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“There seem to be a lot more of them.”
“There were about two and a half billion people when you went to sleep. Now there are almost eight billion.”
Gideon’s eyes lit up. “Eight billion! Well. We will have to do something about that, won’t we. Thin the herd. Cull the meat.”
Maddox refrained from commenting on such a course of action. It was true that their food sources had become ubiquitous, but was that such a bad thing? A meal on every corner, or a couple hundred meals on every corner was not something to be dismissed lightly when one had known the pain of true hunger.
“I have missed you,” Gideon declared, clutching Maddox’s chin and using his grip to inspect Mads’ face with an intense stare that missed nothing.
“You were also missed,” Maddox said. It was not a good representation of his feelings, which were confused. He had not anticipated feeling anything positive upon reuniting with Gideon. His thoughts had been entirely on Will. Now they were split between Will and old needs he thought he had long ago outgrown.
“You are always so strange after my naps,” Gideon laughed as Maddox took a step back in order to put some distance between them. “I wonder if I shouldn’t have brought you with me as I used to do. You would sleep so sweetly. Watching you in the darkness of ages made the time pass without effort. You have always been such an exquisite creature, my little Madis.”
Maddox gritted his teeth and tried very hard not to remember his mortal incarnation. When Gideon used that name he was reminded of a time he had been weak and outcast, pained and broken. Gideon made the past feel very present, and Maddox did not care for that at all. He had become something much more modern and evolved since Gideon’s last rising. The world was moving faster and faster, a fact his maker was yet to come to terms with.
“You are stranger than usual,” Gideon commented. “I see strain and worry in your eyes. They make you look almost mortal. What is happening, Maddox? What trouble have you gotten yourself into?”
“Ray intimated you knew everything already.”
Gideon’s expression relaxed into an indulgent smile. Maddox knew the expression well. It was one he often wore on his own features when William was trying to lie to him. “You know I like to hear confession, Maddox. Especially when I hear my boy has been playing with rough dogs.”
It was inevitable that Gideon would ask about Will. Maddox had been thinking of little other than this moment from the time he’d been told of Gideon’s rising.
“Yes. I have a pet. What of it?”
“I hear he is more than a pet. I hear you are infatuated with him, that you have made him your mate.”
“He amuses me,” Maddox said with a light shrug.
“Does he.” Gideon’s eyes glittered. It was not a question. “I would like to meet him. I assume he is the scent you have smeared all over you, frail meat and ardent dog.”
“I do not think he is worthy of your attention,” Maddox said, attempting to flatter Gideon out of thinking about Will. It would be better to change the subject — but to what? Will was all he could think of, and Gideon knew it. Mad could hide very little from his maker. His thoughts were at times entirely visible to the one who had given him the gift of eternity.
“Bring him to me, Maddox,” Gideon ordered softly, but with authority. “I want to meet the trouble I see lurking in your eyes.”
“Please, Gideon. Can our reunion not remain private? Must I bring in every human and wolf whose acquaintance I have made in the last hundred years?”
“No,” Gideon said. “You need only bring me the one who has written his name on your soul.”
“I will get him for you, though the rumors are exaggerated.” Maddox acquiesced. There was no choice but to obey, though his legs felt stiff, his feet like lead. If he was to bring Will before Gideon, it might be the last thing he would ever do.
* * *
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Will understandably asked the question after Maddox came back downstairs, unknotted his tie, and proceeded to grab Will with the intention of tying it around his mouth. Will wriggled free before he could be preemptively silenced, but only just.
“Come back here and stay still.”
“No!”
“You’re going to meet Gideon. That is an experience few mortals survive, so I am going to gag you,” Maddox said. “I cannot risk you speaking to him. One word and he would destroy you.”
Will pushed the gag away as Maddox tried to push it toward him again. “You’re being weird. Just chill, alright? We’ll act normal, you’ll be an asshole, everything will be fine.”
“It will not be fine.” Maddox paused. “Maybe you should run. Now. Before he sees you. We can tell him you ran away.”
Will scowled. “I don’t like the way this guy makes you act. You’re Maddox. You’re powerful. Nobody scares you. Nobody threatens me while you’re there.”
