And he…needed to find something else to do with his life other than watching over his sons. This king thing wasn’t going to last long. Once he got most of the clan leaders talking to each other, they’d be able to work out a new system of governing. A year or two at most.
Then he’d be able to…what?
For so long, his entire existence had been about protecting Julianna and her sons. Julianna was now gone, and her sons were all happily settled with mates. They didn’t need him watching over them.
What was he going to do with the rest of forever?
“The Forsythe Clan giving you problems again?”
Aiden’s head popped up at the sound of Marcus’s voice from the open doorway. His oldest son was standing there with a concerned look on his handsome face. He’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even heard his approach.
“No, I haven’t heard from them recently,” Aiden murmured. He dropped back in his chair and took a moment to actually look at Marcus. The changes he’d experienced in the past year of finding his mate, making Ethan a vampire, and then training him had left an impact, though he doubted anyone outside the family would even notice. Aiden wasn’t even sure Marcus’s own brothers would see it most nights.
Thanks to Ethan, Marcus smiled more often, laughed easier, and was a little more willing to let his brothers handle a problem rather than forcing his way into something. He didn’t need to control everything. Life seemed newer, fresher, for his son, and Aiden was so happy for him.
It didn’t hurt that Ethan clearly adored him. The young vampire might be utterly outrageous, and some truly unbelievable things might come out of his mouth, but he’d been good for Marcus.
His only concern now was getting Ethan to stop blaming himself for Julianna’s death. Despite his large smile and easy laugh, Aiden could see that sometimes the little vamp wasn’t entirely comfortable around Aiden, as if he expected Aiden to lash out over the loss of Julianna.
Yes, he was sad she was gone, but she’d chosen to sacrifice herself to protect Ethan, and he respected her choice. He was also relieved that she’d found peace at last. Winter’s gift of seeing her ghost one last time proved to him that she was now happy. She’d admonished him to be happy, but he wasn’t even sure what that was for him now.
“Is there anything I can help with?” Marcus offered.
“No. Everything is fine. I think I just need to get away from my desk for a little while. Clear my head.”
“Okay, I’ll tell Ronan that you’re not receiving guests at the moment,” Marcus said.
“Ronan’s here?” Aiden demanded sharply. He stood quickly, not wanting to look too closely at the fact that his heart had sped up and the previous melancholy evaporated.
Marcus arched one eyebrow, but whatever he was thinking, his son kindly kept it to himself. “He just arrived, requesting to see you.”
“The rest of the European Ministry envoy?”
Marcus shook his head. “He came alone.”
“Could you show him up?” Aiden inquired. He dropped into his seat and smiled at his son, who looked as if he were struggling not to say something incredibly negative. Aiden was willing to guess that it was something along the lines of not trusting him. He’d heard plenty of that from Winter already.
In the end, Marcus just grunted and disappeared. Of his four sons, Marcus walked the most interesting line of trying to always be the diplomat while also speaking his mind when he didn’t like something. Particularly when it came to protecting his family.
Aiden turned to his computer screen, closed the email he’d been composing, and shut down the program altogether, not wanting to be disturbed while he was speaking with Ronan. Not that he thought the vampire had come to discuss politics without the rest of the envoy. After their brief conversation in the woods the night before, Aiden thought this visit might be more personal in nature.
Was that why his heart was racing in his chest? And his palms had suddenly become sweaty?
This was absolutely ridiculous. Aiden Varik was too old to be feeling this way. He didn’t get nervous over a boy like he was some schoolyard crush.
Yes, this was the man he’d fallen in love with so many years ago.
But this was also the man who was an emissary from the European Ministry. The man he hadn’t seen in centuries. He could be different now. This could be an act. A lie.
The sound of Marcus clearing his throat had Aiden’s head snapping up again. God, how long had he been lost in thought? He needed to get his head pulled together. This was nonsense. Whether Ronan was the man he’d known as a human or a vampire aiming to kill him didn’t matter. His first responsibility was to his family, to protecting the vampires within his domain.