Downs, Jana - Ravyn's Heart [Ravyn Warriors 2] (Siren Publishing Allure ManLove) (9 page)

* * * *

Ally was whistling a merry tune by the time he got back to Alex’s mansion where the Ravyns were staying. He glanced at the wall clock as he nodded to the sentries on his way to the tea room. The Ravyns would be taking breakfast there before morning workouts. He didn’t even bother going upstairs to change. The boys would find it amusing that he’d had to come home without his shirt.

“Hey, everybody!” he greeted, throwing open the French doors and sauntering into the room like he owned it. The two Shifters Alex had assigned as extra bodyguards tensed as the door swung open, only to relax when they saw who’d come through the door. Ally was always dragging in at odd times, usually right before the start of his shift with Salvatore.

“Hey, Ally-cat.” Druas returned his greeting cheerfully. The rest of his brothers were not morning people. He took a bite of his breakfast steak and grinned. “Did you have a good night?”

Ally returned the grin and plopped down beside Dageus. “Hell yeah. Best. Night. Ever.” He turned his head to Dageus and slapped him on the back. “And how was your night with Alex, my man?” Dageus’s nose twitched, and his whole body tensed. Ally frowned. “What’s—”

“Son of a bitch!”
Dageus barked, turning fully toward him and taking a long drag of his scent. “Son of a bitch!” He launched himself at the other Ravyn and knocked them both to the floor. He drew back his fist and let it fly. Dageus’s fist connected with Ally’s jaw.

“Ow!” Ally snapped, his shock finally fading. “What the hell, man?”

The other Ravyns were already on their feet and scrambling to separate them. Salvatore was shouting for Dageus to back the hell off, but Dageus was apparently hearing none of it. His fist collided again, crunching Ally’s nose this time.

Ally rolled to get Dageus off of him and came to a crouch with a growl. The better fighting position did nothing to better his mood. He didn’t understand what the hell Dageus’s problem was.

“You
slept
with him!” Dageus accused, elbowing Druas and ducking under Germany as they tried to corral him. He lunged at Ally again, but Tony grabbed his arm to restrain him. The leader of the Ravyns hauled him back and put a death grip on both of his arms, wrenching them behind his back. Dageus continued his rant, almost oblivious to the pain Tony was inflicting.

He looked like he pulled his arms out of socket as he wrenched away. Ally was ready for him this time. He dodged his fist and scuttled backward away from the fury of his best mate.

“I can’t believe you slept with him! He’s not a Goddamn toy, you son of a bitch!”

“Whoa…Ally-cat slept with a dude?” Germany wondered.

“Who the hell cares if he did?” Dru wondered. “He’s Ally-cat, for god’s sake. He sleeps with anything human enough.” They shared a snicker.

“Wait…was it Alex?” Ger asked with wide eyes. That may have explained why Dageus was so pissed, but Allasandro knew exactly why his brother was so angry with him.

“That’s not helping, you two,” Salvatore reprimanded. He stepped in between the two warring Ravyns.

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the pair of them. “What is your problem?” He directed the question at Dageus. Dageus pointed a finger at Allasandro.

“That stupid fuck slept with my dad!”

All of their mouths dropped open in shock. No one had seen that one coming. Ally felt his face heat as they all turned to look at him.

“No friggin’ way,” Druas murmured. They all started sniffing the air like hounds sniffing quarry.

“Yes. Yes, okay? I slept with Damian. I was actually going to tell you all today,” Ally admitted. Dageus snarled and started rumbling curses.

“Damn, my man. That is a line you shouldn’t have crossed.” Germany added his voice. He was the quiet one, so if he said it was so, it most likely was.

“We’re just having a fling.” Ally tried to play it off. “Nothing serious, just two guys getting off together. No big deal.”

“No big deal?
No big deal
!” Dageus started shouting again. “You know I was looking for someone real for him, Allasandro. Fuck! He’s my father, and he needs someone who he can spend the rest of his life with, not some fucking twink looking to get off. You’re not even gay!”

Ally felt his face heat in anger and shame. “I am real.” The words were whispered. “Besides, you don’t know I’m not gay.” The burst of bitter laughter interrupted the rest of his rehearsed speech.

“You fuck
everything
, Ally-cat. ‘Gay’ means you have a preference. You don’t give a damn what your partner’s sex is so long as you’re getting off.” The words cut deeper than they should have. “And you wouldn’t know ‘real’ if it bit you in the ass.”

Ally’s bottom lip trembled. Damn that hurt. Dageus was his friend. His best friend… “I thought you’d understand.” The words sounded choked.

“I understand that you can’t keep your cock to yourself. I understand that you betrayed my trust and went behind my back, not for a relationship but for a quick fuck. I understand that you and I are no longer on friendly terms because of your callous disregard of my feelings. I do not understand how the hell you thought I would be okay with this.” Dageus’s words were more effective than daggers to his heart.

“Dageus.” Salvatore’s voice cut through his tirade. “That’s enough. He knows you’re unhappy.”

Dageus turned away with a snort of disgust. “Fine. I’m done talking anyway. Tony, I’m sorry, but I’m feeling a little under the weather. Do you mind if I skip the workout?”

Tony shook his head. “You can skip out if you want to. You’ll just have to do it tonight after your rehearsal.”

“Fine.” He glanced at their Prince. “I’m going to my room. Later.” He didn’t even look at Allasandro.

As the door slammed shut, Ally managed to get himself into a chair. Breakfast was all over the floor and broken dishes were scattered amongst the mess. He hung his head and cupped it between his two palms. His eyes screwed shut in an effort to quell the tears that sprang to his eyes. He held his breath in an effort to suppress the sobs that were trying to escape. The others knelt beside him, touching him with understanding hands, comforting him when he didn’t deserve it.

“Stop,” he managed in a strangled voice. They hushed him, kissing his cheeks in turn and holding him close. These were his brothers, his family, his everything. That was what the Ravyns were. He truly believed that with everything he was.

“I just wanted him to understand,” he murmured as Salvatore reached out and started petting his hair in a soothing rhythmic fashion. “I didn’t know he would be so angry. I didn’t think…” He swallowed. “I offer penance to my brothers.”

“None needed,” Salvatore said easily. “You didn’t have the intention of hiding things from your brothers. Nor did you betray them with your pleasure. You may have made a mistake, but it wasn’t something that you could predict the consequences of.”

“I’d feel better if I could offer Dageus penance,” Ally said stubbornly. “I never wanted to hurt him.”

“That is between you and Dageus, Allasandro,” Salvatore reminded. “You two are the best of friends. You’ll work it out.”

Ally sure hoped so. He couldn’t stand the thought of never talking to his brother again. It would weaken the Ravyns’ bond and endanger the Prince. He sighed. He didn’t want to give Damian up, but… He didn’t want to lose his family. He glanced at each one of them in turn. He couldn’t be selfish and weaken the bond just for a fuck buddy. He couldn’t. He and Damian were done.

Chapter Ten

“You’ve reached Allasandro. Leave a message after the beep and I’ll holla back. Later.”
Beep.

“Hey, Allasandro, It’s Damian. You didn’t show up at rehearsal, but Kal did. Alone. I was wondering if everything is okay… I mean, you said you’d make plans, and yet, you’re not here… So, I suppose I shall call you later or, er, well, you can call me back or whatever you deem appropriate. Well. Good-bye.”
Beep
.

“Greetings, Allasandro, where the hell were you? It’s Santiago. Damian sounded like a dying milk cow singing his concerto tonight. You are supposed to be his muse. You are failing in your duties as that muse. Bye.”
Beep
.

“Allasandro, it’s Damian, again. Kal said you’d died when I asked where you were. I am assuming by the fact that there is no funeral scheduled that that was sarcasm. He must not have taken our…arrangement very well. Please, call me back. Please. I know this is bad, but I still…I need to see you. I need you. Please don’t let this go.”
Beep
.

“It’s been three days. Are you ever going to pick up the phone? Where are you? I was over at Alex’s yesterday, and everyone said you were gone, but you weren’t. I know you weren’t. Why won’t you talk to me? It’s just a phone call. You don’t even have to see me. Just…talk to me. Call me.”
Beep
.

A great miserable sigh sounded. “Two weeks. I get it. I won’t call anymore. I’m sorry. Have a good life, Allasandro…. See you around.”

Allasandro clutched his cell phone hard enough for the plastic to creak. The pain in the vampire’s voice cut at him. He didn’t know how much longer he could do this. He had stopped going out entirely. He’d stopped answering his cell phone. He’d
stopped
enjoying things. He felt like a part of his soul was missing.

“Hey, Ally-cat,” Dageus greeted as he walked through the door. He was taking over from the night shift that Ally had worked. Dageus had warmed considerably over the past few days.

“Hey.” His voice was hoarse. He hadn’t been sleeping well. Dageus searched his face for a moment.

“You okay? You look…rough.” His best friend touched his cheek, worry creased his forehead. Ally shook it off. He reached up and rubbed his neck over the spot where Damian’s bite marks had healed. He felt empty. So damn empty.

“I’m fine. Salvatore wants to uh…talk to you.” He rubbed his temples. He felt like his blood pressure was up or something.

“Something important?”

“Don’t know. He didn’t tell me what it was about. You still mad at me?” Ally wondered. He felt the bond between them thicken, and he experimentally reached out and gave it a push. It flared bright gold in his mind, and he felt his brother’s love echo back along the cord.

“You know I forgive you, and I’m sorry I yelled at you.” Dageus gave him half a hug as Tony barked at him to get inside to start his shift. “We’ll talk later.” Ally nodded and shuffled off.

* * * *

“My lord?” Dageus called. Salvatore was nowhere in sight.

“He’s in the bathroom,” Tony offered from this place on the other side of the fireplace. He pushed off the wall and walked up to the other Ravyn. “Heard you chitchatting with Allasandro. You two talking finally?”

Dageus nodded. “Yeah. I know he didn’t mean to hurt me, and I overreacted to it. He was just being Ally-cat. Besides, he fixed it. Now Damian can find someone who he can love.”

“That’s excellent news.” Salvatore added his voice to the conversation as he came out of the bathroom. “I’m glad you have made up with him because that is what I needed to talk to you about.” He motioned to the seat on the other side of his tea table. Dageus sat and nodded when Salvatore offered him tea. He was getting used to drinking the stuff with Alex around. Tony stood behind Salvatore’s chair, ever vigilant.

“You were going to talk to me about Ally?” Dageus asked. It was unusual that Salvatore interfered in their individual tiffs. The Ravyns were grown men, and he allowed them to work out things amongst themselves.

“Yes. I need the two of you to go on an errand for me, and I wanted to make sure you two were in accord so you could connect through the bond. The errand I’m talking about is rather dangerous, so I want you both prepared.” Salvatore took a sip from his cup.

Now he had Dageus’s attention. The Ravyns didn’t often go on missions, and they certainly didn’t go now that Desmond, the King of Demontia and Salvatore’s sworn enemy, knew where they were. Salvatore was too vulnerable to be without the Ravyns for any length of time. The last mission they’d been on was when they’d first arrived on Earth and had to find lodgings for their Prince.