Virgil [Marius Brothers 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (3 page)

“Of course. We’ll leave you to your meeting,” Mareo agreed. We excused ourselves and left his study.

“We only have two nights?” I whispered in horror. “He looked so scared and was so quick to push us away. That’s not going to be enough time to change his mind, Mareo.”

My mate scratched his chin as he nodded. Then he got a feral smile on his lips and that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Not without help, it’s not.”

Oh shit. He was up to something. That could either be really good for us, or really bad. With Mareo it was a fifty-fifty shot if his plans worked or if it made things worse for us.

I prayed to the gods it was that the plan worked this time. We couldn’t lose our mate.

Mareo

I knew Foma had questions but we didn’t have much time. Dinner was in a few hours and for this to work we needed to hurry. I gave him a wink as we jogged along, trying to reassure him I had everything in hand. To be honest, I didn’t. This would either epically work or epically fail.

I was praying for the first.

“Jordy, we need a favor,” I said as I found the man we’d been looking for.

“Are you sure about this?” Foma hissed at me, figuring out the plan.

“I’m open to suggestions if you’ve got another idea,” I shot right back before focusing on our cute little friend and sometimes bedmate. “We need your help, sweetness.”

“I have some work I need to do but then I can help you,” Jordy replied shyly, his eyes filling with lust.

“Oh, hun,” I whispered. I pulled him out of the main hallway and down a deserted corridor, Foma following. I cupped Jordy’s cheek, wincing when he pursed his lips. “No, Jordy. I’m sorry. We need your help because we think we’ve found our other mate.”

“Oh, congratulations,” he mumbled, hurt filling his eyes as embarrassment heated his cheeks. “What do you need from me? What can I do to help? I’m just liaison to the local wolf pack.”

“Yes, but we found out that wolf blood can help us open up a vampire and drive up their lust,” I hedged as I ran my fingers through Jordy’s soft black hair. “We need your help. The man isn’t staying long and something’s holding him back. We need to spur him past the fear into need and desire mode so he’ll admit everything to us. He won’t go to another for his needs if his mates are here. No man of honor would do that.”

“You want me to help you get your mate drunk with my blood?” Jordy gasped, pulling away from me. “No, I won’t do that.”

“Please, Jordy?” Foma begged quietly. “I’m not a fan of this either but we’re desperate. We can’t smell our mates like you guys can. He’s given us every sign he is but we can’t just call him a liar. He’s good friends with the King. We’re just going to give him a little bit to help loosen him up.”

Jordy worried his lower lip for a moment, glancing between us. “You said this man isn’t from here. Is he one of the visitors from America?”

“Yes and they’re only staying a few days,” I answered.

“I’ll help you but will you help me?”

“Of course. We would have even if we weren’t asking this of you. You know that, Jordy,” Foma said gently. “What’s going on?”

“You weren’t in a position to help me before,” he explained, shaking his head. “I want out of my pack and far, far away from here. Being liaison is the only thing that’s helped but I want out of Greece. If you end up with your mate and go back to America, will you help find an Alpha who would accept me into his pack? Mine won’t let me leave and no one wants to go against him around here. But that far away, they might not care.”

“You have our word we’ll help. We can ask our Queen either way, Jordy. We’ll figure out something,” I said firmly. I didn’t know what was going on and it wasn’t my place to ask for the full story, but Jordy was a sweetie and wouldn’t ask for assistance lightly. I might just put in a call to Magdalena anyways.

“Thank you,” he sighed in relief. “Yes, you can have my blood. Just don’t tell anyone you got it from me. I don’t need to be in any more trouble than I seem to always be in.”

“Why didn’t you tell us, Jordy? We could have given you sanctuary,” Foma asked gently.

“Wolf business is supposed to stay with wolves.” Our little friend shrugged.

“Fuck that,” I growled, cupping his cheek. “We take care of our friends. Go with Foma. He’s trained as a medic and can take the blood we need. I’m going to call our Queen right now and ask about the pack that’s in her coven. We’ll get you out of whatever’s going on, Jordy.”

“Thank you,” he whispered as he stood on his toes and kissed my cheek. “I wish I had gotten mates like you. Your man is very, very lucky.”

“I hope he feels that way one day,” I admitted sadly.

“Hey, life is scary. Maybe he’s just reeling and would come around on his own,” Jordy said gently. “A little of my blood and he’ll be begging for the pleasure I know you both can give. Then you’ll show him how big of hearts you both have. He’ll see how loving, kind, and wonderful you both are.”

“Thanks, sweetness.” I rubbed his hair affectionately before he hurried off with Foma. I quickly called the Queen but she was in a meeting. Baylor was currently working as her personal guard and message taker I guess and said she’d call me back as soon as she could. Feeling I’d done what I could for right then, I headed to medical where I knew Foma would be.

Time to get our mate into our arms, our bed, and into his heart. We’d help Jordy as soon as the Queen called me back.

* * * *

Virgil

After I had calmed down from my mini-freak-out over finding my very male, very massive mates, I called my only really close friend Ferris Braden. He was busy so I didn’t bother leaving him a message. What would I have said anyways?

“Hey, Ferris, I know we’ve
never
talked about this kind of stuff, but I thought I was addicted to werewolf blood and that’s why I liked to have two men fucking me but apparently I was wrong. I just wanted to see what being with a guy was like and I had two offer, but then I kept going back. I thought it was their blood so I told them no more. Then it seems fate just wanted to fuck with me because I’m mated to two massive fae warriors.

“So am I a recovering addict or am I just gay? If I’m gay, then why have I
never
been attracted to men over my three hundred and ninety years until recently? I thought maybe after that mission six months ago when I hit my head I jarred something loose in me that made me wild and wanted to try something new. But apparently not and maybe I’m just losing my mind. Can that happen with a vampire?”

Yep. That sounded good. It gave me another idea though. I quickly found Riley in my contacts and connected the call. I didn’t even greet him. “Can a head injury change what someone likes?”

“Hey, Virgil, how are you?” he drawled. “You have to be more specific than that for me to answer you. Are we talking about a vampire?”

“Yes.” I racked my brain as to how to ask the question without really asking it. “Say a person never really liked strawberries, or just never would have wanted them, asked for them, or craved them. Could taking a blow to the head make them all of a sudden crave strawberries? Or say affect their sense of smell to where they think they smell something that’s not there?”

“Virgil, what’s going on?” he asked gently, but very quietly. I heard some shuffling and then a door close. “Does this have something to do with when you got hurt several months ago? What are you wanting that you didn’t before?”

“Strawberries?” I tried, knowing that it sounded a question instead of a statement.

“Brother, talk to me. You know I can’t tell anyone as your doctor. You know I don’t judge. I respect that you’re a private man and you like to keep to yourself but that’s not healthy if something’s going on. Obviously you’re not sure or confused. I mean, why would you need to know about wanting something you haven’t before and your sense of—” He gasped and I winced. “Virgil, did you find your mate?”

“Mates,” I admitted in a choked whisper. “I’ve always wanted women, Riley. But I don’t know who I am anymore. At the Halloween party I was flirting with this sexy wolf, and I thought he was a girl with the way he was dressed up. We went off alone and I realized he was a guy when we were making out but it was fun and all my brothers are gay and it’s not like I was disgusted so I thought I’d just try some wild times. Sow my oats.”

“Sure, that’s completely normal,” Riley said supportively.

“And then his friend came looking for him and next thing I knew I’m drinking from them and they’re, we’re, um, both of them, me, yeah.”

“They took you together,” he hedged, trying to help me.

“Yes,” I whispered as I felt my cheeks heat up. “I thought it was the wolf blood. Maybe it made me a little too wild. Then I wondered if it was the crack to my head I took. It was like I couldn’t stop though. But I did a few months ago, thinking I’d become addicted to werewolf blood or something and it made me want things I wouldn’t normally want. I’ve never wanted that before.”

“I’ve never heard of that side effect of shifter blood, Virgil.” I could hear they sympathy in Riley’s tone, but knew he was telling me the truth. “And I scanned your brain weeks after you were hurt. You healed just fine. There’s nothing to suggest a personality change and a hit to the head wouldn’t leave you with just
one
change like this. And shifter blood really isn’t addictive. They just tell vampires that to prevent us from ever trying to keep them like food.”

“Maybe it could be addictive to just someone though, right? I’d crave it, Riley.”

“I wouldn’t rule it out then,” he hedged. “I’d need to run some tests when you get home. I think the more likely answer is you equate wolf blood with the excuse to be free to do as you want which is experience two men in bed like that. There’s no shame in that, Virgil.”

“I know. We have friends who are in ménages. Damian likes to bottom for Cyrus and they’re into all kinds of kink.”

“Then what’s holding you back?”

“There was a plan, Riley,” I whispered as I felt my eyes burn. “Someone doesn’t just change from being attracted to women after over three centuries of it to men. And it’s not like I want a man. I want two men on either side of me. It’s freaking me out. I’ve never looked at a man and now that’s what I crave.”

“Just breathe, Virgil, okay? Nothing needs to be decided today.”

“Except I met my mates in Greece. I think they know because of my reaction when I met them. They’re two
massive
fae warriors, Riley. That
so
wasn’t the plan. The plan was to mate a nice woman, have lots of babies, be a warrior, be happy, and live my life.”

“Virgil, I say this because I love you. If vampires could be OCD you would. You’re too rigid and a little boring. You don’t do well with people, you keep to yourself, and you barely have any friends. You seem lost in yourself most times. I think fate gave you two men because it will blow open that little box you see yourself and your life fitting into or what it should be.”

I just blinked at the phone for a few moments in shock. “And people wonder why I don’t let them in? So you love me because you’re mated to my brother and family now but you obviously don’t like me or respect me. Thanks, Riley.”

“No, Virgil, that’s not what I meant!” he shouted as I hung up the phone. Ouch! That just,
wow
, hurt! When he called right back I ignored the call and sent it right to voicemail. I got the answers I wanted and a lot more. Now I had a whole new list of reasons not to want to acknowledge my mates… They wouldn’t like me. Riley knew me pretty well and obviously he didn’t.

I couldn’t take my mates not liking me and just being stuck with me.

I lay down on the bed in the room Caleb had given me for our stay, tired down to my very soul. Now I wondered if vampires could get depressed. Did my family feel this way about me? Yeah, I knew they pitied me being the last of us who wasn’t mated, but maybe it was more than that? Maybe they pitied me because I was
me
.

Yup, that was depressing.

I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep, waking when Stefan knocked on the door and told me it was time to go down for dinner. I called out I’d be down in ten and jumped up. I needed a shower after the long-ass flight. Grabbing my toiletries bag, I hurried into the bathroom, showered, dried off, dressed, and was making my way through the palace a little while later.

“Lost?” Mareo asked as I turned the corner.

“Yes,” I admitted, remembering all my training and the tough situations I’d been in before. I could handle myself. Just because they were my mates and had thrown me the first time didn’t mean I’d act like a child. I was a fucking warrior. I could control my reactions and emotions.

“We’ll escort you to dinner,” Foma offered as he held out his arm for me.

“Thanks. Lead the way.” I gestured for him to go ahead, ignoring the arm. I saw hurt flash in his eyes before he walked away. He wouldn’t have been hurt unless he knew.
They knew
. Had I been that see-through earlier? I didn’t know but I still didn’t grasp what to do about them, feeling less inclined to tell them we were mates than I had been
before
talking to Riley.