“I don’t care what they want.” The biting tone of the man was in stark contrast to how he usually spoke, in Craig’s experience. “I watched Quinn stare down a hail of bullets to protect his friend. I’ve often heard humans speak of an event taking years off their lives. I now know what that expression means. Never again. The boys stay here…in relative safety.”
“Except they’re not boys, are they?” Craig couldn’t help interjecting. He caught Trey’s ‘Are you fucking crazy?’ look before continuing. All eyes were on him now, and the totality of the glares was a difficult force to push back against. He was in it, though, and needed to see it through.
“What I mean is…words matter. You all talk about them in that way, as if they’re kids. But they’re not. They’re men—young ones, granted, yet still fully-fledged legal adults. That’s why the Commonwealth doesn’t object to their sharing beds with you. Do you really think it’s your place to tell them they can’t be in on this battle? They’re already embroiled in the war as it is. Seems to me they have the right to make the decision themselves.”
Malcolm was the first to get into his face. The big man in the skirt leaned closer to him. “Are you out of your fucking mind, mun? They’ll be lambs to the slaughter, and not one of us with a boy at risk could concentrate on our own mission if we’re worried about them.”
Craig held up his hands. “I’m not saying it’s a good idea for them to go. I’m merely advocating for their autonomy. Put the question to them, make your case for why they should stay behind then trust them to make the right decision.”
No one said anything for long seconds before, almost as one, they turned to their leader. Alex leaned into his chair and steepled his fingers as he spoke directly to Craig.
“You make an excellent point about freedom of choice. That’s very twenty-first-century of you, Sergeant.” His expression turned to stone. “It’s not going to happen. However much your species has evolved to this nearly planet-wide belief in self-governance, we are not of your species. Ours is a hive mentality. There is no ‘child versus adult’ that dictates choices. It’s about hierarchy within the social structure. Everyone in this room looks to me as the final decision-maker in this matter. It’s in our DNA. The boys have voluntarily joined our way of life, for good or ill. And lately, it’s been more of the latter,” he practically muttered before returning to full volume. “They know the rules. I say they stay, so they will.”
“Not that giving them orders in the past has worked all that well,” Harry observed.
Alex scowled. “It will this time.”
“You could always lock them in that dungeon of yours,” Petru offered. “I can attest to its security.”
Christos batted the back of the man’s head. “Your opinion was not requested.”
Craig knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t quite manage it. Ignoring Trey’s death-ray look, he said, “What does Annika have to say about all of this? Isn’t she the Queen or something?”
Although it clearly killed him to do so, Alex agreed with a quick nod. “She is, and I would be hard-pressed to gainsay her on anything at this point. I dare say she would accept my counsel on the matter, however. A wise queen always does. That’s assuming anyone would be foolish enough to burden her with this type of decision.” That last sentence landed like a meteor in the middle of the room.
Message received.
Craig put his hands up again. “I’m not going to run and tell tales. I was merely pointing out some hard truths. This is your show, sir. I’m just a foot soldier and, to be clear, I’m doing this for my people, my planet and my family in particular. How you handle your…hive makes no difference to me. So long as we have the best plan for winning, I’m down with it.”
Val stepped into the discussion. “Given your experience, we’d welcome your advice on that. None of us has been on any battlefield in decades.”
Craig nodded, more touched by the show of confidence than he was willing to let on. It was amazing to him that these creatures had accepted him so readily as a reliable ally. He glanced at Trey. His former lover was fully embedded with this crowd and apparently his word had been sufficient for him to be brought into the fold.
“I’m happy to. The thing is, though, that I need to know what I’m working with. What kind of resources do you have?”
“What do think we need?” Val shot back.
“No, seriously, I can’t plan unless I have an idea of what kind of vehicles, weaponry and tech you’ve got available.”
Val folded his arms. “I repeat, what do you need?”
Craig snorted and shook his head. “Really? If I said I needed a bunker-buster, you’ve got one of those hiding in your basement, do you?”
“Not there, no.”
Craig started to laugh then stopped when no one’s expression showed any sign of mirth. “You’re shitting me… Do I even want to know if you’ve got nuclear capabilities?” He shook his head before Val could answer. “I don’t. I withdraw the highly speculative and totally humorous question. Let’s talk planning, then we can fill in the gaps of what we need for the execution.”
“Excellent,” was all Alex said on the topic of armament. “That doesn’t require all of us. Val, Christos and Will, stay here. We’ll need your input on traveling options. The rest of you go about your usual patrol of the property.”
Trey stood, Karl and Kitty right behind him. “We need to get back to work, too.” With that, the three of them left.
Malcolm grabbed Petru by the arm and yanked him to his feet, not caring that the mug fell. Emil caught the empty vessel anyway. “Back you go to your cell.”
“But I want to help.”
“We’ll let you know if and when it’s desired. For now, you’re on a need-to-know basis.”
Claude helped Malcolm drag a petulant Petru out of the office.
“Can he really be trusted?” Craig asked.
“Not in the least,” was Alex’s simple reply.
* * * *
Alun pushed to do one more rep of leg curls, grimacing against the burn of his calves, thighs and ass, yet determined to build his strength. It wasn’t as if he were weak, far from it. Centuries of hard labor had made his body steely. With the recent months of his life giving him good nutrition, however, he was able to build muscles. He wanted to get physically stronger, if not mentally tougher. Too much was at stake now and he couldn’t afford to be a passive member of his new family. Merlin needed him and, for the first time in his son’s life, Alun felt as if he had a chance to truly matter to the boy. It might be ridiculous to think he was somehow going to be allowed to participate in this final battle with Dracul, yet he had to prepare, regardless.
And if his efforts in the gym made him more attractive, so what? He was entitled to look forward to the rest of his life, wasn’t he? His liberation from Dracul’s castle hadn’t made much of an impression on him at the time. He’d been convinced that he was in for more of the same. The kindness that Alex and his men had showed him and Merlin hadn’t been something he’d trusted, either—not at first. Now, there was enough distance between his old life and new one that he believed his days of slavery were over. Even so, a mere week ago, he wouldn’t have imagined wanting to get close to another man after all he’d been through. Now, he wasn’t as sure. The way he felt any time Craig turned his lovely brown eyes in his direction was unsettling. And yet, the appreciation that clearly showed through made Alun want to check himself out to make sure he looked his best.