Chapter 10 – Imprint

Marcus and his family meeting together at night while his mate slept seemed to be becoming a regular thing as of late. He had just put Castiel to bed and was now lounging in the chair closest to the fireplace in Aro's office; he had the top two buttons of his shirt undone and his sleeves pushed up, allowing his proximity of the fire to warm his skin. Caius was lying on the couch Marcus usually occupied with his head in Athenadora's lap and a very knowing smirk etched on his face.

"Something you'd like to comment on Caius?" Aro asked in a bored tone from his desk, as it was obvious that Marcus was sitting closer to fires now so his skin would appear warmer to his mate; it was only natural that he would want to make her as comfortable as possible.

"Oh no, nothing at all," Caius drawled before pinning Marcus with his gaze, "It just seems that things are coming along fairly well with your little imprint are they not? You were showing your contentment rather obviously."

Marcus knew that he would have to endure endless remarks from Caius about his current efforts to court his mate – as he was always the one to make any and every sexual innuendo he possibly could about the past women Marcus had bought around to settle his more carnal desires.

Of course Marcus had not been anything like the saint he was named over the last three thousand years; time and time again he had found his pleasure in the body of another – though it was never anything more to him than a physical release. He and his brothers also had a handful of occasions where they had to put one of Marcus' "conquests", as Caius liked to call them, in their place since a few of the women were under the impression that sleeping with Marcus was their ticket to power.

Not many of Marcus' past partners were still around – he only knew of three of the women to still be alive at all, or well as alive as a vampire could get. Two of the three were actually friendly acquaintances of his… Though friendly acquaintances might have been too personal of a term – Marcus never truly got to know any of them well enough to consider them friends.

And the last known partner of the three… well Marcus did his best to block that whole experience out. There was nothing he regretted more than bedding that crazy she devil, and she still came around every hundred years or so to try and get him to lay abed with her again – the key word there being try. His family never did let him live down that mistake, and it occurred to him that he hadn't seen dear Miranda in a while… he prayed to the gods she would not come around until after he had secured his mating with Castiel and she was well passed her newborn years.

But regardless of knowing he would have to endure every little remark Caius made – it didn't change the fact that it irritated the hell out of him.

"She's still is not aware she's my mate, let alone my imprint. I was trying to enjoy what could be the last moments of peace I have with her before I tell her of our bond and she runs away screaming." Marcus scowled

"Oh Marcus," Sulpicia sighed – she was sitting with her back against one of Aro's bookshelves, multiple books open around her and scattered pages of notes littering the floor. She had begun opening the books when Marcus returned, and was making notes of anything they could predict would happen with Castiel as she continued to experience the full effects of a mating bond. "Castiel is not going to run screaming from you, so please refrain from talking like that."

Athenadora nodded her agreement and Marcus couldn't help but sigh, the wives really were the most optimistic ones in the family.

As Sulpicia started flicking quickly through the pages of one of the books before scrawling a note on a free sheet of paper, Caius sat up on his elbow to turn to watch her – as the sound of the pen across the paper was distracting to him.

"Why are you even bothering with that sister? Castiel is psychic is she not? I'm sure she'll be fine figuring out what to expect since she can just watch the future." Caius' tone made it sound as if he thought he was stating the obvious.

"I'm bothering with this because she is family and we should be doing everything we can to help rather than just expecting her to figure it out on her own." Sulpicia snapped impatiently, shooting a small glare Caius' way before focusing on the pages in front of her again.

"Besides," She continued, not bothering to look up from what she was doing as she took more notes, "Aro and I have already agreed that we should all agree that it isn't Castiel's responsibility to watch the future for every little thing. What we should try to do is treat her as if she isn't gifted, this way she doesn't think that the only reason we want her around is because she's psychic."

Caius, Athenadora, and Marcus all looked at Aro questioningly at this, and he nodded solemnly, "I will admit that I thought Castiel's gift would have made her a profoundly useful guard, but that was before I got to know her in my own way." He cast a brief glance down at his palms "I didn't know her until the other night and I fear she does not have the heart to be involved with some of the more serious cases she would have been useful for. I don't feel she can really participate in court at this point either. I'm just so unaccustomed to dealing with someone so… gentle."

Aro shook his head, a small fond smile on his face, "She really is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet – if not the nicest. Sulpicia and I both view that regardless of the knowledge we have of her gift we should never make her feel as though she has to use it. I've seen that her gift works best when she not trying to watch things as favors to others, it's wrong for us to ask her to bend over backwards for us on every little thing."

"Of course none of us had the intention of making her bend over backwards for us Aro," Caius scoffed, before grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Of course I can't speak for everyone since I'm sure Marcus has had plenty of thoughts of her bending over for him-,"

This earned Caius a slap on top of his head from his wife – though both Aro and Sulpicia couldn't help but snicker at Marcus' chagrined expression. One of the faults of having near limitless space in your head as an immortal was that it enabled to you process things more quickly and have multiple thoughts at a time. This meant that when someone suggested something – such as seeing your mate in a very… compromising position – one couldn't help but imagine it.

And imagining Castiel nude and half out of her senses from pleasure beneath him was definitely not something he needed when the most serious thing at the moment was her realizing they were mated at all.

It was silent for a few minutes, the only sounds being the turning of pages or a pen drifting across paper as Sulpicia flipping through the books and took notes, before Athenadora let out a small sigh.

Everyone knew it was only going to be a moment before she spoke what was on her mind, and they didn't have to wait more than a minute before she looked to Marcus with a small smile as she played with Caius' hair.

"She really is so good for you isn't she? If anyone had told me a month ago that all this would happen and that you would-," She paused swallowing thickly as her eyes suddenly welled up with tears – causing Caius to sit up and pull her along with him to the other end of the couch so he could place her in his lap, worried as to what could be making her so upset.

"It's fine Caius," She soothed before letting out a small, watery laugh, "I'm not sad I'm happy."

"If anyone had tried to tell me that you would be-" Athenadora's gaze was locked on Marcus as she continued and swallowed unnecessarily again, "-that you would be okay. That you would talk with us again and you would be like you were all those years ago I never would have believed it. It's just… you're back. You're back and I never thought I'd really see you again."

Marcus stood at that point; opening his arms to her and Athenadora all but launched herself out of Caius' lap and into his embrace. It had been a very long time indeed since she had hugged her brother – the last occasion being almost a thousand years previously when Caius was out on a mission dealing with children of the moon. She hadn't heard from Caius in days and was worried for his safety. Marcus' bond sight was useful in that time for he could see that her bonds to his brother were fine and therefore he was fine.

Marcus rubbed her back lightly, and as he caught the eyes of both his brothers and Sulpicia in turn – he could see they all felt the same as Athenadora.

But of course, Aro had to try and take a little bit of the edge off of the seriousness in this conversation.

"Yes Marcus will be our greatest weapon in any conflicts we deal with over the next millennia. All we need to do is bring one of our enemies before him and have him smile – they will spontaneously combust from shock!"

Everyone laughed at this, even Marcus. Though a sudden thought occurred to him as he released Athenadora and she moved to sit back on the couch with Caius.

Falling heavily back into his chair, he sighed, "How long do you think it will take for the news that I imprinted to spread to every vampire in the world?"

There was a pregnant pause where the wives shuffled nervously before Caius spoke up.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it has already begun. We told the guard around twenty-four hours ago, and you know how fast gossip spreads in our world. Gag order or not some of our guards are just blind to the seriousness of most situations and simply can't keep their mouths shut." He said seriously, "We all must make sure we remain alert – even though the bond Castiel shares with Marcus is sacred among our kind our enemies might only find that as even more of a reason to try and get to her."

Both Sulpicia and Athenadora exchanged anxious glances, Marcus's expression was grave, and Aro only sighed as he sat back to rub his temples for a moment before speaking.

"Castiel should be able to foresee if anything bad might happen to her – for the most part at least. Her gift has a slightly defensive quality to it – if she is in danger it won't matter if she is actually looking for danger in her visions… she will see it anyway. But of course we cannot simply depend on that, illness all but stops her visions short periods of times. Castiel cannot be allowed to go anywhere without her guard, and while Afton is suitable to guard her in the castle perhaps we should make sure Chelsea spends just as much time with her as Afton does. I know we agreed she may roam the city but even I am not comfortable with her going out with only Afton and Chelsea…"

Aro paused, and Marcus took a moment to switch quickly to his bond sight – he could see that Aro's bonds to his little mate were positively alive with over-protectiveness. The only bonds he had seen so protective over her thus far had been his own before now.

Castiel was much too vulnerable while she was human, and Aro's concerns were well placed – Marcus simply couldn't deny that. The only person in the world who would be the very best at protecting Castiel would be himself – but there were times Marcus knew he wouldn't be able to take her out personally, and even giving her extra guards wouldn't be able to make him relax if she left the castle.

"I'll go with her," Caius said suddenly, "If she wishes to roam our city she may go with Afton and Chelsea – as well as Felix and Demetri… possibly Alec as well – but I will personally accompany her so her guard may remain out of sight; this way she might be able to enjoy herself rather than feel like we have a battalion watching her."

Though shocked by Caius' suggestion, Marcus and Aro couldn't deny it was a good idea. Castiel would be undoubtedly safe this way and it would give Caius a chance to try and get to know her.

And getting to know his newest sister was his primary reason for his suggesting it – along with the fact he knew Marcus would only be able to relax if someone in the family was personally making sure his mate was safe. If Marcus was needed in court and Castiel wanted to go outside the castle walls Caius could go with her, since even he had to admit Marcus' gift was one of the most useful things in the world when it came to them making decisions, aside from Aro's mind reading of course.

Caius couldn't help but think just how useful Castiel's ability would be in court; If they were on the fence about letting a coven off for something such as a threat to secrecy due to over-feeding or something, she would be able to see if the vampires they were sentencing would listen to their ruling or simply go back to their old ways after laying low for a while…

But of course this was not up for discussion, so he dismissed the thought.

It was quiet for a while, and the hours passed quickly as Marcus quietly conversed with his family. At one point Sulpicia and Athenadora timidly asked him how it went when he showed Castiel Didyme's mock grave, and he gave them a sharp look. Both of them apologizing profusely when they admit they had been watching them in the garden.

"It went fine," Marcus shrugged, "She only proves time and time again that she is much to good for me. She was so understanding… and she felt pain over my pain. Castiel didn't even ask me how Didyme passed..."

"Of course she didn't" Aro sighed – smiling fondly again, "I'm fairly sure she felt that if you ever want to tell her that you'll tell her on your own terms. She isn't one to pry."

"Wait Marcus," Sulpicia cut in before he could reply to Aro, picking up her notes from the floor, "Did you say that Castiel could feel-,"

"My pain?" Marcus finished, already understanding where his sister was going with her sudden question, "Yes. It seems that just as the other imprinting bonds we have heard of Castiel and myself are feeling each other's emotions. She can feel my emotions in a much subtler form – thank goodness – but I feel hers as if I'm an empath such as that Jasper Whitlock."

Sulpicia immediately took note of that, and his brothers both mentioned that they would each try to watch for certain indicators of Castiel experiencing a mating pull over the coming weeks. Once Castiel accepted the bond – because they were sure she would regardless of what Marcus thought – certain confusing emotions and draws to Marcus would undoubtedly be a bit much for her at first. One of the most difficult challenges to come would probably be when she feels the need to be close to Marcus while he is busy in court – so they would each have to do their best to keep an eye on her. These were instincts that could cause pain in humans after all.

8 AM – Castiel

Castiel woke up feeling much too comfortable, her bed was just so soft and warm she never wanted to get up. But as she lay there hoping to drift back to sleep she remembered the events of the previous day – Marcus, the garden, Marcus, the conversations, and more Marcus. She shot up into a sitting position with a gasp.

She knew she hadn't walk to bed with Afton last night, and looking herself over with the blankets pooled around her waist she realized she was still in her dress – but both her shoes and her cloak had been removed.

She must have fallen asleep reading, she rationalized, and Afton must have carried her to bed at some point. Though, weirdly enough, the most recent thing she could remember was a spicy smell – like nutmeg or cinnamon – and sandalwood… and maybe campfire? But these scents were a mixed cocktail of some of her favorite things… she must have been lucid dreaming or something.

Rolling out of bed and straightening her dress – which looked as if it had to be dry cleaned it was so wrinkly now – Castiel padded over to the couch before sitting down and rolling each stocking off of her legs and folding them neatly next to her. The cloak she was wearing the previous day was folded over the arm of the couch and her flats were neatly placed on the floor near her.

Wondering if Afton had a change of clothes for her, Castiel exit the bedroom to head to the large living area, where she was slightly startled to see Afton sitting on the couch watching the news on the television above the fireplace.

His met her gaze with a smile, and stood respectfully before giving her a small bow.

"Good morning Castiel. I'm sorry to intrude on your personal space but I was merely waiting to see if you wanted to go get breakfast after you've changed. I realized I didn't bring you to get dinner or lunch yesterday – I promise from now on I'll remember how frequently you have to eat."

The formality of his speech surprised her, and at the mention of food she thought her stomach was about to rip from her chest and eat the carpet.

"Oh it's not your fault," Castile assured him, "And you really aren't intruding – you can sit in here from now on instead of standing in the hallway if you have to guard me while I sleep. I'm sure watching TV will make guarding me a lot less boring."

Afton grinned at her, "Thank you, but being your guard certainly isn't boring Castiel. I have a lot of fun with you."

Castiel felt her ears get warm at his words and she could only stare at him in confusion when he suggested that she should go and change so the two of them could head down to the kitchens.

"Change? But I don't have any clothes besides what I'm wearing Afton…"

Now Afton looked confused, as Lady Sulpicia and Lady Athenadora had spent half the day in this room yesterday after they had finished unboxing and de-tagging all of the items they had ordered for Castiel. He knew she now had endless clothes for all occasions, bath products, toiletries, and even makeup.

And then he remembered that Castiel hadn't looked around her room since early morning yesterday, and with a wave of his hand motioning for her to follow he led her over to the master closet, opening the door wide while switching on the light, before stepping aside so she could see her new wardrobe.

"I believe in the armoire in the bedroom there are some evening gowns and formal wear, and of course you are not obligated to wear anything you don't like. Lady Athenadora and Lady Sulpicia tried to order things they thought would be within your tastes, but rest assured they are fine with donating anything you don't feel suits you."

Castiel was totally dazed as she stood in the middle of her closet – there were just so many clothes! Casual dresses and skirts, blouses and sweaters and tees… Honestly more clothes than she could ever need. There were a couple dressers in this closet as well, and upon inspection of the drawers she saw she also had underwear, bras, jeans, pajamas… There were just so many articles of clothing it was bordering on absolutely insane.

One side of her closet was made of purely black clothes, while the other side had colors. Castiel really wasn't a fan of plain black – but resolved to just ask Afton why she would need so many black pieces of clothing later.

She picked the first thing she got her hands on – a deep plum dress that was fitted above the waist and stopped a couple inches above her knee, before going over to the dresser to grab fresh underwear and stockings.

Thankfully Afton had shut the door to her closet – well when she really thought about it, it was more of a changing room than just a closet, there were even a couple plush stools she could sit on – so she could change in peace.

Lining the floor under each clothing rack were dozens of shoe boxes, and rather than allowing herself to get overwhelmed Castiel just resolved to wear the same flats she wore the other day since they would go fine with the dress she had chosen.

After heading back into the bedroom and pulling on her flats and the same cloak from yesterday – Afton having to help her yet again with the fastener – the pair left for the kitchen.

But today's walk was different from all the previous treks through the halls she had taken with her guard. Today there were more vampires mulling about on their business; the moment Castiel and Afton left the Master's wing they passed a different guard in each hall they walked through.

Seeing more coven members usually wouldn't have bothered Castiel, but the way they were all staring at her caused her to subconsciously walk closer to Afton – the sleeve of her cloak brushing against his back.

Afton noticed this of course – he was not blind to how all the lower guards stared at Marcus' imprint. Chelsea had come to him last night to warn him that she was hearing talk of the guards wanting to catch a glimpse of "Master Marcus' human", as the meeting the previous morning had made the entire coven extremely curious.

Once they had made it outside the kitchen – Castiel making uncomfortable eye contact with yet another guard who was unabashedly staring at her – she spoke quietly to her guard.

"Afton?"

Afton hummed to indicate he was listening as he opened the door and ushered her into the kitchen. No vampires would be in here since there was no reason for them to be – and if any of them were he would have something to say about it. Trying to catch a glimpse of their very human future queen was one thing, but waiting around the halls for her to walk by was really ridiculous.

Thankfully the only other person in the kitchen was the chef, who upon their entrance immediately stopped his current task of washing dishes to get ready to prepare Castiel a meal. It didn't escape the chef's notice yesterday that she only came to him for breakfast, so he busied himself trying to think of the best breakfast recipe he had with the highest calorie count.

"Why am I only now seeing other vampires from this coven? And why are they all staring at me? You'd think they've never seen a human before… and it's not like you guys don't have human staff."

The only reason Castiel could think of that would be reasonable as to why all these vampires were staring at her was that they must be hungry – perhaps it was close to the day they usually fed? She knew vampires only needed to feed usually once every couple weeks, though they could go longer if they desired, and even though she never asked Marcus because she was sure he wouldn't tell her she knew the Volturi probably had a method as to when and how they ate.

As they sat Afton seemed to be thinking over what to say to her – she had an irking feeling that he knew exactly why everyone was looking at her so funny, and why she was suddenly seeing more vampires than she'd seen her entire life.

Just when she was about to call him out on his dishonesties with he, Afton spoke, "I'm… not sure I'm really the right person to tell you that Cas,"

He used her nickname in hopes of it showing her that he was her friend, and while he didn't really like keeping secrets from her his hands were tied.

She looked as if she was about to argue, but was interrupted by the chef placing a plate of cold deli meats and different cheeses in front of her as well as a bowl of fruit. He motioned to the plate, and in his stern grandfatherly voice ordered Castiel to eat while he finished her breakfast – and walked back to the stove muttering 'much to thin' in Italian.

Castiel was too hungry to ignore the food, so thankfully Afton was spared the argument he knew was coming as she began scarfing down the meats and cheese a little too quickly.

Breakfast went quickly yet again – Castiel had finished the meats, cheeses, fruits, and the large omelet with home fries in record time. The chef was pleased as he removed the cleared plates from the bar in front of her, and Afton's mouth was slightly agape as she chugged her third glass of fruit juice.

Setting her cup down and finally taking in her guard's expression, Castiel laughed. Her stomach did hurt slightly from gorging herself on food, so laughing was nearly downright painful – but his expression was just too funny to her.

The sound of Castiel's laughter from down the hall had drawn Marcus to the kitchen – Chelsea following silently alongside him. Originally, Marcus had gone to meet Castiel at her rooms, but Chelsea had encountered him when he arrived and told him that Afton had already taken her to get breakfast.

Though he looked calm and collected, Marcus' insides felt as if they were burning. His bond to Castiel was straining painfully – as if it realized that possible rejection was in its midst's. The bond's hundreds of strands were desperately trying to link them together – trying to secure itself in a way that was currently impossible. Castiel's strands were dodging away from his as if they were alike magnets.

Seeing the bond behaving as such wasn't all that concerning, mating bonds had to come together at a pace and the only way the bond could solidify was when they consummated their relationship and Marcus gave Castiel a mating bite.

He was panicked about losing her, so the bond was trying to solidify even though it was impossible.

But the thought of marking Castiel with his bite sidetracked Marcus from his inner turmoil. Ideally he would have wanted to give her the bite the first time they lay together – but he knew consummating their relationship and biting her would have to be in two separate occasions. He knew how innocent his imprint was, and did not wish to hurt or scare her during her first time.

Marcus halted a few feet from the kitchen door, trying to contain the suddenly possessive emotions that radiated from the monster inside of him.

He had wondered at first, if he would be able to mark her while she was human, but after only a second of consideration he knew he could and he would. As long as he swallowed the venom back he would be able to bite into the smooth skin at the junction between her neck and shoulder – the trace amounts of venom in his saliva would be enough to seal the bite shut – thus leaving a double-crescent scar of his teeth in the same marble-like vampire skin he had for all other immortals to see.

And even though the monster inside him was threatening to break free, he was still himself enough to know that he would have to school his emotions before entering the kitchen. If Castiel was to cross his path now there was a very good chance he would give her the mark without her consent – which he really had no desire to do.

When Marcus and Chelsea finally did enter the kitchen Castiel's laughter was subsiding. He was eager to walk with Castiel in the garden again – more than anything he wanted to tell her that she was his imprint as soon as possible so he would not remain so consumed with worry. Just last night his brothers mentioned that he couldn't keep shirking on his duties to spend time trying to find the right way to speak with Castiel. They already had to do 47 trials without him present, and not having the third opinion really wasn't helping anything as Aro and Caius had the tendency to bicker without someone to play the middleman.

So when left for court that morning – they were expected to give a final ruling over a case with two covens fighting over whom rightfully ran a section of land in Mexico – Caius threatened that if Marcus didn't tell Castiel the truth today, that he would do it himself that night.

And coming from Caius that was not an empty threat.

Castiel turned when she heard the door to the kitchen open, and her smile only seemed to get bigger when she saw it was Chelsea and Marcus.

"Oh hey Marcus, good morning Chelsea," Castiel said politely, standing from her place at the breakfast bar, "What bring you guys here?"

Hearing her speak so casually to him was comforting, and he realized his brothers were going to be in for a bit of a culture shock at how very modern his mate was. "I was simply searching for you to see if you wished to walk in the gardens with me this morning, but it seems I should have some earlier, as I have obviously missed a good joke."

At this Castiel gave a toothy grin, her dimples showing more plainly as she motioned with her had to Afton who had come to stand by her shoulder.

"Nah," she alleged, "I was just laughing at Afton's expression at my atrocious lack of table manners when I'm hungry."

"No doubt about that," Afton muttered under his breath, and since Castiel was close enough to hear him she snickered again.

"If only you saw how fast Trent would eat whenever he got home from a double shift – I swear his stomach just turned into a black hole as he ate everything in sight. He didn't even realize he was eating the wrapper to a sub he bought once until he was already five bites in."

The mental image of Trent's expression that day almost made smile, before another pang of homesickness hit her. She really missed her best friend – regardless of how gross he was.

Marcus didn't need to feel the small wave of sadness that had crashed over her to tell him thinking of her friend was upsetting – he could see it in the minuscule way her face fell when she talked about him. He wished he could move forward and take her into his arms to offer his support, but he discerned that doing that would be toeing a fine line.

"Come to the garden with me?" He asked, making sure his voice was gentle and unassuming so she could feel secure enough to say no if she wished.

Marcus held out his hand to her in invitation, and was infinitely pleased when she took it without hesitation. Smiling, he moved her hand to his forearm to escort her from the kitchen.

Both Afton and Chelsea took this as their cue to leave since Marcus would want no audience for what was about to take place. The pair bid them a quiet farewell before seemingly disappearing into thin air. At least that's what it looked like to Castiel, Marcus could very plainly see as the pair ran off in a hurry.

And if what he was about to admit wasn't so serious, Marcus would have found their haste to give himself and Castiel privacy amusing.

It was quiet for a few minutes as Marcus led his mate from the kitchen and through the halls in the direction of the garden. Castiel seemed perfectly at ease walking at a steady pace alongside him – she even noticed how Marcus made an effort to shorten his strides. His legs were much longer than hers after all; his height would have made it so if they were walking at a more casual pace for him she would probably have to run to keep up.

Marcus started to speak then, asking her how she slept and if she liked her new clothes. He even began to apologize for how long it took to get her things, and it was only then that Castiel interrupted him, saying that she really didn't need all of the things they had bought her and that she felt terrible that she didn't have the money to pay them back. The measly funds she did have were stored in her bank account back in America, and since she was a missing person there was absolutely no way she would be able to access them without the police noticing.

"You are part of our family now Castiel," Marcus wouldn't say that she was part of their coven – that was too impersonal, "And we take care of our own. Over the millennia we have acquired more money than you can imagine – my brother Caius actually manages quite a few very generous funds within the stock market – therefore we are quite realistically the wealthiest people on the planet and thus expect no repayment. We only wish to make sure you have everything you could possibly need."

Castiel rolled her eyes, "Everything I can possibly need is an understatement. I have so much stuff now I can't imagine needing new clothes ever again!"

Marcus chuckled at her, pulling her hand a bit closer to his chest to keep her steady as they descended a rather narrow set of steps, "I assure you that's not true dearest. Fashion changes rather quickly, and if you were to still be wearing the same clothes you have on now in about a hundred years I can guarantee you'd get some rather confused looks."

She couldn't deny that he was probably right, but his statement reminded her of all the guards who had been staring at her on her way to breakfast that morning. Perhaps if Afton didn't have the authority to tell her what was going on Marcus did – he was one of the three rulers after all, and he and his brothers shared the most authority in the coven.

"Speaking of strange looks…" Castiel began; glancing guiltily up at Marcus as if she wasn't sure she was allowed to ask him this question. Marcus caught onto her look quickly, and assured her that she could ask him whatever was on her mind.

"After I left my room this morning, when Afton was walking me to breakfast, I saw a lot of guards in the halls – more than I have seen the entire time I've been here and well… they were all just staring at me. It was… uncomfortable, not to mention confusing."

She looked a little upset when her powder blue eyes locked with his again; and at this point the two of them had reached the doors to the garden. It was overcast – the sky a solid sheet of light grey indicating snow was going to come. Opening the doors it was became obvious that there was no wind – which was strange for the hilltop town of Volterra – but the air had a very crisp chill in it. Castiel was glad she was wearing her cloak and drew it tightly around her as Marcus pulled her by the hand through the greenery.

Everything was much less startlingly bright today – the color less intense due to the lack of sunlight. It was actually a little relaxing to Castiel aside from the fact that the air hinted at first snow – which excited her.

Marcus sighed deeply, knowing it was time for him to start talking. He walked determinedly forward, his eyes locked on the little fountain in the courtyard he had led them to yesterday. This was where they would sit, and where he would tell her everything.

He took a seat on the flat stone rim of the fountain, and began speaking in a tone that implied his caged emotions, "When my wife passed away Castiel, I fell into the deepest and darkest depression our kind can fall into. I believed for many years Didyme was my mate – we certainly had a bond that was strong enough it could have been one – and we loved each other so. When a vampire loses their other half they nearly lose themselves, many go mad and try to achieve their second and final death. While I had certainly thought about it, I could never imagine hurting my family in such a way. I had seen these many years how my depression affected my sisters, and how it influenced our people's opinion on my ability to rule."

"I was a shell for thousands of years Castiel; a shell of a man who had no purpose and no desire to do anything at all. There have been many times over the millennia's that my brothers have had to force me to feed since I had no desire to – no will to really live. Of course I had been driven to violence and some semblance of emotion for temporary amounts of time while our coven faced assaults in a few wars, but nothing further than that. I always retreated back into that despondent state once the threat passed."

"It was only recently, and I mean very recently, that I came back to myself. As you know me now, was the man I was before my wife had passed three thousand years ago. The way I treat you has certainly attracted the notice of our guards."

Marcus went silent, Castiel was still on her feet in front of him, holding his outstretched hand and looking completely stunned. She had not expected to hear anything further about Marcus and his past wife, and what he was saying now shocked her beyond belief. Marcus had been depressed? So severely depressed that he was bordering suicidal for thousands of years? And apparently she… she was the catalyst that changed that? The only thing he had shown any semblance of emotion to in three thousand years?

Of course all the guards were staring at her! She always knew the attention Marcus was paying to her wasn't normal – after all he had said so himself – so seeing one of the kings of the vampire race taking so much time to walk around with the new human was undoubtedly going to attract attention. Not to mention that his friendship with her appeared to be the only thing that, for some huge and unknown reason, freed him from his depression. Castiel felt silly for not noticing something before, but Marcus had never given her any indication that he had been depressed or was recovering from centuries worth of sadness and pain. Millennia long depression certainly couldn't be cured overnight could it?

So why? Why on earth was Marcus so friendly with her? Why was he trying so hard for the very beginning to befriend her? What was it about her… what had she done to – to save him? All she did was simply exist, she hadn't done anything to make herself stand out, and while she knew they found her psychic ability interesting it just couldn't be that.

Marcus could see how confused she looked as she stared ahead in a daze, and gently tugged her hand to bring her attention to him before carefully placing his hands on either side of her ribcage and gently lifting her before sitting her on the fountain next to him.

Her stomach flipped at his touch and her skin seemed to tingle where he had lifted her – even through the thicker fabric of her dress. She wasn't an overly affectionate person, and while she was comfortable with giving hugs she just wasn't used to being touched. Having someone to lift her and hold her was something entirely new.

Castiel tried to write off the butterflies-in-her-stomach feeling as anxiety at the unfamiliarity of being touched... though deep down she knew it wasn't that; where had the thought of having someone to hold her come from anyway? She couldn't lie to herself and claim she didn't have a small crush on Marcus, but did she really think that he was a potential partner? Someone to hold her and make her feel things she had never felt before?

She pushed these thoughts ruthlessly away as Marcus began to speak again, lifting her hand from her lap so he could hold it within both of his own.

"Yesterday Castiel," Marcus said gently, "We spoke about mating, vampire relationships, and bonds… you remember everything we talked about correct?"

Castiel nodded, and at her confirmation Marcus stared at the hand he had gently clasped between his palms as he searched for the right words to continue. He wanted to make sure the way he phrased things did not come off too strongly for her, and she surprised him by turning her hand to twine her fingers with his own.

She could tell something was wrong, Marcus looked so worried. He looked as if he were about to admit to a murder, and Castiel found she had to stop herself from laughing at the twisted humor in that thought. Marcus was a vampire who fed on people… and therefore he probably had plenty of murders over almost four thousand years he could admit to.

"I mean," he swallowed before sending him a teasing grin, "I'm not a priest or anything, but you're kind of giving off vibes that you have to come clean about some of your sins… I'll listen if that's what you need, but I can't really offer any religious advice."

This made Marcus laugh; it was a full-bellied laugh that was deep and genuine. He felt so light in that moment; his mate taking the time to tease him in the midst of a very stressful situation was welcome. He couldn't help but think of how badly he needed her, and how touched he was that even in the face of him admitting to his very ghastly sins, she was still willing to sit and listen.

And in that moment Marcus felt that the greatest sin he would ever commit would be his courting of this sweet, innocent creature besides him.

But of course that wouldn't stop him – it only made him desire her more.

"What I wanted to talk with you about Castiel – for I'm sure you know I bought you here to talk about something important – is about imprinting, again."

Imprinting? Castiel was flabbergasted, unable to reason as to why it was so important for them to talk about this again that he had to find her first thing in the morning. She never did get the chance to ask why though, for Marcus continued unprompted.

"I mentioned yesterday that imprinting is the most… influential, amazing… beautiful thing that can happen to a vampire. You know it is very rare, and that it changes the vampire's life for the better. And the reason it is so very important I talk with you about this again is because, as of the day you arrived here… imprinting has everything to do with you."

Revised February 17, 2018 (16 Pages, 7,428 Words)