Cole

I waited anxiously in the living room for Ares to come home with my brother. The idea of seeing Shane again was surreal. He had been gone for two thirds of my life. I honestly never expected to see him again, even with Ares' promise to find him for us. I had expected to learn how he died, not for Ares to actually bring him back.

What reason could he possibly have for staying away for so long? The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Mom died never seeing her son again. I knew how much she struggled with his absence. Did he love us at all? He must not, if he was so okay with disappearing from our lives for so long.

Even if he wanted to live far away, we were well past the invention of the telephone. He could have reached out and chose not to every single day.

Why bother coming back now?

I was properly angry by the time Ares appeared a few feet away. He was holding hands with a man I recognized from old photos. He looked older than I expected, which made sense since our photos only went through when he turned twenty and he was closer to forty now.

Shane.

My anger evaporated as I gaped at him, and he stared at me with equal fascination. "Cole," he whispered. "I can't believe how grown you are."

His words brought the anger rushing back, and I jumped to my feet. "Yeah, that happens after sixteen years."

Shane stepped back like I'd struck him.

"Cole," Ares said softly. I looked at him, confused. "I know it's hard, but can you listen?"

My trust in my mate outweighed my anger at my brother. I didn't like it, but I slowly sat back down on the couch. Ares walked over and sat next to me, while Shane took a chair that faced us. He looked to Ares for reassurance, which was perplexing. Ares nodded encouragingly and took my hand.

Shane swallowed nervously, then told me the story of why he left us, the drugs and shame, and ultimately, the fear that had kept him away. The fear of a rejection that would crush him. As he spoke, I tried to hang onto the anger, but it washed away and only a deep sadness remained.

"I've been clean for five years," Shane finished. "I moved to a new place, one where I didn't know any dealers or users. It's helped. But it was never home."

"He's telling the truth," Ares told me through our bond.

It was all I needed to hear. I got up and threw myself at Shane in a tight hug that had him falling against the back of the chair. He hugged me back lightly, like he was uncertain.

"I'm so happy you're here," I told him. "Dad and Gran will be happy, too. I know it."

I could feel Shane tremble against me and heard a change in his breathing that sounded like crying. I didn't loosen my grip on him, not for several minutes until he calmed back down. Eventually, we separated and smiled shyly at each other. I blinked to clear tears that had welled in my eyes but not fallen and smiled.

"Who's hungry?" I asked.

Shane laughed, and Ares hugged me from behind. "I'll cook. Why don't the two of you catch up?"

"Thank you," I said. I wasn't just thanking him for giving us alone time or for cooking. I had another chance with my brother now thanks to Ares. I really did have the best mate.

Ares kissed the top of my head and left. The kitchen was open to the living room, so we wouldn't be totally alone. "Let's go for a walk," I said.

The sound of little feet scampering toward us came from down the hall and moments later, Blaze ran to me and stared up with excited eyes while his tail wagged furiously.

"Woah! I didn't realize you had a pet," Shane said.

I crouched down to scratch behind Blaze's ears. "He's a baby hell hound. I named him Blaze."

Shane's eyebrows rose comically high. "Is he safe to be around?"

"He's safe for anyone who doesn't try to hurt Cole," Ares answered from the kitchen.

I smiled over my shoulder at him. "Ares is paranoid about my safety. He got Blaze to protect me." My smile fell as I remembered how unsafe I had felt just this afternoon when I was talking with Gabriel. Maybe Ares wasn't paranoid; maybe he was being practical.

I shook off the thought for now, though I definitely needed to have a talk with Ares tonight. Shane followed me out into the forest that surrounded the house and inhaled deeply.

"It smells so fresh out here," he commented. I smiled to myself but didn't tell him about the whole pocket realm thing. I didn't know Shane nearly well enough for that.

"Yeah, it's been really nice living here." Though, I hadn't officially moved out of Dad's house. I had just kind of stopped going back there except to visit. Half my things had been brought over gradually.

"Good. How did you two meet? I thought demons mostly kept to their own kind."

Was everyone going to ask me about how Ares and I met? It was pretty much the last story I wanted to tell. "We met at a club," I said, and hoped Shane didn't ask for details.

When he only said "Huh" in response, I exhaled in relief.

While we walked, Blaze ran around exploring. He never got too far from me, though. We talked about easy things - our hobbies, our jobs. Shane wasn't surprised to hear that Dad had opened a café. He said that used to be a shared dream between our parents. I never knew. I liked the idea that I was living Mom's dream almost as much as I ached to know she had never gotten to do it.

It was a good talk, easier than I expected it to be even if we were still strangers. When I asked Shane to stay the night with us, he accepted without hesitation. Maybe it was silly, but I felt like if he went back to his place, he would vanish again. We planned to catch Dad in the afternoon. On Tuesdays, Dad worked in the morning. Waiting let us wait until he was home, and also let Shane keep his work shift in the morning. Then, Dad could help us tell Gran.

After our walk, we returned home to find that Ares had made a delicious stir fry. It was easy to believe as we ate that it was the first of many meals together. The thought warmed my heart. Then, afterward, Shane went to bed early. Turns out he and I both regularly started our work shifts before the sun came up. I knew how that could make getting through the evening feel impossible.

I was happy to be left alone with Ares, anyhow. He and I needed to have a talk. I pulled Ares into our bedroom and locked the door. He misinterpreted my need for privacy and pulled me against him, peppering my neck with light kisses that made goosebumps break out and a shiver run down my spine.

"Hang on, not yet," I said. I had meant to just say no - today had been long and emotionally draining and I walked into this bedroom needing a cuddle more than sex - but I couldn't help wanting him when he handled me like this.

"Hm?" he asked, and sucked gently on my neck. Not enough to leave a mark, just enough to feel really good.

Maybe we could have sex and then have a talk about the Darong.

Just thinking about Gabriel killed my boner and I sighed.

"I did pottery with someone from the Darong faction today," I said. Predictably, Ares went tense against me.

"What?" he demanded, lightly grabbing my shoulders and pulling me back so he could search my face.

"Yeah, turns out Gabriel is one of them. He invited me to a pottery workshop today since he knew I was interested. I didn't even know he was supernatural. We just met that one time last week," I explained.

"Go on," Ares said. His voice was quiet and sounded dangerous. I shivered. How could I get him to use that voice in bed?

Focus.

I walked Ares through my whole conversation with Gabriel with as much detail as I could remember.

"They will regret bringing you into this," he said. There was death in his voice now, and I wondered if I had made a mistake in telling him.

"I don't want their blood on my hands," I pushed back.

Ares' eyes glared at some point over my shoulder. They flashed red, and I saw his form waver. Red scales appeared in patches on his arms and face before going back to the tanned beige tone of his human form. "They crossed an unacceptable line."

"He's really sick," I argued. "How can you blame him for trying anything he can?"

"They haven't tried everything," Ares said. The way he kept his calm while furious was scarier than if he had let the anger loose. "All they need to do is renounce their sovereignty. They disconnected themselves from our homeland and now cry that they've done it."

"They won't follow you, so they'll die?" I asked. My heart was beating too hard. Maybe I didn't know Ares as well as I thought. I had been focusing only on the caring, considerate part of him. But hadn't I noticed that very first night how he seemed so used to being in command? It had made complete sense to learn that he was a ruler. Maybe he was the person Gabriel had implied. Maybe this was all a power play where the game pieces were people's lives.

Ares' eyes widened at my combative tone. It seemed to melt through his anger, and he reached up to cup my cheek. I stepped back before he could make contact, and he winced. "Cole," he whispered. "Listen. Please. The Hinterlands cannot be risked. We cannot trust the Darong demons, so I cannot allow them access."

"They wouldn't hurt it," I said. I was certain of that. If they were dying without access to it, then surely they would make sure not to hurt it.

"No. But once they were in our heartland, they could fight us for control. I cannot take the risk that they would wrest control of the Hinterlands away from us and exile my people from it. Then we would sicken."

I frowned. I didn't like the sound of that. "How does it work? How do you keep people out?"

"The correct question is, how do I let people in?" Ares said. He reached slowly for me, and this time I didn't shy away has he pulled gently on the silver chain that hung around my neck. He held the key up between us, and I gasped.

"No! What?"

Ares' eyes burned into mine. "There are only two passkeys into the Hinterlands. Yours, and mine."

I shook my head no. "But that would mean..."

"That we live there. Yes."

Well, holy shit.

"But how does that work? Why don't your demons sicken if you don't let them in here?" I asked. Ares dropped the key so it settled against my chest, and I clutched at it. How could he give me something so important and not even tell me what it is?

I was also incredibly touched that Ares had trusted me with a passkey into the Hinterlands at all. I knew he was my mate, but we were still learning one another and this was obviously a huge deal.

"I am connected to the demons who follow me. They don't need to come here directly to access the magic of the Hinterlands. This has always been my family's privilege and our duty. The Darong, when they separated from us, did not understand the ramifications. Now that they do, they demand access to a sacred land that has never been theirs to enter. Do you understand now why I must continue to refuse them? I only entertain these treaty talks every year to remain civil in case they come to their senses and choose to rejoin us, and to keep them from resorting to violence."

My mind was whirling. I was still stuck on the revelation that I had been living in the Hinterlands for weeks without understanding what it was. When was Ares going to tell me? Did he trust me with a passkey but not with the truth?

When I took too long to answer, Ares prompted, "Cole?"

I knew he would normally have touched me. I could feel how badly he wanted to through the bond. It meant a lot that he was respecting the space I had put between us.

I took a few minutes to replay my conversation with Gabriel, then my conversation with Ares. As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't disagree with Ares' handling of the situation. If the options were to risk the safety of the people he was responsible for - and of himself - or to save the Darong, who were choosing their own banishment... Well, there wasn't really a choice, was there?

I stepped forward and hugged Ares, sighing when his arms came around me.

"I am sorry, Cole. I don't like it either."

I nodded against his chest and hung on.

I thought of the paper that was still in my pocket, the one with Gabriel's phone number on it. Maybe the way to fix this wasn't by convincing Ares to change his mind. Maybe I could change Gabriel's.