Without missing a beat, he retorts, “I could make out with the mage to speed up the process of my entrance exam if you’d like.”
Malcolm and Kasen scowl, shoving away from the table and joining me as I head for the couch. Before I take a seat, I backpedal before Kasen’s small slip can get buried under everything else going on.
“Since we’re all about calling people out now, what was with the look you shot Malcolm when he mentioned everything that’s happened?” Kasen does it again and I roll my eyes. “Yeah, that one.”
He releases a heavy breath and Malcolm quickly interjects. “Nothing you need to wor-”
Kasen reciprocates by cutting him off this time, pushing back for the first time. “Word got out that the mage had a secret wedding and the tabloids are having a field day. Caught a picture of us at the beach, but thankfully, your eyes look fully red in it so they’re thinking shifter.”
Heat creeps up my neck. “What sort of picture?”
Worry fades from his vivid eyes, replaced by amusement. “None of that, no worries. The three of us getting out of the car before we set foot on the sand.”
I sigh heavily in relief before addressing Malcolm. “I’m not going to make a thing about it because I get I was a mess with the Kasen debacle and you didn’t want to pile this on too. But from here on out, even if it’s nothing I need to worry about because you have it handled, if it pertains to me in any regard I’d like to know, please.”
I can feel his relief like a tidal wave. “Deal. And before you ask, PR is working on an official statement to release to the press. They don’t have a full scope of the situation, I just made it clear that I don’t want anyone digging into you or bothering your family, so lessen the mysterious appeal with whatever dull, boring story they think will work.”
My eyes close as it dawns on me and I see exactly why he couldn’t tell me when I was already an emotional wreck. They have a picture of me. Even if my eyes are different and I have a fake maiden name, my first is still the same. And now, ‘Scarlett Drake’ and my picture are being plastered on the news. Even if it’s only gossip channels, I can’t hope it’ll stay strictly local when Malcolm is, well,Malcolm Drake.
Which means it’s very likely my brother is going to see or hear about it at some point.
“Fuck.”
Beck looks between all of us nervously. “What is it?”
Before I can slump into the couch, Kasen sits first. Resting his back against the arm and stretching one leg across the back cushions, he guides me to take the spot between his legs. When I follow along without resistance, his palms immediately fall onto my shoulders, fingers kneading the muscles and combating the tension trying to take up permanent residence in them.
“Her brother doesn’t know she survived the attack,” Kasen explains. “So while we might be able to get rid of the press, he won’t be as easily persuaded to drop it for the next interesting story.”
“You mentioned a lightning question round,” I deflect, getting us back on track because I need to get through the problems staring me in the face before I can entertain hypothetical ones. “It’s not a bad idea since there’s so much to address and we keep getting sidetracked. Sound good?”
Three various noises of agreement surround me, so I start us off with the first random thing that pops into my head. “How do packs usually operate? Since it’s clear we’re already having a power struggle here and now we’ve got another person to add fuel to the fire.”
Kasen replies, “Each one is different, same as any relationship. Some prefer keeping everyone at the same level and voting on issues that are up for debate, others lean into their strengths and handle a specific role. Such as the unofficial head of the family that mainly works and settles disputes, one that manages the finances, one that keeps the house up and running; that sort of thing.”
Beckett continues where Kasen leaves off. “And some prefer clearly defined rank; an official alpha that carries the burden of decisions, the others seconds in command to help enact them, content with letting someone else make the hard calls and give them a sense of direction.” A hand touches my ankle and my eyes fly open, finding Beckett sitting cross legged on the floor next to me. “And the center that they revolve around, their driving force that makes any of those decisions even necessary.”
Glancing at Malcolm situated on the couch near my feet, he gives me a small smile of silent encouragement to ask anything without judgement. Choosing to table this one for now, because I know however ours would organize itself would be through organic trial and error instead of establishing it outright, I move onto the burning question.
“And the... relationship part?” At his furrowed brow, I decide to hell with it and that I might as well go for broke at this point. “How’s the sex side of things work? Would this be three separate relationships in the same house and being careful when the others are around so no one gets upset, or is this a gangbang situation that I need to prepare myself for?”
Kasen chokes on his own spit, Beckett crashes onto the floor clutching his side, howling with laughter, and Malcolm brings a hand up to smother his smile. Clearing his throat and schooling his features, my mage replies, "That's completely up to everyone's comfort level. It very well may be a case where someone prefers to keep that side of their relationship private behind closed doors-"
"And another would wholeheartedly volunteer to tag team me in the living room, got it."
Tears are pooling in the corners of Beck's eyes as he gasps for air, face turning red, and Kasen's massage threatens to leave me more bruised than relaxed, but I plow onto the next matter, embracing the beautiful concept of rapid fire Q and A.
"So mages find their fateds through a magic surge, and because of everything your friend's geneticist discovered, it makes sense that vampires mirror shifters in the scent aspect to find theirs." At Malcolm's nod to continue, I rush out, "So does that mean we're only... half mated?"
He cocks his head. "What do you mean?"
Leaning into Kasen's touch, I hitch my thumb over my shoulder to pawn off the blame. "He said shifter claiming bites don't fade. Yours still fade within a couple of days after I feed from you. So did I mess it up? Is there a specific way that I'm supposed to mark you?"
His eyes widen like the idea never even crossed his mind until now. Giving himself a few minutes to think, he muses aloud, "I don't think so. There's been an uptick of people finding their fated mates in humans, and they have no way of marking their mates. And first and foremost, you were human, so it would make sense that while vampires mirror some shifter attributes, they'd still parallel some human ones."
His eyes light up as a thought suddenly occurs to him and he breathes, incredulous, "More humans are being claimed." Yanking his phone out of his pocket, he continues rambling out his hasty thoughts as he furiously types. "The more humans that mate with packs, the more the birth rate will shift from being so heavily skewed in their favor. The number of shifters and mages will rise as theirs declines, while still passing along the human genes until everything balances out."
Kasen interrupts, equally excited. "More humans will become sympathetic when it's their families involved in the issues, blurring the clear lines dividing the cities in the rougher parts of the country."
