CHAPTER XXXIV

The flight to Illaney took four and a half hours. The babies cried a little, when it was time for them to be fed, but beside that the trip was tranquil. Collin and Killian slept most of the time. When they arrived, Antoine and Cyrus went to their villa in town with the kids. Nate and Cael went to his parents' house - Finnian and Abraham were already waiting for them in the airport.

"Nice to meet you", They greeted Nate with a smile. "It's great to finally see each other personally".

"Likewise". Nate answered, a little shy.

"Let's go. The kids are waiting at home. Lydia is baking".

When they arrived at home, Lydia, Rebecca and Nicolas circled Nate and asked as many questions as possible. Cael thought Nate would be stressed out, but he grew up with many younger siblings. He was used to it.

"When are we meeting the grandkids?", Finnian asked Cael in a whisper.

"After tomorrow. Tomorrow Antoine and Cyrus will take the kids and the babies to meet his parents. But the next day, Collin and Killian will stay with us".

"Will they sleep here?".

"I can talk about it with Antoine. Would you like them to sleep here?"

"It could be fun. It has been a long time since I've taken care of children that age, I think I need to exercise my grandpa's abilities". Finnian laughed.

"Cael, Fin, let's get some coffee", Abe called, directing them to the kitchen. He gave Finnian and Cael a cup and served one for himself as they sat around the table. Nate was still distracting the kids. "I heard you found your biological mother".

"Yeah...", Cael answered, looking down. "That's why we came here now".

"And here I was thinking it was to visit us", Finnian teased.

"That too. It's great having the opportunity to introduce Nate and the kids to you". Cael smiled and took a sip of the coffee that was getting cold. "But I also want to meet him. I know he sold me and all, but I think I need to get closure on this mother subject and if the only way to do it is to meet him, then I will do it".

Finnian held his hand in support.

"Do you need anything from us?", Finnian asked.

"Not now". Cael answered.

"I heard he is in great debt with dangerous people". Abe said.

"And I haven't decided what to do about the matter. It's a hefty sum, but I can help him if I want too. Nevertheless... It's someone I don't even know, who didn't think twice about selling me to those bastards, probably ruining my childhood. And that amount of money is a good deal even for me. I don't know what to do".

"It's okay, we will support you no matter what you choose". Abe answered and Finnian agreed.

As they said that, a ting sound was heard, signaling that the cake on the oven was ready. Lydia came running, with the others right next to her.

"Why are you all hiding here in the kitchen?", Nicolas questioned.

"We're just waiting for the cake", Finnian smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll pretend I believe, dad", the boy retorted, "Just because I really want cake. And some coffee". He looked at Nate. "We didn't offer. Do you want some coffee?"

"Yes, please". The man answered, sitting next to Cael.

"Wow, you survived", Cael whispered.

"Yeah, after you left me there to fend for myself".

"Was it that bad?"

"Nah. Your siblings are cute. I like them". Cael answered his partner's statement by holding Nate's hand and smiling.

"Here, your coffee". Nicolas gave Nate a cup. Nate let go of Cael's hand to drink.

***

Nate was in bed, asleep, while Cael was on the balcony, sipping tea and watching the stars. That part of the city had fewer buildings, so you could see the starry sky at night. He sensed some movement behind, and soon enough a half-asleep Nate was hugging him.

"You could have stayed in bed". He said caressing his boyfriend's bed.

"The bed feels empty without you". Nate hugged him stronger. "What are you doing?"

"Drinking some tea... and thinking about everything".

"Which would be?"

"I sent my mother a message as someone interested in buying a wardrobe he is selling. I'll meet him tomorrow".

"Already?"

"Yeah". He said and took a sip of the tea. "Would you come with me?"

"Of course", Nate kissed his cheek. "But, now, finish this tea and let's go to bed. You have to sleep if you want to be ready for tomorrow".

"Okay". He drank the last two sips of tea and went to bed, cuddling to sleep with Nate.

***

Cael knocked on the door of a small apartment in a rundown building. From the outside, it seemed almost the size of his bedroom. Only the third time they knocked, someone answered.

"I have no money", the man shouted, without opening the door.

"We came for the wardrobe ad", Cael answered.

He could hear some movement inside and, at least, the man opened the door.

"Sorry about the mess", he said without looking at them. Once Cael and Nate were already there, was when Milo took a good look at them and, seeing Cael, he paralyzed. Considering how Cael and Cassian looked alike, Milo must have known who the man was. "What are you doing here? They said I will never see you again once I give you to them", his tone showed he was scared.

"It's okay, they are both in jail, they can't do anything", Cael said.

"Still, you shouldn't be here. Go away, now", he said, shooing them away from the small apartment.

"We just want to talk". Nate interfered.

"I have nothing to say. Go away". They were at the door, when Milo heard footsteps on the corridor and shove them back in. He looked at who was outside through the magical eye and saw a man knocking on the door. Exactly the one person he didn't want to get involved.

"Mom, open the door. I know you are in there. And I know you're trying to sell grandma's wardrobe. Open the door".

Milo signaled for Nate and Cael to stay quiet. But the man kept knocking.

"Mom, open the door. I'm not leaving until you open. I'm taking grandma's wardrobe. I'll pay for it, maybe not what you want, but I won't let you sell it to anybody else".

Milo tried to get away from the door, but he stumbled at something and made a lot of noise.

"You can't pretend you're not there. Open the damn door".

"You better open the door", Nate whispered. "We will all be trapped here like this. You're just delaying things".

"No", Milo said, emphatically.

They stayed there for half an hour, when Milo heard footsteps again, distancing. He relaxed, and took the couple to the door, telling them to leave, but Cassian was waiting for them on the other side, having used some ruse to pretend he had gone away. When Cassian saw Cael, he paralyzed like his father had done before.

"Who are you?", he said, almost screaming.

"Hi, my name is Cael", he extended his hand, "I came here for the ad..."

"Don't lie. Who are you, really?"

Cael sighed and looked at Nate for reassurance. Nate nodded, indicating for him to go ahead and tell him the truth.

"My name is Cael, and I'm your half-brother", he answered.

"You're not his half-brother", Milo interfered, his hand in his face. He has already given up on trying to hide. If the cat was already out of the bag, he should tell the whole truth. "You're full brothers".

Cael's eyes widened. So Patricia or Geralt was that man's father, and they just abandoned him because he was an omega.

"I have a brother?", Cassian said loudly.

"Let's go inside. I'll tell you everything".

On the inside, there was a sofa and two cushions that were arranged on the floor. Milo and Cassian sat on the sofa, while Cael and Nate sat on the floor. MIlo promptly got up and went to boil some water and made some coffee. He brought the coffee and sat back, his eyes were full of sadness and remorse. He began to tell his tale.

"When I was a kid, my family had a small shop that my father inherited from his father, but when I was fifteen, my parents went bankrupt. Just then, they found out about a debt my grandfather had. No one knows where this debt came from, and my parents thought it was fake. Still, one day, the collector came and took me away, saying that they would sell me to pay for my parents' debt. He kept me locked up for three days, before I was sent to this big mansion. They wouldn't let us get out or contact our families, but we could eat and sleep well. They made us sign work contracts, but every meal, our clothes and even our bedrooms, went to the account of how much we owed them.

"In the beginning, we would only do some housework chores, and we would be tested by a doctor. They would monitorate our cycles and analyze our pheromones. When I first had my estrus there, they isolated me in a room and kept observing me. They probably found something interesting. In my second heat, they gave me some pills and sent me to a beautifully decorated room, and tied me to the bed. A few minutes later, a woman, an alpha, entered the room. She was about my mother's age, but she got close to me and started kissing me. Because I was tied, in heat and there was something in those pills, I couldn't do anything against her advances.

"Nine months later, I had Cael. They did some crazy test on him that said there was a 70% chance that he would be an alpha, so they gave me a lot of money and told me I could go away. I told them I wanted my child. They said it was their child, and that I should better go away with the money, or be escorted out with nothing. And if I ever tried to see my child again, they would hurt my family and everyone I held dear.

"For some time I thought that was it. But when I got back I found out that my parents had spent every penny they had and that they had not, searching for me. They have contracted debts with powerful people, and now they want their money back. I didn't want to tell him the things that happened to me, so I just decided to find a way to pay what they owed - the money that was given to me was not enough to pay even half of it. I couldn't go back to school, so I worked three or four jobs to get money. My parents were working just as much. For a year, I worked tirelessly, but I still couldn't see no end to the debt.

"That was when Patricia appeared again. They were really satisfied with the kid, and the doctor believed that he would be a top-notch alpha. So she proposed that I give her another kid. You have to believe me, I thought I had no other option at that moment, so I said yes. And two months later I got pregnant again.

"But when Cassian was born, the doctor said that there was a good chance that the child would be an omega. They were going to eliminate him, but I convinced them not to. She tossed me the child and told me to take it away before she killed him. I asked about the money, and she said they wouldn't pay for a thing like that. She told me to never appear on her face again, or she would destroy everything I held dear. I took Cassian away and never saw them again".

"I'm sorry, for all you've been through". Cael said, his head dropping. "That family was full of monsters".

"Don't say sorry. It's not your fault. I saw your interview, I know what you went through because of them. As your mother, I should have fought harder". Milo answered, apologetically.

"When I found out my mother sold me, I resented you. But now I can see you're just one more of their victims. You were so young when all this happened, still you tried your best".

As they said that, Cassian was in silence. His mother always told him that his father was a good-for-nothing, but it was much worse than that. His father was a rapist that took advantage of a teenager. He would need time to process everything. He got up.

"Sorry, but I'm leaving. This is too much for me to process". Cassian said. He looked at Cael. "I'm sorry that our first encounter is like this, and for the meanwhile I would like to ask you not to contact me. But, if you could give me your number, I can send you a message when I'm ready to talk".

"Thank you", he gave him his card.

"And you?", he said looking at Nate.

"Ah... I haven't introduced myself. I'm Nate, Cael's boyfriend". He said.

"Nice to meet you. I hope we see each other again, on a better occasion". Cassian looked at his mother. "Mom, thank you for telling me the truth. I know it must have been hard. Thank you". He said and hugged his mother. "But now I need to go and think some things by myself".

Cael got up.

"We are also going. My family is waiting for us for dinner", Cael saw the strange look on Cassian's and Milo's eyes and he talked about his family. "My adoptive family".

"Ah...", Milo and Cassian said in unison.

They said goodbye, and Cael gave Milo his number. And said that he could call at any time. He would be there for him.

A lot of the sorrow and rage that was inside Cael dissipated after knowing the story behind everything. And, as he walked Nate home, his heart was lighter and fuller.