“Then it appears it may be yours if you can get me the appropriate death certificates and the firm handling the estate.” Marquis pulled his phone from his ear, put it on speakerphone, and sent a few emails, forwarding them to the Penumbra coven’s lawyer. A conflict of interest? Certainly. But who cared? Mages had their own laws.
“All sent. Now, what trouble had my brother wrought upon you?” Marquis settled on a nearby bench outside of the community center. The scent of long-abandoned fire still hung around the place. It’d be destroyed on the morrow, where the shadows of burned corpses still lay.
“The entire family harassed us for years for access to their funds, but only a certain amount was permissible to be given per year to them. So many threats and calls.” The man sighed heavily. “The trust cannot be dissolved and no more than 4 percent can be withdrawn per annum. But the problem is, it’s grown exponentially, and that 4 percent is sizeable.”
Marquis didn’t balk at the numbers, but they were sizeable. Likely, their father had guarded it against Baron before he passed. “The legal documents for the original trust should say that if it were to fall into my hands, that situations would change.”
The man on the other end, who likely had someone driving him, rifled through his phone, periodic padded taps breaking through the silence and din of traffic. “I think… Strange. How old are you, sir?”
“You called Baron Mage Eclipse.” Marquis cleared his throat. “But I have paperwork that lists me as a fourth of my name, if that helps.”
“I-I see.” The older male was informed enough. “I have heard certain things. People talk. You are whom one approaches about the Magi, I assume?”
Marquis swore internally. “I can put you in contact with Nelson, who leads that front. As a mage, I am not uniquely qualified to represent Magi. Magus Nelson handles all of that and will be happy to communicate with you regarding your needs and desire to collude.”
A hopeful noise piped free of the speaker. “Understood. And… Wish. The business with all of this. There… There is a matter of money owed to my associates.”
“We’ve made adjustments to the formula and have fairy dust instead. Much healthier and better to wean people from wish,” Marquis explained and offered a free supply to aid their transition, and agreed to settle the debt owed. In cash. Legally.
The man on the other end let loose a sigh so long and ragged that Marquis could hear a dozen blood pressure medications being flushed down the toilet, unnecessary. And with promises made, Marquis sent another email with Nelson’s contact information and bid the male farewell.
A notification popped up from Helena, the coven’s resident matron. She’d companioned Mads while he’d been gone. Marquis opened the text and read.
Mads is picking at his food and restless. I’m no midwife, but I would return home sooner rather than later. Also, he’s scratching at his line a lot.
Marquis took a calming breath and flagged down Izohr.
“Councilman?” Izohr greeted him with a wicked smile—likely someone had already spoke to him through the grapevine or he’d guessed.
“I’m heading out. We have the paperwork we need, and Mads is nesting.” Marquis tucked his phone away and stared up at the too-blue sky. “Do me a favor and tell Rexford and Midnite to be on their way.”
Izohr saluted Marquis and grinned. “Here’s to second chances at happily ever afters.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mads
The male before him bowed his head in shame a lot. His partner, another polar bear, stood by Victor’s side, comforting him in a superficial sort of way, jealousy clear in his every glance. Mads was evidence that there’d been another person in his life before, an omega, thenaturalway. Sikko, he’d been introduced as, and seeing the name written on paper made it feel a little edgy, but its pronunciation and meaning were different. In their native dialect, it was a variant of the wordice. It fit him, his silvery-white hair and pale eyes. Victor, who’d been raised in a mixed sloth, had features of the polar bears, but bore traits of mixed blood. It was sheer accident his shifted form was polar bear, and had been celebrated.
Some males, as Sikko claimed, formed bonds with other alphas and sought to unite with a shared omega. They didn’t know if that was their eventual plan, but Mads was certain it would be. Whenever Mads spoke, though, Sikko seemed to not hear him or purposefully take his time responding. It hurt. It hurt enough, he was thinking of hinting to his father that maybe they should leave, cut their visit short.
Everyone was saying Mads would be due any moment. Any minute, he could go into labor, but his line had been itching and weeping for days and nothing had come of it. No contractions or splitting. Midnite’s pregnancy had needed the paste they used from the merfolk to speed things along, and Helena had threatened to use it. He wanted to, but the stress of the two mostly unknown males hovering about had Mads’s body on high alert.
Mads snuck past the kitchen that morning to seek the sun on their porch, looking up at the sky and warm sun peeking overthe tree line. The way it kissed his skin made him shiver with delight. “Hmmm, morning, birds. Morning, trees. Morning—” Mads hesitated as he caught a glimpse of white hair and icy eyes moving in the corner of his vision.Sikko.
“Apologies. Continue your commune with nature. I sought to do so myself, mage child.”
That irked Mads.Mage child.The polar bear never called him Mads or omega, never showed that level of respect that shifters usually gave them.
“I’ll head back inside. I don’t want to interrupt your alone time.” Mads turned to leave, but Sikko held up a hand, pale eyes pinning him to his spot.
“I am afraid I was dishonest. I actually wished to have a word with you.” Sikko, nearly seven foot tall and broad as a wall, sat on the porch and tucked his legs neatly, gesturing for Mads to join him nearby.
“If I sit down, I might not get back up anytime soon.” Mads rested a hand on his belly.
“I’ll offer you a hand if you permit. Your unease around me needs to be addressed.” Sikko patted the floor, the vibrations rolling through the porch.
Like a child, Mads came over obediently and groaned, taking Sikko’s offered hand to sink to the floor and sit with his legs butterflied out, a pose he was told would keep strain off his pelvis. Since an omega’s babe didn’t need to pass through his pelvis, he thought himself lucky.
