“Ben, get your mate out of my face before I ask Chand to put him in a box. I certainly wasn’t sucking up. I was honoring the Skeleton Seven.”
From the moment Alaric had made it his mission to find the missing sentinels in the compound, he’d treated Cassius and the other men in the Skeleton Seven with the utmost respect. It was the mark of an honorable leader, and Cassius was always proud to be a sentinel. It was one aspect of a nearly perfect life. The only thing missing was the mate he was anxiously awaiting. As he did so often, Cassius sent a wish to Fate to stop any further delay. He wanted love and hoped his other half enjoyed being part of the Darays, because he never wanted to leave these incredible men.
Chapter 5
With the help of Brynnius, Victor Antonov was making popcorn and setting out sweet treats lovingly baked by the Skeleton Lord in preparation for their scary movie night. Around him was the festive atmosphere of any weekend at the Daray household, but the talk centered around their upcoming party. Victor was so excited, he could hardly stand it. Although he grew up in a large family, he hadn’t been happy until Baxter and Benton had taken a chance on him by hiring him only months after his eighteenth birthday to keep their home clean.
Back then, they’d lived in much more cramped and—if he were honest—hideous quarters, and there were fewer men under the roof, but there was an undercurrent of understanding right from the start. It had only taken Victor a few days of pushing boundaries to realize that no one was going to shame him if he painted his nails or added eyeliner. He loved the Antonovs, but his parents and siblings tolerated him at best.
He was too brash, too loud…too much of everything. It was an extension of their unwillingness to handle his sexuality with any kind of respect. In their belief, if Fate paired you with the same sex, you accepted that and were obligated to bind your blood. However, it was best if you chose to deal with any physical desires with someone else of the “correct” gender.
The irony was, Victor had never even been with a man. He’d simply had a need to announce who he was to the world. Flirtatious as he might be, Victor wanted romance. He wanted to be charmed by candlelight, flowers, and poetry. Only his mate would do for those things, and Victor would wait as long as it took to find his other half.
Victor hadn’t allowed the prejudice of the Antonovs to change who he was. He wore his shorts higher and his hair streaked with colors just to prove to them he would always be himself. But it hurt, and there was many a night that he’d cried himself to sleep. So, while he did his duty as a son and showed his face on holidays, his true family was the Darays.
However, it hadn’t always been that way. Although Victor was growing to feel as if he were part of something special, after Chander had his massive heart attack the Arch Lich had sprouted wings and kicked him out with no explanation. Furious and indignant, Baxter and Benton had found him refuge at Evergreen’s house.
At the time, Evergreen was Chander’s office manager, though he now performed those duties for the Sentinel Brotherhood. Evergreen had welcomed Victor with open arms as had Dudley, the sentinel who lived with him. The pair had become friends, with Evergreen taking the role of his bestie. Though he and Victor shared a similar personality, Evergreen had parents who hugged him often and thought nothing of anyone’s sexuality.
Not wanting to be a burden, Victor had searched for work, but as a young guy with minimal experience and his only previous job resulting in termination, the pursuit had been fruitless. It was a no-brainer for Victor to accept Alaric’s offer of re-employment when he’d been separated from Chander. At first, Victor was scrubbing the floors of a massive, luxurious condo that housed no one. Alaric spent his days and nights at the prison the sentinels had called their compound until he and Chander finally mended their fences.
Along with the pair, Victor had the company of not only Baxter and Benton but five skeletons. They were to Victor like kittens exploring their surroundings—brave enough to want to explore but cautiously moving forward so they didn’t run into danger. Their flesh eventually returned, and Grymington—who was resurrected by the former Arch Lich Sigimund Roth, who’d done everything to make Chander’s life a living hell—joined them as well. Sigimund was an evil fuck, but it had no bearing on his spell to create the Lich Reaper, and Victor adored Grymington and his dog, Hekate. It’d taken some cajoling, but eventually Victor had even started traveling to D’Vaire with everyone once a month to spend the weekend. Victor had wanted to slap himself for holding out so long, because there he’d added to his cache of loved ones.
Years after making his own leap of faith, Victor had zero regrets.Well, perhaps one. Without any experience around sentinels, he had hugged Alaric unaware that his people did not invite touch. It wasn’t a mistake Victor made again. Sentinels were unique, and Victor didn’t pretend to understand how their minds worked, but he loved them all the same. These incredible men with unparalleled honor trusted him, and it meant the world to Victor.
He respected them and the fierce necromancer that had on one occasion believed Victor was the type of man who’d try to steal his mate. He held none of that against Chander now—he’d made a mistake but had given him an earnest apology. That was more than enough for Victor, and he’d grown to admire him as much as anyone else in the house.
Which was why it was no surprise to Victor that Chander had no compunction whatsoever in keeping the secret of the giant crown the necromancer made for the Russian Blue shifter’s All Hallow’s Eve costume, even from Alaric. Victor had purchased the most glorious pink fabric to make his version of a Cinderella dress, which he’d designed himself. It was entirely too short for any children’s movie, but Victor wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to show off his toned legs or the fabulous spiked heels he’d found, covered in glittery crystals.
“Are we having company?” Ducarius asked as he snagged one of the bowls off the island to carry into the living room.
Victor laid the last cupcake on the plate and licked off the tiny bit of frosting that was left behind on his finger.No one baked like his Brynn. “Not that I know of, did you invite someone?”
“No.”
“Why did you ask about guests?” Brynnius inquired as he grabbed the platter of blondies and brownies.
“Maybe because you guys have so much food out,” Chander remarked as he joined them, and his eyes widened as he surveyed the enormous spread of snacks.
“Did we overdo?” Victor asked Brynnius as he took in the half dozen plates and three bowls.
Brynnius shrugged. “It’s not like we won’t eat it all.”
“I don’t want any hyper sentinels,” Chander stated as he grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and handed them out to the men surrounding him.
“Oh no, thank you,” Victor said when Chander offered him a bottle. “I made myself a mojito.”
Picking up his glass, Victor wandered to the living area of the great room, where everyone was getting comfortable. He chose a plump chair in a rich brown and tucked a teal cushion behind his back. Setting his drink down after a sip, Victor snagged one of the blankets someone had plucked from the large chest that served as their coffee table before it’d become their little buffet. He took a plate and piled on a couple of brownies and a cupcake, then snuggled under the soft fabric of his covering.
“How did you guys decide on which movies we’re watching tonight?” Chander asked as he sprawled across Alaric’s lap.
“I called Del and told him to recommend the scariest ones he likes,” Baxter revealed. High Arcanist Delaney the Dark was a resident of D’Vaire and an avid horror movie buff.
Chander made a sound of assent, and the room quieted as the lights were turned off. The giant screen above their fireplace came to life, and Victor gave his attention to it while he tried not to moan over how good his cupcake was. Normally when they gathered to watch movies, they opted for comedies or romances.
For many in the room, life had treated them cruelly, and the sentinels preferred to focus on the happy, which Victor could wholeheartedly endorse. If the world would not relent, Victor wanted the escape of having his heart filled with laughter or warmth. So, he wasn’t familiar with many horror flicks but as the movie played on, Victor found himself rather bored.
In his estimation, the characters were making stupid decisions, but he supposed that was part of the draw as the sentinels around him were muttering, which meant they’d gotten sucked into the script. As for Victor, he was wondering if anyone would notice if he pulled out his phone to see if he’d gotten any new texts from Evergreen, when Brynnius hopped to his feet.
