I anxiously took a sip of my wine - which, of course, wasn’t wine at all. But the bright red color of the blood had been mixed with a drop of blue food dye to create a deep red, and it resembled wine enough that Benji didn’t comment on it.
Benji must have felt uncomfortable eating in silence while the rest of us looked on, so I turned to Margaret. “So, Mother, this is my friend Benji Foster. Benji, this is my mother, Margaret.”
Benji nodded shyly. “Hi. it’s nice to meet you.”
“And my other brother, the one you haven’t met yet, is Adriel,” I continued.
“Charmed,” Adriel said not unkindly as he shook Benji’s hand.
“And we already met,” Theo said with a grin, which quickly melted off his face when he glimpsed the sharp expression Margaret was wearing.
At this point, Benji had eaten most of the food on his plate, and with his hunger sated he went back to looking uncomfortable. He nursed a sip of his water. “So, um… Really nice place, Mrs. Tenebrae. It’s really beautiful.”
Margaret’s eyes widened, and Benji suddenly looked like he wished he hadn’t said anything at all. I decided to interject before things took a turn for the worse.
“Mother, Benji doesn’t yet know the reason I’ve brought him home tonight,” I said. “I thought it would be nice of us to explain.” I turned to Benji with a pointed glance. “And if he doesn’t agree to the conditions, he’s free to leave.”
From the other side of the hall came a low sound, too quiet for any human to hear, but my brothers and I definitely caught it. Margaret was growling with displeasure. She likely didn’t agree with the way I insisted that Benji was here of his own free will.
But that was not a point of contention for me. She was not going to keep this innocent man captive, no matter how badly we needed an heir.
“Um… What’s going on?” Benji asked.
“Pierce,” Adriel said gently, “I think you should explain the truth to Benji.”
I nodded in understanding, then turned to Benji, whose eyes were as wide and confused as saucers.
“Benji,” I began, bracing myself for his refusal, “the truth is, we need an heir from a human omega, or we will all perish. Will you consider being the one to save us?”
5
Benji
I dropped my fork - and it clattered, decimating the silence - again.
“Wh-what?”
Pierce gazed at me imploringly. “You are under no obligation to commit to this right now. If you’d like, I can offer you a room to stay the night and you can sleep on the offer.”
“Wait, uh - what?”
Theo leaned in and murmured to Pierce, “I don’t really think he gets it.”
“Shall I explain it again?” Pierce asked.
I blinked slowly, feeling like time had slowed and that I was dreaming. “Yes?”
Pierce spoke again, gently, as if talking to a child. “We need an heir, Benji, one that can only come from a human omega. You will be robustly compensated, of course. In addition to the sum total you’ll receive for agreeing and carrying a child to term, no expense will be spared on your behalf. Simply ask for something, and you’ll have it.”
“Did you…” I shook my head, closed my eyes, and when I opened them again nothing had changed. “Did you sayhuman?”
Pierce paused, and spoke the following word softly, like it could shatter glass if uttered too loud. “Yes.”
My throat turned to dust. “Um… Are you - not - ”
“No, Benji,” Pierce said, “I am not human. Neither are my brothers, or my mother.” He smiled gently. “But we mean you no harm, I swear it.”
The old Victorian-style mansion. The nonchalance about the bats. The lack of food on the table, the fact that Pierce rarely seemed to blink or breathe, the darkness in every single room and lack of mirrors anywhere -
