one more rep of leg curls, grimacing against the burn of his calves, thighs and ass, yet determined to build his strength. It wasn’t as if he were weak, far from it. Centuries of hard labor had made his body steely. With the recent months of his life giving him good nutrition, however, he was able to build muscles. He wanted to get physically stronger, if not mentally tougher. Too much was at stake now and he couldn’t afford to be a passive member of his new family. Merlin needed him and, for the first time in his son’s life, Alun felt as if he had a chance to truly matter to the boy. It might be ridiculous to think he was somehow going to be allowed to participate in this final battle with Dracul, yet he had to prepare, regardless.
And if his efforts in the gym made him more attractive, so what? He was entitled to look forward to the rest of his life, wasn’t he? His liberation from Dracul’s castle hadn’t made much of an impression on him at the time. He’d been convinced that he was in for more of the same. The kindness that Alex and his men had showed him and Merlin hadn’t been something he’d trusted, either—not at first. Now, there was enough distance between his old life and new one that he believed his days of slavery were over. Even so, a mere week ago, he wouldn’t have imagined wanting to get close to another man after all he’d been through. Now, he wasn’t as sure. The way he felt any time Craig turned his lovely brown eyes in his direction was unsettling. And yet, the appreciation that clearly showed through made Alun want to check himself out to make sure he looked his best.
It was silly, really, but as he used the various machines in the home gym, he was conscious of how his efforts made him look as much as how they made him feel. He grunted with his last rep, letting the weights fall into place, and lay panting on the bench.
Legs encased in sweatpants came into view before Damien crouched down beside him. He smiled. “Hey, Alun, don’t push yourself too hard, dude. You’re going to strain a muscle or something.”
Alun shoved to a sitting position and grabbed his water bottle. “I’m used to working through pain.” He took a long slug of the cool water, marveling still at how wonderful it was to take something like having a drink when he wanted to for granted again.
Damien frowned. “Yeah, I know, but that’s not how it’s supposed to work.” His expression softened. “I know you’re worried about Merlin. We’ll get him back. There’s not much that Alex and his crew can’t accomplish when they put their minds to it.” Patting Alun on the knee, he stood and wiped his own sweaty face with a towel that hung around his neck.
The casual and unexpected touch didn’t upset him or startle him as it once would have. Alun was proud to have made that much progress in such a short period of time. “Thanks, like,” he said, before drinking more water. “I’m not sure what I’m training for. I don’t think I’m going to be doing any actual fighting. I expect the warriors won’t want me along.”
“You got that fucking right.” This from Quinn, who stormed into the room.
All the human boys except Mackie were already there. Demi was a blur of movement on the treadmill. Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused on Quinn as he paced into the middle of the room and scowled.
“What’s this?” Jase, usually the most quiet and level-headed of them, demanded as he let go of the weight bar he was pulling.
“I’ve been eavesdropping on the big strategy meeting about the rescue in Alex’s office,” Quinn replied.
Brenin came around from the speed bag he’d been pummeling. “What? Why? I thought that was just Val and a few others figuring out where Dracul is holed up. I assumed we’ll all get briefed once they’ve ironed it out.”
“You’d think, wouldn’t you? But I’ve been getting these weird vibes from Alex lately, especially when I bring up how I want to feed from him as much as possible to get stronger before we attack.”
“That’s what we’re all doing here,” Damien commented. “Will has seemed fine with everything.”
Quinn focused on him. “Yeah, well, he would, because he’s not the one making the decisions. Alex has been acting different