Page 38 of Zodiac Beasts

Marcus was completely unfazed when I announced my presence. But of course he was. I was sure he’d sensed I was there a long, long time ago. If anything, that was probably part of his motivation to be so thorough.

Disturbing.

Apt, but disturbing.

“How long have you been standing there?” His question wasn’t remotely convincing.

“You already know.”

He laughed as he shrugged. “It sounds better when I pretend I don’t.”

“Lila’s safe and tucked in. We can drop the pretense. So what was it?” I insisted again. I didn’t have the patience for banter.

Marcus folded her shirt before laying it over his arm. “Turns out, the reason neither of us have ever triggered our transformation under the Taurus moon is because it requires Romance.”

We both scoffed in unison, and I was embarrassed to be so in tune with his reaction.

“I suppose that tracks for the Taurus. It also tracks that neither of us have ever even accidentally been romantic. It would seem that your relationship track record is as barren as mine.” I rolled my eyes, while he shook out her discarded leggings. He once again took his time neatly folding her clothing. I wondered if he put that much effort into his own laundry. “Careful, you’re going to trigger your shift again if you keep being so considerate.”

“Returning a lady’s clothing after she let you fuck her raw is the bare minimum of basic manners.” Marcus lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe Incubus don’t teach their sons that.”

“Spare me. You’ve drained multiple people to the point of death, human and magic alike, and I have thrice helped you dispose of the body. I don’t think you’re really in a position to lecture me on the most polite way to play with your food,” I reminded him.

Marcus gathered her discarded underwear next, while he nodded along, weighing that statement. “Fair point. I actually don’t have a good rebuttal for that. Your lack of social tact worked out in my favor anyway.”

“Do you want to talk about that? Because it’s pretty clear that your little power play, where you tricked her into consenting to your pact, wasn’t the one-sided game you’ve been pretending it is,” Before he could make some obtuse remark, I made sure to hammer home my point. “You realize that you’re in love with her, right?”

If I didn’t know better, it almost appeared that my Vampire half-brother… blushed. I did know better though, so it must have just been the lighting.

“The night of the Aries was a bit of a wake-up call.” Marcus muttered under his breath. He slowly traced his fangs with his tongue, like some kind of nervous tick. He stalled as he moistened his lips, drew in a deep inhale, then exhaled on a ten count. “I had control tonight,” he said, changing the subject.

Eyes wide, jaw slacked, I stared into his golden irises.

“You what?” I was too stunned to argue. I needed him to qualify that statement fucking immediately.

“I had full control, full consciousness, full everything. I was completely shifted, but it was my mind in my body, and tonight wasn’t some blacked out nightmare that flooded back to me when I shifted back.” Marcus didn’t mock my disbelief. He explained the whole thing calmly, with the same confusion I had painting every word. “Obviously I had to swap blood with her to complete the pact, but I don’t know if it’s my shifter blood grounding itself because I have a permanent mate, some side effect of mating between hybrids, or if it’s specifically because she’s the one I’m mated to.” He swallowed and looked away. “You know, it’s not often that I’ve resented my monster throughout my life, but I don’t know how to explain what it feels like to be able to have its power without losing myself to its will.”

Vulnerable. Marcus was being so candid and open, I barely knew what to say. “Is this the first time? Or were you conscious last month?”

“First time,” He confirmed. “Hopefully the first of forever.”

Those words damn near floored me for so many reasons.

“First of forever?” I spoke with impressive composure considering my mind was a maelstrom of pure chaos. “So you’re really all in on her.”

Marcus froze, his mouth hanging open, like he was catching up on his own thoughts. “Yes?” His question was directed at himself. “Yes.” He confirmed for me, once his own internal battle had been fought. The smile that crept across his lips was missing its usual arrogance and spite. “She’s… kind of everything I could ever want in another person. I’m not sure when I realized that, but it feels good to say it out loud. My motivation to seal the pact really had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with wanting to know if she shared my feelings.”

How cute.

And yet…

“That’s a shame.” I approached him with my hands in my pockets, then I stopped at his side and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Because however much I’d like to let you have your happily ever after, that little virginity and incubus problem you created means she’s still half mine until I complete and reject a pact with her.” Another pat. “It’s a good thing that you can read minds though. It’s best that you know exactly how often she’s thinking about me while you’re inside her.” I knew I was being needlessly cruel, but I wasn’t ready to play nice yet when I knew I didn’t have a choice to stay away from her forever. It was the teacher in me that wanted to teach him this lesson in petty revenge.

His expression shifted to something neutral but strained, and I could feel the sudden tension and surprise that ensnared his soul. I gave his shoulder one last pat, then I tipped my chin and extended the brown, fur-lined wings. My incubus was tainted by the Taurus, without Lila’s body to cancel out my transformation for the night. Yet another point that I’d still need to study.

Marcus remained quiet, staring ahead blankly, not offering any argument.

So I finished out the conversation for him. “Good chat. Glad we could clear that up.” I said, mimicking his earlier taunting. “Have a good night, Marcus.”