Chapter 59

(**Irina’s POV**)

There are now words to describe how I am feeling right now as I stare at my oldest brother. Oleg looks so different from the last time I saw him. The day before Vicktor’s attack on our pack. His once lustrous blonde hair is now shaved down to almost bald. His ice-blue eyes that always held a mischievous glint to them now look dull. There is a scar under his left eye that looks like a brand mark of some kind.

What happened to my brother between the time he split up with the others until now? How did the vampire, I now know as Morty, find him? Did Rayne send word out to her allies to look for my siblings? If she did, I will have to thank her. Now the only one missing from my family is Ekatarina. If she is still alive, I have hope that our family can be reunited.

*Sebastion, can you have someone get my father?*

*Already done, my love.*

A wave of relief rushes through me at that simple statement. The silence in the room is killing me, but I am afraid to speak. Oleg’s eyes have yet to focus on me. He has looked at me then away, but he has yet to really look at me. It is up to me to make the first move. Letting go of Sebastion’s hand, I take two steps towards Oleg.

The way he flinches as I approach him makes me stop in my tracks.

“Oleg, it is me, Irina.”

His eyes flicker to mine, then skitter away. The fear in the depths of his eyes makes something clench in my heart, why would he be afraid of me? Or is he just afraid of everything and my approaching him made it come to the surface? What has happened to my dear Oleg? Before I have a chance to ask him, the front door opens.

Oleg’s nostrils flare as my father and Pavel stands in the doorway behind him. The shock in their eyes mirrored mine when I first saw him. He spins around to face them with a keening cry bubbling in his throat. He wraps his arms around his torso, then rocks backward and forwards on his heels. The noises coming from him bring a startling reality to me.

He has been in captivity before.

I have seen this behavior before from victims of abuse. Eric showed similar signs once when we were on a tracking mission that was near where he grew up. Oleg must be reliving his past trauma now that he has come face to face with his family. More questions flood my mind as my father stares at him.

“None of you are real.” His voice is hoarse, like he doesn’t speak often. “You all died. This is just a dream.”

My instincts scream at me to go to him. I know how he feels. I dreamed of them all every night for the last five years. When I saw Natalia in her shop, everything inside me I thought was dead broke free again. All the pain, longing, and rage that I went through in the beginning. The sorrow I felt at knowing I would never see my family again.

*I need to call Nat,* I tell Sebastion.

*I had Arianna do that for you. Your sister is on the way.*

*What did Arianna say to her?*

*Only that you needed her. It isn’t our place to tell her this news.*

*Thank you.*

A shrill wail brings my attention back to my family. Oleg has dropped to his knees. My father and Pavel are both on their knees. Oleg has his face buried in our father’s chest, while Pavel hugs him from the side. Now is my time to go to him. The distance between us feels bigger than it is. By the time I reach my family, I am shaking and there are fresh tears running down my face.

Pavel looks at me as I kneel. He opens his arms so I can slip mine under his. When he closes his arms again, he is hugging me to Oleg. I can feel the shudders going through Oleg’s body as he cries. With each deep intake of breath, he whispers he doesn’t want to wake up. Repeatedly. My heart breaks each time he repeats those words.

For him, we are all real, as long as he keeps dreaming. If he wakes up, he will be alone again. I have had similar dreams. What can I do to help him see we are not a figment of his imagination? Hugging Natalia helped me know she was real. In my dreams, when I touched my family, they all disappeared.

**Sing your mother’s song** Anya whispers.

Softy I do as she suggests. The words flowing out of me with all the emotions I am feeling. Gradually I feel Oleg’s shudders subside. His crying becomes softer as he listens to the words of the song and my voice. Soon my father and Pavel join me as I sing to Oleg. All we need now to be complete is Natalia and Ekatarina.

“This isn’t a dream? You guys are real?” Oleg asks.

His voice is shaky as he asks those questions. I pull back enough so he can look up. Pavel and my father follow my lead. None of us let go of him as he turns his head to stare at each of us for a few moments. He looks to me first, then to Pavel, before finally landing on our father. As he stares at each of us, that haunted look slides away.

“How did you survive? I saw you go down after being shot in the back.”

“That is a short story that I will tell you later. What matters is that you are alive and returned to us.”

Oleg looks at Pavel. “What about Natalia and Kat?”

“Natalia is on her way here right now,” I say.

“She made it, thank the Moon Goddess. What about Kat? Where is she?” He looks around at the three of us with hope in his eyes.

“Kat is alive, but not here. We are working on getting her free of where she ended up.” I tell him as I lay my head on his shoulder.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I can explain all about that, but how about we get up off the floor? There is a nice den over there were we can talk more.”

He frowns, then pulls away from us so he can look around the foyer. His eyes go wide when he realizes he is sitting on the floor. I look around as he does and notice that Sebastion, Arianna, and Morty have all left us alone. I link Sebastion to tell him thank you and to tell him we are all going to go back to my father’s house. We can call Nat once we are there to have her come to Father’s house.

The questions on where he has been all this time are still circling my mind.

(**Sebastion’s POV**)

When Irina sings to Oleg, I decide it is time to leave their family alone. They needed time with each other. I am an outsider. So, I signal to Arianna and Morty to follow me to my office. I have questions for Morty that it is time he answers.

I walk into my office, then go straight to the chair behind my desk. Morty follows behind me and makes himself right at home by taking a seat on the sofa. He crosses his legs at the knee, right over left, then just stares at me. Waiting. Arianna sits in front of my desk. She looks at Morty as if she is studying him. He cocks his head to the side when he sees her looking at him.

“What is on your mind, Arianna Drakos?”

“Your eyes are not red. I though all vampire’s eyes turn red when they become a vampire.”

Morty chuckles, then shakes his head. “That is a misconception. Some vampires have red eyes, but they are usually incredibly young ones. Newly turned. I was not turned into what I am, but I was born this way.”

“You were born a vampire? I didn’t know that was possible.”

“It is, I assure you. My line of ancestry is older than recorded history.”

Holy shit! Morty is older than Beckett and his crew. How the fuck did Rayne become friends with this guy?

“Now, ask your questions. Then I will leave your territory. I have a mess to clean up before more fleas find me.”

“Fleas?” Arianna looks at him in confusion.

“It is what I call the young vampires.”

“Where did you find Oleg?” I ask.

“I didn’t find him. A group of our allies did. They didn’t know who he was when they rescued him and his cellmates. When they got the fliers that you sent out with Oleg and Ekatarina’s pictures they realized they had him. They had already placed him with a new group by then. I was in the area of where he was, so I did you a favor.”

“A favor? What do I need to do?”

Morty grinned in a way that made my stomach flip. “Smart man. All I ask is a favor in return at time of my choosing. It may be a year from now or ten years from now. When I call you for this favor, you will answer and do what I ask.”

I don’t like the sound of that. What can I do for this ancient vampire that he can’t achieve for himself? “What happens if I say no? Will you take Oleg back to where you found him?”

“No, he is free. Oleg is where he deserves to be. I will just be out a favor in the future.”

What the heck, there is no harm in agreeing to this favor. “Fine, I agree.”

“Marvelous. Now I will take my leave. Tell that mate of yours that I hope everything goes well.” He stands up to leave.

A thought pops in my head that makes me stop him. He is an ancient vampire. Maybe he knows something about having two mates at the same time. Morty looks surprised as I tell him what happened. He sits back down, but this time with his elbows on his knees as he listens to my story. He frowns when I mention how much I was drawn to Fiona.

“Let me see her mark on your neck.”

I peel the bandage off, then turn my body so he can see my neck. The look on his face is all I need to know that the news isn’t good. Morty’s eyes flash red, then back to their normal color. Fear of what he will tell me floods my mind.

“Was it always that calm looking, or did it look worse in the beginning?”

I frown at his question then walk to the mirror on the wall behind the mini bar. I gasp in surprise at what the mirror shows. The once jagged puncture wounds are now smaller but still unhealed. The angry red skin that used to surround the mark has now faded to look like a slight sunburn.

“How? I have not accepted her mark. Why is it healing?”

“From that line of questioning, I can only assume that it looked much worse than it does now.” Morty moves back to the sofa and sits. “There are a few explanations for why it is healing. However, I am very curious about how this all happened to begin with. I will need to do some research to help you get the answers you need.”

“Can you tell me the reasons it has healed?” I sit back in my chair, then cover my neck with the bandage again.

“What does the new mate mark mean for his mate-bond with Irina? They both still have their mate marks, and their bond is still strong.” Arianna asks.

That was a question I was going to ask, but she did it for me. Did she ask out of concern, or is she eager to see my bond with Irina break? I am hoping it is the former rather than the latter.

“Well, nothing will happen to their bond. At least not until you fully completed the bond with the panther. Right now, it is one sided. I have an idea on why the mark is healing. Your mate is strong, she is Alpha born.”

“Wait, what? Irina has Alpha blood?”

Morty chuckles at my surprise. “Have you noticed how strong willed she is? I am surprised you haven’t sensed it in her or her family. Her father is a Beta by title, but he is of Alpha blood. His brother was the Alpha of their pack.”

It seems there is a lot about my mate and her family that I do not know. It is time for questions. Well, not today, but soon. “What does her Alpha blood have to do with why the mark is healing?”

“She is the mate the Moon Goddess blessed you with. Her mark was on you first, and your bond with each other is already strong. She is pregnant with your child. That combination is powerful. I think it is overriding the mark of your panther.”

“She isn’t mine!” I growl at him as the thought of Fiona brings a tidal wave of anger rushing through me.

“Relax, little Alpha, I mean no offense. Just give me a few days to speak to some of my contacts to see if there is anything that can be done. Where is the panther now?”

“She is on her way to Canada with the others we rescued. Monroe said he will bring her back with him when he returns to Bodega Bay.”

“Ah, Emil, he is an extremely powerful Alpha. It is good that he helped you to free Treadstone’s captives.” He stands up from the sofa, straightens his suit jacket, then walks to the door. “I will leave you now. Expect a call in a few days.”

Morty leaves the room. I go to follow him, but Arianna does instead. I am left alone in my office with only my dark thoughts to keep me company. Irina’s emotions are coming through the link between us, which makes me smile.

She is happy but there is a sadness to it that makes me want to hold her.

“Then do it.” Her voice comes from the doorway, making me look up at her.

“Why are you not with your family?”

“Oleg fell asleep after Natalia arrived. So, since he is resting, I figured it was a good idea to check in with you. How did the vampire end up with my brother?”

I tell her what Morty told me. I then tell her about what he said about Fiona’s mark. “Why didn’t you tell me you are Alpha born?”

“How did you know?”