118
“Good afternoon, Sire Grey,” the man said as Link showed him into my office.
“Welcome, Sire Thomas,” I said as we shook hands and I led him over to the couch area.
“Please call me Johnathan,” he said as we sat down and I offered him a drink.
Johnathan didn’t seem to be much older than me and he seemed relaxed in my office. I didn’t get any bad vibes from him although I never judged someone on first appearances, looks can be deceiving and I didn’t trust that easily.
“I’ll just cut to the chase here,” he said with a smile as he took the glass I offered him.
“That works for me,” I said and leaned back in the seat.
“Like you, I’m the second son of a Sire, my father’s lair is based in California, so when I heard that Springfield was looking for a replacement Sire I took the opportunity and met with the Elders which means I’m basically a stand in until I get confirmed,” he said.
“So you just swooped in and took over?” I asked him.
“Basically. I did my research, I know who you are, what you can do, what happened there and that’s why I came to see you. I grew up knowing I’d have to fend for myself one day, stand on my own two feet. I don’t want to be my brother’s second, he has big enough shoes to fill on his own and so do I now,” he said.
“I’m sure you didn’t come here to tell me your heartfelt story,” I said to him and he laughed.
“No I didn’t, I’m seeking an alliance since I’m new in this area and the Elders suggested that I talk to you. They hold you in a very high regard and I might need some guidance as well,” he said and lowered his head as he said the last part.
“Guidance with what?” I asked him.
“Who to align myself with, who I can trust and who to stay away from. I’ve read the accounts of what Albert did in Springfield and that’s not something I want to be associated with. I know you don’t trust easily, neither do I, but I’m stuck with no knowledge of this lair I’m taking on and I have no idea how deep Albert’s roots were with his members,” Johnathan said.
“We didn’t find any evidence that his members knew what he was up to, did you bring your own second?” I asked him.
“No, I don’t have a second at this point,” he said.
“What about your bonded half?” I asked him.
“She died two years ago,” he said and I could see the loss and misery in his eyes.
“The best advice I can give is to trust your beast, he won’t steer you wrong and mine senses that your beast is good, interview the former higher ranking members, get to know the people of your lair, get involved with the businesses, show them what you want to do with that lair, they will learn to trust you if you work in good faith. Your beast will also let you know who you can trust,” I said to him.
“Is that what you did here?” he asked me.
“Basically yeah, I changed the lair’s laws, lowered their taxes and pushed all that money back into the lair businesses, I gave back to the members and I showed them that I kept my promises,” I said to him.
“This is going to sound really fucked up but I have to ask you, is there an unmarked female in your house?” he asked me suddenly as his eyes flashed yellow.
“Why do you ask?” I asked him feeling on edge.
“My beast says there’s a woman here in need of protection, he feels protective over her and I can smell her scent which is odd because I’ve already met and lost my bonded half, we don’t get second mates,” he said with a frown.
Megan opened the office door without knocking and Johnathan stood up when I did. Megan was carrying a tray with coffee and muffins. I walked over to her and took the tray as I thanked her.
“Sorry, Johnathan this is Megan, my bonded half,” I said as I put the tray down on the table.
“Hello Johnathan,” Megan said with a smile.
“A pleasure to meet you,” he said as he bowed his head towards her but made no other move. I liked that about him.
“Sit down for a minute Megan, you’re going to want to hear this,” I said to her as she closed the office door and sat down next to me.
“Okay,” she said and looked at me.
“You know Johnathan, I bonded with another girl in high school, she used dark magic to copy the bond so when Megan turned seventeen she felt me die, we’ve known each other for a long time but when we actually became friends my beast recognized her as our true bonded half,” I said to him.
“You’re very lucky then,” he said to me.
“Yes but I do believe that we get blessed or cursed depending on our nature and the nature of our beasts and how we treat them,” I said to him.
“Meaning?”
“What if this woman your beast is recognizing is like a second chance bond for you and her?” I asked him.
“What’s going on?” Megan asked me.
“Johnathan asked me if there’s an unmarked women in the house because he keeps smelling a woman that his beast recognizes as needing protection,” I said to her.
“Oh wow, do you think…” her voice trailed off.
“So there is a woman here in need of protection?” he asked me.
“You could say that,” I said to him.
“Ry, he should stay for dinner and meet Shelley,” Megan said as she looked at me.
“I wouldn’t want to impose on you longer than I have,” he said.
“Nonsense, this is how alliances are forged Johnathan, but it also depends on how open minded you are,” I said to him.
“Why?” he asked looking skeptically at me.
“Shelley arrived a few days ago, beaten up by her bonded half,” I said to him and I saw a flash of anger in his eyes.
“I assume you’ve already handled him,” he said to me his voice on edge.
“The motherfucker ran, but Shelley’s also pregnant,” I said to him.
“Oh,” he said and leaned back in his seat.
“Maybe that’s why your beast is feeling protective,” Megan said gently as she watched his face.
“I think I will accept your invitation for dinner,” he said.
“Great, I’ll go inform the kitchen,” Megan said as she stood up and left the office.
“What is your beast telling you?” I asked him.
“He feels that we can trust you, your beast has already reached out to mine, he’s also telling me that there’s a bastard out there that needs to die,” he said.
“Yeah we’re going to get along just fine,” I said with a smile.
We spoke for another hour about business and I decided that I liked Johnathan and Abeloth agreed. He told me that his beast was open and sincere and that Johnathan was pure of heart and his beast’s desire to protect Shelley was real.
“Let’s go eat, I’m sure Megan’s already prepared the guest room for you,” I said to him.
“I was planning on booking into a hotel, so thank you I accept your generosity,” he said as I led him to the dining room.
“Everyone this is Sire Johnathan Thomas from Springfield, he recently took over the lair, that’s Link my second and his bonded half Emily who’s also my cousin and this is Shelley,” I introduced them all.
“Thank you for having me,” he said and took a seat opposite Shelley.
“What’s for dinner?” I asked Megan.
“Vegetarian lasagna,” she said and Johnathan and I both looked at her in horror.
“You’re kidding right?” I asked her as she smiled innocently at me.
“Emily and I decided that we need a more organic diet so we’ll be trying out more vegetarian dishes,” she said to me.
“Kill me now, Johnathan I think I forgot to go show you our borders,” I said as Johnathan laughed softly.
“Don’t you dare go to the diner!” Megan said as she glared at me.
“I’m not eating any vegetarian shit,” I said to her as she took the lids off of the dishes and started laughing as I sighed in relief.
“No swearing at the dinner table,” Emily said to me.
“I was on the verge of making up an excuse to go home,” Johnathan said as I smiled.
“She likes to test my patience,” I said and I saw him glancing at Shelley a few times.
“No comment,” Link said as he looked at me.
“Keep it that way I have a lot of dirt on you,” I said to him as he laughed.
“Yeah and I’ve got nothing on you right,” he said and Megan put her fork down.
“Oh really? Is there something else I don’t know,” Megan asked Link.
“Yeah Link is there?” I asked as I gave him a death stare.
“Nope, nothing,” Link said as he started eating and we all laughed.
Dinner went well as we joked and laughed and Johnathan kept looking over at Shelley. I could see she was a bit uncomfortable with it so I tried keeping the conversation light and get Johnathan to talk more. All in all I’d say I was successful as everyone else also seemed to like him.
“Did Sophie make apple pie for dessert?” Shelley asked.
“No, she made chocolate cake,” Megan said.
“I keep smelling apple pie,” she said as she closed her eyes and seemed to sniff the air.
“Maybe it’s the baby hormones,” Emily said as I smiled at Megan.
“Okay I’m just going to say it,” I said as Johnathan looked at me. “Shelley, Johnathan’s beast recognized your smell not long after he arrived at the house, he feels an intense need to protect you and you’re smelling apple pie because that’s probably Johnathan’s scent that’s luring you in. As strange as it sounds I think you’re both getting a second chance at something here.”
“What?” Shelley asked with wide eyes.
“He’s right, I can’t explain it but I don’t feel like I can leave here without you. I can feel you’re afraid and I can feel that it’s not me or them and I’d like nothing more than to kill the bastard that hurt you,” Johnathan said.
“But I’m pregnant,” she said.
“I know and I don’t care,” he said as he looked at her.
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