43 Benjamin

Carl

It had been an insane week. I still had difficulty wrapping my head around everything that had happened. Chris had arrived. Juliet and Charlene were on the deck chairs talking. They seem to never run out of things to speak about in private. The three men were playing cards. Chris asked out of the blue, "So how is this going to work, Marcus?" 

Marcus's face was as stoic as ever, assessing, calculating. For a few moments, a cold gaze landed on an anxious Chris. "I believe in providence. To let things play out… You seem a little bit… controlling, Chris."

"Like you're not? Maybe it's because I've not been alive for two hundred years." 

"You haven't? How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine." 

Marcus sputtered. "What? When did you manifest for the first time?" 

Chris's eye caught mine. We all knew which day it happened. 

"A month ago. With Jerry, when he attacked her. It was Chris's first manifestation." I answered for a quiet Chris.

Marcus whistled. "Well, no wonder you are like this. Your head must be a mess. So everything that happened between you and Juliet… Happened in a matter of one night?" All three of us looked at the two girls. "Two pregnant girls in one house? How will we do it?" Marcus asked. 

"Carefully…" I said. 

They both laughed. I watched Marcus. After spending a little time with him, you quickly got past his dark eyes and that depressed look on his face twenty-four-seven. He was so severe. 

"You know Chris… While Juliet had been sleeping. Marcus and I had converted a section of the garage into a gym. Marcus even added a boxing ring. Training and fighting are something Marcus is good at. He spends hours in there every day. He said that Juliet needed proper training." I said, trying to change the topic. 

"I think that's a good idea. If you'll be gentle with her being pregnant." 

Marcus nodded. "It will be mainly self-defense and water exercises… I'm a little worried about the birth… You being what you are. And we don't know what that means for her." 

"Thanks a lot… Now I'm scared for her."

"If she is strong and as fit as possible. She could handle any difficulties that might arise if she needed them. 

"Juliet has been lazy since coming to France," I said. "Not at all the exercise, junky she had been in the years of high school I knew her. Maybe with the two of you working together, we can help her." 

"What about you, Chris? Have any fighting background?" Marcus asked.

Chris shook his head. Marcus immediately took it upon himself to turn Chris into a fighting machine. Controlling his abilities, his strength, and his manifestations. Chris seemed eager. There was an understanding that occurred at that moment. Consummation rights were forgotten. It was more important for them to protect everyone in the house. "Chris… I'm not here to fight. We should try and get along. We should try and focus on what we can control."

I wondered where I fit in with all of this. When would I have to leave for my own training? If I would even give it all up for these people. And stay.

*** 

The front doorbell rang. "What else could possibly happen today?" Marcus asked. I got up to go get it. Everyone stared at me because, really, who could it be? When I opened the door, it was a young guy I didn't know. Not much older than me. He gave me his hand and his name. I had hoped he would stay away. We had decided not to tell Charlene that Benjamin had saved her that night. Or that he was a werewolf. It had only been a few days since she learned that everyone there ate people. It wasn't easy for her. She was having a rough time getting used to the idea. 

When Juliet had to eat that night, Marcus brought someone there. Charlene had locked herself in her room. I had tried to take her away. Out of the house, but she wouldn't go. How she handled it. I didn't know. What happened in that room. I also didn't know. I sat in front of her door, hoping she would let me in. The following morning, Charlene and Juliet had hours in front of the fireplace after telling her she was pregnant. Before they decided to dance and forget their worries for a while. I wished Louis was there. He was so good with people and women. He would have known what to do. It was his house; wasn't he supposed to have the most authority. To let Benjamin in would be wrong. 

"Hey, Marcus. Can you come here?" I called the second husband. 

Both Chris and Marcus came closer. When Marcus and Ben saw each other, they embraced. Introductions were made. Benjamin looked back over his shoulder. I saw three more guys standing at the car. They all came in. 

"Come in, Ben. You guys, too!" Marcus shouted and waved to the others.

We ushered them to the lounge, where they sat down and made small talk while Chris went outside. I could see him sitting down on his haunches next to Charlene. And I handed all the guys a beer. 

***

Charlene

Juliet and I were talking about everything that had happened. We were closer than ever. Our bond was increasing with sharing our lives. I heard Chris's voice before I saw him next to me. "The doorbell was for you, Charlene." His eyes were level with mine. 

I was confused and frowned. "What do you mean? Is it my parents? If it is. I'm going to go hide? Your parents wouldn't have blabbed, would they?" I peeked a glance at an already guilty-looking Juliet. 

"No, it's not your parents. But I don't know if you would rather it be them or Ben." 

I sat up. "How did he know?" Stupid Question. 

"I think you should go talk to him." Chris prodded. 

I had a little bit of a bump, but there was no way I would show him I was pregnant. As if reading my mind, Juliet took off her blazer. I pulled it over my head. I took a moment to gather my courage. I grabbed Juliet's hand and dragged her over the grass. She, in tow, did the same to Chris. He smiled broadly, following. Their eyes were on each other the whole time. It was a little depressing seeing them so happy. Chris was so starved for attention, and that was all Juliet had to give. 

I saw Ben first, walking up the steps and crossing the patio. I halted to take in the scene. Seeing him there in the lounge caught me off guard. Juliet and I collided. Her chest bumped into my back. "It will be okay, Charlene." She pushed me through the door. 

All pairs of eyes were on me. Ben smiled so broadly that I had to smile back. He stood, took my face in his hands, and kissed my cheeks. I blushed a little. "It's good to see you, Charlene. Why didn't you tell me you were in France?" 

Everybody's eyes were on us, waiting. Nervously, mine fixed at a place on his shirt, not knowing what to say. We came all the way there to tell him. Juliet and I had a life-changing weekend because I wanted to go and see him. "I'm pregnant!" I blurted out, just like with Carl, Juliet, and Louis. There really was no other way of doing it. 

The three friends choked on their drinks. Ben's stunned hands fell from my cheeks. I dared to look up at him. He blinked slowly, taking in the news. 

Juliet shook her head as she walked past me to the other men. She shook all their hands. Juliet got to the last guy on the couch. He was almost fixated. Juliet was smiling so brightly at him. Mischief written in her eyes. 

Giving Ben a moment, I sat beside Chris on the sofa. All pairs of eyes were on a very handsome guy and Juliet. For a moment, I thanked her for being able to take all the attention away from me. The guy had not let go of her yet. Scrutinizing her with narrow eyes. Marcus got up and slapped their hands. Juliet smiled, putting her hands in her pockets. "This is my good friend Mateo Marcus… You should stop hitting people that I like."

"How would I know?" Marcus was jealous of the stares Juliet was getting from the guys. 

She disappeared and came back. Mateo jumped up on the couch, legs underneath him. "OH, I knew it. I wasn't going crazy!" He went into lengthy ramblings in Spanish. Complaining. 

Juliet loved the reaction too much. "I got you all so good that day!" She turned to the next guy. Sensually, she felt her way up his leg, from his knee to his thigh. He jumped up, indignantly ranting, arms flying at her. The others soon put two and two together. She was getting so much attention. Chris got up off the sofa. He pulled her towards him. "I will not be able to handle another addition. Especially not another foreigner… Can you please stop touching other men!" 

Juliet didn't seem to care about being manhandled by Chris. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him as he carried her outside. Marcus and Carl followed, taking the three friends with them. Carl closed the door so that it was only Ben and me. He had sat at some point, holding his head in his hands. 

"I'm not expecting you to do anything," I whispered. "You can see I have more than enough family to help."

His head slowly came up. "I'm a little surprised… I have to be honest. I didn't think I would see you again." He held out his hand. I got up from my seat and crossed the distance between us. He made me sit on the couch next to him. "To see you surrounded by vampires is weird."

"I know you were at the cages. We followed you there. But Juliet didn't want to say anything. And you mentioning vampires like that means you can only be a werewolf… You were the one in the cage that helped me." 

"I lost my fight. I was worn down and went back to human. That's what the fights are about." I picked up the chain that hung around my neck. It had a picture of a mountain with a fire in front of it. I took it off and held it out to him. He got up, not wanting to take it. 

"Is there some significance to a chain with plates on? Because Juliet has one, too?" 

He paced a bit and then came to sit down again. "Will you keep it on if I asked?"

"Yeah! I like it. It's not your normal diamond earrings. And I think it means something, even if you won't tell me."

"Does that mean you will give me a chance? Give us a chance."

"Is that why you're here?" I asked. 

"I mean, we were so drunk that night. I saw nothing on your social about the holiday. I didn't hear anything from you. I didn't know if I could call you. I should have." Ben said. 

"Look, we didn't know I was going to get pregnant. But I'm keeping the baby regardless." 

Benjamin pulled me closer, hugging me. "I want the baby, and I want you. If you will have me. This is not the way I saw us coming together. I feel like I'm already disappointing you. In so many ways." 

I hugged him back. He felt the bump for the first time, and his eyes traveled to my midsection. His hand ran over my tummy. He sighed. "I won't be able to be here. I would only be able to come through on weekends and holidays. I have to finish this year. Then I'll be all yours." 

I nodded, but I was crying for too many reasons. Ben held me until I got it all out. His eyes were fixed on the people outside. He pushed me out of the lounge and into the driveway towards their car, put me inside, and closed the door. "You have to be careful of Marcus. I don't know what he is doing here… We know each other but not that well. He is the general of his father's army at the compound… I can't go into specifics, but I'm afraid he might not be here for the right reasons." 

That was not what I wanted to hear from him. Juliet was finally letting her guard down with Marcus. If he turned out to be like his father. Hurt her. It would break her. "What do you mean? Did you not see what he did for her at the fight. He left his father there… I don't think he wanted to take her back like the last time."

"What do you mean the last time." 

"He had tried to catch her by drugging her." Ben's face was incredulous. I felt he wasn't as open-minded as I had thought. "What has this got to do with you anyway?" I asked. 

He turned in his seat away from me. "Because of you and the baby."

"No… that can't be all."

"The word has gone around that they are trying to get enough forces together to take on the government… No one knows what goes on in the mind of Qadir Ahmed." 

I frowned. "And you think Marcus is here to… what? Spy on who…?"

"Liam! And that new death machine everyone is talking about. The hybrid. That werewolf girl's ex-husband." The word did get around. The werewolf community was small. I didn't know a quarter of the politics involved in everything going on.

"So what now?"

"Nothing. Keep your eyes open. It's all I'm saying."

Yeah, no biggie. Benjamin seemed… a little too interested in everything going on. As if he wasn't there for me at all. Didn't I just ask him why he came… But we didn't know each other. 

***

Carl 

David took me aside and walked down the square stone path close to the pools. He asked me if there were any trails we could take. I had met David that night with the cage fighting. He had introduced himself, knowing exactly who I was. That was probably why I wasn't hearing anything. There were people everywhere watching us. Not only Michael. But Chris's watcher. And Marcus's. 

When we had walked for five minutes, he turned and looked back at the house. "Carl, how well do you know Marcus?" I thought this would be about Chris. "I'm sure Ben is speaking to Charlene about Marcus. The thing is that he is Qadir Ahmed's son." David said. 

The name meant nothing to me. How could it? David was name-dropping. The watchers weren't sure about Marcus themselves. But how could that be? I didn't like the tone. Marcus was not in our good graces yet, but did he have evil intentions. I couldn't see it. Juliet was different towards Marcus. They have hardly spoken to each other. She had tried asking him to dance. From what I saw, he had a constant poker face. He watched Juliet the whole time. No… He sat and watched all of us. But Marcus had stayed. Louis wasn't there to get a read on him. All her mannerisms. The way she spoke and dressed. I could see it bothered him. He wasn't used to it, giving an opinion every time. They would exchange words in their native language so we couldn't understand. Since Chris had come, she had been avoiding him. He, in turn, goaded her so that she would get angry and open up. Nothing he did broke down that wall. Marcus reminded me of Jerry. An uncertain character that could lose control at any moment. I didn't know what she was waiting for. The fact that she was allowing him to stay was maybe stupid. He might not have let Qadir take her back, but still. He didn't do anything. And all of us were letting it go. 

David and I got back to the house. It was getting late. We had to make up guest rooms for everyone. We would have a whole house for the rest of the weekend.

***

"Hi, can I come in?" I knocked on Charlene's door frame out of courtesy, closing it when she waved for me to come in. I took out paper and wrote to her, knowing there were too many ears in that place. 

Me [About Marcus]

Her interest was peaked. She pulled me closer and onto the bed. She took the paper and started writing.

Charlene [What can we do? Should we warn Juliet?]

Me [I got this from my father] 

I took out my phone and gave it to her. 

The message read:

Bertram [Carl. We want you to observe Marcus and report anything and everything.] 

Charlene lifted her eyebrows after reading it. She kept writing on the paper.

Charlene [Benjamin said that he doesn't know him at all.] 

Me [David talked to me as well. We saw what Marcus's father did to both of them. Why is he not leaving?]

Juliet appeared next to me on the bed. I swore loudly, jumping up and away from them. Charlene yelped, putting her hand over her mouth. Juliet kicked into the air like it was the joke of the century. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I complained.

She pointed to her phone and started texting on our group.

Juliet {It seems like Marcus is what's wrong with me.} She was smiling. {You guys talking behind my back}

Charlene {How can you be so casual about this}

Juliet sighed heavily. {After everything I have been through in the last year, I don't care anymore. I should probably tell you what happened at the compound. So you guys know where he is coming from. Where I come from} 

Charlene {He tried to kidnap you. If it wasn't for Chris, you would be missing}

Juliet {I don't think so. I think he wanted to talk. Anyway, Marcus didn't know back then that I could disappear. I would've escaped}

Charlene {Do you hear yourself… Running from your husband sounds like a battered woman situation} 

Juliet threw her phone on the bed next to her, frustrated. I went to lie down next to her. She picked up her phone again. 

Juliet {What about Benjamin? What happened?} 

Charlene {We're together. Going to see what will happen} 

Juliet went crazy. I came up onto my elbows. I wanted to see Charlene's face and how she really felt about it. My mouth opened to say something, but Chris came into the room. 

"What are you guys doing?" His head peeked around the door. 

Juliet jumped up and pulled him inside, closing the door. She pushed him onto the little chair at the dressing table, handing him her phone. He looked puzzled and then took it. Scrolling up and then down, he read through it quickly. 

At first, he didn't do anything. He stared at the phone. I gave him mine and the paper. 

***

Chris

After I read everything, I took a moment before I started typing. I didn't know what I was walking into coming to France. 

Chris {But you and Marcus were dancing when I came in} 

Charlene and Carl shook their heads. Juliet wasn't making eye contact.

Carl {She only woke up that morning. Before that, all he did was look after her while she was sleeping} 

I narrowed my eyes at her. She kept ending up in so many sticky situations where she was wholly dependent on others. I knew when a guy was in love with a girl. Marcus was obsessed with Juliet. Not in the wrong way, either. Like Louis. He would do just about anything for her. Like me… But I didn't know him. Anyone could change at any moment. Marcus might get fed up with all of it and change his mind. He didn't sign up for any of this. There was no understanding between us at all. I remembered Louis saying, "She would have to deal with Marcus."

Juliet was going through a lot. Bottling up too much. I needed to step up and sort things out, but what the hell did I know about creature politics? Psychology. I had my head buried in the sand my whole life. The one thing I did know was that I didn't want to live like that anymore. Liam had told me that my new life would be fast-paced. Everyday. Juliet was sick, and we still didn't know what it meant for her… Or the baby…

I gave her phone back to her and pulled her out of the room. If she wouldn't look at me or talk to me, I would force her. Walking down the hall, I pushed her into Marcus's room and closed the door. I was going to do what Louis had done for me. I was going to love Juliet the way I should.

***

Juliet

"Chris, what are you doing?" I stood, my lips pressed together, watching Marcus nervously. 

"You told me that you always say what you mean and do what you say. I think it's time you man up. It's time to prove it! I love you, and I'm not going anywhere. And after you come out of there, I want your number… Because I still don't have it."

"I don't understand, Chris?"

"It's time you deal with Marcus, Juliet… It's unfair towards him, and you must do this for yourself." 

I hated Chris being right. Marcus had been reading, but he had sat up in bed, slowly putting down the book. He was almost desperate when he heard what Chris said. His fixed expression made me nervous. 

"I'm scared." 

Chris pulled the door open. "Really, I'm sure I can protect you. All you have to do is disappear. Stop making excuses." He closed the door again. I giggled, loving that Chris was actually there in that house, trying and present. But I still couldn't believe Marcus was there either. My heart rate was steadily climbing. Watching Marcus, his eyes not leaving mine for a second. I had read too many books to not know how this process worked. I knocked on the door. Chris opened it. Charlene and Carl were behind him. 

"I think it's time we tell you all our story." I turned back to Marcus. "You up for laying all bare in front of all these people." 

Marcus jumped up. I had never seen him that enthusiastic. He brushed past us. Got Carl to make a big fire outside. Charlene called everyone while they prepared a lot of drinks. It was a chilly night. Everyone made themselves comfortable under blankets. Filling up the couches outside. The three werewolves and one watcher didn't mind being a part of it. I knew Carl and David wanted to hear this. Or was ordered to. Marcus put two chairs on the stage in front of everyone, facing each other. He held out a hand so that we could touch while we talked. I knew how the process worked, but my whole body was fighting it. Almost shaking. Chris was watching. Marcus was waiting… His palm was up. Close to me. Dark eyes penetrating mine. Why did all the guys want me to decide?