I've Been Waiting For You

Chapter 85

"This is Rayne, Gwyneira, Calia, Raven and Mavka." Markus made the necessary introductions to his parents.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you, Akri's parents." Calia said with a wide smile.

"You're sirens?" Antonio asked the triplets.

Markus glanced at his parents, but their gazes were on the triplets. He knew his parents were only curious about their origin and would never hurt them without cause.

"Yes, we are. It usually takes a while before anyone figures it out. How did you know?" Rayne and her sisters stepped closer to him.

Markus bit back a smile when his mom's eyes widened slightly. "It's okay my sweets, we're not going to harm you."

"Mom, dad. We're having dinner in the backyard."

Markus led the way outside to a dining room his parents had built years ago. The dining area has the benefit of overlooking the rear garden with a rustic outdoor wood dining room table. Everyone took a seat, chatting with each other.

He pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm going to bring out the food."

"I'll help you."

He stared at his mom for a brief second before nodding his head.

Once they were alone, his mom looked at him.

"Mitchell, is he your mate?"

"Yes. He's the one I've been waiting for along."

"Does he know about your...?"

"He knows everything."

"Have you completed the mating ritual?"

Markus looked at his mom. "Why do you want to know?"

"Do you know anything about his parents?"

 Markus stared at his mom silently for a minute. "Mom, are you and dad hiding anything from me? Do you know what is happening to me?"

His mom let out a sigh. "We should have told you this on your fourteen birthday."

Markus frowned down at her. "What is it?"

Melina glanced at the door. "Let's talk later."

Together they began putting the food in serving bowls. They carried the bowls out and piled the food on the table to serve the food. Markus sat down and dished up some vegetables then handed the plate to Mitchell.

During dinner, conversation was relaxed. Markus took Mitchell's hand in his, enjoying the skin to skin contact. Mitchell glanced at him with a smile. After dinner, dessert was an almond sponge studded with dark morello cherries in a sweet almond pastry baste.

Markus watched as Mitchell took a piece of cake, his eyes following the trek of the fork disappearing into Mitchell's mouth. 

His blood heated when Mitchell's tongue licked the icing from his lips.

Markus gripped the fork so tightly, causing the metal to bend in his hand.

He quickly hid his hand under the table. Keep cool Markus. Your parents are right there, sitting across the table.

To distract himself, he turned his attention to the dessert in front of him. He took a bite of the cake but barely tasted the dessert. Markus felt an unbearable pain in his stomach.

Gritting his teeth, Markus tried to ignore the pain but it seemed to get worse. He could feel sweat dripping down the side of his face. Taking a deep breath, he wiped his face then stood up from the table.

The conversation stalled when his chair scraped on the tiles.

"Markus...what's going on?" Mitchell asked touching his arm.

Markus remained stoic, unwilling to let him see that his touch was affecting him. To let anyone see that he was losing control.

He glanced at the triplets then at his parents. "I'll just be a minute. I forgot your presents upstairs." He avoided eye contact with everyone before leaving the table.

He pulled at his clothes, stumbling up to his room. Markus dropped to his knees, teeth grinding, face ashen.

Markus straightened, blowing air through his mouth. He unlocked the door, closing it behind him and strode over to the bed to grab the two gifts.

He grew dizzy and felt so faint that he braced his arms on the bed to keep from falling.

Shit! He couldn't go back downstairs yet.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor, blinking at the burn in his eyes. Unable to ignore the pain, he got up from the bed, crossing the threshold into the bathroom and looked in the mirror at himself.

Markus blinked to relieve the stinging in his eyes. He took off his shirt, eyes staring in the mirror at his reflection. Red eyes stared back at him. A Ying yang tattoo with three dots in a line on his rib caught his eyes. He lightly touched the new tattoo with the tip of his finger.

There was a soft knock at the door.

He put back on his shirt. "Give me a minute."

"Markus, honey. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mom. Just had something in my eye." He turned on the faucet, plunging his hands under the water, splashing the cold water on his face but his eyes were still red.

"Markus, I want you to open the door for me."

"Mom, just give me a second." It came out as part growl, part something else.

Another knock, this time more forceful, the hinges rattling. He looked at the door until the handle glowed red hot. Sounds of cursing reached his ears.

"Did you get hurt?"

"It's already healed."

"What happened?"

"The handle burned my hand."

Markus closed his eyes and after counting to ten, he took two deep breaths. He opened his eyes, marched across the floor and flung the door open.