2. ~Orpheus~

2

~Orpheus~

“It’s an impressive space.”

I’d followed Alena at a leisurely pace, covertly, giving her time to take in the vast space that was the Exemplar compound.

But she’d come to a stop for several minutes once she’d ventured inside what my father referred to as the War Room. Really it was termed the Hall of Honor and it was where the members discussed matters of great significance, created policies that impacted the whole of the supernatural world and, yes, also strategized against threats.

A large oval marble table—white, just like the floor—took up most of the space with more than a dozen chairs situated around it. The walls were covered with framed photos of well-known battles that Exemplar had fought and claimed victory over the years, along with those of former renowned members.

At the far end was a magical projection screen wherein the members viewed real-time images and happenings of situations requiring their attention.

Alena turned from running her fingers over the chair at the far end of the table, the one I knew from my father’s brief visits here in the past had been Abigail’s seat. Elliot’s was at the other end of the table. The two leaders of Exemplar.

There was a weak smile on her face as she took me in. “Hey.” She gestured at the room. “It is impressive, yeah. The whole thing is. Her life’s work.”

“She did it well, held the supernatural world together.”

She winced. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Alena—”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Look, I’m glad you came in here, because we need to talk. With everything that happened, me being held captive, then infected with black magic, we never really got the chance.”

“Whatever talk you have in mind, I’m not sure now is the best time, the day of your mom’s memorial.”

“It’s the optimal time. Something this… monumental, this awful, it serves to put things into perspective.”

“Okay,” I said, folding my arms across my chest and settling in.

As much as I didn’t think it was a good idea, today was about her and what she needed, and if this, focusing on other things was what would give her some comfort, I was willing to do it.

At least for now.

If she kept bottling up her grief much beyond this, though, that would be a different story.

She had a history of doing that with difficult subject matter… trying to bury it.

Even though the black magic was out of her system now, beings like us with such great power couldn’t afford to do that as a rule. It risked making us unstable, dangerous. To ourselves and to others.

She walked around the table to me, the heels of her boots echoing ominously around the vast empty space.

“When I was with Constantine, held captive by him, he told me a lot of things. All of it was to get me where he wanted me, I know that. And I’m sure some things weren’t true at all, and that others were twisted in with lies as well.” She stopped in front of me. “There was something he told me about you.”

I tensed. “Alena, I’m sure there’s a lot he could have said about me.”

“About you and me. Your intentions toward me.”

“My intentions? I think those are pretty obvious by now, don’t you?”

She shook her head. “Not in that way. Just listen.”

In the next moment, she twirled her hand, her golden magic glowing, and then Constantine’s voice sounded through the place, making me growl low in my throat.

“The Dark Fae Prince manipulated you from the very beginning. He didn’t target you merely because of what your mother did to his father. He’s far too calculated to be that shortsighted. He wanted you to come into your true power, to grow stronger. All for Obsidian, so he’d have somebody at his side who could stand on his level for when the time came to attack me.”

She ended the spell, then eyed me intensely. “Is that the truth?”

That motherfucker. He’d really pulled out all the stops to turn her.

It wasn’t a stretch to deduce where his intel had come from either. Another motherfucker—Callum.

“Yes. That’s how it started off. But it became so much more than that, Alena.” I reached out and took her hand and she let me, not pulling away. “More than I could have ever hoped for. It’s not my goal anymore. I’m not using you. Not for anything. What we have is real, I swear it to you.”

“It’s how it needs to be.”

I frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“To defeat Constantine, it needs to be how you originally intended. For me to come into my true power and become somebody who can stand on your level, side by side with you against that psychopath.”

“You’re not… mad?”

She rolled her eyes. “Not now I’m in my right mind again, no. Like you said, so much has happened since then between us, something amazing has grown between us. And, my goal was to beat you at your own game in the beginning too, so I wasn’t exactly innocent in that respect either.”

“Wow. Talon was so upset when he found out about that. He was so scared it would fracture our foursome and drive you away from us. I didn’t expect you to act this way.”

She squeezed my hand. “Well, other things matter more. And I trust you now. Implicitly.” She raised my hand to her lips and brushed them over my knuckles, smiling up at me. “Don’t you know by now? Nothing could drive me away from the three of you.”

I smiled down at her and slid my hands to her hips, holding her to me. “You can already stand on my level now.”

“I need you to help me train with my new ability—extinguishing dark magic. It stands to reason that, with me being able to erase a dark magical stream, I should be able to do it entirely, maybe completely wipe out a dark being’s magic—Constantine’s. If I could do that, then he’ll just be a vampire, a lot easier to take down and no longer such a major threat. Even with the black magic now gone, the level of magic he wields is staggering. You know that, you went up against him.”

I released her and pulled away. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m not going to take your magic, Orpheus. I would never ever do that to you.”

“Alena, when I said that before, I meant it’s dangerous to you.”

“To me?”

“If word got out, you’d be hunted. Dark beings would want you exterminated if they learned of the extreme threat that this special ability of yours posed to their power.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take in order to put him down.”

“I’m not.”

“What about your whole modus operandi of doing whatever it takes?”

“You eclipse that. Your safety and wellbeing does. Nothing compares to that. Nothing comes before that.”

“So, you’re going to go it alone, is that it?”

“Not alone.”

“You’re going to join Exemplar in their fight against him, bring your army into play?”

“The nature of the army has been exposed now and the faculty won’t allow it to happen again. A lot of parents, their families, have been up in arms that their children were put in danger by becoming a part of a militarized force.”

“You and Elliot then? Maybe your father too?”

“Something like that.”

“So, you get to protect me, but I have to accept you going out there on the frontlines and putting yourself in danger against Constantine?”

“ I haven’t suffered through what you have, Alena. It’s different for me.”

“You don’t think I can keep a clear head when it comes to him, do you?”

“I don’t.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I’m not.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Your mother? She’s with him. You can’t tell me you’re keeping a clear head about that.”

“She’s not my target.”

“How can that be? They’re together. She’s his right-hand.”

“She’s Elliot’s target. I won’t have anything to do with it. As it should be. When emotions are involved in battle, it impacts our strategic thinking. It happened to me in the DFR dungeon when I saw the state of my father and then when you showed up.”

“I’m not sitting this out. I’m not.”

I reached out and cupped her face. “Alena, you just lost your mom. You need time to grieve properly. Beyond that, you also need to get your bearings after being afflicted with black magic sickness for so long, and held captive too. You need time to get back to the life you were building for yourself. You need some happiness, a break free of pain and battle and all this talk of war. With Constantine and his acolytes currently in the wind, that time is now. That’s what you need to focus on.” I nuzzled my cheek against hers. “I love you, Alena. I want you to experience some happiness again, love and comfort. Let me give that to you. Let us. Please.” I pulled away a little and told her urgently, “And for the love of Hades, keep your new ability between the four of us. No one else can know, okay?”

She stared at me for several moments, taking my words in.

Then she stroked my cheek, searching my eyes. “You really love me? You didn’t just say that in the moment—or now—to reel me in?”

“I would never utter those words unless they rang absolutely true, unless I was sure.” I grasped her hand on me. “I love you dearly. I love your fire and also your gentleness. I love your forthrightness and also the way you understand even the complicated parts of me. I love your strength and your vulnerability. I love your light as well as the darker side of you. I love all that you are and all that you can become.” I smirked out at her. “And I love how free-spirited you are, how fucking sexy, and how you can take us so incredibly well.” As she giggled at that, I pushed my body against hers, tracing my finger over her lips, as I whispered, “And I also fucking love that you have a primal kink and how downright dirty you can get when the three of us are all over you.”

She licked my finger, her eyes hooding. “And here I thought Xavier was the romantic one. But you can bring it too, just with a dose of filthy thrown into the mix.”

I grinned back at her. “That’s me, little angel.” I whispered at her ear, feeling her tremble as I spoke the hot, delicious words, “When we get back, I’ll give you that filthy side of me that you crave so much.”

Her magic burst from her and she knocked me into the wall, catching me off guard.

And then she was there, one hand squeezing my ass, the other grasping my cock through my leather pants. “Why wait?”

Fuck. A growl rumbled in my throat.

And as she started stroking my cock and digging her nails into my ass, the urge to sink into it and fuck her against the wall right here and now was overwhelming.

But as she went to kiss me, I turned my cheek to her, her soft lips brushing against my skin instead.

“Alena,” I breathed. “We can’t. Not here.”

“Mind-link the boys,” she said, licking along my jaw.

Oh fuck. Talk about testing my control.

“Mmm, and while we’re at it, why haven’t you included me in the mind-linking yet?”

“Soon.”

She frowned. “Why soon? What’s the delay?”

“Your mind has already been invaded far too much, I didn’t want—”

“Stop it,” she said, pushing off me suddenly.

“Stop what?”

“Treating me like glass, Orpheus!” she cried, her voice echoing around the room and the plea in it rolling right through me.

The plea not to treat her like a victim.

Like somebody who needed my protection.

But it wasn’t about her needing it. It was me needing to give it to her after everything she’d been through.

She was ours, it was what I did. I protected those close to me.

I always had for Talon and Xavier and now she was a part of that bond, she fell under that too.

“I don’t think that. I know you’re strong, Alena. You wouldn’t have survived what you endured if you weren’t. But you didn’t come out of it unscathed and that’s what you need to tend to now, what I want to help you tend to, what all three of us want to help you with.” I stepped closer to her again. “It’s not weakness to lean on support, or even to admit that you could do with it. Sweetheart, your mom died only two weeks ago and—”

“I know ! I was right there as she killed herself. Right fucking in front of me. With her angel fire, no less! I saw it, Orpheus! I witnessed every excruciating moment of it! But it’s not going to break me! None of it will!”

“I never went there. But it’s okay if it shakes you. It’s okay , little angel.”

She moved further away from me, shaking her head. Then she gestured wildly at the long table in the center of the room. “You’re going to sit right there soon, aren’t you? She wanted you to carry on her legacy, right?”

“That’s not exactly—”

“You. Not me.”

“Not long ago you absolutely abhorred the idea of becoming a part of Exemplar.”

“And so did you. But with everything that’s happened, things are very different now. We can’t be on the sidelines. Yet now I’m the one discounted because of what I went through with Constantine. The very thing you say makes me strong? Where’s the sense in that?”

“What you survived was an example of your strength, not the essence of it, and I don’t think your mom—”

“Just save it! It is what it is. I never wanted a part of this world, anyway, right?”

“She wanted you to be a part of it, alongside me.”

“As an afterthought.”

“I don’t think that’s what—”

Before I could get another word out, she stormed out of the room.

I went to go after her, but as I was about to round the corner to follow her down the corridor, a hand slapped to my chest as somebody stepped out of the shadows, somebody I hadn’t seen because I’d been so distracted by our conversation—a conversation that had abruptly gone off the fucking wall.

Then I was looking up into the face of my father.

“Let her calm down. It will only escalate if you don’t, and reason won’t prevail.”

I blew out a breath and stepped back. “How much did you hear?”

“Just the tail end of you trying to reel her in, your clear desperation to keep her safe.”

“That’s all?” I asked, wanting to ensure he hadn’t overheard the part about her ability to annihilate dark magic.

“Why? Was there more that I needed to be made aware of?”

He stared at me intently.

Had he actually heard that part?

I stared back.

He wasn’t showing any signs of it.

No, he couldn’t have. He wouldn’t be keeping his reaction to that locked down. He’d no doubt be up in arms about it. In fact, his reaction would be incredibly dangerous.

To the woman I loved.

“No,” I answered. “Nothing concerning you, Father.”

He frowned for a moment, watching me intently.

And then he shoved his hands into the pockets of his blazer and told me, “Tell me you’re not fool enough to believe you were actually able to talk her down?”

“Father—”

“Possessing so much power and being treated like you don’t… it’s a hard pill to swallow. It was for you when you started to come into your power as a child, yet you were too young to put it to work. It was a trying time for us both.”

“I remember. I was physically ready, yet not mentally or emotionally.”

“As you believe is Alena’s case currently.”

“I know it is.”

“Son, be careful. There’s a fine line between desiring to protect those you love and infringing upon their own freedoms and decisions.”

“And I’m trying to walk that line. But it’s not easy. She doesn’t make it easy.”

“When you love someone and you see them hurting and when they’ve been hurt as severely and as despicably as she was, it’s far from easy. And that’s the worst thing for you right now.”

“What are you saying? The worst thing?”

“You’ve been through a lot also. You’ve taken on a lot. And you’re on the verge of taking on more. Trying to prevent a Nephilim from going off the rails, leading your foursome through all the tragedy that has befallen them lately, almost losing me, then Abigail tapping you for a seat at the table of Exemplar. You haven’t so much as slowed down even a little in between. I know you’re strong, son. I know you can bear a great deal of pressure. But no one is invulnerable.”

“What do you suggest I do?”

“Come home.”

I started. “Excuse me?”

“Come home with me. Recuperate. Take some time. Clear your head.”

“I can’t just abandon them. They need me.”

“And you need me.”

I shoved my hand through my hair. “Alena’s mother just died. Talon witnessed it too, right in front of him, it’s bringing up issues of his parents. Xavier’s just had his magic returned to him but it came at a price of so much guilt when Constantine took control of him. It doesn’t matter what I need at the moment.”

“It should. And it needs to, Orpheus.”

“I can’t… I need to get back out there. Come on.” I turned to go, but his next words pulled me up short.

“Do they know yet? Do they know about your current status at Electi Academy?”

“Marlowe got word, I take it?”

“He did.”

“Things will die down.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then I’ll deal with it.”

“It’s not like you to wait until something comes to pass in order to deal with it. You’re all about thinking ahead, planning. Yet this foursome of yours… it’s taking precedence over that, over many things.”

“The people we love usually do,” I rebutted.

“When it becomes to our detriment, that’s when it’s a problem, though.”

“Fuck, why are you doing this? You encouraged me not to shut down with her, to—”

“I know. I know, son. And you’ve clearly opened yourself up to her all the way. And now I’m trying to help you walk that line between experiencing all the good and all the love there is that comes along with that, while also ensuring you don’t succumb to it in a negative way, to losing yourself in the process.”

“Could this possibly be about more than that? Mother, for instance?”

“It’s not about her.”

“Really? You haven’t said a word about the revelation that she’s been working for Constantine all this time.”

“I’ve said plenty about it. Just not to you.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because, as I’ve expressed, you’ve had enough to deal with. My concern is that you haven’t said a word about it to me.” He stepped forward and laid his hand on my shoulder. “You haven’t even processed it, have you? You’ve been far too wrapped up in your concern for your loves to even take the time to do what you need.”

“I’ll deal with it when things settle. We’re at Abigail’s memorial, Father. The time certainly isn’t now.”

He sighed and dropped his hand. “It needs to be soon.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, finding a text. “One moment.”

I checked it quickly.

Talon: Where you at? X is drinking up a storm. Trying to keep it off Elliot’s radar. Maybe a feed from you will help? Or any other ideas? Need an assist, brother.

“I need to go,” I told my father.

“Of course you do.”

“Father—”

“At least consider what I’ve said, Orpheus.”

I sucked in a breath and gave a nod. “I will.”

“I’m here now, son. Any time. Anywhere.”

I smiled. Things had certainly come a long way since our estrangement.

“I know. I know you are.”