Page 57 of Only You, No One Else

Caster smiled. His father had told him of that particular formidable Prime Alpha. Caster had never had the privilege, but anyone who aroused so much respect in both Marcus and his father was worth knowing. “What was he like?”

“Grandpa?”

He nodded, riveted by his need to know everything about Mark.

“He was the best. Scary, like Dean, when he needed to be, and tough sometimes, but I was loved. My parents weren’t there a lot, so my days were spent with my grandfather in council meetings. When I was younger, they seemed like a punishment, but after his death and Dean’s ascension, I realized…”

“He was preparing you to be your brother’s right hand.”

Mark nodded, a warm smile on his face, the image of his grandfather prominent in his unguarded mind. “He made me… me, I guess.”

“And your mother? She was his daughter?”

The warmth of Mark’s smile diminished, a slight tick in his jaw the only indication of his tension. “Yes. She was formidable.” His smile returned. “Didn’t back away from a fight. Dean is a lot like her.” That smile and the wonderful images it brought to his mind faded into the subdued grief that had been present before he started talking about his grandfather. “Caster, if Amelia is right, I was awful to her. I need her to forgive me.”

Caster could hear the tears Mark held on to in that declaration. “Why, what did she say?”

The question landed as intended, drawing Mark away from his emotions and into logic. “She said they had mistranslated a prophecy…” Mark shook his head. “I’m not sure I understood most of what she said, but my mother thought that by staying close to me, loving me, my Magicae Lupus would be activated and Ethel would find me.”

It was Caster’s turn to battle his emotions. “But it was not her love. It’s me…”

Mark nodded.

“Do you trust Amelia? I don’t know a lot about her. Riley refuses contact with most witches, and I’ll admit my short-sightedness in following his lead on this.”

“She felt familiar. Like my wolf knew her. I felt safe with her.” He sighed. “She says my mother made her erase those memories, but my wolf remembers.”

Caster nodded. “Then I wouldn’t blame yourself, my love. You were a child, and the adults in your life should have known better.” Then he shook his head. “Actually, it sounds like they did. She gave you to the one person she knew would prepare you for the long road your destiny called for.”

Mark nodded. “But I hated her.” He closed his eyes, the tension in his body, one Caster could feel even in the tiny distance separating them, growing. “I just wanted her to love me as much as I loved her. As much as she loved Dean.”

Caster reached for his hand again. “Sounds like she did.” He waited for Mark to open his eyes and acknowledge that conviction with a nod. “Did Amelia tell you how she died?”

He shook his head. “My father said she’d just slipped away, and my hatred wouldn’t let me find out more.”

Caster nodded. “Then that’s where you start. Let Amelia tell you everything about her. Get to know her again. It's all you can do.” He squeezed his hand. “What was her name?”

Mark’s smile, the bright one from before, returned. “Beatrice, or as my grandfather insisted on calling her, Little Trixie.” He chuckled, the images in his mind and the levity of his emotion bringing a smile to Caster’s lips. “She was his youngest. She had two brothers, but they both died young.”

“During the war?”

“No. Before. That’s why the whole community is so devoted to Dean. For a time, there was the real fear my grandfather would die without a designated heir. The chaos that would unleash…”

Caster frowned. “I thought Prime Alpha was an earned position, not inherited.”

All sadness and tension fled, and Mark sat up. “Well…yes. But the title often stays in the same family because…” He looked bashful, almost as if he had a secret he shouldn’t reveal.

“What?”

He sighed. “Let’s hope Dean won’t kill me for telling you this. You see that ability that Dean has. The way he controls everyone…” He shrugged. “…when he wants to. That is an inherited trait. If it shows up in a child, that child has the potential to be Prime Alpha. But he or she still has to earn it.”

“And your uncles or your mother didn’t have it?”

He shook his head. “For a second there, they thought my grandfather would be the last. He was immortal, but even I could see that he was getting very tired of it all and he’d been Prime for too long.”

Caster understood the need to keep that information guarded, and he was thankful that Mark felt him worthy of the secret.

“What did you mean by Riley doesn’t like most witches?”