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Chapter Seventeen
Zander
The knowledge I was Alex’s son was comforting in some obscure way.It might seem weird since we were once competitors, friends, co-workers, rivals, and then friends again, but it just made sense.
I wished that he were still alive so that I could tell him that, but unlike my death, his was final.It made my blood burn that I had witnessed it and hadn’t done anything to stop it.Of course, if I had tried to step in, I would be dead too.Had Portage known he was my father?Is that why he made me watch?
I buttoned my shirt as I stared into the mirror, studying my blue eyes.The blue eyes that Kristin had loved so much throughout her life.I smiled as I thought about the date that we were going on tonight.
If we were out of here, I would have taken her back to the VMF house.I wondered momentarily if that still stood and who was living in it now if it did.Or maybe I would take her to Eagle Glen Lake.We could sit on the pier and watch the stars like we had so many years before.Perhaps she would have preferred to go to my beach house and sit in the sand along the shore and listen to the waves.
But we weren’t out in the world; we were confined to this compound, and I was going to have to do the best that I could.With the help of Gabriel, Garrett, and Clayton, I hoped that I could give her a nice relaxing night.
The biggest obstacle was doing it without interruption from Hugh.In the last week, I know that Kristin and Hugh had not spoken but a few words, and that was only when she sent word that she needed to feed.He had even moved out of her room and was living in a small vacant apartment on the sixth floor.It was a quarter of the size of her apartment, but he obviously didn’t care.
Most people gave him a wide berth, but there was much chatter that the mistress and her mate were not residing together.It was hard to hide that fact in this location.
He remained gruff and bitter and snarled at people, but I knew that he was also going through the female population quite rapidly.There was a lot of talk about that too.Just last night, I know that Novah was seen coming out of his room—again.
I had asked Garrett if he was still seeing Novah, and he assured me that he had no genuine interest in her.He had been using her to pass the time.He was aware that she was only after power, as she always brought up the future with him as the master.Garrett was not interested in leading anytime soon and started putting more distance between them.As far as I knew, he hadn’t spoken to her since she’d had sex with Hugh the first time.
After finding out that Garrett was my half brother, Garrett and I began to spend more time with one another.He asked a lot of questions about my life as Julian and also Zander.I answered them all and knew that his interest was not for vindictive purposes but to learn about me and our history.
I also shared many stories about our father, the good and the bad of what we experienced.He had a strong interest in everything that had to do with his mother, and I related the story of Calista in detail and the finding of Kristin many years later.
Garrett and I had a bond that I knew would only grow stronger by the end of the week.We both wondered if we’d ever meet Corbin and if he would want to know us.Personally, I thought it would be wonderful to have contact with another half brother.
There was a knock on the door to my apartment, and I called out to Gabe to come in as I entered my cozy living room.
“Everything is all set.”
“Great, what about Hugh?”
“I’m sure he will be occupied, but if he shows up, just give me a shout, and we will come down and get rid of him.”
“Alright.”I inhaled deeply and released it slowly.
“You nervous?”Gabe laughed as he asked.“The great Jul-Zan is nervous?”
I gave him a funny look.“Jul-Zan?”
He shrugged.“Yeah, Julian and Zander together.Sounds better than Julder, or Zanian, don’t you think?”
I cracked up laughing.“Yeah, it sounds better, but let’s just stick to Zander.”
“Fine, but I think Jul-Zan is pretty awesome.It sounds like a superhero, like Shazam!You remember him?”
“Not personally,” I joked with him as I glanced at my watch.Since we had come into the compound, I had turned off my phone.We had no signal here, so I had started wearing a watch so that I knew the time.“Isn’t Olivia about to wake up?”
Gabe looked at his wrist.“Oh, yeah, she is.I better get back there.Have a good night, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Pfft, that doesn’t leave me muchnotto do.”I grinned at him as he waved goodbye and left.I took another couple of breaths to try to help me calm down.Yes, I was nervous.Kristin and I were taking a step toward something.I knew we both wanted something, but we needed to avoid jumping into anything rash.
I would not allow this mating to go as the last one did.Hence the reason I had asked Isaac to listen carefully.If things seemed to be getting a little out of hand, he was supposed to interrupt us.I knew how easy it was for Kristin and me to lose ourselves in each other.
While Isaac had said he would, he also hinted that it wouldn’t be a bad idea if things did go a step too far.I told him that he was only saying that because he didn’t like Hugh.He didn’t deny it or say anything else.
I let myself out and headed toward her room a few floors down.As I rounded the corner, I found Isaac standing against the wall outside her apartment, looking tense and not happy as he shifted from one foot to the other.
