The man who had startled her earlier was in Marcus' study, which appeared to have been remodeled as well. It looked as if a few walls had been knocked out, as suddenly there was a kitchenette and small dining area next to the sitting area around the fireplace, which was still in place, albeit with some new furniture. Her attention was swiftly brought back to the man there, and she cursed herself for being so easily distracted.
He was standing in front of the fire, his arms behind his back and his posture straight and intimidating, looking every bit an army general, or something of the sort. He clearly commanded authority and power, although not nearly to the same extent as Marcus. Still, he was not her mate and as such those traits in anyone but him set her on edge.
He looked up toward Marcus as soon as they appeared through the door, although she noticed he did not once look at her. It was as if she didn't exist at all, and she had to admit that it was comforting, if at the same time unnerving. She had always been stared at like a piece of meat while she was with him. The fact that this obviously powerful man was paying her what seemed to be a courtesy was... strangely relieving. Besides, she had no interest in any male other than Marcus looking at her anyways.
She immediately looked to Marcus for direction, unsure as to whether she was supposed to greet the man or ignore him as well. Marcus gave her a look of encouragement, although he did not smile, and ushered her to sit in front of the fire. She missed how animated he was around her. This Marcus was cold and forbidding and she wanted so badly to breathe the warmth back into him.
As soon as she was seated, the intimidating man immediately bent to one knee in front of her, although she noticed it seemed a safe enough distance away in her estimation, and she knew he probably did that on purpose. She was struck with more feelings of gratefulness for these small acts of consideration.
He still did not look up as he told her, "My lady, please forgive me my grievous error. I did not intend to cause any upset and I will accept any punishment you wish to bestow upon me. I have failed you and your mate and for that I am eternally sorry."
"I-" She didn't even know where to begin. He was apologizing on bended knee for startling her? Expecting punishment? She had no idea what to do and once again looked to Marcus who was standing slightly behind the chair to her right, looking forbiddingly at the man in front of them.
He met her gaze and his eyes softened. "Demetri offers his apologies, piccola. He has wronged you and will accept any retribution for it that would please you to make ammends."
"It was just an accident, I don't want to punish him," she whispered, horrified that someone wanted her to discipline another person. She should be apologizing to him for causing such a scene and apparently incurring Marcus' anger towards him!
"It is your right as my mate to do so, or not do so. It is your choice."
"I-I forgive you, Demetri," she said hesitantly, turning back to the kneeling man who still had not moved one inch or looked up.
He looked then, still seeking out Marcus instead of her. He seemed to find what he was looking for there and finally settled his eyes on her.
"You are merciful, my lady. It is an honourable trait to have. I thank you for your forgiveness and once again, I am truly sorry for any harm I have caused you," he said.
She nodded at him, obviously still baffled with this entire encounter.
He stood up fluidly, rearranging himself back into his imposing stance, and looked to Marcus.
"Thank you, Demetri. That is all. I will meet with you later."
Once he left, Marcus led her over to the table and pushed the tray of food toward her. When she was settled, he picked up a book on the side table and began to write in it. It was her turn to look on at what he was doing with interest. The curiosity burned through her as she badly wanted to know what he could be writing – his hand moved slowly, languidly across the page with a flourish here and there. She was certain his penmanship would be flawless.
She barely noticed the vegetables being piled in her mouth unceremoniously as she watched him. As soon as she was finished, she pushed the plate away and downed the glass of water, still trying to peek at what he was doing. She saw his lips curved slightly, as if he was aware of her nosiness and it amused him. As if choreographed, he put the book down and looked up as soon as she set the glass back on the table.
"Sulpicia and Athenodora have asked whether you would like to visit again this evening."
"The entire family?" she asked, her mind immediately going to the beautiful, sullen blonde man who was the lovely Dora's mate.
"Yes," he said, his brow furrowed. He couldn't tell what she was worrying about. "Would you prefer if we stayed here instead? They will understand if you would."
"N-no, of course not. That sounds fine. Are we going now?"
He tilted his head at his mate's curious behavior but did not comment on it, "If you are ready, then yes. They are all already there."
She forced a smile, "Alright, let's go then."
He offered her his hand again and she took it easily, enjoying the heavy, cool, weight of it.
Athenodora was sitting with her equally light haired mate in front of a fire with a magazine balanced between their two legs as they flipped through it. Aro appeared to be on the phone and Sulpicia was sitting with him, leaning against the arm of the couch with her legs over his lap.
They all looked up as she and Marcus walked in and all but Caius smiled at her.
Marcus led her to the couch with Aro and Sulpicia and sat them on it, placing himself between her and Aro. She found that this something she was grateful for, as she was still not entirely comfortable with the man, despite how fond she seemed to have grown of his mate.
Aro was speaking in Italian so swiftly that she almost couldn't understand the words but she could pick out enough to know it was a business call and busied herself with looking down at her hands so she didn't seem as if she were intruding.
Marcus noticed and reached inside an inside pocket of his jacket to hand her something. She looked on curiously has he held it out to her. It looked to be a phone – an iPhone, she remembered. They hadn't changed much in shape or design, except to get thinner and longer and more metallic looking.
She looked to his face hesitantly as if making sure it was okay and then reached for it. He placed it in her palm gently.
She looked at it and then back at him, clearly confused.
"I thought you might enjoy something to occupy your time with. We will have to get you your own at some point, but for now you are welcome to mine."
She looked at it in wonder, peeking back up at him again in confirmation, before pushing the home button. "2662," he said, when she got to the lock screen.
Athenodora's head perked up immediately and she set the magazine on Caius' lap before coming over and perching on the arm of the couch beside her. "Oooh I have to show you all the best games to download. And there's this app called-"
"Woah," Anna said as she saw the home screen and then looked up. "Technology has changed so much in in the past year. Did they totally remake the OS?"
Dora cocked her head to one side and said "A year? It has been a year since you have seen a phone?"
"Well, I mean, I've seen phones, I just haven't used one."
She really didn't want to explain how helpless she had been with Joseph, cut off from the outside world with no opportunities to seek help. A phone would've been a literal lifesaver for her, which meant she was not allowed to even touch one. She felt her anxiety growing at the memory. Trying to bring herself out of the memory and back to the present, she focussed back at Dora.
Her sister looked troubled at this new information and Anna looked around the room to see the others wearing similar expressions, except Caius. She saw him scowl in response and glare at her, although he didn't say anything. Her heart sank. He seemed to hate her - something she was used to, but for some reason it made her especially uncomfortable coming from him. She felt her anxiety, which was already triggered, begin to build as the feeling of being prey took over.
Everyone turned to her in response – with another stab of panic she realized they must hear every single reaction of her heart… oh god. She was panicking. She had to breathe. Just breathe, Anna, she told herself. Deep breaths. It's okay. Nothing has happened so far. They weren't going to hurt her. Marcus would protect her. It's okay.
Marcus manually turned her head toward him from where she had noticed she had been staring at her lap, at the hands clenched together with her nails digging into the flesh of her palm hard enough to leave imprints.
"Anna," he said, "Focus on me. You are safe. It is okay. Listen to my voice. You are safe. I am here. Whatever you are thinking, it is not true. I will not allow anyone to harm you. There is no need for this fear."
She focused on the feeling of his cool, firm, large palms on her face and the beautiful eyes that were staring into hers and tried to block everything else out. Marcus would protect her. It was okay. He was here.
She took a deep shuddering breath and let it out and did it again, and again, and again, until she finally felt her heart start to slow down and the clamping feeling of the fear in her chest relented.
It took her a few moments to realize the room was silent. She broke free of his grasp and looked around to find everyone staring at them with mixed looks of concern and disgust – although the latter was only coming from Caius.
She felt herself blush. Her feeling of shame was rising from deep within her chest and washing over her with a cold prickly feeling. She quickly got up and rushed out of the room, needing to put some distance between these predators and herself. Her instincts demanded she find somewhere quiet and dark and alone to hide in, so her overstimulated senses could calm down.
Before she could reach the door, someone touched her arm. She jumped and spun around and saw Marcus standing there, looking concerned, before the stress and shock triggered another panic attack. She wrenched the door open and ran.
Marcus watched his mate fled from him. His heart ached and he sighed, wishing his mate was not so fragile. Not because he was tired of taking care of her. He would gladly do it for the rest of his existence. But seeing her pain cut him to his core. He wished he never had to see it again, wished she never had to feel it again.
He deliberated for a moment before following her. His instincts wouldn't allow her to be alone with this feeling. He needed to comfort her. He heard her heaving sobs increase as she realized her room was already being redecorated and her bed was no longer there.
"Shhh, piccola, come with me. You may stay in my room again until yours is done being redecorated."
She startled as she saw him standing behind her, witnessing her meltdown. He held out his hand and she threw herself at him, clinging to him with all her meager human strength.
"Shhh," he soothed again. She was shaking dramatically so he carefully picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. He deliberated… should he lay her in the bed? That would be more comfortable for her, though he didn't want her to feel more vulnerable. Perhaps on a chair in front of the fire? She had seemed comfortable there before. Decided, he sat her there and crouched in front of the fireplace to build it up once again. It had burned down to glowing embers and he did not want her getting a chill.
Once he was finished he stood, trying to decide where to position himself, as his voice and touch seemed to bring comfort to her before. Considering this, he picked her up again, arranging her in his lap before settling again and purring for her. He used one hand to gently still her two trembling hands which she was clutching against her chest while the other gently supported her back, urging her to relax into him and allow him to comfort her. She buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent deeply and her small hands clutched at his shirt, trying to bring herself closer.
"You are safe, piccola. It is only you and I here…" he paused, unsure of what to say, but his instincts were certain that hearing his voice would help her. He decided to try patting her hair as he had earlier and began, "Have I told you about where I am from, tesoro? Perhaps you have already deduced I am Greek - Athenian, to be exact. Athens was the greatest city in the world when I was human… it was the centre of culture – philosophy, athletics, the arts.
"I am sure you know all about that, dear one. You are exceptionally learned for one so young so I will not tell you of things you already know. But instead, allow me to tell you about the Athens I knew, rather than the one you read about in your books. I was born to a noble family – my father was a general in the King's military, my mother the sister of the Queen…"
He continued his caress of her hair as he went on, "Your history books do not remember them. They write that the King was the son of a nymph, a demigod, but he was no god. He was fat and ugly and drank far too much wine. And the city was dirty, overcrowded, and most never had enough food."
He smiled slightly, "The streets may not have been made from white marble, and our people may not have been the most beautiful or clean, but I still remember the way the sun lit up the temple to Athena in the morning… and the smell of fish and bread in the market… the view of the city from the Acropolis… I thought it was the greatest human civilization to have ever existed."
He could hear her heart beat decreasing back to a normal pace as her panic subsided, however he went on with his story, "When I was still human I eventually followed my father's legacy, as was expected of me as his only son, and enlisted in the King's service. I moved up the ranks quickly, making a name for myself in the battles for my great city. I was strong, even as a human."
He chuckled then in memory, "I am certain you know of the Olympics, but you cannot imagine the chaos of them, tesoro. Hundreds of Greeks and Persians and Romans making pilgrimage into the city, bidding and screaming and drinking, and the glistening of the flesh of the athletes… the Olympics did not start until after I had changed but even I could appreciate the spectacle. I'm sure if I had the opportunity as a human, I would have quite enjoyed participating in them."
A wry smile crossed his face again, "Aro, however, was a terrible fighter and an even worse soldier. Always complaining, wanting to be back in his villa in a hot bath with a few women washing him and a warm meal on its way. He managed to convince his father after only two terms to allow him to join politics instead. But I reveled in it."
"I cannot imagine Aro enjoying war. He is too much a bureaucrat. But you are the picture of strength and agility. I'm sure you were a terrifying soldier."
Her voice still had a dream-like quality to it, her words made it even more pronounced. He assumed she was not quite grounded yet and bent his head to look at her, smiling.
"Aro detests that word, but it is entirely accurate in regards to him."
"Did you ever marry?"
That gave Marcus pause and he saw her looking back at him. Her face seemed only curious and he did not detect any anger or jealousy, so he answered, "I married Aro's sister. Her name was Didyme."
"Was she a vampire as well?"
He frowned. "She was, yes."
"But she was not your mate?"
"No, cara mia, she was not my mate," he said softly.
"Did you love her?"
"I did. She was a good wife to me. She died many years ago, though."
"How many?"
He frowned, unsure of why she wanted this information but not willing to deny her anything, "Almost 3000 years ago."
"It's always shocking to be reminded of how old you are," she said, her eyebrows raised. She shifted in the seat to turn and fully face him, her back against the arm and her legs tucked up in front of her over his lap.
"What was it like, seeing the rise of democracy? Athens was the first democratic city-state, no?"
"It was. That was not for many centuries though. It was… enlightening. I will be honest with you, cara mia. My humanity has never been my strength, even when I was a human myself. However I have no interest in seeing the needless suffering of men and that small shift in politics brought on hundreds of thousands of more small changes that have brought us to the present.
"You live in the greatest era for the least suffering thus far, tesoro. I have seen most of the advancements that brought us here - many of them our family invested in and made possible. It is difficult to imagine, what it was like before that, I am sure. However I am immensely glad you were born into this era with its medical advances and comforts."
"So… you haven't always been a vampire? You were once human?"
He smiled, "Yes, I was once human, just as you are."
"How did you become a vampire? Will I become one?"
She still showed no anxiety or discomfort, even at a topic he thought she would find distressing. He wasn't sure whether her responses, or lack thereof, should worry him or not.
"A human is changed through the bite of a vampire. We are venomous, and if the venom enters your blood, the change begins. And that will be a choice you make for yourself, my mate. I will not presume to decide for you but I do hope to spend the rest of eternity with you by my side."
The look he gave her smoldered and she shuddered a little at the intensity. She wanted to kiss him again. Really badly. It frightened her how much she wanted his lips on hers…
Before Joseph, she had never kissed anyone, and his were always foul, tasting of tobacco and forcing his tongue in her mouth in a way that made her want to gag.
But Marcus… my god, Marcus tasted as divine as he smelled, and the way his mouth felt against hers was so good it should be illegal. Or at the very least, heavily taxed.
She blushed at the direction of her thoughts and broke eye contact.
She heard him begin to purr and the blush deepened at the response it had in her.
"Piccola."
She looked up, shivering when she saw his eyes were almost entirely black. For some reason it didn't disturb or scare her. It only increased her yearning for him.
"Come here." He opened his arms again, wanting her to shift back more completely into his lap.
Her breath hitched and she slowly inched forward, still very unused to this intimate game they played. She found it difficult to meet his eye and she felt her blush burning at her cheeks.
"Little one."
She brought her eyes to his at his prompt and almost swooned at the look he was giving her. He reached a hand toward her and pulled her closer, adjusting her so she sat straddled over his legs.
She felt the purr then, settling between her legs in a way that made her want to rub herself against him more firmly. She resisted, opting to continue staring into the eyes that seemed to see past all the confusion and brokenness and made her feel things she had never even dreamed of before.
She knew what was coming - wanted it, couldn't even muster any embarrassment or shame. All she wanted was his hands and his mouth on her, tasting her and touching her and making her feel so good. When their lips met again, she almost cried at how good it felt to be with him. To be home.