Plans could wait until morning, despite my excitement that he seemed to have had an epiphany, I wasn't nearly satisfied. I attempt to coax him back into my bed but I would be having no such luck. Little did I anticipate that a few moments under my fingers, at my mercy, would send him into a reset, like a switch my calculated warlord was back. Isn't that what he had often said this sort of play was for? A chance to clear your head?

Dropping me for better entertainment, despite the hour, he threw himself into the next step of planning. Laying on my stomach, chin resting on my folded arms, I kick my feet lazily as he paces through phones calls and muttering mental notes to himself. Not even an hour ago he was at his breaking point, tightly wound, unable to come down from the anxious mess at the thought of losing me to Caspian's devious torment.

The capable man had returned to the world of moves and counter moves. While I'd like to take the credit, my libido was skyrocketing and the wolf scratched impatiently at the door to my subconscious. Just when I'd thought I'd gotten the creature under control, it whined impatiently for me to regain control of the situation. Little did it know, I was not dominant in this relationship.

Tilting my head, I watch him, for I could gawk if I could not touch. His stretched button-up was still messily stuffed into the hem of his pants. I admire the sculpted waist, the silent way he moves like a predator stalking his prey even in the heat of rapid-fire instruction to our unprepared task force. 

The turn of his shoulders caused the broad muscles of his back to flex against the thin material of his shirt. It was enough to make my mouth water, I resist the urge to slap myself back into reality. From the spattering of chest hair to the deliciously rugged stubble that peppered his jaw, I fantasize absently.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" He asks, setting the phone on the end table. 

I blink, considering the answer as I straighten. But, I'd be a liar if I said I was ashamed. He was my husband, publically, now. I owned him much as he owned me.

"You are an odd man." I point out, bringing a slight smirk to his lips. I admire the dimple in his cheek, stretching out my hand to beckon him to me. Verando crosses the room, folding one leg to sit beside me on the bed as he laces his fingers in mine. Full lips pressed to my knuckles, I growl playfully as I slip my fingers out of his to grip his shirt, dragging him down to kiss him. 

"I'm just curious as to what just happened. This... is a different energy than you had before. I'd forgotten you had two personalities."

Pursing his lips, he considers me while sitting up. Evading my grasp by pressing his lips to my palm, he drags his nose slowly over the thin skin of my wrist. I press my fingers to his cheek, always appreciating the moments when he was feeling particularly affectionate. It was a difficult dance between my desire to dominate and his tolerance for my newfound instincts. 

"It's... hard to explain. I needed time to clear my head, to think about nothing. It's almost a submissive space, permission to not be in control. I needed a release."

Raising an eyebrow, my wolf is at attention. Jumping up onto my knees, I'm on him before I can think, tangling my hand into his hair with a low growl. "I'm not doing my job if you're thinking about the war when I'm trying desperately to get into your pants."

Taking a page from my book, he covers my mouth with his hand, warning me with his eyes. "I'm not a submissive, Nic."

Smacking his hand away, I pout back in response. More than anyone, I knew he was an Alpha. It was to satisfy me that he bowed to my will. "I like doing that to you. You never make those sorts of sounds for me." Was it wrong of me to press him for this?

Untangling my hand from his hair, he holds his own. My submissive husband is gone, my Alpha had returned. "It is not often that I need that, I like to be in control. But, I trust you, that was a big step for me." Taking a slow breath, Verando makes a point to be precise with his words. 

The stress returns to those expressive brows. I lift my hand, carefully smoothing away the lines between them with my thumb as the light eyes cloud over with uncertainty. 

"When I allow you to do that to me, to touch me in such a way, it's emasculating. There's nothing about us that is 'normal' or following a particular social structure, but, it's a very difficult space for me to allow myself to exist in." His fingers lace with mine once more as he rests my hands in his lap. "My culture, my beliefs, for whatever that's worth, I'm entirely male my love, it's quite the barrier to work through."

The wolf seems to accept that, not a no but a hold-off on exploration. "Though I would very much like to do that again, I appreciate your honesty." I press, capturing my lower lip in my teeth as I glance up at him. "If you need inspiration, you know where to find me."

Scoffing, Verando slides out of my grasp to slip his shirt off. Carefully folding it, he puts it to the side to wash as he shimmies out of his pants. "I'll be sure to call on you next time I need enlightenment, you might like to be the Alpha.. but I think you'd do just fine as my Beta." 

Despite his teasing tone, I growl in response to him, earning a throaty retort back as his phone rings. 

"To be continued, darling." He kisses my forehead as he answers the call.

____________________________________________________________

If I had known the key to getting our fearless leader back was taking him to my bed, I might have been more persistent. Tiberius seems pleased to have access to the man though their conversation wasn't quite what I was expecting this morning as I prepare my ruthless husband some tea. It felt good to cook again though I found myself lonesome for the children. I send Stefan a message, checking in absently as I scramble some eggs.

It was like an itch that was hard to scratch, my mind was fogged over with images of the man beneath me and I find myself in a haze of what all I'd like to do to him. At the same time, my mind flickers from Caspian to the safety of our family and the state of our home. 

The wolf hungrily agrees that the object of my affection was more important than any possible war. I had thought I was past this point but here it was, front and center. Tiberius lingers close to me, despite the topic of his conversation not including me in the slightest. I knew his angle, he was drinking in my hyperactive sex drive.

In all my time with the man, I'd never found myself so drawn to his form as I was now. I had admired him, of course, but now I felt like a fresh lad discovering his manhood for the first time. Busying myself with the tea was the only thing keeping me sane for polite company. Tossing some bacon into a pan, I grumble at myself to get it together. 

In the back of my mind, my body felt depleted, I needed to use. I needed more enhancers.

"We have a tour scheduled and we are falling quite behind. I don't know about you, but I do like money." Tiberius points out. 

Verando runs a hand through his hair, but not in the same sense of stress he'd be in just nights prior. It's a calming gesture, smoothing back the irritation and allowing the dictator to step into the light. "Remind me of the dates, we are in a spat of magic users against humanity, you are aware of that right? Caspian's forces are hunting us at full capacity."

Tiberius narrows his eyes, "The world is always in a war, you are practically the pied piper." He points out, leaning back against the countertops. "Mostly in Europe. Someone has to fund this campaign and it's going to have to be us. The government can not continue to cover for us. I know you need to get your younger self back to your time but you also need to not go bankrupt in this one."

Money hadn't quite crossed my mind, he'd done a good job of providing for us. While it felt odd to not be personally wealthy, I'd never much thought about money until my time on the run from Helen's gang.

"Perhaps we could use that to our advantage." Verando exhales, "Though it would be giving away our position, we would be able to stay in the public eye enough that an all-out assault on us would be unfavorable. The police that align with Artifice are quite suspect of our activities. After playing the hitman, Lotta has advised I do more public appearances before my whereabouts are brought to question." 

Flinching, I flip the bacon and satisfy myself with the sizzle. I note him looking at me out of the corner of his eye and set my jaw. 

"As if we didn't have enough going on."  Tiberius spits. "A real smart idea that was."

Verando seems unthreatened. "There were too many corrupt individuals in the council-"

"Not quite a council.. dukes, lords, senators.. much more complex. Much more public." Tiberius corrects. 

"The police think you're a hitman?" I ask, pouring the tea into a cup and placing it on the island for him. I don't want to talk about why he was killing people, we'd already discussed this. He would do whatever it took to keep us safe.

"Not quite but at this point, anything to get us back under the thumb of Artifice would be a plus for their side. The magic revolution is still going on under our noses and with this last debacle at our wedding, support is weak." Verando takes a sip, his lack of commentary shows his approval and I make a second cup as I spot the young Randy making his way out of the medical room. 

"We are seeing reports all over the country of people calling for limitations and laws on magical ability in public spaces." Tiberius sighs. "Artifice's main designers are offering to put magical limiters on the communication devices that people wear. If that catches on, we will be hard-pressed for Gospel to contend with it. They could easily make it a law that we would have to wear it."

Suspicious, the young man takes the cup and brings it up to his nose to sniff. Taking a small sip, he sighs appreciatively. "Thank you," he grumbles, hungover and ashamed to even look me in the eye. He must recall how he'd acted that night in my office. 

Landon brings out his computer to set it on the counter. "Verando, I got your message last night. It was... odd... getting a text from you." 

"Disturbing, isn't it?" Tiberius chuckles. 

"Very." Pulling his lips into a thin line, he still looks uncertain of the doubleganger Randy. "There is still a Viking style Lycan horde living in Iceland. Echo originates from there, it would be a good place to visit if we were hoping to go deeper into the lore. Unfortunately, with the death of the lycans and the plague-" Pausing, he frowns as he sees the young Randy's face pale.

I place my hand on the young man's shoulder only for him to jerk away. "I don't need your pity. It's not my problem... yet.. at least." He shakes his head as he moves to sit on the couch and leave us to talk.

"Lycan lore is as sparse as Lycan's themselves," Landon concludes. "Tyler is on his way with the research they managed to gather before they brought you both here. Nic had taken some notes and written some of this down, that's the next place to start."

"You should take Gardo, Pascal and Tonic, and go to Iceland to track the history there," Verando tells him firmly.

I pause. "Leaving our children unprotected?" I demand. "You forget how heavily we rely on Gardo to protect the boys, he's the only one I trust to keep them safe."

"Which is why he has to go, we can't trust Tonic and Stefan is doing a fine job," Verando responds.

Randy shudders. "For the love of the gods.." This seems to be overwhelming the poor youth but we can't keep stopping for fear of disturbing him. "Tonic is your damned bastard child and you can't trust him?"

It doesn't occur to my husband to answer, it's a question he couldn't reveal the truth of. I shift uncomfortably, handing Tibirus a cup of coffee, splitting up doesn't sit right with me with the news calling for the end of time travelers. "Is this really the right time for a concert tour?"

Tiberius shrugs, "We have to, Nic. You aren't a king anymore, income is important and we are the face of not only the hero's but you are practically the bringer of peace. You, more than anyone, have to continue to speak out for unity and keep reminding people that this march has not stopped. We must keep Caspian's supporters pushed back, without Artifice, people are at a loss of what to do with themselves. 

We can not abandon them, even with this going on." Gesturing to the young Randy, he shakes his head in disbelief. "We have to move on as if the world will keep spinning. We have to talk about what to do with our version of Caspian."

Caspian exits the bathroom, adjusting his pants and snagging a piece of bacon out of the pan with his unwashed hands. I sigh, disgusted, and toss him the remainder on a plate before starting a new batch. "Ever considered just asking me what my problem is? If you asked me right now, despite how this whole shit show is going, I'm not interested in siding with Fenrir and ending the world." 

Tiberius shrugs, "We don't usually make a habit of talking to the insane, odd coming from a Siren, I know."

It's quite strange how close Tiberius and Caspian's appearances mirror each other. The same dark hair, almost jet black and inky. The same tanned skin and startling golden, amber eyes resemble melted into shimmering pools. "I wasn't always insane. Admittedly, I'm a dick but... I was formidable as that one." He gestures towards Verando. "Some would say more so." 

Randy nearly chokes on his tea and Verando rolls his eyes. "Last time I tried talking it out with you, it motivated you to use me for whatever you saw fit so, it has not occurred to me to try again despite your current state of capture."

"You're such a pompous ass. Good to see that hasn't changed." Caspian snags another piece of bacon to chew on. "I'm telling you, and you know it as well as I do, if I'm doing this it's for a reason. Find out what that reason is. Not everything is about you, you know. Maybe I'm just lonely?  You were my only friend."

Randy stands, rushing out of the room to the bathroom, and by the sounds of it, it's to vomit. I sigh, pitying him for the withdrawal process mixed with a raging hangover. "Seems like your younger self is stuck here for another few days to go through withdrawal again."

"He's not going to get better until we stop messing with the timeline and send him back," Tyler announces, stepping through the door. "which is proving increasingly more difficult. It's not like we can just jump into a bathtub and send him home that way. The portal that it takes to travel through time needs to be quite large and takes a lot of magic. We have to be exact about how we do it, there's a specific gap where inserting them won't cause a rift, it has to have the moment after they were taken. Seconds, really."

Practically knocking all my hard work off the island, I quickly gather everything to set back on the counters as he spreads out his plans and paperwork. "Excuse you," I grumble, leaving to check on Randy. 

"We can manage, but it's going to take someone going back in time at the right moment.. and there's another problem, we no longer have Lipa." 

The name of the dragon causes me to flinch. I knock on the door and step through to find him curled up on the tile. "Are you ok?"

"Just slowly dying." He grumbles sarcastically. "I'm starting to think maybe I have a problem."

I shrug, "Don't we all? You don't have to hide from me, I'm not upset with you."

"I'm not hiding, I have a splitting headache, don't flatter yourself. Your tits aren't nearly big enough to attract my eye." Slowly climbing to his feet, he refuses to accept my help to stand. I can only fold my arms over my chest, seeing such similarities in the angry youth. He had always been two people, the one that pushed everyone away and the one who was so painfully lonely that he would do anything not to lose someone he cared about.

"Laying down in the dark will help your headache-"

He shakes his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Leave me here to die, I'm not letting those prissy bitches stick me with another dagger. I'm a bloody pin cushion for all the pokes they dispense. I'll deal with hell's fire if it means not another damned jab."

Smirking, I remember his dislike of needles even now, only to freeze as I wonder if it came from this moment. "Ok. If you want to stay here, it's fine. Let me know if you need me." The chill runs down my spine as I tread back into the main space. We needed to go public, we needed to be a united front and get back into reality if we were going to make any progress. Sneaking around in the background would take to much time, I had to trust that we were strong enough to outlast whatever might be waiting for a reveal of our position. 

"Now's as good of a time as any to do this." I blurt out. "If we wait much longer, the restrictions on magic could grow, and then we will be dealing with police more so than we already will be. The world is too heavily populated to keep hiding, we need to gain back support and trust just as Verando said or we are going to face unending trials getting this portal opened. We need the public back on our side and we need a secure place to practice. We don't have time to train another dragon."

Time, time that we didn't have, it had taken me years to build a bond with Lipa. Going public once more was the only way to draw more magic users in just as we had with the Dead City. I had to believe there was experience left in this world, besides heroes we'd trained and elementals. Our campaign had transitioned since we'd crossed the sea, we'd gotten lax in our attempts after my arrival into a lycan bloodline. 

I note their tired faces. They were as sick of campaigning as I was. "It won't be the same this time, our populations can not continue to fight these wars, humanity will continue to outnumber us. We need a different approach, we need to take the fear out of the equation. When I was being hunted, when Tiberius found me, the people in that train car were horrified. People are just scared, the elementals are destroying everything."

Seeing young Randy, speaking to Caspian, watching my husband go from calculated to a mess, it was all becoming clear that war was not going to solve this. "We need to return to what we were doing in our time. Peace. Not by war but with education and discussions."

Caspian fakes a gag, "You're going to love everyone into sending us home?"

Tossing a fork at him, I roll my eyes. Verando had never quite come out as a lycan publically, though it had been skirted around that he wasn't human, in the peak of his popularity we were still under the thumb of Artifice and magic was entirely illegal. We needed a different perspective, a revisit of what we were attempting to do before Red and Caspian returned to our lives.

"No. I'm going to show people that we are not all-powerful beings on a hair-trigger. Maybe this is the perfect time for a concert tour..."