Lecia
The moment I had seen Tristan in that room with Dylan I had immediately felt that there was some type of familial connection between them. It's not that they looked exactly alike, but there was something there in his aura that reminded me of her. But as things progressed, I was convinced, even before he blurted out his little confession.
Honestly, I was pretty sure that I was actually going to like him. He was quick with his responses to our little back and forth banter and I was honestly a bit impressed. Before I had come into the room, I had seen the way that he was looking at her and it was the same way that I looked at her and my brothers, brother.
Damn, my head was still reeling from everything that had seemed to happen in both slow motion and all at once. Funny how the things that can shatter a person seem to happen in a matter of seconds while the things that put our pieces back together take a lifetime and still may never make us whole again.
Isn't life a b*tch! The small little splinters in my heart were still aching as I sat here at the small little wooden sitting table. It was a heavy wood that looked really expensive, and it had four plush black cushioned chairs that were much more comfortable than they looked.
I was the first one to take a seat. Nico helped me by walking me over to the chair and pressing down with a bit of pressure on the top of my shoulders, but it wasn't necessary. Little did he know that I was barely even able to stand and was just waiting for somewhere to fall.
My body felt sore as if something had tried to pull my bones out of my skin in some places, but in the middle of having to hold Brea back, see Nico, destroy Dylan, I felt a sort of peace wash over me the moment Dylan fell asleep. There were no words to describe what I was feeling so I let the chair hold me up as I watched the others in the room.
Mr. hot looking silver-haired not actually old guy seemed to be in some sort of trance and while it bothered me the way that he was looking at Tristan and Dylan, I was trying to figure out which one of them he was directing his attention towards.
Brea had let me know that he had a wolf, but that she couldn't pick up anything else about him. Making a mental note, I was determined to find out more information about that.
Nico took the chair to my left and I reached out and held his hand under the table. I quickly linked with him to ask if he was okay, but when he responded back to me with only a squeeze of my fingers with his own, I knew that it had been a dumb question.
Once Dylan was settled, I would devote my undivided attention to him, and I would make sure that we worked through this loss together. I'd be damned if I lost two brothers. The ball of my emotions felt like it was stuck in my throat, but I pushed it.
The only other person in the room was that handsome fae that had come to visit Dylan's house at Blood Mist. While I hadn't admitted it then, I was really damn impressed with him, but I kept that to myself. He, just like the other man, was staring at Dylan and Tristan, but I could see that there was compassion and something else in that stare.
Quickly looking between the three males, I accidentally let some of my thoughts slip out of my mouth. "So, is everyone here ridiculously attractive? Is that some kind of prerequisite to work here or something?"
Maybe I was more tired than I was willing to admit because I was pretty sure that I usually tried to keep those kinds of thoughts to myself.
The chuckle that came from Tristan caught me off guard for a moment and I swiveled my head back to him as he started to laugh softly. Everyone all seemed to be waiting to see what Tristan would do next.
Hell, even I was a little concerned that he had lost his mind or something. After all the different mood swings, he'd shown us in the last few moments I think we were all on pins and needles with how this might go. Tristan had practically played out every emotion on his face with his actions or words.
Right now, he looked like the big gray guard dog that used to pick on the black cat but liked the little brown mouse in that cartoon I used to love to watch when I was younger.
Tristan was one of the largest if not the largest men I've seen before. Even with his size, he still looked nimble and lithe. If I had to describe him and the vibe, he gave off it was probably like a poisonous snake waiting to strike.
Then again, they say that the bigger and scarier they are, the more cuddly their inner teddy bear is. Too bad I had no intention of finding that out, but as I watched their interactions with each other, I had a feeling one of these men already knew that.
Tristan was still laughing, and I felt Nico's voice in my head, "you think this guy actually lost it or something?" Huh, it's funny because I was just thinking the same thing. Before I could respond to him, I watched as Tristan immediately stopped laughing and turned his full focus on me.
"Is there something you'd like to share with us," he asked looking back and forth between me and Nico. Not gonna lie, I was a little impressed by how quickly he could switch him moods or emotions, but I was not going to let him get to me. At least, I wouldn't show it.
"Well, I thought it would be rude to ask if you'd completely lost your sh*t out loud," Nico chimed up a little too quickly, but I couldn't help the smirk that spread across my face.
"Huh, well if I hadn't been sure about your relationship before, I'm convinced now. You have to be siblings to have the same smart a** mouths." Tristan shook his head as if he was both impressed and maybe even a little jealous of me and Nico.
Whatever the case, now that he was talking, I figured we would try to get some things settled before we had to deal with whatever might happen when Dylan wakes up.
Goosebumps prickled my arms, and I felt a shiver run down my spine at the thought. No, it wasn't the thought of it, it was the fear I felt at not knowing how she would react to me. Would she be angry with me or refuse to see me?
I couldn't stand even thinking those thoughts and maybe it was written on my face because Tristan spoke again and while he wasn't looking at me, I knew he was talking to me.
"Dylan must enjoy the sarcastic types since she obviously has so much affection for you. If that's the case, then I think she and I will get along splendidly!" A soft smile played across his very handsome face, and I was about to let something else slip out of my mouth, but the silver haired man spoke.
"Gods help us, if she has a soft spot for sarcasm, she may end up winning the hearts of all the wolves on your team." The smile stayed on Tristan's face as she chuckled a bit, but the bright flash of amber in his eyes spoke volumes.
Thankfully, Micah, the otherworldly hot fae jumped in and kept Tristan from letting out whatever bullsh*t was about to spew from his mouth. "Why don't we take this time to talk to each other and get all of the missing pieces from what happened today."
It wasn't a question and definitely came off sounding more like a demand, but I was glad for the subject change. He was right. There is quite a bit that I didn't know, and Nico knew even less. Knowing that Tristan was her brother cleared up a lot, but also made me question why he had never come for her sooner.
Nico spoke up again, "look, I don't want to hear everything twice, so whatever needs to be said in front of Dylan I'd rather wait until she is awake." Damn, I was really impressed with this kid right now, and from the look on the other's faces, they seemed to feel the same.
The nods from the three men came in both unison and approval. It seemed that they both agreed with his words and appreciated the fact that he had brought up the idea of making sure Dylan was a part of everything, Tristan especially.
Micah looked at Tristan, then walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. But to my surprise, or actually, no I wasn't, but I think the others surprise just caught me off guard. Instead of sitting at the table with us, he pulled himself over towards the bed next to where Tristan sat.
For a moment, I held my breath waiting to see if he was going to reach out and touch him or console him in any way, but he just sat there within his reach, but kept his hands to himself. Huh, I wonder why I was disappointed by that. Well, I didn't have the mental capacity to think about it, so I turned and looked again to the hot old, not old silver haired guy.
Again, he was watching Tristan and Micah, but instead of pulling his seat over towards them, he pulled it out and sat in the in the center of our two little groups. He turned the chair backwards and straddled it as he sat. It was very distracting, but he began talking and my attention was turned from the chair to his face.
"Well, since Dylan knows all of us, why don't we start with introductions and why we are all here. I think it should be safe that she already knows all of that, right." I looked around and everyone seemed in agreement, so he went on talking.
"My name is Roane Winters, formerly known as Gabriel Aspen, and I am the CEO of Aspen communications." He paused as if waiting for questions or I don't know, maybe applause, but nobody said anything, so I just jumped in.
"My name is Lecia Silvera, always known as such, and I am Dylan's best friend. I'm here for her." I felt all of their eyes on me, but I was looking right at where she was laying peacefully on the bed. It was true. I was here for her, and I just hoped that she let me stay with her, at least for now.
I felt a hand grasp mine, and Nico spoke up next. "I'm Nicolas Silvera, but I go by Nico. Lecia is my older sister, and I am here to protect her and Dylan." A soft scoff came from Roane and my eyes immediately went to his. "How can a boy expect to protect her?"
Grasping Nico's hand tightly in my own, I hissed, "his twin gave his life to save hers from Alpha Rogan, so do not underestimate the power of my siblings." Brea was on the edge of my skin ready to jump forth and attack this arrogant wanna be wolf.
We felt a wolf's presence coming from him, but it seemed ill or sick or something, not normal for sure, but I was smart enough not to call that to attention just in case. Strength comes from our wolves, but physical strength could still overpower me in this form.
Nico's hand trembled in my own and I wasn't sure if it was my words or Roane's, but I couldn't look towards him because my anger was the only thing holding back the tears of my broken heart.
To everyone's surprise, Tristan immediately got up off of the bed and walked over to where Nico and I sat at the table. He looked from Nico to me and then kneeled. Too surprised at his gesture, I couldn't say anything and just watched.
Tristan placed both hands on his knees and then bent his head low. "My name is Tristan Ferrar, and I am the son of the Alphas of Black Sol. Dylan is not only my little sister, but my only surviving relative and I am eternally grateful for the sacrifice you endured to help her escape."
A bit confused by his words, I felt my mind racing to try and find the truth within them, but it was his gesture that held me still. Brea seemed to be just as thrown off by his statement as I was and had stopped her growling and was still as we watched.
Nico spoke again, and both Brea and I were caught off guard by him. "There is no greater sacrifice than protecting that which you love, and my brother loved her. Not in the way that he would have ever been allowed, but he did what we all would have done in that situation."
This time I couldn't stop the tears from falling because while I had known that Cruz had begun to have feeling for Dylan, I wasn't aware that they were as deep as the way that Nico had just described, but he was right. No male wolf or female for that matter, would let any harm come to the one their heart calls to.
I watched as Tristan's shoulders shook and the room was so silent that I could make out the sounds of the tears as they fell from his eyes to hit the tops of his clenched hands. Finally, he looked up and stared right at Nico. There was clarity in his eyes, but a fire that I almost physically felt.
"I will thank your brother one day in the next life for the sacrifice he made, but I will do everything I can in this one to show my gratitude to the both of you. From this point on, you will have my protection and everything that comes with it."
When Tristan's eyes met with mine, I felt the truth in his vow and knew that while this fight was far from over, he would die to keep that promise. Even though I knew it was for Dylan's sake, I still accepted it whole heartedly.
Micah spoke up then, "while Tristan regains his composure, let me introduce myself. My name is Micah and as you can see, I am fae. I run the tech teams here at Aspen and this is our building," he said pointing between himself, Roane, and Tristan.
Tristan stood then and walked back over to his place beside Dylan. Reaching out, he brushed his hand across hers before saying, "You two are free to call this your home for the time being and we will do whatever we can to make you comfortable while you are here.
"Food," Nico said quickly. "Can we get some food? I'm starving and I'm sure that Dylan would like to have some sweets when she wakes up. She really likes coffee to. With lots of cream and sugar." Tristan's eyes lit up almost like he was excited to learn something so trivial about his long lost sister.
Micah had a phone out and was dialing in the blink of an eye. He had ordered so much food to be delivered, but I didn't miss the request for not only coffee, but a coffee maker and four different kinds of cream.
It was sweet and seemed a little much, but Dylan deserved that, she deserved so much more, but if this helped her in any way, I would take it. The food came quickly, and Micah came and sat at the table. Roane had pulled up his chair as well and was speaking with the staff who brought it in quickly and then left.
Tristan had seemed to be speaking to Dylan, but it sounded as if he was saying her name over and over as if he was trying to get used to the way it sounded or maybe felt on his tongue. While we all seemed to be trying to give him a bit of privacy, I noticed how every started to dig into the food.
Suddenly, I felt a pull, like if Brea and I were being called to attention, and when I looked away from my plate, I saw that Nico and even Roane were already looking towards the bed. Turning my head, I clenched the fork a bit tighter as I saw that Dylan was no longer asleep and she was looking right at us.