Oh, there was something Ronan wanted to ask about, but the conversation was moving on too quickly. He’d have to pry the information out of Aiden later.
“I’ve got my spies as well,” Rafe agreed. “Lola and I will see what we can turn up.”
“Marcus and I can also make a list of any clans who might side with Heller and or the European Ministry,” Sofia offered. “That could give us some new leads.”
Aiden nodded. “This is a good starting point. I want Heller found quickly, or we need to set a trap for him. He needs to be dealt with. The European Ministry needs to be sent a message that the Americas are not part of their domain. Their attempts at control are not welcome here.”
There were murmurs of agreement, and the meeting largely broke up. Rafe’s companions filtered out first, making plans with him to begin their hunt for Heller the next night. Sofia stood next, and Aiden quickly crossed the room. There was a new wariness to her eyes as she watched Aiden that hadn’t been there when Ronan first met her. It was his age. The vampire she’d known had become something of a scary legend now. Their kind never lived that long. Those that did were frighteningly powerful and dangerous.
With Aiden’s usual warm smile, he held out a hand to her, but Ronan admired how he was careful to not get too close, giving her the option to come to him. “I’m still me,” he whispered. “Nothing has changed. I’m still the vampire you handed the crown.”
Sofia gave a little roll of her eyes. “And I thought it was only because I didn’t want to be bothered with it.” But she took his hand before she hugged him tightly. “We will talk about this.”
Aiden agreed and looked up at David as Sofia stepped away from him. “Keep a close watch on her. She is an obvious target since she’s a well-known ally of mine. Don’t let anything happen to her.”
“Not a chance,” David agreed with a nod.
Sofia turned her stern dark gaze on Ronan, and he straightened. “And you, just because you’re a thousand years old doesn’t mean you can slack. You keep him safe.”
“Until my last breath,” Ronan replied, and he meant it. He’d give all that he was to keep Aiden safe.
The sons and their mates followed next. There were many hugs and teasing comments. The same wariness and maybe confusion filled their eyes, but they seemed to be rebounding a little faster than Sofia. Ronan wasn’t sure if it was due to their relative youth or that no matter what age Aiden was, he remained their father first.
But there was no denying the warmth and happiness that swelled in Ronan’s chest to see the sons’ and mates’ obvious love and affection for Aiden as well as each other. Their teasing and sniping seemed endless, but it was all done out of love and respect for one another. These people were a family first and a clan second.
What surprised him most was that they all had a comment or teasing remark for him as they left, as if they were trying to include him. The caution wasn’t entirely gone, but they were trying. And Ronan didn’t want to do a damn thing to let them down. He wanted to be part of this family almost as much as he wanted Aiden with him forever.
Marcus was the last one to linger in the room with them, and judging by Aiden’s expression, his old friend didn’t seem surprised.
“Are you angry?” Aiden asked suddenly.
The oldest son frowned for a second and shook his head. “Stunned. No, humbled.”
Aiden cocked his head to the side, and Ronan had to admit he was surprised by the word choice as well.
“I don’t understand,” Aiden replied.
“All that time, you’ve seen so much. Done so much, before you even met us. And still you chose to stay with us. We’re…we’re a drop of water in the ocean for you. For at least the last hundred years, you could have left. Lived a life away from us, but you didn’t. You couldn’t be near us, but you were always right there, waiting to jump in if something happened. You chose us.”
Aiden stepped up to his son and placed both his hands on either side of his face. “Because I love you. I love you and your brothers. I loved your mother. You gave me more than two hundred years of joy. I’m humbled because your family chose me. I’ve never felt that I deserved such a gift, and I’ve been thankful for all of you since the first night.” Looking over his shoulder at Ronan, Aiden licked his lips and flashed him a shaky smile. He turned his attention to Marcus. “And now I have a new reason to be happy. Does that bother you?”
“No!” Marcus said sharply before hugging Aiden tightly. “Definitely not. You’re well overdue for some happiness like this.”
Ronan swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. Okay, there was one drawback to the Variks. They were going to turn him into a weeping baby. But if that was the price he had to pay to keep Aiden and protect his family, then he’d pay it with a fucking teary smile on his face.
Releasing Aiden, Marcus straightened and rubbed one eye with the heel of his hand. “If you’ll excuse me, I likely have a fledgling about to explode over the idea that his father-in-law is a thousand years old. I need to find a way to distract him.”
Aiden snorted. “I’m sure you’ll manage.”
To Ronan’s utter shock, a positively filthy smile spread across the very staid Marcus’s mouth. “Yes. I have a few ideas,” he murmured and strolled out of the library.
“So?” Aiden said, drawing Ronan’s gaze to his face.
Ronan shrugged. “It could have gone worse. But I say that we go to bed before the fates decide to throw worse at us.”
Aiden’s shoulders slumped and he flashed Ronan a weary smile. “That sounds perfect to me.”
And Ronan had some excellent ideas about how to make Aiden forget about the rest of the world for a few hours.
Chapter Fourteen
Ronan leaned against the closed door as he watched Aiden cross the bedroom. His lover’s shoulders looked too straight, too tense, despite the fact that they were hidden away in Aiden’s private rooms—the one place he should have been able to relax.
But then he wasn’t surprised Aiden couldn’t truly let go of his worries. The man loved to ruminate on a problem, pick it apart in his brain until he had it shredded and screaming its secrets at him.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Aiden turned suddenly to face Ronan, his brow lined with worry. “Ronan? Something wrong?”
“Only that you’re still thinking about Heller and the Ministry,” Ronan replied.
Aiden sighed heavily. “I can’t just turn that off. They’re threatening you, my family, all the vampires in the Americas with their archaic rule. We need to work out their next steps.”
“You forgot to list yourself among those the Ministry would like to control or kill.”
“Yes, yes,” Aiden said, absently waving off his words.
Ronan swallowed a groan of frustration. There was no point in arguing. Aiden was always a protector first. It was written into the very essence of who he was, and a thousand years couldn’t change it. The man refused to worry about his own neck. That was fine. Ronan would do it for him.
Shoving away from the doors, Ronan cross the room and circled his sweet man to stand behind him. He ran his hands up his back and curled them over tense shoulders, massaging away the tightness. Aiden groaned loudly, relaxing some under his touch. This…Aiden needed this.