Prologue
Marcellus
Marcellus brought over another colouring book that he'd found on the kitchen table and large crayons for Mason's chubby little hands. He smiled up at him and babbled something before he reached out for the supplies. Marcellus' heart squeezed. How could he possibly be so adorable? He sat down cross-legged on the floor and spread out the art supplies.
"What are you going to colour today?" Marcellus flipped through the book. "Oooh, look, it's a puppy. A pup for a pup." He placed the book down in front of Mason, thoroughly amused with himself.
His nephew didn't get the joke, but that was okay. The kid was adorable. And he loved spending time with his Uncle Marcellus.
Cellus picked up one of the crayons and worked on a picture himself, so Mason had a colouring buddy. Or maybe the kid was his colouring buddy. Then again, his focus wasn't exactly centred on the colouring.
Marcellus looked up at Mason and softly smiled. He was just over a year old, and he was absolutely adorable. That's what he couldn’t stop thinking about. What he wanted—a family of his own. A little pup and a sweet mate. It was the only thing that had been constantly on his mind for months.
Not that anyone could blame him after seeing all his brothers find their mates and start their own families.
Cellus hadn’t realised how lonely he was until he had to return to an empty house every night, especially the nights he had dinner with his brothers and their broods. Being on his own was nothing new. He’d been living that way for a long time.
But being around all his happy brothers and their families… Cellus let out a breath. Man, it made him feel lonelier than ever.
At least before, all of them were mate-less. Yeah, the saying about misery loving company was true.
But now, they all looked as if they had found the missing puzzle pieces in their lives. It was like finding their fated mates really was a match made by the goddess for each of them. He rolled his eyes at himself. NotlikeMarcellus, that’s what it was, finding your fated mate was finding the missing piece of your puzzle.
And they were all from the same family. The goddess sure had a sense of humour. Marcellus shook his head and smiled at Mason, who tilted his head at him and babbled. "Isn't that insane? Mine is waiting for me. He just doesn't know it."
"What are you talking to my son about?"
Marcellus glanced up as his brother walked into the living room, ruffled his son’s hair, and plopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh. There was still a smile on his lips, though. Malek had gone into Liverpool for the day because they’d just bought four rundown properties that they planned to turn into student housing. Usually, Malek would stay the night, but being home was always his brother’s first choice. So, of course, he’d hurried back, and the exhaustion showed on his face. But Cellus could also see how happy Malek was to be home.
"I was just telling him that all of you have your mates, and here I am, still mate-less." He laid down his crayon and looked at his brother. "You all have a Baines brother. Where's mine?"
Malek shifted forward and rested his forearms on his knees. "Yours is probably going to be hard to find. You know he likes to just take off to any spot on the globe. Apparently, that's how Wes is."
Marcellus nodded, but he'd been keeping some things to himself. He knew where Wes was. In fact, he'd known for months. However, the man had been on assignment for some time, and he couldn't get to him. The alpha had kept an ear out, though, and he knew that Wes would be heading to an accessible location very soon. He had a plan to meet his mate and bring him back home where he belonged.
He wondered if Wes was going to want to be with him. If he would let himself feel their fated bond and come back with him. Marcellus frowned.
Well, if Wes ran, Cellus would follow. It had definitely worked for his brother Mik.
Rowan had tried burying his head in the sand after being burnt by a shifter, but Mikhail was patient and persuasive, and now they were happily mated, and they’d given him another gorgeous nephew.
"What's going on in your head?" Malek asked.
"Daddy!" Mason pointed at the picture and smiled up at Malek, intervening so Cellus didn’t have to answer that quite yet.
"It's a masterpiece!" Malek pushed a hand against his chest. "You're going to be an amazing artist one day."
Mason gave him a little grin and went back to working on his picture. It made Marcellus' heart ache. He was happy Malek was happy—that all his brothers were happy—but he wanted that for himself.
Marcellus could see it now. His cute little pup, just like Mason, and like Malek had been there for him, Mason would be there for his own child. His nephew would be there to protect and love them. They would be as close as he was to his brothers.
"Marcellus?" Malek tapped his shoulder. "Lost you there for a moment. Penny for your thoughts."
"Sorry." Cellus shook his head, but the image stuck with him. "I was just thinking about an omega and pup of my own." He nodded. "I'm going to go and bring Wes back where he's supposed to be."
Malek patted his shoulder. "Good luck, baby bro. I know you will." Malek chuckled. “Although I should warn you, those Baines brothers can be feisty.”
Marcellus sure hoped so. He was prepared to settle down and start his life. Both he and his wolf were more than ready for the love and warmth of their mate and family.
