O0o 1 Alpha Wrath

"I picked the lock," Lucien said, unashamed. "I figured if I was under house arrest for the rest of my life, I deserved to enter every room."

"You figured wrongly," Halian told him. "If I ever find you in here again, or a sign that you have been in here, I will whip you with a riding crop."

"I see getting laid regularly hasn't improved your temper," the young man said. He shoved the drawer shut, uncaring there were clothes dangling out of it. "Why go to all the trouble of buying an omega and not keep him in your room? Jesus."

"Do not blaspheme, and do not denigrate Jules," Halian thundered, making Lucien cringe away. "My relations.h.i.+ps are not your business, and my clothing doesn't belong to you, either." He s.n.a.t.c.hed the wine-colored cravat from Lucien's hand. "You will learn some manners here, either by surrender or force. I don't care which."

"G.o.d, you're such a f.u.c.king bully!" Lucien shouted back, but not as loudly and certainly with not as much impressive ire. "You haven't seen me in five years, and two minutes into the reunion you revert back to a d.a.m.ned caveman!"

All the anger smells were starting to get to Jules. It didn't matter that he wasn't the focus or cause. He backed up and to one side, fighting the urge to sink to his knees.

"You ????? ??? the caveman in me," Halian growled. "The world owes you nothing, Luc, yet you persist in believing it does. You ???? of whiskey, and those clothes are at least two days on your body. What have you been doing, hiding in your room and drinking away your cares?"

"What's it to you?" Lucien asked, throwing his arms wide. "Oh, I forgot you're the perfect son, the favorite! You don't know anything about me, or what's on my mind." He drew his arms in only so he could point at Jules. "You even got an omega, probably because your r.e.t.a.r.ded s.e.x drive finally got to be too much! I was never allowed to buy one, but you were encouraged to do so all the time!"

Jules couldn't take it anymore. He backed completely out of the room and fled for Felix's. The shouting was getting louder even as he swiftly walked away. Felix's door was already open, the man himself leaning out to discern what the yelling could be.

"It's Lucien," Jules said, darting inside. "He let himself into Hal's room."

"Well, ???? can't continue, not with his treacherous servants so eager to get their hands on the master of the house's clothing," Felix muttered. He shut the door. "You need a bracing cup of tea. How about Ceylon?"

"Whatever you have is fine." Jules's hands were shaking. He picked a chair and sat down on them to make them quit. "s.h.i.+t, I hate alpha anger."

"It's not the best, is it?" Felix commiserated.

A loud thumping and banging began down the hall, and Lucien's shouting increased. Then, everything went quiet. Very quiet. Jules heard running footsteps. They went down the staircase and out the front door. Halian's powerful stride and hard sole boots began to approach Felix's room.

Halian knocked, and opened the door. "Jules, are you all right?"

"Yes, Hal," Jules said quietly, looking at the floor.

"??, ??'? ???," Felix snapped, surprising Jules. "He's having a s.h.i.+tty day, and your brother made it worse. Merely inquiring over his state isn't helping anything. Come in and have tea with us. Drink a cup before you ask another stupid question."

Halian shut the door rather loudly, and stalked over to Felix. He glared at him a moment before dropping into the chair beside of Jules's. Jules immediately slid out and sat down on the floor at Halian's feet, silently asking for what he needed. He closed his eyes at the wonderful feeling of Halian's long fingers sliding through his hair.

"My apologies, Jules," Halian said gently. "I'm afraid you're going to be seeing the clash between myself and my brother fairly often. He was brought here so that I could correct his wanton behavior, and I agreed to do this for my parents because Lucien is on a fast track to h.e.l.l."

Halian accepted a cup of tea from Felix, and took a sip. He offered that to Jules immediately.

Jules had missed this. He'd missed it so much that tears sprang to his eyes.

"Jules, it's not about you," Halian said, mistaking his emotion for upset due to his brother. "Lucien hates everyone, even himself. Don't take him to heart."

"I won't, Hal," Jules whispered.

They were all quiet while imbibing the good, black tea. When finished, Halian put the empty cup and saucer on a stack of books. "Felix, this is chaos," he said. "You need a bigger room. Move to the one down from Jules and myself. It's much larger."

"Are you sure you want a wise-a.s.s tailor so close to you?" Felix asked.
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"No, especially not one that corrects me so freely," Halian said. "But, Jules likes you, and you have good sense. I want you near him."

"I'm glad to trade up," Felix said easily.

Halian got to his feet. "Come with me, Jules," he said.

Jules followed Halian back to his bedroom.

"Put on some warmer clothing," Halian ordered. "I'm taking you outside of this house. We need to talk freely, and that can't be done inside the manor."

Jules chose to put a pair of trousers on over the silk ones he already wore. He got one of the seafaring s.h.i.+rts, and laced it tightly. When Halian handed him one of his own coats, Jules met his eyes. The warm, split-tail, long cashmere coat was heavy, expensive, and positively emanated Halian's incredible scent.

"My boots should fit you," Halian said softly.

Jules got some socks and chose a pair of hard, weather beaten boots that went to the knees. They felt odd, but not too tight. He stood and put the coat on, feeling subdued. But, the smell of Halian soothed him. He turned and put his nose against the soft fabric, incasing. He didn't care to be seen doing it.

Halian handed him his fans. Jules hooked them onto the coat's belt. Halian then opened a drawer, taking out a box of matches and a taper candle made of beeswax. Those went into one of his pockets. He got his cloak, put it on, and led Jules out and down.

They stopped in the kitchen. Halian measured out some Cashews into a bag and stowed them with the matches. He got a single wine gla.s.s and a linen napkin. Ellaine watched them without saying anything, perhaps sensing their moods as private and unapproachable, or perhaps she'd heard the fight Halian had with his brother.

Halian made a stop in the cellar and got a very large bottle of the estate wine. He then hooked his arm through Jules's and began walking toward the lake.