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Being the amazing brother that he was, Rafe naturally offered up his home to Marcus and Ethan while construction workers secured the house. Aiden went to stay with Winter, while Ryder and Gideon bunked with Lola. Jullien also stayed with Rafe and Philippe since the former leader was still feeling the loss of his clan.
Two nights ago was the first time Rafe had enjoyed his penthouse with only Philippe. All the little guests were gone, and it was heaven.
Tonight, most of them were back.
Rafe considered himself a people person. An extrovert. The life of the fucking party.
But now that he was settled with the one man he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with, he was happy to have the party move somewhere else.
With a soft chuckle, Philippe kissed the side of Rafe’s neck. “They’re not staying this time.”
Rafe grunted and turned away from the mirror, wrapping Philippe in his arms. He never in his life thought he’d have this. He’d been enraptured by Philippe from the first moment he saw him, but he’d fallen in love with his kindness, compassion, and seemingly endless patience. A definite plus when dealing with Rafe’s impulsiveness.
His life had changed with Philippe. The endless parties, drinking, and general debauchery were over. Well, there were some parties and drinking, but the debauchery had become focused on just Philippe.
They were still looking for Ming and Peter, but there had been no sign of them in Hartford. There was a good chance they’d already moved someplace they felt safer. Away from the MacPhersons, the Variks, and the annoying power struggles.
“Thank you,” Rafe whispered. He bent his head and brushed his lips across Philippe’s.
“For what?”
“Saving me.”
Philippe pulled his head back so he could easily look into Rafe’s eyes. His brow was furrowed, and those lovely lips were turned down in a small frown. “From what? I’m pretty sure you saved me and Jullien.”
“You saved me from a life of nothing. A life that meant nothing.”
Reaching a hand up, Philippe ran the tips of his fingers across Rafe’s cheekbone. “Your clubs have given a lot of people and vampires joy over the years.”
“Empty joy.”
“You’ve created an escape for them,” Philippe pressed. “A place for them to belong.”
“And you’ve saved me from myself. Given me purpose. Love.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. The schmaltz. It burns!” Winter cried from the open doorway.
Rafe glared at his youngest brother over Philippe’s shoulder, while Philippe laughed against his chest. “Be gone, Wee One. Or dear cupid might take aim at you next.”
“So very unlikely, dear brother. I think domestication is making your threats soft and weak. I wonder if Bel can whip up a pill for that.”
With a growl, Rafe lunged after Winter, but his brother was already running toward the main living room, his wild cackle echoing through the penthouse. Oh, he fucking prayed for the day his little brother was so properly domesticated. That was going to be a sight indeed.
Rafe grabbed Philippe’s hand and they walked into the living room together, where his family was already gathered. Marcus and Ethan were cuddled up close on the sofa, while Aiden had claimed one of the chairs. Winter had dropped into the chair opposite Aiden. Bel was standing near the open balcony door with a giant black raven resting on his shoulder. Fucking Ozzie.
“That black chicken goes outside!” Rafe shouted, pointing toward the balcony.
Bel released a heavy sigh and petted the raven’s head a couple of times before turning back toward the balcony. The raven cried once and took flight, disappearing into the inky night.
He worried about Bel. His twin seemed distracted recently, which was saying something since Bel always seemed distracted. But this kind of distracted came with a side of troubled, and Bel was rarely troubled.
The only clan members missing from the meeting were Lola, Ryder, Gideon, and Jullien, but all four were currently working at Blush and keeping each other out of mischief.
“I don’t understand why he likes you so much,” Bel muttered.
“Probably because he knows it annoys me,” Rafe said.
“You have no idea how happy I am to hand this nonsense off to you,” Marcus said with a sigh as he looked over to Aiden.
The older vampire smiled and shook his head. He did look happy to be there, in the middle of their bickering. But then, Aiden had missed so much over the years. He seemed a little more at peace than he had been in a long time.
“True, but you’re still dealing with the Ministry. Speaking of…”
The prompt brought them all back to the reason they’d gathered at Rafe’s. In a matter of a few months, the Variks had taken out two of the most powerful clans in all of the Americas. Yes, those clans had fucked with the Variks first, but there were few out there who would care about such details. It clearly looked like the Variks were making a move for more power, and the one group taking the biggest offense to that was the Ministry.
