophyr. After Wasp contacted us in December, we sent the video of that meeting to all the Blood Lodges.

Ansel keeps speaking. “We need to start preparing. Everyone should be training daily, including the women.”

“My wife is a homemaker. She has no clue how to handle weapons. More than that, she manages to cut herself with the knife at least five times a week,” a Lord says. Others seem to agree with him.

Another Lord says, “I don’t want to sound ignorant, but even if Nephilims are stronger than our demons, how would we know?”

Ansel removes his shirt. His wings spring forth.

Olivia tenses.

Mose shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

Ansel makes sure everyone takes a good look at him. Tracing the scar on his chest, he says, “I was once a Nephilim. I had no heart, no feelings, no hopes or dreams. My only wish was to serve Ophyr.”