Maverick Danker [Beyond the Marius Brothers 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (11 page)

“People here do,” Mav hedged, eyeing me over. “I think you just threw Tyler for a loop.”

“You can’t love me already,” I blurted out. Really? Sometimes I wished I had an off switch for my mouth.

“Of course I can.” Asterio smiled at me as he reached out and cupped my cheek. “It will take more time together for me to fall in love with you. But I love you already. There’s a difference, but it’s still love. I love when you smile. I love how your mind works, especially when it’s sexual. You have such a big heart that I love as well. I love the person you are, and I’m honored to be your mate.”

“Wow,” I whispered. Now I couldn’t get my mouth to work. Great. I was seriously special and not in the best way.

“Do you not feel strongly for me?” He studied me as if curious as to what I was going to say. There was no disapproval or judgment.

“No one’s ever loved me, and I’m not sure I know how to love.” I was going to
really
sew my lips closed soon. “My parents didn’t care about me. I was just in the way, an accident they didn’t want. And then, well, no one ever loved me.”

“Everyone knows how to love,” Mav said gently as he hugged me from behind. “You just might not know that you know how to. It will come.”

“I know you guys make me feel safe and wanted. I’m happier when you’re with me and sad when you’re not. You both make me think about the future, and I’ve never really done that before. I know I want to be a better man, a good mate, for you.”

“That’s love, cub,” Asterio whispered against my lips. “It will grow with time.”

“Okay, cool.” I kissed him gently before turning in Mav’s arms and giving him the same. “Really cool.”

“Succinctly put.” He chuckled, shaking his head. I rolled my eyes as I ran up the stairs, letting them give chase. I stopped when we got to the media room and wanted to laugh when I saw a bunch of warriors in the front row of chairs in front of the big screen.

“Asterio, you have to see this!” one of them called out. “Barnabas wanted to watch some new play he got in the mail so we joined him. It’s not real like the other show. It’s a story. But it’s a new one so we’re in the loop.”

I bit my lip when I realized what
play
it was and glanced at Barnabas. “You didn’t tell them it’s not a remake?”

“I’m still trying to explain the difference between a movie and play,” he answered with a smirk. We moved to join them, sitting in the row behind so I could sit with my mates.

“I didn’t take you for someone who would be a
Footloose
fan,” I teased.

“Right, because a young Kevin Bacon dancing isn’t every gay man’s wet dream,” he drawled. “This new guy’s good, too.”

Asterio quickly introduced us to his friends and a guy named Baylor filled him in on what we’d missed.

“So the boy’s mother died? That’s so horrible!” Asterio looked broken up. “I hate that humans are so fragile and they have to suffer such tragedies.”

“You know about tragedy, too, brother,” Makari said gently. “Your parents were a great loss to our people.”

“Thank you, but I barely remember them,” Asterio mumbled.

“How did they die?” Mav asked and I was glad he did. We needed to know, but it was never an easy topic to broach. I just wasn’t sure the time to open old wounds was when we were having fun. I trusted Mav though. He was much better at this stuff than I was.

Asterio

Makari paused the movie as I took a deep breath. I bit my lip and glanced between my two mates, trying to figure out where to start. I wasn’t sure I knew how to explain what had happened.

“It was my fault,” Queen Magdalena said quietly as she walked into the large room.

“No it wasn’t,” I gasped, not knowing she felt that way. “It was an accident.”

“I should have known the plane was growing smaller.” She shook her head as tears trailed down her cheeks. “You have to think of our world as a box made up of our magic. It’s a replica of one of your Caribbean islands that our ancestors re-formed on another plane. But it was every fae’s magic that kept the walls of our plane stable. When more and more fae were crossing over to your world, there was less magic to hold it together.

“Asterio was a baby at the time. His mother was my trusted advisor and friend. His parents wanted to spend a day together, and I offered to watch him. It was the first time since he’d been born that they’d left him with anyone and I was honored that they trusted me. They ended up spending the day at the beach. We’ve always marked off the edge of our plane and no one goes near it. It’s a mirage that makes it seem as if there’s no wall stopping our world, but there is one.

“They went swimming and the walls had moved in since there was less magic to make up our plane. They swam into the wall, and when their bodies hit that large of an amount of magic, it took their lives.” Her voice was filled with pain and despair.

“It was an accident, Magdalena,” I said gently as I stood and went to her. “You couldn’t have known.”

“I
should
have known!” she argued as tears flowed freely now, leaving glistening trails down her beautiful face. She stepped back so I couldn’t comfort her. “They were my friends and my people. It’s my job to keep them safe and I didn’t. I curse myself daily for what happened. What a waste! They were both such good people.”

“Had the walls ever moved in before?” Barnabas asked his grandmother.

“No, but they have since. Before we crossed over here some of the people in the village had to move closer to the palace. We’ve not even been able to swim or be on the beach in centuries.”

“Did your parents ever warn you that the plane could shrink?” I didn’t think this was her fault or anyone’s fault really. It was a tragic accident, but I didn’t see there needing to be any blame.

“No, my parents crossed over after they felt I was ready to rule because they never found their other mate. I’ve not heard from them since then. It used to be the rule of the fae that if you left you were never welcomed back. I had that rule abolished but even my own daughter didn’t—”

“Hey, none of that,” Barnabas said gently as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a hug. “When was the last time you slept, Grandma?”

“I can’t. My people are unsettled and worried about this new world. Because I failed them they’ve had to leave their home. Some don’t want to move to Greece now because they’re afraid the people there won’t be as nice as here. They don’t know the language, and I’ve tried to explain that one of our gifts is that we can speak any dialect but they are still worried.”

“I can help with that,” Mav said with a smile. “I speak fluently. In the morning I’ll have a meeting with all the fae who were going to move there and answer any questions they have. We’ll figure this out, but if you’ll forgive my bluntness, your highness, you need to get some sleep. You look like crap and you’re exhausted.”

“I do not look like feces,” she gasped, her eyes going wide.

“It’s a colloquial phrase meaning you don’t look your best,” Barnabas explained quickly. “You need to sleep. You can’t fix all the problems tonight and we will all help tomorrow. Please? For me?”

“Yes, alright, that would probably be best,” she agreed with a sigh before glancing at me. “We should have had this discussion years ago. I just couldn’t. You have always been like a son to me, and I feared you’d hate me when you learned it was my fault.”

“You stubborn, stubborn woman.” I snickered, shaking my head as I pulled her from Barnabas’s arms and into mine. “It wasn’t your fault. I never have and never will blame you. You raised me as your own without a second thought and I love you as my mother. I wish I could have known them, but I grew up a well-loved boy, and I always knew how you felt about me.”

“Thank you, son.” She kissed my cheek and turned to leave. Queen Magdalena gave my mates each a wave and left, closing the door behind her.

“She might want to see Ayden as well,” I heard Tyler whisper to Mav. “That woman carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and guilt that isn’t hers.”

“I agree,” I sighed as I sat back down. “I never knew she felt it was her fault.”

“Hey, we’ll deal with it tomorrow.” Mav smiled and took his hand. “For tonight, we’re relaxing.”

“Right, yeah, okay.” I nodded and Makari started the movie again.

“Oh, I don’t want to ride in those motorized vehicles anymore,” Teagani whispered to Makari when the play, or movie, as Tyler corrected me, showed a race scene that went badly.

“They’re not all like that,” I assured him. “I very much liked riding in Tyler’s truck. It’s very exhilarating. They don’t drive like that on the roads. I think this movie is showing the dangers of driving poorly.”

“Yeah, this totally isn’t normal driving.” Tyler chuckled. “It’s not even normal racing. I’ve never seen a
bus
racing before. I promise you guys will be okay.”

My friends all nodded and we went back to watching. Then I had another question. “The show we were watching earlier was real, right? I mean it was nonfiction but this is fiction. How do we tell the difference?”

Mav, Tyler, Barnabas, Miles, and Digger all exchanged a look before bursting out laughing. I started to get angry. I didn’t think it was a stupid question. Both shows looked just as real to me. How did I know what was fake or a story?

“We’re not laughing,” Tyler gasped as he grabbed my arm when I went to stand. “We’re not laughing at you, Asterio. I swear we’re not.”

“Well, I’m not laughing so you’re not laughing
with
me,” I said coldly.

“We laughed because none of us have a clue how to answer you,” Mav replied with a wink. “It’s a good question, but none of us will be able to explain it to you better than you’ll learn how to tell the difference. Which is a crappy answer really. You’ll learn that there are shows that are documentaries, like what you were watching earlier. Then there’s the news, which is people reporting on what’s going on in the world. There’s also movies like this that are fiction and shows that run weekly that are the same.”

“But then there’s this thing called
Reality TV
,” Tyler added. “And it’s both and neither. There’s just no good answer. I’m not sure anyone ever explained the difference to us. It’s just something you pick up as you get older. But that answer would just frustrate me, so yeah, we started laughing.”

“So you’re saying you laughed because the answer is very complicated to explain something so simple, like walking?” Baylor asked. I thought about that and agreed with his analogy.

“Exactly,” Tyler said, shooting him a grateful smile. “It’s just something you guys will pick up, like a baby does walking. But if I tried to explain it, I just wouldn’t know how.”

“Okay, then I’m not mad.” We went back to the movie. I leaned in and put my arm around Tyler’s shoulder as Mav took his hand. Mav and I exchanged a look over his head. We were both attracted to each other, and I knew I loved him, too, but Tyler needed affection and helping him was the priority. I gave Mav a wink to let him know I was thinking of him, too, rubbing my hand on his shoulder.

“Are all humans like this?” Makari asked as he gestured to the screen. “This boy is so passionate about dancing. I mean, I can’t believe they had a law against it, but the way he fights against it is captivating.”

“Some are,” Mav answered. “Most are raised to fight for what they believe in just like we are. Humans really aren’t all that different from us.”

“That’s cool. I want a human friend.” Baylor smiled and watched the screen intently. “I think the idea of a dance is cool. I’ve never been to one or a dance club.”

“Could we have one?” I asked, liking the idea as well. “We could meet all the wolves and vampires that way. I could get a cool suit like he has. I like the red.”

“We could do that,” Barnabas answered with a sly grin. “I never got to go to prom, and now I’d have two stud dates. You both would look so good in a tux.”

“Anything for you, baby.” Digger chuckled. “I think it would be fun. Our warriors have been so stressed and busy that they haven’t had any free time. And it would help the vampires who are still scared of the fae warriors.” He winced and turned to my friends and I. “You guys are huge after all, and when you talk, it’s like you have your own level of baritone. Some of the new vamps who have been moved here are already skittish.”

“We have a plan then.” Barnabas rubbed his hands together in glee. “I’m so calling Rory to help plan it.”

Everyone excitedly came up with ideas while we finished the movie. But once it was over, it was like we’d all had some internal switch flipped and were exhausted. It had been a long, trying day, and I realized I wanted nothing more than to go to bed.

I fell asleep that night with Tyler sprawled on top of me and Mav snuggled up against my side. It had been centuries since I’d had a man in bed with me overnight. And I knew I drifted off with a big smile on my face.

* * * *

“I’m going to get fat if you guys keep feeding me like this,” I groaned the next morning. I ate about three plates of what they called pancakes. My gods, were they good!

“Then we need to work out,” Tyler said brightly. I raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. “Not that kind of workout. My wolf could use a run.”