Downs, Jana - Ravyn's Heart [Ravyn Warriors 2] (Siren Publishing Allure ManLove) (18 page)

The manila folder in his lap was something he was going to have to acknowledge at some point. His thoughts turned from his lover to his son. This could answer a lot of questions for the Ravyns, Dageus in particular. He just didn’t know how to bring it up with him. They hadn’t spoken since their talk in the parking lot. It wasn’t that Damian was deliberately avoiding the censure that his son would inevitably throw at him. It was just that he was reluctant to break the fragile truce between them, even if it was a silent one. Perhaps he needed to approach Alex first.

The knock on the door was not unexpected. He’d ordered his secretary to bring him his personal organizer from his office to use in case he found anything that needed to be locked in the safe upstairs.

“Come in!” he called, opening yet another box of files. He glanced up and stopped his motions. “Kal,” he greeted in surprise. “What are you doing at the theater? I thought the Ravyns were all assigned to Salvatore’s side for the next two days?”

Dageus stood in the doorway, looking uncomfortable, dressed in a pair of low-slung blue jeans and a black T-shirt. He pushed his hand through his hair in a move that was unconsciously reflective of his raising. It was something Damian did when he was nervous. “Father.” His voice was soft. “Is it okay if I come in?”

Damian nodded. “Of course.” He was curious as to what Dageus was doing here. The Ravyn came into the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

“Salvatore has decided he’s going to the mall with Theron in a little bit to pick up some clothes for him so that he’ll blend in. I mean, ceremonial robes and all that pomp is okay for the other side, but here it sort of stands out. Desmond knows he’s here, but Salvatore and Tony don’t want to make it obvious whenever he goes out.” He knelt beside Damian on the carpet and opened up a box. “What’s all this stuff anyways?”

“It’s old paperwork I’ve been meaning to go through for the past five years but haven’t managed to do as of yet,” Damian offered absently. “You still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”

Dageus looked away from Damian’s curious expression. “Salvatore’s getting ready, and he’s not planning on leaving the house until around nine. The mall won’t be very crowded then, and Tony won’t have kittens over the security risks. So I had Alex bring me to the theater to talk to you… away from Ally-cat. I know things haven’t been great between us lately.” He trailed off.

“That’s as much my fault as it is yours, son,” Damian acknowledged. He ached to reach out and put his arm on Dageus’s shoulder, but he knew somehow that the Ravyn wouldn’t welcome the show of affection. His son was a warrior now, and as a warrior, he had to work this through his own way.

“I know. You should’ve told me, for sure. But”—he paused—“I also know that Ally especially was banking on my acceptance of you guys. I didn’t see the signs. I thought you’d both get hurt, and I just couldn’t stand the thought of it. I was wrong though. I should’ve realized it when Ally wanted to date you in the first place. Ally doesn’t date, so he must be pretty serious about you. Do you…do you love him?” Dageus’s voice had grown softer and softer as he spoke as if it were excessively hard for him to squeeze out the words. They ended on a whisper that wouldn’t have been able to be heard by normal mortals.

“I don’t know if I love him yet, but… I think we’re getting there.” Damian gripped the file in his lap until the edges curled up in his fist. “I mean, neither of us has really said anything about that.”
Except that one time I did when we first united after our separation, but I was mindless with pleasure at the time and can’t be held accountable
. “But I do think there is a potential for a serious, forever kind of relationship. We’ve talked about as much.”

Dageus nodded. “Good. That’s good. You two mean a lot to me, and I want you to be happy. I want this not to be weird between us anymore. He’s my best friend, and you’re my dad. I don’t want any rifts between us. So after the charity performance Monday, do you think we could all go out to dinner? I already got approval from Salvatore. Alex’s two new shifters will help escort him back home afterward. So we’re free.” There was the olive branch. It was extended and offered to Damian’s eager hands.

“I’m glad you came to tell me,” Damian said. He reached out and drew his son into a hug. “I don’t want anything else to come between us ever again. I’m not saying that me having a relationship with your buddy won’t be awkward at times, but I’m willing to keep the communication stations open if you are.” Dageus nodded his acceptance. “Besides, we’ve been separated too long as is. I want to know the man you’ve become, Kal.”

The Ravyn gave a Cheshire cat grin. “I think I could teach you a thing or two, old man.” Damian scoffed.

“Young blood, haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘with age comes wisdom’?”

“Haven’t you ever heard that with old age comes hip replacements and slow reflexes?” Dageus countered with a wink. Damian couldn’t help but laugh.

“Unless you’re an immortal, which I happen to be. Hip replacement indeed.” He pretended to cuff his son’s ear at that.

They separated, and he glanced down at that damn manila folder in his lap. Now didn’t seem like the time. “Well,” Damian said, smiling. “I suppose I shall see you at dress rehearsal Monday with the plans to go out afterward?” Dageus nodded. “Dress requirements?” Damian asked out of habit. Any time he’d been offered to go out to dinner in the past few years, it was always coat and tie.

“Just dress casual. We’re going to this diner me and the boys like to hang out at.” Dageus glanced at his phone as it buzzed with a new text message. “That’s Tony. I gotta go. Salvatore is chomping at the bit to get going, and none of us want to hear the lecture for making him wait. However much he makes Tony suffer, Tony makes us suffer twice as much during workouts. Later, Dad.”

“See you, Kal.” Damian waved and went back to sorting his boxes. Everything in his life was finally looking up. He heard Dageus ascend the staircase into the upper realms of the theater’s offices, knowing that he was probably meeting Alex there. He sent a mental message to Alex as he flipped open the first new folder and set the other aside.

Thank you for taking care of him, brother
. It was the first time he’d acknowledged the relationship between Alex and Kal to his brother. Surprise flickered from the other side of their communication.

You’re welcome,
Alex replied quietly. Damian felt the love for him come down the line, warming him from the inside out.
He’s good for you, Damian,
he added. It took Damian a minute to realize who “he” was.

Yes. He’s mine
, Damian said simply. He’d never said anything as true as that.

* * * *

Ally felt like shit. His stomach was churning, and his mouth felt like little fuzzy aliens had taken up residence there. He’d already puked twice, and it didn’t feel like it would be the last time tonight. Tony had been shoveling stomach medicine down his throat and fever reducers, but nothing was helping. His forehead was still slicked with sweat and his skin pasty white.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go out,” Theron suggested after taking one look at Allasandro’s complexion.

“I’m fine,” Ally murmured. “It’s just the DTs from Damian’s bite. That’s all.” Tony glared in his direction.

“Is this going to happen
every
time you two spend five minutes apart?” the leader of the Ravyn’s all but snarled in his direction.

Ally shrugged. “Got me. Ask Dageus.” He wanted Damian. Needed him. Now. He needed to taste his blood and give him his in turn. He ached to go to him. Damian needed him, too. He was sure of it. He trembled as his mind raced from possibility to possibility. Maybe he could ask Salvatore if he could just have an hour. No. They were all ready to leave. Dammit. He should have gone with Dageus when he’d gone to the theater with Alex.

“Get a grip, my brother,” Druas whispered, casting an anxious look in Tony’s direction.

“I’m trying. Swear.” Allasandro counted the hours since he’d last seen Damian. Six? Seven maybe? How much longer did these damn withdrawals last? Oh yeah, a week. Fuck. He’d see Damian before then.

It was then that Alex and Dageus appeared in the middle of the Salvatore’s sitting room. They both looked happy.

“’Bout damn time, Dageus,” Tony rumbled in his normal gruff manner. He was such a hard-ass.

“Sorry, got caught up talking with my father and lost track of the time. We ready to move out?” Dageus asked, obviously ready to go as well.

“Yes. The cars are being brought around now,” Tony said, turning his back and ordering people into formation. The two new shifters took the rear while Allasandro and Dageus took the center. Tony and Druas flanked either side of Salvatore and Theron, and Germany took the front.

Dageus took one look at his brother and blanched. “He did it again? What the hell? How often does he feed on you?”

“Uh…” Allasandro blinked. He hadn’t expected the incredulity behind those words. “Like, every time. What’s wrong with that?”

Then Dageus paled. “Every time. Do you exchange? Like, do you take his blood while you take his?”

“Sometimes?” Ally offered.

Dageus’s jaw tightened. “He shouldn’t be doing that. He needs to be careful, especially with you.” Ally patted him on the back.

“It’s seriously all right, my brother. We’re tight. I just like how close we get when we…yah know, share. Damian just gets carried away when he’s feeding sometimes.”

“Damian shouldn’t be losing his control. He’s old enough where it shouldn’t be a problem.” He glanced at Allasandro as they started walking down the main staircase to the waiting Escalade. “And the side effects from Bite Withdrawals shouldn’t be affecting you. You only go through the really bad DTs once. After that, you should just get a severe headache and a little stomach ache. You’re acting like the first time all over again.”

“So it’s not normal?” Allasandro blinked. He had just thought it was a consequence of having a vampire lover.

“No. Definitely not normal.” Dageus worried his bottom lip with his teeth. “How serious is it between you two?”

Ally shrugged. “We’re pursuing serious, but we’re not ready to get married yet, if that’s what you mean.”

The other Ravyn shook his head. “I wouldn’t be so certain about that.”

* * * *

The Haven’s Ridge Mall was a large gray building that was obviously one of the more recent additions to the cityscape. It was a modern structure with great concrete columns and a blacktopped parking lot with crisp white lines to indicate the spaces. The gray Escalade pulled up to the fire lane in front of the building and the side door closest to the entrance opened. Druas hopped out, then Germany. They reached back inside and helped Theron and Salvatore out before Dageus and Allasandro joined them on the sidewalk. The two shifters and Tony went to park the car and they decided to wait just inside the entrance so that they were out of the open air.

The dark-blue carpet was well maintained and echoes of their footsteps were muffled by it in the cavernous interior. Shops lined either side of the entryway until the floor split into two sections, left and right, with one continuing forward so that the layout was a large T shape. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Tony and the two shifters walked through the door.

“We went online and scoped out the place,” Tony said in his most authoritative voice. He always spoke like he was instructing a combat mission instead of a fun outing. “Salvatore wants to hit the major clothing stores starting with Sears and working clockwise to the tuxedo shop. As often as we’re at the theater he wants Theron to have the appropriate attire for the event. Also, Theron has requested we go to the cookie kiosk and coffee shop, both of which are located roughly halfway through our excursion.”

“Oh for the love of the gods!” Salvatore grumbled, rolling his eyes. “It’s the mall. It’s not a den of assassins. Let’s go.” He didn’t even look for approval but stalked toward the large Sears sign up ahead of them. Tony made a noise of frustration in the back of his throat before stalking after the Prince.

“Move it!” he barked at the rest of them. Dageus and Allasandro smothered a snicker of laugher. Their brother was far too serious.