It's a long, dead life!

by BDE

We join the Volturi in 1663 when Carlisle was turned for his long, dead life and family drama. Aro, Caius, and Marcus are trying to rule the world. Felix, Demetri, Jane and Alec are creating havoc as child vampires and the Denali sisters soon join them. Mature scenes - Corporal Punishment (spanking/discipline) and offensive things, but its the Volturi, so what do you expect?

164. Some More Justice Served

AN: Guys, apologies, again. I had a gyne operation at the start of summer which went a little wrong and then 3 of my kids had covid. They are all over it, thankfully, but I caught it from them and have been quite poorly. It's been a tough summer and I've been too ill to do much more than throw food at the kids. Autumn's looking like it will be better for me. I'm still not in tip top condition and there will be many typos, so I'm apologising in advance.

Send healthy thoughts!

---

Some More Justice Served

JANUARY 29TH

The great hall bustled with hushed voices of the guards, all wondering why Marcus had sounded the gong to alert them of an emergency. They couldn't see an emergency, only see Marcus beating the gong. Though the masters had gone through a faze of using the gong to announce all meetings, present days it was a rare event. Still, all Volturi knew what to do if they heard the boom – get their arse to the great hall.

They really had to shift themselves quickly, too – the last to arrive would be given a round of fucks for their tardiness. Despite Marcus having hit the gong fifty times or more, some coven members were notably absent.

The double doors were pushed open, the hinges creaked to announce the arrival of Caius. Guards hushed and moved aside to allow him to pass the floor unrestricted.

To avoid looking to his left, where the elite families stood, including Sulpicia and Carmen, who he still hadn't apologised to, he concentrated on those on his right. He nodded to the few guards he was friendly with, Afton, Chelsea, and Renata. Caius scowled at his dear wife standing beside them.

"Grow up," she hissed back, not that he cared.

It took great effort to avoid the glares from his supposed co-masters as he approached the throne dais. Aro barely contain his annoyance over Caius showing such contempt for their own court! A guard last to arrive would be (figuratively) ripped to shreds, but a master? Hadn't happened before but Aro hoped his father would do the honours to remind Caius of his responsibilities.

Basileus was already whispering the same sentiment into Magnus's ear.

Atia soon began whispering to Freyr, too.

"He cut it fine," she said. Using her gift, she'd heard Aro's thoughts and other conversations going on around the room. "It's as though he is inviting scorn, Freyr."

Freyr watched Caius saunter over to his throne, flopping himself down to prove just how uninterested he was. "He's pushing Magnus to react."

"Will he?" Atia asked. She truly wasn't sure. A quick glance to her mate, whispering to Magnus through gritted teeth, she said, "Basileus will take over if Magnus leaves it much longer."

Caius had been so busy the last few days that neither Freyr or Magnus had been able to put eyes on him without their also being a gaggle of guards in attendance. Speaking to Dora, Freyr learned she was being treated similarly. Caius seemed to think if he was out of the way, or surrounded others, then no one would, or perhaps could, rebuke him. He was right, too. But his luck was running out.

"Magnus will do it today," Freyr said. "Or I'll do it myself."

Marcus finally stopped sounding the alarm and took his throne, so Aro took to his feet, the signal for Atia to join the rest of their family so the meeting could begin.

Aro clasped his hand together for a moment before spreading his arms wide. "Friends…"

The tall double doors creaked open again and Heidi slipped between them. If the creaking hadn't alerted the masters, then her ragged breathing would have.

"Thank you so very much for interrupting us, Heidi." Narrowing his eyes at the young woman, Aro marched back to the brass bell. "What does this mean?" he asked, striking the gong again.

"Emergency, my lord," she panted out, trying to catch her breath. Heidi could see she would have to say more than that. "All coven members are to race to the sound of the gong, my lord, but…"

"Race," Aro repeated, bobbing his head in agreement.

"I did, my lord…"

"Wait at the back of the hall."

Magnus had a feeling someone else had been the cause for Heidi being waylaid and judging by the agitated state Alexander found himself in on arrival, Magnus knew it was him. Catching the guard's eye and curling his lip, he sent Alex to join Heidi in disgrace by a mere flick of one finger.

Thanks to the distraction Heidi and Alex caused, Odi had been able to discreetly move through the guards to get closer to Carlisle. He'd headed for Turk originally, but with him flanked by Phil and Richard, who both stared ahead sternly, Odi didn't think he'd get to really talk to the guy. He desperately wanted to, needed to. He needed to check they were still pals. The guilt he felt for causing his parents such stress was only eclipsed by the guilt he felt for getting the strait-laced Turk in so much strife.

Carlisle would do if Turk was out-of-bounds. He gets as bored as I do in these meeting, Odi said to himself. And he'd done nothing to Carlisle to cause any more dreaded guilt.

Oddly, though, Carlisle didn't seem to want to know him. It had been tough to move through the body of guards undetected (which was important as they were all supposed to stand statue still during coven meetings to show they were paying attention) and now he'd got to the Volturi prince, he didn't want to know? Carlisle turned his back on Odi with a growl!

Odi stepped back, bewildered. He had nowhere left to go.

The other outcasts were in their family groups, but his parents were in their thrones. He couldn't stand with Dora or Caius would throw a fit. As it was, Caius did just that anyway.

"Will you stand fucking still!" Caius roared across the room. "Is this your first meeting? Flitting about like a tit in a whore house. Get to the wall with the other disgraced guards."

For a moment no one moved. No one even breathed.

Poor Odi didn't know what to do. He hoped his father would do something, but the guy was being held in place by the creator, apparently talking him down. Odi dared to look to his mother, expecting to find disappointment in her eyes.

None.

She was as livid as he'd ever seen her. Caius hadn't gone toe to toe with Freyr before, but Odi saw the fire in her eyes - ha, he thought. You're dead after this meeting. Jerk.

The others, guards and elite alike, were constrained by their position in the coven and had to keep quiet in public spheres. Dora was quite uniquely, not so restricted.

She slipped her hand inside Odi's and began pulling him from the great hall.

"You don't have to take his shit," she said to the kid, making sure enough everyone heard her as she walked out, head held high.

Basileus growled in Caius's direction. "You absolutely will not."

No one knew exactly what Caius was thinking, and as the creator had shot it down before he could act on those thoughts, they never would.

"To business," Aro announced with a clap of his hands before Caius could continue to bury himself.

He explained the new structure of coven days: coven meetings moving to Sundays, Basileus and Atia coving the coven behaviour and organisation on Mondays whilst the masters attended their public in the throne room, and of course, the new program of activities for the any interested coven members…

"And some compelled members," Carlisle said to his eldest brother who merely tutted in response.

Aro ignored the comment completely, and as the king did, so to did everyone else.

"I believe today will be the last in the courtyard, correct?"

He looked to Magnus for confirmation as the guard master had been leading the coven youth in their, frankly, disgusting work.

"Aye," Magnus replied. His voice held a gravely tone from suppressing his emotions. He coughed into his hand to clear his throat. "They've got a fair amount left to do but we'll see it finished today."

"Wonderful."

Aro smiled to his children, all miserable as sin knowing they had another long day ahead. He felt a pang of guilt as he considered their downtrodden little faces. Poor things had been working like dogs and time in the south tower when they weren't sleeping had been… tense for them all. Aro was trying to control the beast within, and he was winning, but it wasn't without repercussions. He'd been snapping and snarling at all of them, Felix most of all. Aro knew he needed to calm down and he hoped the innate need to control his subordinates would subside, that he would go back to being 'dad'. He was nearly there.

Basileus joined his son standing before his throne. The meeting was done with, but he had something to say.

"One final point," he said. "Volturi are not outcasts. Whatever the rank or station in this coven, there are no outcasts. The repercussions will be severe if I hear anyone say otherwise."

A few of the guard wanted to remind the creator that the term 'outcasts' had been one the kids came up with themselves. They would have dared, obviously, but Basileus heard their thoughts.

As Alexander's thoughts were the loudest, the creator thought he needed to be put in his place.

"Magnus, I believe you will want to remind certain coven members of their responsibilities."

Magnus nodded to his old friend and looked over the sea of guards to Alex and Heidi at the very back of the room. They each flinched as his gaze landed upon them.

"Aye," he said. Short, sweet and oh so condemning.

As the meeting drew to a close, Magnus sent his young workforce out to the yard and Freyr directed guards to their posting for the day.

Kate looked to Carmen with pleading eyes. "Do I have to go, too? Really? My leg is sore, and…"

Before Carmen could answer, Eleazar spoke. "We agreed," he said to his mate when he saw she was ready to relent and get Kate out of her duties.

To Kate he said, "If you are fit enough to argue you are fit enough for something else, my girl."

She heard the implied threat though it made little sense. Surely if Kate had been deemed fit enough to join in with the wolf pelt punishment then she was fit enough for the 'something else', too. Naturally, she didn't make this point. Tanya tried to so Kate quickly dragged her out of the great hall with Irina following close behind.

Kate could have joined them the day before, as she had recovered by then, but she'd done a good job of convincing Carmen and Eleazar that she needed to rest her mangled leg for another day. Well, she'd convinced Carmen - Eleazar knew she was faking it. Not that he'd argued - anything for a quiet life. He felt he made up for it by telling the girl she would be joining in with the tanning that morning, unless she wanted to get a tanning.

Kate and Tanya agreed his 'dad jokes' were getting worse. They'd looked to Irina expecting her to refute that Eleazar told dad jokes at all, as he wasn't their father. The eldest Denali girl surprised them both when she unthinkingly agreed.

The hall soon cleared leaving only three.

Approaching Alex and Heidi, Magnus heaved a great sigh and shook his head. "You are improperly dressed," he said, tutting at the man's inside-out tunic.

Alex looked down to find his Volturi crest missing. What a dick. He closed his eyes for a moment and cursed himself. Alex knew he would be taking a licking regardless - the uniform just made matters worse.

"Apologies, Master," he said, making quick work of righting his uniform. "I didn't know they'd be sounding the gong today."

"The point of that gong is to alert you to an emergency," Magnus said. "No one expects an emergency, but you should damn well be prepared for one."

Alex umm'd and ah'd. "But we haven't used it in ages and…"

He trailed off hearing Magnus snarl to his words. It may have been his tone, too. Alex wasn't sure. Shutting his trap would solve it either way, so he did.

Thankfully, Magnus agreed with the troublesome guard and turned his attentions to Heidi.

"You've escaped my belt by the skin of your teeth, lady." Absentmindedly, his hand moved over the excessively large buckle at his waist. "If he'd come a second sooner it would be your neck on the block."

Heidi side-eyed Alex and scowled. "If he'd cum a second sooner we wouldn't have been late."

Good Gods above! Magnus shook his head. I'm too old for this talk. "You've just brought yourself a few stripes after all."

Heidi began to protest only to immediately silence when the juggernaut stepped a little closer.

"Dorms, both of you. Separately."

The young workforce had trouped out of the great hall and followed the castle building around to the rear courtyard. With it being the first time, they had been able to chat without overlords around, they took the walk as slowly as they possibly could to savour their adult-free time. Felix and Coring held hands and made plans to break the new curfew as soon as they felt it safe to do so. Even Jane and Tanya joined the convicts, all laughing as they went.

They found Odi in the courtyard making a half-hearted attempt to look busy. He appeared to be sweeping the sunshine off a single cobblestone. As soon as he saw them, he abandoned his meagre efforts.

"Did I miss much?" he asked, hoping to hear Caius had some sort of comeuppance.

"Basileus shot him down," Felix replied, knowing just what Odi wanted to know. "Although, he's probably going to kill you now."

"Basileus?" Alec asked.

"No, you dick. Caius."

Felix tutted at the boy for trying to join in and pushed him away towards Jane and Tanya where he belonged. Jane clambered on top of the water trough, and up to the wall above, sitting four foot above the ground. Reaching down, she pulled Tanya, then Alec up to join her.

Odi dropped the broom he'd used as prop and took a seat on the back of one of the empty wagons - the one the kids had travelled in, leaving the wolf wagon for the others if they could brave the blood-soaked wood. They'd scrubbed and scrubbed the bloody thing, but it still stank.

"Nah, I reckon I'm safe now," he said. "Didn't you see what happened in the hall?"

Corin and Felix looked to one another, having clearly seen the same. "Yeah," Felix said, nodding slowing to his friend. "Caius called you out in front of everyone and you left with his wife."

Corin offered the kid a sad sigh. "He's going to flay you, Odi."

Odi chuckled to himself. "Nah, my mom and dad are done with waiting for Caius to back off on his own."

Corin hopped up next to Odi, looking to him quizzically. "How can you be so sure?"

He smiled at her. "I saw them snap."

Odi knew exactly what he seen, and he was certain he was right. On too many occasions, the 'snap' had brought his own demise, but there were notable exceptions where it occurred in his favour.

He could still remember the first time he'd seen his parents99 snap. They weren't even his parents then, not really, and back then, Freyr had Magnus' attitude to sorting out family strife - 'give it time'. She had her limits, though…

Sven had taken the younger boy to his parents' home two months or so before, and whilst Freyr and Sven had made him welcome, Ivar, the eldest of the boys at fourteen had been against taking in 'the stray'.

Magnus hadn't seemed too keen to begin with, either, questioning his wife on how they would feed another mouth. She'd talked him around: "Odin will provide", she said.

A few weeks later, the village Jarl caught Odi stealing from his own home— egged on by Ivar, who made sure Sven was out of the way before the Jarl returned —Magnus had been forced to fight for the child. He'd won, of course, being a mountain of a man.

Odi felt no more settled, though.

Ivar picked on him relentlessly and even got his mates to join in. Sven told his mother about the bullying he saw, but Freyr assured him they would all settle in time. Ivar had been put off by Sven telling tales, 'like a fucking child', and started getting craftier with his swipes at Odi.

Literal swipes.

Now that Ivar and his friends were tormenting Odi away from Sven and his big gob, the taunts turned physical.

Odi wanted to tell his new family what was going on, he really did. He couldn't speak their language well enough to make himself understood. Besides, if Freyr hadn't believed Sven, why would she believe him? And Magnus, well, he couldn't even look at Magnus. Seeing the guy go against the Jarl in his name had been amazing. It scared him, too, though. Whilst the Jarl fought with two axes, Magnus fought with nothing but his fists. And he won! He pummelled the Jarl into the bloodied dirt.

As luck would have it, Odi didn't need to speak to Magnus. He noticed some bruises on the scrawny child when he changed his tunic, and more noticeably, Ivar scarpered. Only a blind man would miss what had gone on between the boys. Magnus waited for the young ones to fall asleep before he spoke to his wife. No sooner had Sven closed his eyes— he was always last to drop —Magnus tossed a blanket to his wife, and they went outside to chat.

"They need their heads knocking together, love," Magnus said, after explaining what he'd seen that day.

Freyr tutted and shook her head. "They're just boys, just jostling. They will settle, give it time."

Magnus wasn't so sure - Odi was only four years younger than Ivar, they believed, but for as undernourished ten-year-old the new kid wouldn't stand a chance against Magnus' first born, who already seemed more man than boy.

"I'm taking them to the fields tomorrow."

A gust of wind whipped around the homestead. Freyr pulled her blankets up to her neck for protection. "You said you had the harvest tied up?"

"There's always work to do in those fields, love." Magnus pulled his wife in closer, wrapping his arms around the woman. "Besides, I should spend some time with Odi."

Freyr was sure that had been her idea some weeks before.

The next day in the fields Ivar worked alongside his father and uncles, behaving himself and dutifully avoiding Odi. When he could be certain his father wouldn't see, Ivar and his cousins would catch Odi's eye to glare at the boy, smirk and laugh, they even fitted in the odd threatening gesture.

Sven tried to jolly Odi along, but the poor kid felt wretched. When Ivar held a knife to his own neck and pulled the blade across, as though the slit his throat, Odi decided enough was enough. The next day, he'd make a pack up of some food and water, perhaps a blanket if he could slip one out of the house, and he would hit the road again.

When they returned home that evening, Freyr had their meal ready. She seemed so pleased to see them all, Odi included. He nearly put his plans out of his mind. Then Ivar shoved him out of the way to enter the doorway first, smacking the boy's head off the wooded frame.

Odi couldn't pretend it hadn't happened – he yelled out in surprise and the thud scattered the birds from nearby trees.

"What?" Ivar asked his parents, both glaring at him at Freyr fussed over the stray. "It was an accident."

Accident or not, Magnus gave the boy a clout. "Get in there and get out of the way."

Freyr brought her new baby inside and sat him in her chair. The bruising on his forehead appeared to be blooming in front of her eyes.

"Accidents happen, never mind, now," she said, wiping his tears away. "You need a drink and some food in your belly."

"Got some good work out of them today."

Freyr set a bowl at her husband's place. "See, I told you they'd settle down together. They were bored, that's all."

"Aye, we'll see." But with one eye on the wounded in the chair, and another on Ivar muttering darkly in the corner, Magnus wasn't so sure.

The next afternoon, Odi had his chance to flee. Magnus sent him home from the fields – he wasn't used to toiling and had tired quickly. The boy did as he was told and went straight home where he soon packed up some bread and a water bag. He looked at the blanket on his bed. A full bear skin. So warm… I'll need something warm, he reasoned, feeling guilty as he lifted the item. Freyr said it's mine, he told himself.

He folded his guilt into the fur and rolled it under his arm. That's was it. Done. He looked around the home he'd shared for two brief months. Part of him wanted to stay – he loved Sven like a brother already. Freyr had been so kind to him. Magnus, too, for that matter. But Ivar didn't want him there, and he couldn't fight the older boy off. Deciding he'd rather live alone than in torment, he set off.

The poor kid didn't even clear the village without bumping into Ivar and his cousins.

"Where are you off to, stray?" Ivar asked, blocking his path. Soon the cousins were there, too, preventing a retreat.

Ivar spotted the sack he carried. "Are you leaving?" He snatched it from him, knocking the kid to the floor. "And what's this?"

Odi hung on to the blanket Ivar tried to take from him for dear life. Then the other boys joined in. One grabbed Odi under his arms, pulling him back, another booted him in the side.

"All of this belongs to my family, not yours, stray." Ivar snarled at the tearful child. "Stealing from the hand that feeds you? Scum."

Ivar thought he would be safe—his father in the fields, his mother at home (he believed)—so he could be as loud as he liked when he mocked Odi, scratting about in the dust to avoid the lazy kicks of the older boys.

He might have been more decreet had he known his mother was visiting the old crone's house, delivering bread and mead to keep the old widow going, a stone throw from where they stood.

"Ivar Magnusson!" she roared, appearing from no where with a red angry face steam coming out of her ears.

All the boys jumped, including Odi on the ground. Little Odi watched carefully, ready to run if that hot anger turned on him.

He had no reason to worry, though.

"I cannot believe what I have seen with my own two eyes!"

Ivar bit his lip. His cousins attempted to move back a step or two, and Ivar's closest pal, Hallr, joined them. It wouldn't do them any good. That was the trouble with village life – everyone knew everyone else. If Freyr had seen them all—and she had—then she could, nay would tell their parents.

Freyr launched for Ivar.

"Ow!" Ivar squealed, most unbecoming of the young man he believed himself to be. "My ear!"

She kept a good hold on the boy's twisted ear as she reached a hand out to Odi.

"Kerr, Alvar," she called to her nephews. "All of you, in fact. Don't you dare slink off, Hallr! I've already seen you, young one. You'll follow me if you know what's good for you."

Freyr didn't release either boy on her march to the field. Ivar quietly begged from his twisted ear, and Odi walked hand in hand with the woman, wondering how much trouble he'd be in for stealing the food and blanket.

"Aye up, lads," one of the guys shouted to the others. "We have some trouble coming."

Magnus looked over and saw more correctly, that he had some trouble coming. Sven had stayed with his father when Odi was sent home. He had been lagging the last few hours but suddenly the boy was filled with joy.

"Alright, young one, settle down," Magnus told the boy. Once Freyr was close enough to hear him, he called out, "You looking for me, love?"

"Yes. I was wrong," she said to Magnus.

"Those are some rare words," Erik said, winking at his sister-in-law. "You look well, Freyr. Anger suits you."

Magnus tried to ignore his brother. He'd never got along with Erik, only a year older than Magnus himself. Their older brothers, Ivar and Sven, who Magnus named his own sons after, would swear under oath that Erik and Magnus had been fighting since the latter could walk.

"About what?"

"Don't ask her that, you fool!" Erik chipped in. "Just savour the moment!"

Freyr thrust Ivar forward, by his ear, which she had yet to release. "He's a bully and a brute."

Magnus caught the disgruntled teen. "Told you he needed knocking down to size."

"That he does."

And then she went and did it! Freyr sealed Ivar's fate, and had him tried and convicted on the spot thanks to her beautiful retelling of Ivar the awful beating a defenceless boy in the dirt.

Odi watched the woman from her side. Not only had she landed Ivar, but she was condemning all his cousins and pals, too. They had obediently followed Freyr to the fields despite knowing a good many of their father would be there. The end of the harvest seemed to be as much about the men catching up with one another as it did with tidying and prepping the fields.

Freyr pulled Odi in a little closer as she spoke, heartbroken that her own son could be so cruel to his new brother - whether Ivar liked it or not, that was Odi's place. There was a fire in her eyes. Like she'd snapped. Odi made a note of that particular look, especially as it seemed to be in his favour.

Checking how the man of the house was taking the news, Odi saw a similar expression on Magnus's face. The guy gripped Ivar a little tighter with every passing minute with barely contained rage. The only break in his stance of expression was to offer Odi the odd sad smile. He's snapped, too, Odi realised. For me?

Lost in thought, Odi missed Freyr coming to the end of Ivar's sentencing.

"Now?" Magnus asked his wife, brow furrowed. "You want me to whip him now?"

Freyr nodded at Magnus' friends who were already balling out their own sons, great claps sounded out in the field as they got their boys in check.

Magnus knew his friends had less to say to their sons than he did. It was neither the time nor the place in his mind to chat with Ivar about Odi's place in their lives.

"Take him home, I'll get to him later. I'm up to my eyes in it, love." He nudged Ivar in Freyr's direction, only for Freyr to nudge him back. Magnus sighed. "Now, it is, then."

He saw Erik roll his eyes - Magnus silently called his brother a prat and fetched a small knife from the bull cart which he pressed into Ivar's hand.

"Go cut a switch, boy. Go on."

Odi tucked into Freyr's side. Magnus had just armed the brute who'd punched him down to the floor minutes earlier. Now that same boy glared at him with a knife!

Through gritted teeth, Ivar told his father, "I haven't done anything wrong—" he jabbed the knife into the air in Odi's direction. "—he needs to know his place."

Magnus's breathing became louder as he expelled the air from his lungs slowly, all in an effort to not clobber his son. Ivar sounded so much like Erik when he started with his teenage attitude. Why couldn't you be like you're Uncle Ivar, Magnus wondered, not for the first time. He's calm beyond measure.

Right on cue, Ivar the elder returned from clipping his own child's wings to give his brother a hand.

As Ivar continued to dig his own grave, the boy's uncle tried to calm the situation, telling his nephew to get on with what he'd been told to do.

"You need to calm down, young one." He placed a comforting hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Odi was ready to run from his new home because of you…"

"This aint the stray's home and he shouldn't be here at all."

Ivar the Elder removed his hand - he was sorely tempted to whip the back of it across his nephew's face.

"What was that?" Freyr asked. If she'd told Ivar to quit calling Odi a stray once, she'd told him a hundred times! "Come on, say it."

"Yes," Magnus said. "Give me another reason to switch you."

Ivar folded his arms across his chest. He thought he looked mature doing so, having watched his father and uncles do the same thing since he could remember. Unfortunately, Ivar looked like the petulant child he was. Chatting back to adults, particularly adults in his family, was a bad thing. The boy knew he was in for a round of hell. But it wasn't fair!

Ivar glowered at his father. "You don't have any reason to switch me, and the stray don't have a home."

Ivar the Elder chuntered into the air and walked away, disgusted with his nephew's attitude. Passing Magnus, he said, "You need to knock that out of him, brother."

"Aye, I'll see to it."

Without taking his eyes off his eldest son, eyes that spoke of a certain resolution, he reached into the bull cart and pulled out a whip.

"You can cut a switch, or I'll use this," he said, waving the terrifying implement around to make his point.

Ivar came to his senses and darted off to find a tree, a branch, even a decent sized weed would do! By the time he returned, the other boys had all been given a slap and were in the process of apologising to Magnus and Freyr. One or two needed another slap to convince them they should apologise to Odi, too.

Odi didn't know what to do when they did, as he'd never been on the receiving end of an apology before. Having watched Magnus and Freyr receive the lads first, Odi mimicked their actions and nodded. He added a thank you to the ones he felt deserved it.

Magnus spotted Ivar loitering around his friends with three birch switches half-hidden behind his back. The man wasted no time in snatching his son from the crowd of teens.

"Get over here", he said, leaving Ivar no time to respond before dragging the boy back to the bull cart.

Before Ivar could process the abject horror of taking a switching in front of his very best friends, he found himself being lifted and drop again so his chest lay flat on the back of the cart with his feet scratching the dry ground. The bull grumbled when Ivar landed with a thud, jostling the whole cart and the poor beast attached.

Magnus wasted no time in taking the birch branches from his son's hand and whipping them across his errant hide. He didn't even bother to strip the branches – if Ivar hadn't bothered then why should his father? It would hurt a damn sight more, but that was hard luck.

Ivar wished the weather had been cooler, so he'd have been wearing heavier clothing. A cloak would have been ideal. The tunic and loose linen trousers covering his bottom offered just enough protection from the switches that he felt he'd get through his ordeal without embarrassing himself with tears. I can take it like a man, he thought, wincing with each stripe.

"That boy is as much my son as you are - got it?"

The question needed no answer, and no time was given for one before Magnus unleashed another flurry of strikes.

Oh, those ones stung! Ivar bit into his fist for as long as he could, refusing to breath lest he inadvertently scream. When his father paused to ask his next question, Ivar flipped over on the cart and held his hands up in defence.

"I get it! I get it!"

Bad move. Magnus shook his head.

"I haven't finished, young one."

"No way!" Ivar dropped his hands to his sides and gripped onto the cart. "You have, you have - just stop!"

Magnus's brothers sucked in the air around, both tutting at their nephew. They used the boy as an example to their own sons in how not to behave. Not if they wanted use of their legs at any point in the future. Only two of his brothers. Erik, the prat, found Ivar's refusal to obey most amusing.

"He's got bigger balls than you, brother!" Erik only paused to laugh. "You never had the guts to order our old man about!"

"Aye, that was your trick," Magnus shouted back. "It did you as much good as it will do him."

Ivar gulped knowing he was the 'him'. Oh, hell.

"Where was I?" Magnus asked as he, with ease, flipped Ivar right back into position, this time keeping a crushing hold on the boy's arm, twisted into his back. "Odi is mine because I say he's mine - am I clear?"

All pretence ended. Ivar howled with his father's renewed anger was directed across the back of his legs. Only trousers to protect him - might as well have been nothing at all for all the good they did. He felt each searing stripe slash into his skin, though he couldn't count them coming so thick and fast.

Suddenly he was crying freely, struggling to avoid more blows. Ivar's own words came back to haunt him - take it like a man, huh? His friends sniggered somewhere to his right, but he daren't look their way.

"I don't need your damn permission to add to my family, young one - understand?"

The set of strikes that came with the third pointless question saw the end of the birches. Broken beyond use, Magnus threw them to the ground.

"Yes, yes! Just stop!" Ivar said, agreeing to whatever his father had said - he hadn't been paying much attention. "I'm sorry, Dad!"

"You want to try that again, boy? You're apologising to the wrong person, young one." Ivar made the mistake of moving. Magnus slammed him back down. "This is your last chance before I use that bullwhip on you, young one."

In case Ivar was in any doubt, Magnus employed his shovel sized hand, hard and calloused from all his years of work, to make his point.

Sadly, for Ivar, quite the crowd had gathered from the village, wives, and children in search of their menfolk mainly. They chatted in the warm evening air as though the poor child wasn't being humiliated before their eyes.

For the adults, it was hardly remarkable. Barely noteworthy. Ivar was no worse than the other lads his age. No better either. They all needed the edges knocked off now and again.

The younger crowd decided the show was great fun - so long as they weren't in the show. Their laughter and mild taunting mostly went unpunished. Ivar couldn't decide what was worse - the adults agreeing his walloping would have no doubt been deserved or his peers cajoling each other into mocking him!

Young Sven joined his mother and Odi - he couldn't contain his joy seeing his big brother get a spanking in front of his mates.

He nudged Odi. "See, the Gods do listen," he said. "This is the best day ever!"

Odi's lips curled into a small smile. With a big grin, he whispered back, "brilliant."

Freyr told them both to hush up, and they did, but they couldn't help their smirks and sniggers. She allowed them those, considering the torment Odi had suffered.

"I'm sorry to Odi, too," Ivar squealed, squirming under his father's hold. "I didn't mean anything, just messing around, honest."

Without any warning, Magnus ended his assault and released his child who promptly fell off the cart and landed on his tender backside. Ivar cursed the man beneath his breath and dragged himself up out of the dirt. It took every ounce of willpower to resist the urge to rub his aching backside. He fancied going home and sitting his ass in the horse's water trough. Maybe the back of his legs, too.

It was not the time for Ivar's fancies, however, as his father still had need of him.

"Now, young one, you'll get over there and make peace with that boy."

"Alright, alright."

Ivar always tried for the last word. For an easy life, his parents occasionally allowed him to have it, but this was too important.

Magnus spun the boy to face him. He remembered being Ivar's age, feeling grown in a world full of adults who didn't appreciate being told when they were wrong. He also knew teenage hubris could be a dangerous thing left untethered. Magnus squared his shoulders, his chest stretched wider, growing before Ivar's very eyes. The boy was big for his age, but his father was a bear of a man.

"You put your hands on Odi again and I'll…"

He didn't say any more, he didn't need to.

Whilst Ivar mumbled his way through his regrets, Magnus winked at Odi and gave him a nod. The young boy offered a lopsided smile in return.

Ivar did eventually warm to Odi, tolerating him in small doses.

Odi hoped for more than that with Caius, eventually. Maybe?

The shield maiden called out as she came around the corner, starling the group. "At least make it look like you're working."

Whilst the others sprang into action, Odi called to his mother. He decided to start off with a little creeping.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. "In the hall. I was just… I don't know. Sorry, mom."

"You know the drill in the hall, son."

Mhmm. Odi's concern showed on his face.

"Keep it in mind for next time," Freyr said. "Oh, I'm busy today, so stay out of Caius's way."

I've got it wrong. Now what am I going to do? Corin's right - Caius will flay me!

Freyr watched as her baby boy's face fell. She cupped his cheek in one hand and offered a warm smile. "Just for today, my darling."

Before leaving the young ones to their work, she winked at her boy.

Oh! Not wrong at all. Brilliant. Caius, you're getting a round of fucks tonight, brother. Um…

Irina noticed Odi's goofy grin. Naturally she wanted to end whatever joy he felt. Once his meddlesome mother was clear of the courtyard, she asked, "Have you suffered her wrath yet?"

What a way to ruin a kid's high! Soon it wasn't only Irina asking, it was most of them… all of them.

Odi shrugged and made to walk away. "I don't want to talk about that."

Snorting, Irina pulled him back. "I'll take that as a yes."

"I haven't actually." Odi pushed the girl away. "I got her to put it off until we've finished with the pelts. One punishment at a time."

"Thanks for that." Corin exhaled, relieved.

Odi smiled back. Sickeningly, as Aro had announced they were on their final day of tanning pelts, Odi realised he would soon be on 'punishment transfer'. He couldn't let those thoughts fill his head.

"How about you two and Carmen?" Far more preferable to think of their misery than his own.

Kate tried, and failed, to hide her smirk. Irina saw and huffed loudly before snatching a bucket from the empty wash trough. Then she stomped away in the direction of the well.

With all eyes on Kate, the girl spoke up. "Well, you see…" she trailed off into giggles.

Poor Felix was sick of being the only one who couldn't sit without wincing. Odi and Corin had planted their asses on the wagon easily enough. The twins sat on a stone wall, Demetri on the cobble stone floor. There was no justice in the whole wide world!

"Spit it out, Kate," he said, wanting to know what could possibly be so funny.

Irina returned with her pale of water and dumped it in the wash trough. "Kate convinced Carmen and Eleazar that she'd already suffered enough." The girl levelled a look of disdain at her sister. "Because being chewed on by a rabid dog, which was her own fault, counts as consequences, or something."

"What!" Demetri sprang to his feet. "My mom whipped me when I was still healing from my guts being ripped open!"

Slight exaggeration there, brother. Felix clapped a hand across his eyes. He hoped to the gods above that none of the guards were around to hear the boy's admission. Calm, calm, he told himself. He's only admitted his own punishment, not mine.

"What about you?" he asked Irina. The eldest Denali girl was the only other one not sitting, like him. But she's carrying buckets of water, hard to sit and carry buckets about. "If you've got away with this shit, too, I'm putting in a complaint."

"Over and done with, no big deal." Irina shrugged. "Done and dusted last night, no big deal."

Corin concentrated on her knees and whispered to Odi at her side. "If she's doubling down on it not being a big deal, it definitely was."

Felix couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Is that it?"

Odi and Corin had a week-long reprieve so Magnus and Freyr would be much calmer by the time they suffered, if at all. Kate walked (limped) away free. Irina seemed entirely unfazed, and she had only been supposedly punished the evening before. Where's the fucking justice? Even Alec has had a worse time than the rest of them. This is some screwed up shit.

"How are you not dying inside like me?"

Felix thought it bad enough that his coven mates knew his father walloped him on occasion— hell! Some of those wallopings had even been public affairs! —but now they all knew his mother took charge, too. Once, he reminded himself. Its only happened once, and they don't all know yet. Felix glanced around the courtyard for guards. None. He dreaded them all finding out, and they would, in time. Afton and Alex would rib him mercilessly when they found out, he was sure of it.

"It's totally shaming." The bruin wished he hadn't let his last thoughts slip from his mouth.

"It's not shaming but you feel ashamed by it," Irina said. "Two different things."

For a girl who had to be cajoled into every task for the last four days, Irina seemed as though she'd make up for it in one morning. She dumped another bucket of water into the wash trough and wiped her brow on the back of her hand.

"I refuse to feel ashamed of something I have no control over." With a shrug, again she said, "It's not a big deal."

Tanya and Jane sat on the courtyard wall above the trough, swinging their legs backwards and forwards. Tanya's foot seemed to inch closer and closer to Irina's head as she kicked out that little bit further.

Missed.

"It was a big deal."

"Shut up, Tan."

Tanya smirked to herself. Irina had mocked her relentlessly for the odd smack she'd received from Eleazar, and now she had a chance to wind her biggest sister up - with an audience, too! She dropped down from the four-foot wall and squared up to Irina.

"Why should I shut up - it's not a big deal, is it?" Tanya didn't wait for an answer from Irina. She turned to her waiting crowd of kids with a barely contained snigger. "She made so much fuss that Eleazar stepped in and really walloped her."

Irina reached out and grabbed Tanya by the arm. She pulled her back with a sharp yank and knocked the younger vampire off her feet.

A little bewildered, Tanya looked up from the dusty ground as Irina stood over her.

"Shut. Up."

Before Tanya could drag Irina down with her— and hopefully batter the bitch —Jane helped her cousin up and warned her to be careful. If the masters were alerted to a scrap in the courtyard, Tanya would suffer for it along with Irina, regardless of the latter being the instigator.

"Let's go," the girl urged. "I don't want to watch them work anyway."

More than that, Jane didn't want to get into a conversation about who dished out which punishments to whom - Aro had let her off, which she'd found highly amusing to begin with. But the guilt already began to creep up her spine - one story too many and her conscience would demand she made matters right.

Sadly, for Jane and her conscience, Odi and Felix had other ideas.

"No, no, no," Odi said to the girls. He guided them to the empty cart and lifted first one and then the other onto the edge in his own vacated seat. "Take a seat little ladies and tell us everything."

"Well…" Tanya brushed herself down, shaking the dust from her dress.

Though Odi and Felix had her physically blocked, Irina growled at her sister. "You say one word and I'll tell a story about you."

Odi didn't care who talked so long as someone distracted him. "Why don't you tell us yourself, then?"

Felix didn't care who talked so long as he found out someone, anyone, had suffered along with him. "It's not a big deal, right?"

Irina huffed in frustration and threw her bucket at the trough, where it promptly smashed into pieces.

"It isn't a big deal. I just happened to disagree on how long this particular punishment bullshit went on for."

"Disagreed with Eleazar?" Demetri asked. "That was dumb."

"Not him, her," Irina corrected, meaning Carmen.

Felix wasn't buying it. "Carmen's all mouth, I doubt she could do any damage."

With a glance around the group, he prayed none of them every told her he'd said so. A week ago, he would have been convinced his own mother was all mouth. Not even mouth. All nothing but sweetness and light. He'd learned his lesson the hard way.

"She's a lot of mouth with a side helping of brush." Irina winced. "And she made me feel like shit about the mission, tried to, I mean."

Corin snorted next to the girls. "Surely you just told Carmen to get fucked, like I was supposed to do with Renata?"

Whilst the others whooped and cheered for Corin, Irina's head dropped on one side as she glowered at the girl. "It's different. You and Renata are just guards. Carmen is my mother… I mean guardian! I mean captor!" Shit!

"Too late," Tanya said, gleefully bouncing up and down in the cart. "You said it, I'm telling! I'm telling everyone!"

To her credit, Irina didn't give Tanya a black eye, which they would all later think showed some growth for the eldest Denali girl.

"Hang on," Felix said, picking up on something Irina said. "A brush. Like, for hair?"

Irina looked at the boy as she so often did - like he fallen off a turnip truck. "Not 'like' for hair. Actually, for hair."

"What a joke!"

Corin and Jane seemed to have some experience as they were on Irina's side, however, they were the only ones. The rest either couldn't imagine fearing a hairbrush or, for Felix and Odi, completely disagreed that it was anything but a joke.

Oh, no. Irina wasn't having it. "This shit happened last night: I've slept and drank bloodwine, but my legs are still raw. How is it a joke?"

"What's this brush made of?" Felix asked. "Wood?"

"Yeah…"

"That's the joke," the boy replied.

Odi backed him up. "If Eleazar smacked you with a brush, it couldn't have hurt. For it to hurt, the brush would have broken."

Demetri was less sure suddenly as he recalled his last visit to the library. "Marcus has that long, wooden rule thing in the library - that hurts."

All but the Denali girls mumbled 'Yeah, that does hurt', or words to such effect.

Felix still felt aggrieved. "It stings a bit," he said, subconsciously rubbing one hand over the other to remove the well-worn 'sting' from his knuckles. He doubted it would sting as much on his legs… Bare legs? Maybe?

"Eleazar didn't use a brush. He used a slipper. That really fucking hurt."

Looking at the band of gormless misfits, Irina knew she'd have to explain further. Clearly my father… guardian… captor! Fuck! Clearly, he's coming up with sadistic tools of torture if none of them have any understanding of what I'm talking about.

"It's a leather soled slipper, so we're basically talking about a small, floppy strap."

No arguments. They all agreed that would hurt.

After a lull of quiet whilst the little gathering thought on their own torment, Felix, again, brought up the brush.

"Really, though," he said. "A brush?" He sealed his derision with condescending chuckle.

He's going too far now, Irina said to herself. "What happened to the code, Felix? We aren't supposed to bring any attention to this stuff, are we?"

"The code isn't for afters," Felix said. He looked at Odi and smiled cruelly. "It's not for befores, either."

Odi told him to shut his gob but explained to Irina. "The code only comes into play during a whipping," he said. "That's when we all pretend absolutely nothing is going on. After, we compare notes."

"And before," Felix added, helpfully.

Odi rolled his eyes and refused to join in. Instead, he joined the others in looking to Irina expectantly.

For fuck's sake! Irina hiked up the back of her dress just high enough for the bruin to make his own mind up. She pointed first to the backs of her lower legs, then her thighs. "Slipper. Brush."

Felix immediately stopped laughing. His eyes stuck out on stalks seeing the state Irina was in. He would have begged for a day off yard work if he looked like that and he couldn't pretend otherwise.

"Oh man," he said, rubbing a hand around the back of his neck. "Sorry. Looks really sore."

"Oi!" The bass of Magnus's voice bounced across the cobble stones. "What are you lot playing at?"

Irina fixed her dress and rolled her eyes.

"Ah, comparing notes." Magnus bobbed his head. "Are you going to manage today, young one," he asked Irina. "Carmen said you had a tough time last night, and…"

"I don't need Carmen to speak for me."

Fortunately for Irina, Magnus saw the glistening tears in her eyes. "Alright, young one," he said, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders to block the other kids from her view whilst she collected herself. "The rest of you had better find something to do."

"Tanya," Felix hissed, scooting to the girls. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"My dad had to smack his precious princess for keeping our secrets. If you didn't cop for it from my uncle, my dad will be making up for it."

Felix couldn't have known he was effectively kicking his baby sister in the guts, but he was. Tanya already told Jane about her 'ordeal', as she called it. Jane hadn't had the nerve to tell Tanya the truth at the time, but she knew she had to tell someone. Her grandmother, perhaps?

Tanya didn't have chance to answer before Magnus joined them.

"Get on with some work, lads," he directed at Felix and Odi. He pushed the younger girls on. "You pair had better scram before I give you a job to do."

Odi loitered by his father. He hoped to hear Magnus was on the same page as Freyr. Magnus told him to shift himself.

"Um…" Odi took a step towards the wolf pelts and the other former outcasts but stepped back even quicker. "Mom said she's busy today."

Magnus merely looked at his boy with a raised eyebrow.

"I should stay out of Caius's way, right?" Odi said, pushing his father for a response. He'd been right about his mother snapping, he needed to know Magnus was done, too. "Because she's busy. Today. Right?"

An exasperated sigh came from Magnus. "She is, you should," he agreed, and made to leave his boy.

"What about you?" Odi grabbed his father's elbow and pulled him back. "Are you busy today?"

"I'm here with you," Magnus said.

He knocked his boy's hand away from his arm and pointed to the pelts they were midway through cleaning up, ready to be sent to the tanners in town.

"This is supposed to be your last day out here - I'd get on with the task at hand unless you want to be out here after your classes all week, too."

Odi cast his eyes to the ground. His bottom lip stuck out slightly, pouting with a gentle quiver. "Sure, I'll get on with it."

It was Magnus' turn to pull Odi back. Odi's rambled questions unjumbled in the juggernauts mind and Magnus understood what his boy needed to hear.

"Don't worry about Caius," he said, giving Odi a wink. "Now get to work."

…

It was a busy night in the guard hall that evening. Both Phillipe and Richard were working the bar, keeping on top of the steady stream of orders. They could have done with Turk being allowed out of his dorm and both hoped that time would come sooner rather than later. With the elite joining the hall for the first time in a long time, the resident musicians kept a melodic tune going from between the two roaring fireplaces.

Afton and Renata chatted at their table waiting for the rest of their gang to arrive. Carlisle already had, but he'd been dragged away to sit with his family. He didn't seem too happy about it as he trudged away behind his mother who'd been sent to fetch him.

"Do you know what time Chelsea's shift ends?" Afton asked.

Ren scrunched up her nose. "She's gone out with Dora and Heidi. They're hunting, or something."

Afton's jaw dropped open for a moment before he recovered and tutted. "Oh, she would tell you and not me. Charming." He took a sulky swig of his ale and set the flagon down. "How is Heidi allowed off base after this morning?"

"Dora cleared it with Freyr," Renata said. "It's useful having friends in high places."

"Poor me stuck with my pals in low places, huh?" he smirked back, offering Renata the drink he'd brought for his mate. "Has Corin gone with them?"

Renata chuckled to herself. "That girl won't be going anywhere without me for a while. I'm not going through the stress again."

Thinking about it, Corin had gone to bathe and change an hour ago and still hadn't returned. Much longer and Renata would have to go and check on the girl.

Alex lumbered in, looking beat. He pulled out the chair next to Renata and collapsed into it, sighing for dramatic effect. He'd hoped Ren and Afton would ask him about his day, purely so he could enjoy a narcistic rant about the unfairness of Freyr's rota system which used leaning as a punishment – particularly because he seemed so often to befall such punishment. For a man in his early thirties, it was damn degrading! It was women's work, or servants work, certainly not warriors work.

Before they could, the whole hall flinched hearing Aro snap at his youngest child for mithering at the table, followed by someone receiving a slap on the hand. No one would have known it was Felix in receipt had the bruin not yelled out 'mom!' in both shock and horror.

"Poor little lambs," Renata said, turning away from the scene.

Afton nodded. The coven brats needed knocking down to size but even he felt sorry for them. Aro seemed to be on a knife-edge in the coven so Christ knows what he was like to live with. He picked up Carlisle's forgotten flagon of ale and put it next to his own.

Just as he was opening his mouth to pass comment, Renata jumped in. "Don't take the piss out of him," she said. "Any of them, either of you."

"Why would we take the piss?" Afton asked. "They've screwed up and they've been put on short leashes." He shrugged and supped some ale. "It's hardly a rare occurrence."

Alex agreed. He, like Afton, quite enjoyed ribbing a few of the younger ones but it was good natured. At least, he intended it to be.

"It's not like I can say anything about getting a round of fucks, is it?"

Afton chuckled at his best pal. His own track record wasn't so great, but thankfully he had Alex around to make him look better.

Renata gestured for the guys to move in closer. "Corin said Felix is worried everyone—meaning you two—will find out Sulpicia punished him for the mission. I bet Odi's worried about it, too."

Silently, Afton and Alexander looked to one another before bursting out laughing. Not quite for the reason Ren expected.

"You do know we were human once upon a time, right, Ren?" Afton said. "We had mothers, you know."

"Look what I'm like as a grown man," Alex said. "I wasn't any better behaved as a boy. My mother whooped me daily!"

"Oh." Renata truly expected her mates to rip into Felix at least, which is why she warned them off. "Well, the kids are sensitive about it so don't mention it, okay?"

She stood and started knocking her drink down in big gulps, Alex stood too, to head to the bar – although Afton was hoarding three drinks, none appeared to be for him.

"We won't upset your girl's beau," he said. "Besides, I'd rather take ten beltings than the shit they've had to do this week." Alex winced remembering the smell of the courtyard alone. "Did you see the state the girls were in? It's made for a challenging wank."

Whilst Alex and Afton guffawed aloud, Renata reached across Alexander's shoulder, coiling her hand right around throat. She had to stand on tiptoes being barely 5 foot tall—Corin was taller which amused the younger girl greatly—but she gave his Adam's apple a squeeze to make her point:

"If you were looking at Corin, I'm going to snap your neck."

"Cool it, Ren," Alex said back, relieving himself of her grip. "I wasn't looking at your baby."

Perfectly timed, Irina entered the hall. She went straight to her captors as she'd been instructed to do, and then to the bar, apparently fetching drinks for the whole table.

Alex rubbed his neck and went to the bar, too, purposely standing next to Irina. He leaned in close and whispered, "You're going to need to take a few baths before I let you back into my bed."

A week before, Irina might have made some sort of jibe back… and then would have taken a few baths to get back in his bed. A lot can change in a week, though.

She looked him square in the eye and said loudly, "I'm not yours to use and abuse at will."

Alex took a step back, his eyes moving quickly around the room as he tried to work out who had heard what. The elite were at their usual table, the furthest point away, but they would have been able to hear Irina's proclamation if they were paying attention. It was just the sort of talk that could see him killed off. Or worse - sent to a miserable outpost on his own!

He tried to laugh away her words as a joke. "I never said you were."

Irina collected the tray of drinks she'd been sent for and nodded to Richard in thanks. Then, after looking Alex up and down, lip curled in disgust, she said,

"It's not your mistake I'm correcting."

Without drawing attention to himself, Eleazar leaned to his right. "Aro, brother," he said.

Aro continued laughing along to Sulpicia's retelling of days of yore, merely for cover.

"You heard that, too, I take it?" he replied.

Eleazar nodded. "Find out what she was talking about."

"Do you really want to know?"

"As your brother, your older brother, I have made a perfectly simple request of you." Eleazar fixed his brother with his eyes, a determined look on his face. "Please."

Aro stood from the table in time for Irina to arrive with drinks. "Take my seat, my dear," he said, and went off to infiltrate Alexander's depraved mind.

"I'm not staying here…"

Down the table, Felix shook his head along with the other coven kids. It seemed none of them had a choice - they had all been seated separately, scattered between the elite taking up the whole end wall of the guard hall.

Another twisted punishment, Irina said to herself. She looked back over her shoulder to Odi who had taken their old outcast table for his own.

"How come he isn't sitting here?"

Truthfully, Odi was supposed to be sitting with them, but as his parents would be about the guard hall and beyond, there was no one to make him. Neither the other masters or the elite felt they should force the guard masters' kid to avoid any possible tension.

"He isn't mine to worry about," Eleazar told his eldest ward. He began passing drinks down the table. "Just sit down. Now," he added when she failed to obey.

Irina looked at the hard wooden chair Aro had vacated and then to Eleazar. She'd struggled with the work that day, her sore legs rubbing on the old guard scrubs she'd been forced to wear. When the girls went home to bathe and change before the guard hall, Irina had been confronted with a difficult clothing dilemma - she could wear Volturi uniform, which had appeared in her wardrobe (for the coming activities the coven had planned, apparently) or, well, Volturi gowns. How was that a choice?

She stormed into the main chamber where Carmen and Eleazar were waiting, reading in separate chairs.

"Where have my dresses gone?" she asked, stuffing one corner of her towel inside the fold to fix it across her chest. Her hair hung about her shoulders, dripping water to the marble-tiled floor. "I had two and now I have none. What have you done with them?"

Carmen set down her book. "You had one," she corrected. "As we'd already thrown the other for rags before your little jaunt, remember? And the other was fit for rags, too. So, it's gone."

Irina flexed her hands into fists and breathed fire through her flared nostrils. "Gone where?"

"You have new dresses in your wardrobe already, and more will arrive in the week from the dressmakers."

"I don't want new dresses." It was a lie, as she quite liked the dresses Carmen had given her - not the Volturi crested ones like Jane wore for the alliance ball, but the other gowns were quite beautiful, certainly more opulent than anything she'd owned before.

Eleazar lowered his book just enough to see Irina over the top of it. "Do you want a spanking instead?"

Instinctively, Irina's hands unclenched, and she shuffled backwards. When Eleazar narrowed his eyes, telling her to answer, she knew she should say no, shake her head, something! But it was too submissive, and she just couldn't do it!

She couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard Eleazar mutter 'Lord above!' as he stood, flinging his book aside. As he stalked towards her, she wondered why her damn legs wouldn't work. Same for her mouth! Before she knew it, he was at her side taking hold of her arm. Irina yelped in surprise and quickly gripped the towel where it knotted at her chest.

"I'll wear the bloody dress," she said, pulling away.

Too late. If Eleazar had to suffer shifting his ass then he'd make sure someone else suffered, too. He spun Irina on the spot and swatted her behind, reigniting the welts left the evening before from Carmen's brush.

Irina wore the dress.

It was better than the ghastly guard uniform, she had to admit. Less restrictive and certainly less painful.

The wooden chair would make up for any relief she felt, however.

"Irina," Eleazar said, pulling the girl from her thoughts. "Sit down, now. I'm sure it won't hurt too much."

Stifled laughter emerged from the table - all the king's children, which she expected, and even her own sisters, which she had come to expect, too.

Irina rolled her eyes at them all and grabbed the chair. "I didn't say it would, did I?"

Gritting her teeth, she took the seat. Oh, hell fire! She snatched her drink from the tray she'd carried and used the goblet to hide her face.

Eleazar realised what he'd done - he hadn't intentionally embarrassed the girl, but hearing the other sniggering and Irina hiding, he knew that he had.

"I'm sorry," he said in a whisper. He turned on his younger girls, his niece and nephews. "Unless you want to form a line to go over my knee, you need to knock it off."

For not the first time, Felix and Demetri agreed that Eleazar had become a dick since he'd shacked up with a family. They all shut up, though.

The guard masters had no sooner arrived at the bar than Richard started asking Magnus about Turk.

"Master, he's still in his dorm…"

"Bloody hell, Rich," Magnus said, cutting the temporary barkeep off in temper. "I've just walked through the door! I'll get to him soon enough."

Richard bit his lip and nodded, silently passing a tankard of ale to the man.

Magnus had been working hard all day with the young ones to ensure there would be no need for another day tanning pelts. The kids were flagging after a long hard week, especially as none of them were used to putting in so much effort.

He took a long swig of his ale and wiped the froth from his beard with the back of his hand. He'd been a little gruff with Richard and it wasn't the guard he was annoyed with.

Magnus planned to speak with Caius before going to the guard hall, but after cleaning himself up and changing into clean clothes, he hadn't been able to find the younger master. Caius wasn't in his chamber or the dungeons, and he hadn't found him outside, either. When he bumped into Freyr who, too, had been searching, they decided the man could keep - they both deserved a drink before they saw to the last few punishments.

After another swig, he apologised to the barkeep, who graciously accepted.

Poor Corin came down from the dorms at just the wrong moment - she'd hoped to slip into her seat with Renata, away from prying eyes - particularly the guard masters. Seeing them both at the bar, she held her breath and started walking slowly, moving behind the couple to get to her usual table. Freyr caught the girl out of the corner of her eye no sooner than her backside hit the seat.

"Corin, dear," she called around her husband. "Go up to your dorm - I'll be with you in a moment."

"Yes, my lady." Corin took a drink from the table, assuming it was Renata's and pinched a few sips for Dutch courage.

"Come on," Renata said, placing a loving arm around her shoulder.

Corin shook her head. "I'm going to die of embarrassment, Ren."

"You'll be okay, sweet."

Renata squeezed the girl's shoulders and pushed her ahead, walking with her up the stairs.

Alex returned as they left to find half his whiskey missing. He glared at Afton. "I've only been gone five fucking minutes."

"Hey! It wasn't me." Afton tutted at his mate. "What did Aro want?"

"Fuck knows." Alex looked around the guard hall, checking for Renata. As she wasn't anywhere to be seen, he tipped her whiskey into his own, more than refilling his glass. "Something about Felix gobbing off at us. I guess the little prince has got himself in trouble somehow."

Afton didn't appear surprised - where Felix went, so did trouble.

Aro made a beeline for his big brother, finding him exactly where he'd left him, sitting at the head of the elite table. Aro turned his back to the rest of his family and bent over to get close to Eleazar's ear.

"I'm not sure you're going to want to know," he said. "I find out this sort of thing about my sons from time to time and it is… disturbing.

"Tell me."

Aro gulped but did as his brother bid. He explained all about the little relationship Irina and Alex had struck up, which also explained the bruising Eleazar, and Carmen had seen on the girl, not to mention her ruined dress which had been a mystery.

"You've gone a little green, brother."

He actually had!

Eleazar's usual luminously pale face became grey, with green edges. His body began to vibrate as rage soared through his veins. From the short conversation Eleazar heard between Alex and Irina, he knew something was going on, but the visceral reaction unnerved him as he hadn't expected their relationship, or whatever it was, could be the result of such violent interplay.

Without really thinking, Eleazar moved his brother aside and headed for Alexander.

"Alex," he said, his voice deep and a growl beneath his chest. "Follow me."

Alex watched as the Volturi prince exited the guard hall into the masters' office. Suddenly the king's odd interrogation of him made sense.

Alex was tough. Hard as nails. Really tough and highly skilled. Caius had trained him that way. What use would such facts be to Alex against Eleazar, though? No use at all! As a guard, he couldn't resist the creator's eldest son. He couldn't fight back; he couldn't even defend himself with much vigour.

Afton swiped his mate's drink. "You're dead, bud."

Magnus had only just sat down when he heard Eleazar growling at his guard, demanding an audience. Glancing to his left, he saw Aro quickly engage Marcus in conversation so he wouldn't have to move himself. To his right, Basileus merely smiled back at his friend.

"He's your son," Magnus pointed out.

"And Alexander is your guard." The creator shrugged and looked awkward. "It's a delicate situation," he said. "It will be better if it's you."

Eleazar's usually placid voice roared through the guard hall: "Now!"

Collecting Alex, who had apparently lost the use of his legs, Magnus went to meet Eleazar.

The Volturi prince shed his coat and made short work of rolling up his sleeves and removing his rings.

Alex stayed behind Magnus with his eyes fixed on the floor. It wasn't a comfortable position for the guard to be in. He'd much rather fight his own battles, but he couldn't fight a prince. Not unless he wanted Basileus to finish the fight.

Eleazar finished with his sleeves - he was ready to knock Alex into the next century. Magnus blocked the prince's path before he could and held him in place.

El looked down to the hand on his chest and back up in disgust. "We're not in your guard hall so this has nothing to do with you."

Cheeky sod! Magnus found himself sorely tempted to give Eleazar a slap - had they been in private he likely would have done. As it was, with half the coven pretending they weren't listening only a few feet away, the guard master had to keep his cool.

"Whatever this is," he said. "It has something to do with me as Alex is my guard."

"Then you had better get your guard under control because if he goes near Irina again, I'll fucking kill him."

You're getting closer and closer to that slap, boy. Magnus pressed into Eleazar's chest with the palm of his hand. "I can see you're very angry, but you had better check yourself speaking to me that way."

"She was willing." Alex cleared his throat and found his balls. "Just that she was willing… it wasn't rape or anything."

"Are you expecting gratitude from me?" Eleazar made no effort to hide his growl as he spoke to Alex but made sure to exert some control when he addressed Magnus. "Alex has been using Irina as his personal whore. She's returned to my chambers black and blue with her clothes in rags."

Magnus' eyebrows knitted together as he made doubly sure Eleazar spoke the truth. The regret rolling off Alex behind him sealed the deal. He sighed in defeat and suck his teeth.

"You're on your own, pal."

Alex watched as his only source of salvation stepped out of the fray, leaving him with Eleazar to contend with alone. He knew he couldn't fight back, which went against every natural impulse he had. But to fight would mean death, and the impulse to survive was stronger.

"I'm sorry, my lord!" he said in a rush, throwing up his hands in defeat. "I didn't mean to insult you!"

"This isn't about insulting me, you idiot!"

Eleazar thumped the guard square in the jaw for his unfortuntate reading of the situation. Alex went down to one knee and spat blood across the flagstones.

"It's Irina I care about!"

The enraged prince kneed Alex in the stomach, forcing the wind right out of him in an exaggerated huff. More blood from his busted lip spewed forth, some splattering Eleazar's pristine white shirt.

"Okay, okay, she's off limits, I get it."

"At her age she can decide that for herself. But anyone who goes near her had better show her the respect she's due as my daughter or they'll face me."

A few brave guards filled out into the masters' office to get a better view - Magnus told them to bugger off but they were too fixed on the brawl taking place before them to listen to him.

Alex did his best to deflect Eleazar's attack without fighting back. He hoped being knocked about a little would sate the prince's ire, or that Magnus would step back in, something! From the corner of his eye, just before Eleazar's knuckles obscured his vision, Alex saw Caius approaching. Surely, he'll help me out.

"Ah, Caius!" Eleazar crowed. "Snivelling coward refuses to fight back." He ragged Alex to his feet by his hair. "I thought you would have taught him better than this?"

Magnus turned his narrowed eyes on Caius. "Where have you been hiding?"

Caius pretended he hadn't heard the guard master. "I did," he replied to Eleazar. "He must have forgotten. I'll be sure to remind him in training."

"Very much appreciated."

"So," Caius tested the waters with the juggernaut. He folded his arms loosely across his chest and tried to smile. "What's going on?"

Magnus didn't even look in the guy's direction. "Where have you been?" he repeated.

Before Caius could answer, or rather, fail to answer again, Magnus felt the change in Alexander's emotional state. If he didn't step in soon, Alex would snap - theres only so much a man could take before retaliating regardless of good sense (and Alex had precious little of that on a good day).

"El," Magnus said, calling above the din. "That's enough now."

The prince seemed not to notice him. Magnus had reached his limit for being ignored - his guards, Caius, Eleazar… he was done.

"Eleazar!" he said, grabbing the man's arm mid swing before it could do any more damage.

Acting on instinct, Eleazar shoved the juggernaut hard and swung for the guard master instead. He managed to stop himself before making contact, but Magnus walloped him anyway.

"When I tell you it's enough," he said, cuffing the Volturi prince. "Then it's enough. Got it?"

Blinking rapidly in surprise, Eleazar regained his composure. "Sorry," he said, smiling awkwardly at the man.

It was a little embarrassing to be slapped by the guard master, but he couldn't pretend it wasn't deserved. He quickly checked over his shoulder to make sure his father hadn't witnessed his lucky strike against the juggernaut. Thankfully he had not.

Magnus pulled his guard from the floor. No sooner than he had, Eleazar was in his face.

"If you hurt her again, I'll run you out of this coven."

Alex nodded, making the right noises, sounding submissive when he really wanted to smack his forehead off Eleazar's nose. His fellow guards would rib him about the whole sorry episode for months to come, he was sure of it.

Eleazar seemed satisfied. Magnus, less so.

"A man of your age," he said. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

Again, Alex nodded along. He couldn't fool Magnus as well as he could Eleazar, though, sadly.

"We need to have little chat about your morality and the ladies of this coven." The guard master directed the disgraced man to his desk and clicked his fingers at Caius before the coven master could disappear again. "Caius, I need to talk to you tonight."

Caius couldn't fool Magnus, either. Although he said 'lucky me' with a snort, his emotions betrayed the inner turmoil he felt.

When Eleazar stepped back into the guard hall, blood splattered shirt and all, Marcus spun in his seat. It was the quickest Basileus had seen his old friend move since Didyme died. Fishing through Marcus' thoughts, Basileus discovered the reason the man's sudden startle - Irina's bond with Eleazar had spiked high when he'd taken Alex in hand.

Defending her honour, Basileus mused. It was the rough kind of love Irina understood. A useful thing to know in terms of understanding how the girl ticked, but mostly, Basileus was simply pleased that Irina seemed to be warming to her new life. Pleased, and a little relieved.

His brief contemplation was soon interrupted when half the table stood at once, drinks knocking over in the process. Or rather, that was the reason they stood.

"Felix!"

The boy turned to his mother with a murderous expression. "Stop calling me out in here," he hissed. "You are so embarrassing!"

"I'm embarrassing?" Sulpicia replied, huffing at his nerve.

Sulpicia and took the brunt of the spilled drinks. Wash cloths appeared on the table as guard sprang into action cleaning up for the boy's exuberance, so she took one and began wiping the front of her gown.

"It's ruined. I hope you're happy now."

"It wasn't even my fault," Felix said, with no further explanation as to how half the drinks at their end of the table had scattered to the wind. He took a cloth, too, and cleaned himself up. "And I'm not happy, no. I want to go home. I'll be happy at home."

"I wouldn't rush to return to the tower because after your behaviour in here you'll be going straight to bed."

"Mom! Just shu…"

He so very nearly told his mother to shut up… in front of his family… in the guard hall. If his mother infantilising him was embarrassing his father tanning his arse for his mouth would have been utterly degrading.

Aro curled a finger in his boy's direction and kicked out the chair next to him.

Felix threw the sodded cloth on the table with the others and went to the empty chair. Better a seat than… something else, he reasoned.

"You need to put your face straight."

Felix repeated his father's words in a mocking tone he did so well, as he often did when he had nothing better to respond with.

Aro growled right back at him. Life in the south tower had been tense since the boys had returned - Demetri and Alec were rather skittish around both of their parents, Jane consumed with a growing guilt. And then there was Felix. The poor kid tipped toed around his father, at least that's how Felix told it, but Aro seemed so quick to temper. Felix knew he was on borrowed time.

One would think such thoughts would ensure better behaviour from the boy, but true to form, Felix found it difficult to contain his own abrasion when experiencing so much of Aro's. Being the guard hall, at least in that moment, made Felix's job doubly difficult.

"You can't expect me to sit here whilst my girlfriend is being…" he couldn't say it. "Being… up there!"

The rhythmic sound of Corin's spanking filtered down from the floor above and realisation dawned on Aro's face. Realisation, but not a shred of sympathy.

"Well earned and well overdue," he said. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed, son."

Taking a good look at his boy whilst he supped on his bloodwine, Aro noticed Felix wasn't embarrassed, exactly. He was angry. Aro's tinkling laughter filled the space between them.

"Feel free to challenge the shield maiden."

"I might. Seriously." The overgrown boy crossed his arms and fixed his father with a glare. He saw nothing to laugh about. "Let me go home or I really might."

"You're going to challenge a coven master for doing her job?" Aro asked, incredulous at the very idea. "I wouldn't advise it."

As Felix continued to pout, Aro felt his temper rising. Insolent brat.

Basileus leaned across the table having heard his son's dark thoughts. "Aro, why don't you leave the boy with me and…"

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither is he."

Aro took a deep breath and winced at his own tone. Damn it! He gulped down the rest of his bloodwine, taking care to breathe as much a possible between his slow gulps. He offered an apologetic smile to his father. Fortunately, Basileus understood why Aro was so agitated even if no one else did. Not that he could offer much to help him through his anguish.

"We will leave when I've finished my drink, and not before."

"But Dad…"

"Enough!" Aro slammed his goblet down on the table causing half the hall to jump out of their skin.

Basileus snapped at his son, telling him to get a grip, or else. Turning to Felix, he added, "You'll sit there until you're told otherwise."

Sensibly, both Aro and Felix kept their mouths shut and nodded their agreement.

Caius may have played it cool with Magnus, but he knew he'd crossed a line that morning in the great hall. As the guy wanted to have a talk later, Caius needed some Dutch courage.

What does 'a talk' even mean? Caius knew what it meant - he couldn't even kid himself. But this is what he'd wanted, he'd pushed for it, hadn't he? He just wanted the animosity over with - why couldn't the juggernaut just forget the shit he'd done? It was so simple in Caius's mind.

Seeing Odi sitting solo gave him an idea. A little manipulation, if he could stomach it - make nice with Odi to show Magnus there was no need for any kind of 'talk'.

He ordered a guard to fetch two flagons of bloodwine and kicked out the chair at Odi's little loser table.

For a moment, Odi froze. His parents told him to avoid Caius for the day, which he had. But now the coven master chose to sit at his table… how was he supposed to play it?

He could hear his mother above the guard hall punishing Corin (something he could have done without hearing, especially knowing he would be next), so she couldn't help him. Magnus appeared to be talking to Alex in the masters' office, still. Not much help there, either.

When the drinks arrived, Caius slid one across the table to Odi, who, bless him, grinned like a Cheshire cat at the positive attention.

Caius smiled too, before he caught himself doing so. "Have you apologised to my wife yet?" he asked, sharpening his tone. "For causing her so much worry."

"Me and Dora are fine, thanks," Odi said. He wanted to point out that she had saved him in the great hall. There were a good many witnesses in the guard hall but not enough to stop Caius from gutting him. "You didn't need to tell me to apologise to her," he said. "I would have done it anyway."

To be fair to Odi, Caius knew that. But telling the kid to apologise gave the coven master a temporary reason to lord it over Odi, so he had taken the opportunity with great relish.

"Just watch how you treat my wife in future. Dora loves you…"

"Oooo, she loves me?"

Caius snorted. "Yeah, like little girls love puppies."

Magnus stalked through the guard hall. He did a double take seeing Caius and Odi sitting together, but he didn't have time to think on it. Like a man on a mission, he headed for the stairwell leading to the guard dorms above. Alexander didn't follow him. Craning to see around the doors, Caius saw his favourite guard sitting at Magnus's desk, his head in his hands.

I feel your pain, Caius thought to himself. "Looks like its Turk turn, then," he said, thinking out loud.

Odi shuddered realising the same. His concern was mostly for Turk, partly for himself - with each of his mates receiving their punishment, it was another step closer to his own. Being left for last seemed a win when they were first sentenced, now it was a sentence in itself.

Desperate to get his mind away from such topics, Odi decided it would be a great idea to goad Caius a little. Sure, he'd bought him a drink, which was uncharacteristically nice, but then he reminded the kid about his upcoming doom, so he'd earned it.

"Have you apologised to the rest of the coven yet?" Odi asked. "You had quite a list last time we talked."

Caius rolled his eyes rather than answering the kid, which was an answer of its own, of course.

Odi had offered solid, if simple advice a few days before - apologise to people, a bit of grovelling is good for the soul and all that. Caius had planned on doing so. He'd told Eleazar he would make peace with Carmen, and he needed to do the same with Sulpicia, too. Not to mention Freyr. So why hadn't he done it? It was just too hard!

No sooner had Corin's cries ended, the round of fucks erupted in Turk's dorm. The whole room stilled for a moment before the music began again. It didn't do much to relax Phillipe or Richard. Odi, either. Magnus might as well have dragged the poor bar keep into the guard hall to bollock him in there as they all heard every word of the juggernaut's thunderous tone

Rubbing his sweating palms on his britches, Odi sure was glad he would be saved that horror – Magnus wasn't usually one for shouting—Turk must be really screwing this up—but it scared Odi when he did. At least his mother would be calm, all business.

Then the noise began. The unmistakable sound of leather biting into flesh.

Odi reacted with a noise of his own. A deep guttural groan of dread. Much like Felix, the kid just wanted to go home. It was a cruel and unusual punishment to have them all sitting in audience to the beltings of their friends above their heads!

"That's your fault," Caius said. He pointed up. "That noise. It's your fault."

"How do you work that out?"

"You told Turk about your little trip, and that's why he'll be walking around the coven in shame for a month." Caius chuckled to himself, thoroughly pleased with Odi's horrified reaction. "I hope you're proud of yourself."

Proud? Proud! Odi felt his guts come up to his throat along with his guilt. You bastard! Biting back the tears, he spoke through gritted teeth. "Once my dad is finished with him, you can back off."

Normally, Caius would have told Odi to get fucked ordering him to do anything at all, but he wanted to know where Odi was going. "Back off you?" he asked. "That isn't for you to decide…"

"Back off Turk. My dad is going to make sure you do, anyway. He's already told Turk."

"Why did you say it like that. My dad," Caius repeated, screwing up his nose. "Why the piss-ant voice?"

"I'm just reminding you who he is. He's, my dad." Odi gave Caius the smuggest of smiles. "I think if you want to share him, you had better start being nicer to me."

"Is that what you think?"

It was barely a response at all, but Caius couldn't think of anything else to say. Odi was right - he was Magnus's son and Caius wasn't. If Caius wanted to share the juggernaut, he'd have to be nice to Odi. But who said Caius wanted to share? He hadn't thought it through properly, yet, but Caius knew Odi wasn't a threat to his relationship with Dora. No. But he was a threat to his relationship with Magnus and Freyr.

Reminding Caius of this fact wasn't Odi's best idea. Caius tended to lash out like a wounded animal when his feelings were hurt, poor lamb.

He saw Freyr enter the guard hall, having finished with Corin. "Is she your mother, too?" he asked Odi, jutting his chin in the shield maiden's direction.

"Yeah, she is."

"I'm looking forward to hearing your mother make you squeal like a little bitch."

Odi's face took on a similar hue to Eleazar's had earlier that evening. "Fuck. Off."

"It's unlikely anyone will hear you begging from the tower, but I'll be sure to pass on anything of note. I might even invite a few friends over for the show. Alex could use with cheering up…"

Caius trailed off seeing fear in Odi's eyes. The kid had a strange effect on him - Caius wanted to twist the knife into the Odi's emotions for his own amusement, but once he got going the damn puppy dog eyes came out and Caius relented.

"I'm taking the piss."

Steadying his breathing, Odi blinked rapidly and nodded. Caius nudged the kid's flagon closer and told him to drink some before he combusted.

"Why are you being such a bastard to Turk?"

"He's supposed to be your best mate, but he kept your stupid mission to himself."

Odi shrugged - Caius hadn't answered him as far as he was concerned.

"You could have died on that mission," Caius explained, like he was addressing the village idiot.

"So?"

"I fucking care about that not happening, you moron. It would have been Turk's fault had you died before we got there."

Odi didn't believe that. No one else would have believed it, either. "Sounds like you care about me," he said, thinking out loud.

Caius shrugged. Maybe he did. If he could turn back the clock to Halloween, he would. Before Dora and Odi, before everything got so messed up. He did quite like the kid. He liked that the kid liked him, too.

"Mom thinks you're blaming Turk because you feel guilty."

Good feelings gone. Caius scoffed in Odi's face - he had nothing to feel guilty for (except for a lot). "Wouldn't that be your mom?"

"Odi, love," Freyr said, putting her hands on his shoulders. "When you've finished that drink its home time."

Odi sighed into his near empty cup - had he known that would be the deal he would have gone slower. "Do we really need to go through with this?"

"We've put it off for long enough, my darling."

Caius started chuckling again. "Brilliant," he said, mocking Odi with his own favourite word of choice.

"If you're trying to upset him again…"

Odi cursed his mother for making him sound like a damn child. Again!

Freyr continued unperturbed, entirely done with pussy-footing around both of her boys. "I'll be bringing you to task tonight, too. You aren't too old for a good hiding, Caius."

"Brilliant!" Odi said, crowing. His dear, wonderful mother could say whatever she liked if she was going to rip into Caius, too.

Caius tutted at the kid. "She's joking, you fool."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Freyr stood firm with her hands on her hips. She stared Caius down until he had sense to look away. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Caius had to take a swig of his ale - his mouth had become very dry in the last thirty seconds or so. "I haven't done anything wrong."

Freyr might have let matter lie until they were in private had she not heard Caius mutter 'mad bitch' into his flagon.

Freyr spoke loudly enough for the whole guard hall—the whole coven—to hear her. "Caius, I need your help with something. Could you meet me in my chambers when Odi has finished his drink?"

In the mere moment it took for Caius to turn, Magnus appeared next to his wife. He'd tied his hair out of the way, his sleeves were rolled to his elbows, and his belt hung loosely over his shoulder. Caius felt his stomach lurch. He couldn't refuse Freyr if Magnus had heard her request.

Had he heard, though?

Magnus slapped a hand down hard on Caius's shoulder. "I'm sure he'd be happy to help." So yes, he had indeed heard.

Caius closed his eyes for a moment. He planned to go raving batshit crazy at the pair of them when they were in private. For the time being, he settled on saying the only thing he could: "Certainly, my lady."

"My lady?" Freyr asked. "Quite the climb from 'mad bitch', no?"

Caius watched open mouthed as she walked away.

Magnus increased the pressure in his shoulder. "I'll add that to our talk."

"What talk?" Caius said. He twisted until he freed himself of the juggernauts hold. "I don't need to talk. She's hearing things."

"I'm already disappointed in you, but your stunt this morning, and now you're lying to my face—" Magnus whistled into the air. He bent over to get closer to Caius "—you clearly are desperate for a lick of my belt, boy."

No one could hear Magnus speak aside from Caius and Odi, but that didn't stop half the guard hall from focussing their attention on them. Someone could hear. Basileus looked across the hall with a raised eyebrow in Caius's direction.

Still painfully close, Magnus followed Caius's eye line. "I suggest you look at me when I'm talking to you, boy."

"Don't 'boy' me." Caius slipped a finger into his collar and tugged it free of his throat. "I suggest you stop making suggestions."

He knew he needed to stop pushing Magnus and Freyr away, but he refused to be deferential in public. His pride would strangle him before he'd allow that.

When Magnus huffed through his nose and stood tall, Caius quickly tacked on, "In here, I mean."

Magnus cursed himself. The annoyance he felt with Caius—make that anger—meant he was screwing up again. Rebuking Caius when they had an audience would never work - he knew that. That said, he could feel the creator's stern gaze burning a hole in the back of his head. I can't back down, I can't.

"In that case," he said, voice barely above a whisper so no one close would hear. "We need to take this outside."

Despite Magnus's discretion, Caius was convinced the whole coven had heard the challenge. His options were all unpalatable to say the least: quietly backdown and live with Odi reminding him of the occasion at every available opportunity or go outside and put Magnus in his place… and probably lose him forever.

Going outside would be slightly preferable… but how could he fight with Magnus? He would never be able to look the guy in the eye again if he chose such a gutless way forward. And it would be gutless - Caius wanted to defer to Magnus, as much as it pained him to admit it. The only thing stopping him was his pride. If Caius knew that then Magnus would feel it with his gift. Gutless.

But he had no other options!

"Odi," Freyr called from the masters' office door.

"Seriously?" Cursing his mother for pulling him out just when Caius looked ready to explode, Odi stood, scraping his chair across the floor, and left for the north tower and his doom.

It was just the distraction Caius needed to get his head straight. Without warning, he upended the table, smashing it into the floor. Wooden splinters flew in every direction, a good many of them landing on Magnus!

Caius flashed to the elite table before the juggernaut could react where he mumbled an apology to the Queen and her sister-in-law for causing them further distress by his tardiness.

The ladies took his apology in bewilderment, their thoughts more focussed on the upturned table in the middle of the hall and Magnus asking what the fuck Caius was playing at!

Apologies made, he need to get out of the guard hall. He couldn't risk

passing Magnus - he didn't trust the juggernaut not to strike should he be in reaching distance. Some notable voices in the hall would have been pleased to see it happen. Caius had been a dick to Turk since he'd returned to the coven and the guards, naturally, sided with the young bar keep. They would have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the master take a round of fucks in the hall.

They weren't surprised to see him ignoring Magnus, but when Basileus stood, there wasn't a single vampire in Volterra who could hide their interest.

Oh, hell, no. Caius was gone. Straight out through the doors to the courtyard, no passing Magnus, no acknowledging Basileus, just gone.

Basileus draped an arm around his mate and told her to keep a good eye on Aro until they left the guard hall.

"Where are you going?"

He finished his drink and snarled, communicating through their gifts. 'You know exactly where I'm going. I'm done his disrespect'. He added out loud, "Time's up," which the elite wrongly interpreted as the creator sending them home.

Atia knew otherwise but allowed them all to continue under the misconception. Aro and Felix were close to causing a scene of their own and that would be better conducted behind closed doors. She rolled her eyes over Basileus interfering in other people's family strife when there was enough in their own to be going on with. She was unsure whether he'd heard her thoughts on the matter as he exited the guard hall in the same direction as Caius.

Magnus soon left, too.

He fully expected Caius to be hiding I the dungeons (which is where he should have been if he had any sense, in Magnus's mind) he headed down to the playroom. Finding the torture chamber empty, he made quick work of checking the outside areas of the coven before making his way back to the north tower. If Caius was sitting in his chambers supping bloodwine Magnus planned on drowning the fucker with it!

The door to the bottom floor suite was slightly ajar when he arrived and Basileus could be heard giving the Caius a round of fucks from the moment Magnus entered the tower stairwell.

"How did you beat me here?" Magnus asked, closing the door behind him.

Basileus scoffed. "I wasn't sure you would follow him, and someone had to."

On their travels home sat in the waggon together, Basileus and Magnus had talked at length about Caius and Odi. Mostly Caius - Basileus had more faith in Magnus handling Odi. Almost all the way home Magnus had been resistant to the idea of standing up to Caius. 'You stand up for him enough', Basileus had said. 'Now it's time to stand up to him'.

Since they'd been back in the coven, Basileus found the situation within the guards—Phillipe and Richard with Turk—were the perfect example of what he had been banging on about.

'Magnus, you've told Turk yourself that he can't hide behind Phil's coat tails one minute and expect the guy to back off the next. Actions have consequences'.

Magnus maintained it was different with Caius, more delicate, as situations go, due to Caius being a coven master. Basileus had stormed out of Magnus' chambers at that point thinking the juggernaut was a lost cause, Magnus had continued thinking on his words.

Before Magnus arrived at the ground floor chambers, Caius had been busy apologising to the creator. They were meaningless apologies, of course, more of a reflex to having the creator of vampiric kind looming over you.

Now Magnus was there, Caius changed tack. Perhaps he felt a certain confidence with the juggernaut around? Or maybe he wanted to prove to both men that he couldn't be easily controlled? He may have been trying to prove it to himself! Whatever it was, it amused Basileus to see the change in demeanour.

Caius sat in Magnus' chair, legs relaxing apart and an arm on each of the rests. He was doing his best to appear relaxed and to the casual observer he might have pulled it off. If only his left leg hadn't been slightly shivering and his knuckles weren't bright white from his hold on the arm rests.

Magnus noticed, too, though he seemed less surprised, Basileus noted - maybe you pair are doing this dance more than I thought?

The juggernaut slid the metal bolt across to lock the door, a clearly signal to Caius that this wouldn't be a friendly chat.

"Why do that?" Caius asked, hint of nerves in his voice. "You said to come back here and help Freyr, I have."

Magnus went and stood with Basileus - now Caius had two of the fuckers looming over him. "If that's what you were doing, why are we in your chambers and not mine?"

"Why are you being so weird?" Caius tutted at the dramatics. "Is this about the guard hall? I'll buy you a new table."

"Shall I hold him down for you, my friend?" Basileus asked Magnus. "I know you don't need my assistance, but it might help the message sink in?"

"What message!" Caius gave up his pretence of calm. "All this over a guard hall table!"

"Over your increasing abrasion," Basileus explained. "And the dungeon blood, and going to Henri's alone without telling anyone, and for picking on Turk, and being on Odi's back, and upsetting the mothers in this coven, and—" Basileus paused and leaned down, his face inches from Caius "—and for the table."

"I can take it from here, my friend."

Basileus straightened up and began to object. "If you're backing out again, I'm taking over. I'm not having him walking all over you and your goodwill."

In what world is Magnus a walkover? Caius snorted at the very idea. The fucker is controlling my every move without even doing anything because I'm so bothered about what he thinks of me. Walking all over him? Pft! I wish I didn't love the guy so much I'd care less about pissing him off.

Basileus listened in as the young master's thoughts ran away from him. Suddenly an answer to his prayers! Magnus's whole reasoning for holding back with Caius rested on a reluctance to push the younger master too far, too fast. Indeed, the juggernaut thought he'd already been cavalier with semi-public admonishments before the outcast mission.

'You know Caius means the world to me, my friend', Magnus had said on their journey home. 'But I need to be careful I don't push away him until he's worked out how he feels about all of this'.

'Bullshit!' Basileus had replied. 'Caius needs to know where he stands with you. Pick a way forward and stick with it. You can't keep backing off'.

'Pick a way forward, so long as it's your way, right?'

Basileus shoved Magnus off the waggon at that point in their conversation.

A big stumbling block for Magnus was that he had no idea how Caius really felt about the changes going on around him - the guy was hardly known for wearing his heart on his sleeve. The empath refused to trust his gift on the matter but now Basileus had heard the words from Caius's own mouth… or head, at least.

"You know something, my friend," the creator began, all his earlier annoyance dissipated. "If he tells you what I just heard him thinking, I'd say you could forgo the whipping he's more than earned."

Caius baulked!

"I'd rather take the whipping, thanks. I'd even rather take it from you," he said to Basileus. "I'll take one from both of you."

Magnus eyed Basileus curiously, intrigued by the glint in his eye. "I'd like to know what you were thinking, too, Caius."

Caius would be saved by a hammering on his chamber door.

"Caius, open this door." Freyr called. "I expected you to come to me. You're only making this worse for yourself."

Basileus heard the shield maiden's thoughts, her intentions. The glint in his eye soon became a broad grin on his face!

Magnus threw him a quizzical look as he went to unlock the door. When he did, he saw his dear wife held one of his belts in her hand. "Aha."

"What are you all doing in here with the door locked," Freyr asked, ignoring Basileus who could barely breathe for the laughter he struggled to contain. "Caius, upstairs, right now."

Caius, bless him, was the only one in the room to misunderstand what was going on. "Happily," he said, sliding out of his chair to avoid Basileus catching hold of him. "Anything to get away…" his words drifted off when he saw Freyr in the flesh.

"Why are you, erm…" he pointed to her hand. "Why do you have that?"

"Oh, Basileus!" Freyr tutted and shook her head as the creator lost control of himself. "You know why, Caius," she said. "I made it perfectly clear in the guard hall, which is why you threw a strop and stormed out, I assumed."

"No, you fucking did not!"

"Oi!" Magnus swiped his bear paw across the younger master's head. "Watch it, boy."

"This isn't happening. Too far. Too much. Not happening. Over my dead body."

Basileus cleared his throat, regaining some composure. "I will renew my offer to hold him down."

"Very kind of you, my lord," Freyr said sweetly, following Caius as he retreated to his bedchamber.

"No fucking way!"

"Magnus, Magnus," Caius called to the only one in the room with a heart, or good sense. "I was thinking that you're controlling me. That's what Basileus wanted me to tell you."

You could have knocked Magnus down with a feather! "What? How? What?"

"Because I care what you think of me."

Magnus waved Basileus back a step, Freyr, too. "And," he prompted Caius, folding his arms across his broad chest.

Caius took a deep breath, but it wasn't enough. The air around him felt stale, sickening, even; though he had no need for air, fresh or otherwise.

With Freyr swishing the thick brown belt from side to side and Basileus ready to drag him over the nearest object to take said belt, Caius concentrated on Magnus. The guy looked ready to gut him, but he was by far the safest bet.

"Well, you see," he said. "I'm trying to control myself because I care what you think."

Magnus nodded, then tutted. "You're holding back."

Caius cursed the man's infallible gift.

"I care what you think of me because… because I love you guys," he said, in a voice so quiet only vampires would be able to hear. "Because I want you to love me, too.

Without pause, Magnus replied, "I already do, son."

"We do," Freyr said. Closing the space between them, she cupped Caius's cheek and wiped a tear from his eye. "We really do, my darling."

How Basileus contained the 'I told you so' from coming out of his smug gob, was anyone's guess. He couldn't hide it from his face so held a hand to his mouth to cover the growing smirk. He loved being right even more than Aro did.

Magnus still saw him. With a rolled of his eyes and an exasperated sigh, the juggernaut told the creator to 'shut it'.

Caius wished he'd been able to do the same - telling Magnus and Freyr the truth released a certain tension from his shoulders, but what else would it bring? He'd much rather keep the known tension that jump headfirst into unknown territory.

"Basileus…" Magnus growled out, seeing the guy about to speak.

He held up his hands in response. "I'm just happy, that's all," he said. "Now you all know where you stand."

"We do," Freyr agreed, still holding Magnus's belt in her hand. She used it to point to Caius. "Now hold him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Caius backed up to the bedchamber door. "Basileus said if I told Magnus what I was thinking then this wouldn't happen."

Basileus and Magnus nodded. Although they both still felt Caius deserved a dose of the strap, that had been the deal.

"How odd," Freyr said sweetly, eyes trained on Caius. "I don't remember being part of that conversation, so it doesn't apply to me."

With a great crack, she slapped the belt into her own hand to punctuate her words.

Caius whimpered, actually whimpered! He stared walking backwards from his bedchamber, eyes never leaving his new mother figure who kept exact pace with him. Basileus and Magnus allowed them to pass them by – the creator found the situation to damn funny to intervene and the juggernaut wasn't daft enough to interrupt his wife.

"Freyr, don't do this," he said, tone betraying his nerves. "I'm serious," he said, squeaking when she created another crack against her own palm.

"I told you in the guard hall that you aren't too big for a slap, Caius, and you've more than earned it."

Looking around the woman, he shot desperate eyes to Magnus. "Can't you control her?"

"No!" Freyr snapped. "You're talking to me, not him. If your eyes leave mine again, I will wear you out."

Caius gulped. Without thinking too hard, he kept his eyes fixed, just like she'd told him to.

No woman had ever spoke to him that way. Before that moment, if any had tried, he wouldn't have paid them a shred of attention. Well, he might have accidentally-on-purpose slammed their face into a nearby wall, but he wouldn't have taken their words as a threat. Freyr's words weren't a threat, either he realised. She was making him a promise.

"Will you need holding down for this?"

He looked to her dumbfounded for a moment, his jaw slack realising she was deadly serious.

"No, because it's not happening."

He shook his head, repeating 'no' over and over again. For his whole vampiric life, only Basileus, the creator of vampiric kind, held any power over him. The last few years had seen Magnus share that mantle and Caius still hadn't got his head around the change. How was he supposed to add Freyr to the list? And it would be a list. Three is definitely a list. Who would be next? Atia, perhaps. Or Marcus? Maybe a few of the coven fucking youth!

Hearing Caius winding himself up with fantastical futures, Basileus stepped forward and yanked Caius in close by his arm. "Quit catastrophising," he said. "Where do you want him, my lady?"

Freyr smiled in thanks and went to Magnus's favourite chair. "Here will do nicely."

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"I'll forgive you much, Caius, but I refuse to forgive your cruelty."

"What cruelty?" Caius asked. When Freyr reminded him of his actions that morning, his attempts to humiliate Odi in the throne room, Caius cursed himself. "Oh, that," he said. "That was Magnus's fault."

Magnus had been content to watch his wife at work, but Caius clearly wanted his attention. "My fault? How exactly was your little display my fault?"

"If you'd just dealt with this when I came to you then I wouldn't have had to provoke you." Caius was dead serious. "I just wanted an end to all of this."

Basileus brought a hand to his face and massaged his cheeks. All the self-satisfied smirking was beginning to cause an ache.

Magnus tutted at the man and moved him aside, taking Caius by the scruff of his neck. In one movement, he'd flung the young master over his comfy chair and nodded to his wife. "Let's end it, then."

In the space of a blink, Caius found himself presenting his backside to the room. He tried bucking against Magnus's grip, but it was no use. The juggernaut had one hand pressed into the small of his back and the other around the back of his neck - Caius wasn't going anywhere.

"Let's talk about this. Me and you. I've been a dick. I'm sorry now, you know I am. You can feel it."

"Aye, I can," Magnus agreed. "We'll talk later. Now hold still, because if you break this chair, I swear…"

From his unfortunate position, Caius could just twist his head enough to catch Magnus wince. He soon found out why.

CRACK!

"Fuck me!" Caius thrust his body forward from the blow, taking the whole chair with him.

Magnus soon moved him back in position and told him to watch his mouth.

"No talking," Freyr said to the younger master. "I'm talking, you're listening."

Crack!

Caius rammed his fist into his mouth. He refused to cry out in pain—it would be shock, not pain, he lied to himself—though a whimper did escape his lips. He was sure he'd never been belted so hard in his life. It must have been Freyr's full vampiric strength, must have been. Which made Caius briefly wonder just how much Basileus and Magnus held themselves back when they'd been the ones wailing him.

"You will stop picking on my son."

Crack!

He'd braced himself for the strike, but it wasn't enough. Only three smacks in and Caius was ready to promise the world if she'd stop. He certainly wouldn't take the piss out of Odi for facing his mother, that was for damn sure!

At least the rest of this beating won't hurt, he said to himself. There was only so much pain flesh could endure before it turned off feeling altogether. He was sure that he'd reached the limit.

"You will stop giving Dora a hard time for spending time with Odi."

Crack!

"Fuck!"

He hadn't expected her strike to land so low, straight across the back of his thighs. He'd been unprepared for pain there. The sting. The burn.

"Stop, I get it, stop."

Freyr merely tutted, disappointed in his display. And because she was disappointed in him, Caius soon felt disappointed in himself, too.

"You will stop pushing me and Magnus away,"

Oh, where were his Gods of old? Why had they submitted him to such cruel torture? He tensed every part of his body in expectation.

Crack!

"Feet on the floor," Freyr instructed, slapping down his legs until they were in position.

Caius hadn't even realised he'd curled his legs up. Must have been a subconscious effort to defend himself. He could have done worse, he supposed. He could have smashed through the chair and out of Magnus's grip, well away from Freyr and her menacing swing arm. The fact that he hadn't proved his subservience. He wanted to fight that 'proof' but he… he just couldn't.

Freyr brought him out of his thoughts. "Especially now we all know where we stand."

Oh no, not another…

Crack!

Caius heard the whistle and the landing. He heard Magnus and Basileus suck in their breath. It took a moment before he actually felt it. When he did, he went wild!

"No more, no more," he said through gritted teeth, trying in vain in hold position whilst gasping and bouncing from foot to foot.

Magnus took pity on him. "I think that's enough, love," he said, dragging Caius to feet by the hand still clamped around his neck. "Would you like to talk some more or are you in full agreement?"

Caius's wide eyes spoke before he could. "I agree. Whatever you say."

Freyr narrowed her eyes and considered the man before her.

"I don't like being in this position, but I'll do whats required to protect my own. Even if that's protecting you from yourself."

Before Magnus had need to prompt him, Caius responded. "Yes, my lady."

Seeing his wife was satisfied, Magnus finally released Caius, ruffled his hair, and went to fetch himself a drink from Caius's bloodwine barrel. He fixed one for Freyr, and for Basileus.

Caius wasn't offered one.

He could have drunk the barrel dry - his throat burned for the blood they drank, and his backside burned along with it.

"You can stop being so smug now," Magnus said to a chuckling Basileus.

Basileus shoved Magnus back. "I'm not smug," he said. "This is my satisfied face. It's about time he got what he deserves. Fantastic job, my lady."

And they all laughed along with each other, ignoring Caius drowning in humiliation as they discussed his transgressions and how he should be dealt with in future.

He had to leave.

But where could he go? Caius was already in his own chambers so there was nowhere to retreat to. He could go to his bedchamber, he mused, but sending himself to his room… too emasculating to bear.

Of course, Basileus chuckled to himself, and then retold Caius's (private, thank you very much) thoughts to the room.

Magnus offered him a sad smile, giving Caius some hope of support. "I can send you to your bed, if you'd prefer?"

Bastard!

Freyr seemed to be softening, though. She went to her boy and cupped his face in her hands.

That's better, Caius thought.

"I am so disappointed in your behaviour of late," she said softly. "If we have to repeat this message, you will be bare."

Caius's eyes were so wide in shock they hurt. If you think I'd submit to that, then you've…

"Now go to your room."

And he did!