Julien Gregg's Immortalis Chronicles One: The Society Chapter 5

 FIVE

"I can do this for you no problem," he said. "It shouldn't cost too much. Most of the wood is still in the garage and since it was protected from the weather it's still usable."

"How soon can you have it done?" I asked. "We've got people sleeping on the couch and in the recliner."

"Well I can have the bedrooms and the bathroom knocked out in a few days," he said. "You'd need a plumber for the plumbing in the bathroom but yeah I could have it done in a matter of days."

"When can you start?" I asked.

"Tomorrow," he said. "We just finished a job so my carpenters and construction crews are all idle. I can get a couple of guys in here and we'll get the walls put up and insulated tomorrow. Then we'll hang dry wall and clean up the messes. Now do you want closets like the other two rooms?"

"Yes," I said.

"No problem," he said. "You just sign here and I'll start tomorrow."

I signed the document knowing that my signature wasn't good enough because I wasn't eighteen. I'd honor it though. It was the principle of the thing. He took the document back and gave me my copy. He said he'd see me bright and early in the morning. I thanked him for coming and showed him out. Then I went and told David what was going on. I told him that I had no idea when certain members of my family would arrive to meet me so he'd have to stay here and deal with the laborers.

"That's fine," he said. "I'm just happy that the rooms are getting done. Who else in the family is there?"

"My sister, uncle, and grandfather," I said.

"Wow," he said. "You got a whole family."

"I did but you know you're still my brother," I said.

"Thanks, Damon," he said. "Sometimes I need to hear it."

"Any time," I said.

I went into the living room and sat down. I didn't know what time my father wanted to go to dinner. I'd been thinking of Jordan as father and Donald as dad. I wondered if I should call him. I grabbed my phone and called the hotel. Father answered and I asked him what time we were going to dinner. He told me that we'd meet at Gifford's at six o'clock. He'd made a reservation. I told him that Jason and I would meet him there at quarter to six. He said that was perfect.

Then I drove Jason past Rodney Franklin's house and he was in the yard. He waved at us and we waved back. Jason said he was sexy. Rodney was six feet tall with black hair and dark eyes. He was tanned all over and he looked good. His waist was small but his ass was awesome. He filled the front his shorts very well as well. He'd be Jason's as soon as we could figure out when to do it.

We went back to the house and I told him I was going to get ready for dinner. I went upstairs and put on my Arcola outfit that Grandmother had given me. Then I put on my shoes and went back downstairs. They looked at me and smiled. I waited for Jason to get dressed and he came down in his own Arcola outfit. We got in our cars and he followed me to Gifford's. Father was standing there waiting for us he smiled when he saw how we were dressed. Then a blonde haired blue eyed girl got out of another car and went to stand beside him.

"Arena," Jason said with a smile. "It's good to see you again."

"Oh please I haven't been gone for years," she said. "Damon it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too Arena," I said. "You're very beautiful."

"Thank you, brother dear," she said, smiling. "I hear you've bonded five already."

"Six actually," I said. "But one of them was bonded to be withered and dead soon."

"Well," she said. "You're learning quickly."

"I'm a quick study," I said.

"I'll bet you are," she said. "Grandmother met him before she left?"

"She's gone?" I asked.

"Back to Milan before Father gets here," he said. "Yes she gave him part of the Arcola money."

"Did she?" Arena asked. "Well she must have liked him."

"He did well with her," he said. "She wanted to whisk him and his bonded to Milan with her."

"Really?" she asked. "Well then I can't wait to get to know you."

"I look forward to getting to know you, too," I said.

We went into the restaurant and sat down. The waitress, a younger dark haired girl with big green eyes took our drink orders and left us with menus. I knew what I wanted. I got the same thing every time I came to Gifford's. I wanted a twelve ounce Ribeye cooked medium rare, a baked potato, and the vegetable of the day. According to the menu that was corn today. She came back and took our orders and all four of us ordered a different steak with a baked potato and corn. She left to put the food order in and we sat there.

"So I'm told that you're going to revamp an old high school club," she said to me.

"The Alpha Society," I said. "We need two faculty advisors. I'm going to bond Coach Eric Knoll and Jason is going to bond Coach Rodney Franklin."

"All right," she said. "Is it just a boy's club?"

"Yes," I said. "You could stat the Gamma Club."

"I might just but I don't bond females," she said. "So they won't be bonded to me."

"That's fine," I said. "I was doing this as a way for my bonded to stick together. I've since had to move two of them in with me so it's a moot point as I now live with three of them, one is next door, and the other practically lives with us but his house is directly behind ours."

"You still want to start the club, though, right?" Jason asked.

"Oh yes," I said. "Don't worry."

"Good," he said. "I'm going to bond teenagers, Sister."

"Won't that be fun for you?" she asked with a smile.

"All of you are now together," Jordan said quickly. "I've wanted this for a long, long time."

"I know, Father," Arena said. "Jason's been with him since you arrived and I've had very little time with him."

"We'll remedy that soon," I said.

Our food came and we were quiet while we ate it. Then it was back to talking about the club and what I wanted out of it now. I told them I wanted to be philanthropic. She thought that was nice. I told her that the Gamma club could partner with us for all social engagements and philanthropic events if they wanted to. She said that the Gamma Club would just be the female version of the Alpha Club.

"You're gay aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "It's why I have only male bonded. I don't yet need a child."

"Well I have male bonded but I use contraceptives so that I don't get pregnant," she said. "I'm not ready for a child."

"Well I'm not either so I won't be bonding any females," I said. "If I ever decide to have a child I'll let everyone know."

"Well it should be me first," she said. "I'm the oldest of the three of us."

"And I'm the baby," I said with a smile.

"Quite," she said, smiling back at me. "I've got one bonded male. His name is Chester. He gives me fits now and then."

"Why?" I asked.

"Oh he says if I bond another he'll go off and wither and die," she said. "He wants a faithful bond holder."

"Doesn't he know that it is not possible for us to be faithful?" Jason asked.

"Well you've never had any bonded so how should you know?" Arena asked him.

"I plan to bond five teenaged boys and one man," he said. "Then I'll know what I'm talking about. I do know that I want to be like Damon with his bonded."

"And how is he with his bonded?" Jordan asked.

"He lets them touch him whenever they want," he said. "When they watch movies he sits on the floor so they can sit around him with a hand on him."

"You're close with your bonded," Jordan said to me.

"Yes," I said. "With all of them. Well, not Travis but he's going to wither and die any time now."

"He's the coast to coast truck driver that whipped his son with a bull whip every time he was in town?" Arena asked.

"That's the one," I said. "I left it up to Todd, the son to tell me what to do with his father. He told me to let him die."

"And die he shall," Jordan said. "You feel some sort of guilt over this?"

"Not really," I said. "I wanted to rip out his heart."

"Well that's dramatic," Arena said. "You must really hate him."

"I do," I replied. "I've never hated anyone in my life. But I hate him."

"Hatred is a powerful emotion," Jordan said. "It's right up there with love."

"I don't think I'm in love with anyone," I said. "I don't think it would be wise to fall in love either."

"I've done it," Jordan said. "I fell in love with my first bonded and never wanted to bond another."

"What happened?" Jason asked.

"She withered and died," he said. "She ran away from me and withered and died."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "That's why I don't want to fall in love with any of them."

"I dare say if you were going to fall in love with any of them you'd have done it by now," Jordan said. "The one I feared you'd fall in love with was Todd. He was a tortured soul and some in the family are suckers for those tortured souls."

"Is that a backhanded remark about me and Chester?" Arena asked.

"No, I was talking about William and Drake," he said.

"Oh," she said. "He rescued him from being put to death for a crime he didn't commit."

"Right," he said. "Drake is forever grateful and William is head over heals in love with him."

"That's dangerous," I said. "Love like that leaves you open to disappointment and heart break."

"You sound like you speak from experience," Jason said.

"No I don't," I said. "But I know it on instinct. I've always known it. Even before the elixir I never wanted to fall in love."

"That's sad, Brother," Arena said. "I wish you didn't feel that way."

"Well it wouldn't do him any good to fall for one of the bonded," Jason said.

"I think we need to change the subject," Jordan said. "Jason, you mentioned that there might be a way to bond Coach Franklin before school starts?"

"Yeah," I said. "We went by his house today and he was in the yard. I figure if we take him one of those sports drinks I could dose it and take it from there."

"You could," Jordan said. "But remember it can be very awkward when you bond your first. They don't know what's going on and they feel weird. Just be patient with him."

"I'll remember to be patient and stick around so he knows he's not alone and weird," he said. "I've seen the bonding before you know?"

"Yes, I know you have but you've never done it yourself," Jordan said. He looked at me. "Will you be with him?"

"I can be if he wants me to be," I said.

"I think I'd rather do this alone, Father," he said.

"Well you just be careful," Jordan said.

We flagged the waitress down and paid our bill. Then we got up to leave the restaurant when Arena hugged me. "It's good that we've found you. You and I will spend some time together soon so we can get to know each other," she said.

"Count on it," I said. I hugged her back.

"Jason are you coming to the hotel?" Jordan asked. "You have to pack your stuff. We move into the house in a few days."

"Yeah I'll come home," he said. "Damon I'll see you later."

"Later," I said.

I went home and the bonded were happy to see me. I didn't know what to do without Jason there but the bonded took care of that. We had ice cream. We all sat in the dining room and had our ice cream. They were talking about the work that was going to be done starting tomorrow on the rooms upstairs. They were talking about not letting the workmen see anything. So everyone was talking about being on their best behavior tomorrow. I was thankful for that. I didn't want anyone to see anything that wasn't family or wasn't bonded.

After ice cream we sat in the living room to watch a movie. I told them that Jason was staying at the hotel to pack his stuff. They were moving into a house in a few days. They all said that was cool. I wondered if Travis had gone on the road. I didn't ask Todd I didn't want to know. I knew he wasn't dead yet. I could still feel him in the back of my head. I was just waiting for the feeling to stop. When it did he would be dead.

We would be back in school in three weeks. Then it would be time to revamp The Alpha Society. I'd have to get on bonding Eric. My dad had given me what I needed on that end. I'd tell him that my father wanted to invite him to dinner and I'd bond him when he got here. That would work out with all of the bonded in the house and my dad. He wouldn't go too nuts with everyone here. I worried about Jason bonding Coach Franklin.

That night I had John in bed with me. We did the shower thing first and then crawled into bed and made out. I got him ready by rimming him which he thought was totally cool. Then I fingered him and lubricated my dick and lined up. When I got the head in him he told me to wait. This was his first time being fucked so I waited. When he told me to go further I did in inches. He told me to wait when I was half-way inside of him. I waited. Then he told me it was okay. I pushed all the way inside of him and held it there to let him get used to the feeling of being so full. He was breathing hard and I was worried about him. Then he told me to fuck him.

I fucked him with my whole dick for a while and then put his feet on my shoulders and lifted his butt slightly. Then I jabbed at his prostate for a while. It didn't take long before he clamped down on my dick like a silk lined vice. Then he started to spasm and the walls of his anus milked me. He shot cum up his torso and I shot cum into his ass. I told him when it was over that we needed to go to the bathroom and he needed to sit on the toilet and let all of that cum out. We did that and then climbed back into bed and cuddled up. I was asleep shortly after that so I don't know if he wanted to talk or what.

The next day I had to go to the hotel to meet my grandfather. He was just a slightly older version of Jordan. William Arcola was packed with muscle. He looked like a body builder almost. He didn't have the bulk but he had the stance. His bonded man Drake was dark haired with blue eyes and a muscular physique. He smiled at me when he saw me.

"You could be Jason's twin," he said. "I'd know you anywhere."

"Hello, Grandfather," I said with a smile.

"You can just call me William," he said. "I don't let the other two call me Grandfather either. It isn't a vanity thing. I just don't feel like a grandfather. That doesn't mean that I don't love you all. You're family. I just don't feel like a grandfather."

"Okay, William," I said. "It's very nice to meet you."

"Damon it's really great to meet you too," he said. "Elaine robbed us from sharing in your life."

"She did," I said. "But I was adopted by a wonderful guy. He's now Immortalis. He has a bonded of his own."

"Well I'm glad that you were loved," he said. "But we should have been the family that loved you."

"Well you can be now," I said. "I love having a family."

"You didn't have one with your adoptive father?" he asked.

"I did but it was small," I said. "There was only him and my mom. She left with her business partner a few years ago. Then it was just me, dad, and David. So that was the family unit. Now I have a sister, another brother, a father, you, and Grandmother, and an uncle I still haven't met yet."

"He's on his way here," he said. "He and his bonded should be here within the next two days."

"That's good to hear," I said. "You know I have bonded of my own."

"Jordan tells me you have six but one is about to wither and die," he said. "He also tells me that you'll be bonding the baseball coach."

"That's true," I said. "Jason is going to bond the basketball coach."

"He's doing that right now," he said. "He left a few minutes before you showed up."

"Well then Rodney Franklin will be bonded before too much longer," I said.

"Two of your father's bonded went with him and two of yours I'm told," he said. "Evan and Declan."

"You bonded your adoptive brother?" he asked. "Did you have any problems with that?"

"No," I said. "He knew what was happening when I bonded him. He made the decision to be bonded."

"Why was that?" he asked.

"Because the elixir didn't work on him," I said. "He wasn't Arcola."

"It'll work on him now," he said.

"He knows that but doesn't want it," I said.

"You must be making him happy then," he said. "As long as the bonded are happy they don't want the Elixir. Make them unhappy and they'll ask for it or they'll run off to wither and die. I find that to be the cop out. They do that to hurt you but they're dead."

"I understand your way of thinking completely," I said.

"This man you're letting wither and die, was he the monster my son seems to think he was?" he asked.

"He whipped his son with a bull whip every day when he was in town," I said. "He started to burn his penis with boiling water when he caught him masturbating."

"Then he deserves what he's getting," he said.

"Well it won't be long," I said. "Todd drove by the trailer last night and his father's truck was gone. He drove to the place where his father parks his rig but it was gone, too. He's a coast to coast truck driver and will be gone for months."

"Yes, it won't be long now," he said. "You alright with that?"

"I'm fine with it," I said. "I bonded him to let him wither and die. It was either that or slit his throat."

"Well then it's best that you did it this way," he said. "Prison would be a nightmare for an Immortalis. Especially one that looks as young as you are."

"I'm going to look like this for eternity," I said.

"Yes you are," he said. "I wish you'd waited a few years to drink the elixir."

"Well I found it out of boredom," I said. "I brewed it thinking nothing would happen. I drank it expecting it to be juice."

"You were wrong," he said. "And because you found it and drank it you have all of us for family."

"Well I had all of you for family before I drank the elixir," I said. "I just didn't know it."

"Yes you did," William said. "I hear that my wife gave you some of her money."

"She treated me very warmly," I said.

"They tell me she wanted to take you and your bonded to Milan," he said.

"She did say that," I said. "But I told her I couldn't go to Milan yet because I was still in high school for the first time."

"How'd she like being told no?" he asked.

"She said she'd visit me from time to time," I said. "She had me and the bonded measured for Arcola clothing."

"Well I'll be damned," he said. 

"She told me that she loves me," I said.

"Well of course she loves you," he said. "You're her grandson. I love you but you don't see me inviting you and your bonded to Iceland."

"Well no," I said. "I would tell you the same thing I told my grandmother."

"Does she let you call her grandmother?" he asked.

"No I call her Nicole," I said.

"Mother really took to him," Jordan said. "It surprised me."

"Did it?" William asked. "Well I guess it would. It surprises me, too."

"Well she did say she'd visit him and she thinks his idea for a club at school is great," he said.

"Your mother still amazes me after all these eons," he said.

"We expected a tantrum," Jordan said. "We prepared for many outcomes."

I sat and watched them talk. I hadn't seen anything like what they were describing about my grandmother. She'd seemed a bit outspoken but loveable. I didn't see the tantrum throwing woman that they were talking about. She wasn't an awful person the way William was alluding to. She wasn't the sweet bake you a pie grandmother but she wasn't a bad woman.

"Well I have to get with Drake and figure out how long we can stay," William said. He got up and walked away.

I looked at Jordan. He smiled at me. "He's upset that you and Nicole got along so well," he said.

"Well that's ridiculous," I said. "Did everyone want me to have a bad first meeting with her?"

"No," he said. "We were just pleasantly surprised that she reacted to you that way."

"Why is he asking his bonded how long they can stay?" I asked.

"Drake makes all the decisions for them," he said. "It's weird. It's like Drake is the Immmotalis and William is the bonded."

"That's the way it sounded to me," I said. "Why does he let Drake make all of the decisions?"

"Because he's in love with Drake," he said.

"So he made the mistake they all keep warning me about," I said. "Well isn't that nice."

"Don't be bitter," he said. "William goes by his own rules."

"And he should," I said. "He's the oldest of us all."

"That he is," he said. "He was the first one to drink he elixir. Then he bonded my mother and gave her the elixir. That's how it started. Then the witch was angry that he didn't love her so she cursed the bonding potion which put the restriction on the bonded. That they have to stay near us and they can be killed so easily. She did that because she thought my mother was still bonded. She didn't realize that my father had found the loophole in her spell."

"That's fascinating," I said. "What was the witch's name?"

"Hecuba," he said. "I never met her. She was dead before I was born but she gave them hell for a long time."

"Is that why we stay away from the witches?" I asked.

"Partly," he said. "But mostly because their testing is tedious and annoying."

"Well okay then," I said.

William came back and sat with us. He didn't say anything for the longest time. Jordan told me that he didn't drink the elixir until he was twenty-five because William wouldn't give it to him. He said that William wanted him to have a normal life. They'd argued about it endlessly. They had yelled and gone months without speaking. Then when he was twenty-five William gave him the elixir and taught him how to make it.

"I didn't want you to have it," William said. "But then you'd be dead by now."

"Yes," Jordan said. "I fought you every step of the way."

"And you let your children drink it too young," he said. "Now Damon is sixteen years old and frozen at sixteen forever."

"He'll be fine," Jordan said. "I didn't expect that he'd drink it this young but he's making the most of it."

"Teenaged bonded," William said. "More problems than happiness. People change as they get older and then he'll give them the elixir or they'll wither and die. It's a rat race. I wish we'd never drunk the elixir."

"You wouldn't have the family that you have if you hadn't drunk it," Jordan argued. "You, Mother, Roland, none of you. You'd be long dead. I'd have never been born. Those grandchildren that you love so much would never have been."

"I know about all of this," he said. "I know what the elixir gave me but I still say it's unnatural for the Immortalis to live forever."

"Well we are," Jordan said.

"Yes we're all going to live forever," he said. "Even though forever my turn out to be too long."

I was just in the first few weeks of my forever. I didn't want to hear the rantings of a man who thought we didn't need to live forever. William was having an existential crisis. That wasn't something I could help him with. I wasn't even sure I wanted to hear about it. I wanted to hear that it would be all right. That we'd live happily together as a family forever. Not that we shouldn't have drunk the elixir.

"If you hadn't drunk the elixir I wouldn't be here," I said.

He looked at me and started to speak and then stopped. Then he started to say something and stopped. He'd been looking for me for sixteen years. How could he be all we shouldn't have drunk the elixir of life on the day that he got to meet me for the very first time? He tried to speak again and stopped. He looked at me hard for a moment then he sighed.

"I get on these tangents every now and again," he said. "Forever chafes at times."

"What's chafing today?" I asked.

"Drake," he said.

"Well then you need to take that up with Drake," I said. "You warned me against falling in love with one of the bonded and you've already done it. I don't know what to say to that but if Drake is the one chafing you then you need to tell Drake instead of me."

"Well I've been put in my place," he said with a smile. "Jordan you didn't tell me he had the Arcola fire."

"Mother said the same thing," he said.

"Well then we should be celebrating his return," he said. "Let's have a party. A dinner party, let's not get wild. We'll get your mother back here and Roland will be here. Drake is going to have to wait to go back to Iceland. He is going to wait until this party is thrown. I want the whole family there bonded and all."

"You want a dinner party with all of the bonded and the family," Jordan said as if he was trying to make sure that he'd heard his father correctly.

"Yes," said William. "We have to celebrate Damon's return to the family."

Then Jason came in with Rodney Franklin. I could see the man's blue eyes. He was bonded. I just looked at them. William looked at them and so did Jordan. Jason had bonded his first. Of course Rodney looked from Jason to me and back again. He had a questioning look on his face like he didn't really believe what he was seeing. Then Jason smiled.

"I told you that Damon is my brother and my name is Jason," he said.

"You've bonded your first," William said.

"Yes, I have," Jason said. "Rodney meet William, my grandfather, Jordan, my father, and you know Damon."

"Nice to meet you all," Rodney said. "Is it true that I'll live forever?"

"Quite," said William. "You'll live unless you stay way from Jason too long."

"He explained about that," he said. "I don't want to die so I'll stick to Jason."

"Good," said William. "Jason, we're to have a dinner party. We're celebrating your brother's return to the family."

"Okay," he said. "Nicole just left."

"Well I'll get her back here," he said. "Roland is on his way."

"Good," Jason said.

"We're all going to this dinner," William said. "The family and the bonded."

"Okay," he said. "I have one bonded and his schedule is pretty open being summer and all."

"Jason when is your birthday?" I asked.

"July thirteenth," he said.

"One day after mine," I said. "We'll celebrate them together."

"Sounds good," he said. "Everyone is going to think we're twins anyway."

"You look like identical twins," said Rodney.

"We do," I said. "Everyone thinks we are twins so we'll be twins."

"At school," Jason said.

"And college," I said.

"Right," he said. "Well I need to have a private chat with my bonded so I'll leave you to the conversation you were having before I came in."

"Boy I tell you when I see a new bonded man I think of what it was like when I first bonded Drake," William said with a smile. A minute ago Drake was chafing him.

"I know what you're saying," Jordan said."But my first bonded is Immortalis now."

"My adoptive father is Immortalis now with a bonded of his own," I said.

"He's in his fifties?" William asked.

"Late forties," I corrected.

"Ah," he said. "That's a good age for immortality to come in to play. You've lived the first life and may be ready to start the next."

"I'll be ready to start the next life when it gets here," I said.

"Well you've got fortitude," William said. "Some can't handle the cross over. The new name, the new back story, and the living of that life."

"Well I'm not worried," I said. "My bonded will come through for me."

"Sure of that, are you?" William asked.

"I have Evan talking with Jordan's bonded, James," I said. "Declan is working with Jordan's bonded, Tom."

"Learning the ropes?" he asked.

"Exactly," I said. "Todd is going to be security but I don't know who to have him talk to."

"He can talk to Drake about that," William said. "Drake is good at security."

"Thank you," I said. I pulled out my phone and called David. He told me they were working on the rooms upstairs. I told him to bring Todd to me or have one of the others do it. He said he'd get someone on it and I hung up.

"Efficient," he said. "You got a wrangler already."

"That'd be David," I said. "He can get the others corralled and doing what he wants pretty quickly."

"That's a rare find when you're first bonding," William said.

"David was the first of my bonded," I said. "He is my adoptive brother."

"Well at least you know him pretty well," William said. "And it gives you a way to hold on to the adoptive family while embracing your birth family."

"That's what I was thinking," I said with a smile.

"Well you've got your head on your shoulders," he said. "I'm happy that we found you. You are a light in the family that we haven't had in a long time."

"Well you've got to stop letting Drake get to you," I said. "If you love each other then love each other. Stop the bickering and fighting. Eternity is a long time to fight and argue. You have to figure out where you stand with each other. If he's not in love then give him the elixir and send him on his way. You'll be sad at first but you'll be better off if that's the case. And if it isn't the case then make him get his head out of his ass and be the man you bonded."

"Well okay then," William said. He got up and walked off to talk to Drake in private.

"You're doing well with him," Jordan said.

"I can't tell," I said. "He goes back and forth."

"He's like that," he said. "What until you meet Roland."

"Is he another that's in love with his bonded?" I asked.

"Quite the opposite," he said. "He has two bonded. Jackson and Marcus. They're extensions of him but he does not love them. He's bonded twelve all together all of them but Jackson and Marcus have drunk the elixir."

"So there are a lot of Immortalis out there?" I asked.

"Quite a few now," he said. "The loophole in the witch's spell."

"She didn't mean for us to become a species all of our own?" I asked.

"Not quite," he said with a smile. "We have to be careful not to flood the world with Immortalis."

"Well no one knows about them so far," I said. "But I can see that the more we make the more they risk discovery."

"Exactly," he said. "You've already made one. You'll make more. It's part of who we are. The bonded don't want to be bonded forever most of the time."

"Well when that time comes I'll let you know what's happening," I said.

"Thank you," he said. "So many of them went off on their own and I've not seen them since. I guess that's good because I haven't heard about them either."

"Well it's good that you haven't heard about them that means they're keeping the secret," I said.

"Yes, they're keeping the secret but how many have they made?" he asked.

"Oh, I see the problem now," I said. "Of course having been bonded and then drinking the elixir they all know that it will work for the bonded."

"Exactly," he said. "It's a growing problem but I'm the only one who thinks so."

"Well not anymore," I said. "I don't know what to do about it but I see the problem as well."

"There's nothing to be done about it," he said. "That's the biggest problem. We're expanding and I knew we would when the first of my father's drank the elixir. As I said you've already made one, and you'll make more. I'll make more."

"Well we need to keep an eye on what we're doing," I said.

"We can but it doesn't matter so much with us not knowing what the other Immortalis are doing," he said.

"If there's nothing to do about it then why did you bring it to my attention?" I asked. I didn't need another thing to worry about.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just think about it sometimes and tonight I voiced my thoughts. You just happened to be the one to hear them."

"Well I'll be watching what I do," I said. "You say I'm going to make more of them and I'm sure I will. I can already tell you which of mine will want the elixir."

"Well you know that your dad was a special case," he said. "Don't go giving the elixir to any of the other of your bonded so soon. Let them be bonded for a while."

"Oh I planned to," I said. "They aren't getting the elixir for a long time."

"Roland bonded one about every fifty years or so," he said. "He'd give them the elixir a year after he bonded them."

"How many times did he do that?" I asked.

"More than I can count right now," he said. "So you see the Immortalis are growing in numbers."

"Well we're not vampires who have to hide after so long," I said. "We can blend in with humanity."

"Yes we can but how long will it take that humanity to learn that certain members of it's ranks don't age like the others?" Jordan asked.

"Well if they're cunning they can hide it much the way you have," I said. "If they keep moving every six to seven years they'll be fine. As long as they don't move a few towns over."

"Well they have to be smart enough to know that they can't just move from town A to town B," he said. "I just worry about the numbers. I mean this was meant for our family only."

"Yes, but populations do have a way of exploding," I said.

"Yes they do," he said.

Then another person, well three people came into the suite. Roland and his two bonded had arrived. He looked at me and Jordan sitting there at the table and asked where Damon was. I laughed. He didn't know we looked so much alike. I looked at Jordan who had a smile on his face. We both chuckled a bit after his question. He just looked at us and that made us laugh harder.

"Well? What's so funny?" Roland asked.

"I am Damon," I said. "Jason is in the other room with his newly bonded man to have the talk with him about the rules of the bonded."

"You're Damon, huh?" he asked. He clearly didn't believe me. Thankfully Jason and Rodney returned to living room of the suite at that moment. He looked at Jason and then at me and said, "Well I'll be damned."

"Hey Roland," said Jason as he came into the room. He looked at us and then at Roland. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't believe him when he said he was Damon," Roland said. "He looks so much like you that I thought it was you trying to play a prank."

"Nope, that's Damon all right," he said. "My twin that was born five years after me and from a different mother."

"Well Damon it's so good to see you," Roland said.

"It's good to meet you, Roland," I said. "We were discussing a dinner party to celebrate my return to the family."

"Nicole will never go for that," Roland said. "She and William can't be in the same city at the same time."

"They will for Damon," Jordan said. "The bonded are already calling her to come back here."

"She was here?" Roland asked.

"She came to see Damon," Jordan said. "She gave him part of the Arcola money and is outfitting Damon and his bonded in Arcola fashion."

"Well I'll be damned," he said again. "She liked him?"

"She loves him," Jordan said. "She thinks he has the Arcola fire and he does."

"Is that right?" Roland asked. "How about that?"

"Well it remains to be seen if she will return to Claymore with William in town," Jordan said. "Do you know what they're fighting about now?"

"Drake," he said. "It's always been about Drake. She's his wife. He's his side piece."

"The bonded were never meant to be like he is with Drake," Jordan said. "But I can understand it."

"So can I," Roland replied. "Damon how many do you have?"

"Bonded? Five," I said. "Well six but one will be dead in a matter of weeks."

"You're going to have to explain that to me," he said.

"He whipped his son with a bull whip every time he came home from the road," I said. "Then when he caught the boy masturbating he poured boiling hot water over his penis and made him play with himself with the burnt skin on his penis. So when I bonded the son and found about about the father I decided to bond him and let him die."

"Well it sounds like he deserves it," Roland said. "You're a bit young to be making that decision though."

"The Arcola fire," Jordan said.

"Yeah," Roland said. "Damon and Nicole would make a great pair."

"Yes, they would but Damon has to go to school," Jordan said. "He's going to high school for the first time in his life. When he legally turns eighteen then she can ask him and if he agrees he'll go to Milan."

"I'd like to see Milan and get to know Nicole a bit better but I don't want to live there," I said.

"She wasn't asking you to live in Milan," Jordan said. "She was asking you to come for like a month or two."

"Well that I will think on," I said.

"Nicole will be back here in a week," Tom said as he came in to talk to Jordan. "She said she's got a project to finish and then she'll get on the jet."

"Well then it looks like we'll be having the dinner in a week," said Jordan. "That's fine with me. Damon?"

"Fine with me," I said. "I'll have the bonded there."

"So I'm going to be here at least a week?" Roland asked.

"If you want to be at the family dinner then yes," said Jordan.

William came back from talking with Drake and smiled at me. I smiled back. I hoped that this meant that he'd get through to Drake. I didn't want Drake pulling his attention when he was there to meet me. I wondered which plan he was going with. Would we have another Immortalis or would he straighten up and act right as a bonded? It was up in the air for me at the moment. I didn't know which way William had gone.

"Roland," William said. "Good to see you."

"William," Roland said. "They got you away from Iceland?"

"Well it's time to move from Iceland," he said. "Drake's looking into where we'll go. I told him to look around here for a house. It's good enough for my son and grandchildren. So it should be good enough for me. There's even a university for me to teach at."

"So you'll be bringing back Robert Hood?" Jordan asked.

"Probably," he said.

"Robert Hood is one of the names my father uses to live with the people," Jordan explained. "Robert Hood is a College Professor who teaches Religious Studies."

"No," said William. "Robert Hood is a Science man not Religious Studies. That's C. James Holder."

"Right," Jordan said. "We're going to invent new people when we move from here."

"You are?" he asked. "Why?"

"Because Damon will come with us," Jordan said. "James says it would be easier for me to be Damon, Jason, and Arena's older brother. They'll start out in high school and I'll start out in college. That way we can explain that our parents are dead and we live together in the house we'll live in wherever we go."

"Already planning the move?" William asked.

"James starts planning the next move as soon as we settle in one place," Jordan said. "He likes to be able to tell me where we're going and all about the place when it's time to go."

"Efficient," Roland said. "You always know just where to go without scrambling."

"Exactly, and he's taught Evan to do the same thing," Jordan said.

"Good," I said. "He's doing fine with James?"

"Oh yeah," Jordan said. "James will teach him what he needs to know, which databases to use, what kind of houses to buy or rent. We usually buy houses in places because we return to them after about twenty years."

"Okay," I said. "That sounds good."

"Well moving is a way of life for us," he said. "But we don't always have to find new places. We can return to places we liked."

"Yeah," I said. "As long as Evan is learning how to do this. We won't all be together forever."

"No we won't," he said. "We'll visit each other but we won't all live together like we will after this move."

"So this dinner," William said. "Where are we having it?"

"In the banquet room," Jordan said. "We're having it catered. We're just waiting for Mother to get done with her project. She said she'd be here in a week."

"You got her to come with me here?" William asked.

"Yes," Jordan said. "It seems that if it's for Damon she'll do whatever we want her to do."

"Well isn't that nice?" William said in sarcasm.

I just sat there and let them talk. I didn't know Nicole that well and I didn't understand why she felt the way she did about me. I just do what I do and she seemed to like it. It had also been said that Nicole and I would make a great pair. Somehow I didn't think that was a good thing. I wasn't sure I liked being lumped in with Nicole as the bitches of the family. That wasn't what I wanted to be known for at all.

"I don't know what I did to make her like me so much," I said.

"It was because you've been sought after for so long and you stood up to her and showed you have a backbone and won't be bullied by her to do what she wants," said Jordan. "She likes to show up and tell everyone what to do." 

"Well you told me to stand up to her," I said.

"I had no idea she'd feel the way she feels about you," Jordan said. "You have to remember she's been loving you since she found out I was going to be a father again. When Elaine did what she did Mother took it very hard. Sure she was angry that she took off with her lover, but it was that she took you away from us that hurt her."

"Well I didn't like hearing that we'd make a great pair," I said.

"I only said that because she's used to getting what she wants and you won't give it to her," Roland said.

"Well no one ever gets exactly what they want from me," I said. "If they do it is a happy accident. I mean my adoptive father would tell me to mow the grass and clean the kitchen or whatever and I'd do it. But that was chores."

"But the not getting what they want from you isn't a bad thing," Jordan said. "If they always got what they wanted from you that would make you a pushover. You're not a pushover so don't worry about it. This family says things all the time."

"I'll remember that," I said. "I'm not used to being away from the bonded so much either. They're usually right here with me."

"You treat your bonded like family?" William asked.

"They are my family," I said. "I made them family when I bonded them."

"That's awesome," said Roland.

"It's crazy is what it is," William said. "The bonded are an extension of you. That's what they're supposed to be."

"Well that's not what they are to me," I said. "They're living and breathing members of my family unit."

"You can manage them that way?" Roland asked.

"What's to manage?" I asked. "They do what they want mostly. That is until I give them a job to do for me."

"No I mean sexually," Roland said.

"They have sex with each other," I said. "I have sex with one of them per night. There will be nights that I don't want sex and then I suppose one of them will be left out."

"Wow," said Roland. "I thought it would be a lot different than that."

"You've been letting them hound you for sex?" I asked. "If you have more than one bonded they can have sex with each other. And they'll want to. They'll also want you but they'll be fine with each other."

"The reason I have one is much different," said William. "I love Drake and he loves me."

"I'm sorry but I think that's a trap," I said. "You end up making excuses for the behavior of the bonded when you're in love with one of them. I don't ever want to fall in love so I'm not worried about that happening to me. I know that love happens when you least expect it but I'm not in love with any of the bonded so far. I doubt that I run the risk. I keep them at a distance most of the time. Sure I'm letting them touch me all of the time but I mean emotionally. They're family not something you fall in love with."

"He's got a head on his shoulders," Roland said. "He knows what he wants. Young to be that sure of himself but he is."

"I told you when I called that Damon would surprise you," Jordan said. "He certainly surprised me."

"How did I surprise you?" I asked.

"Five bonded in under a month," he said. "I have to watch and get to know the ones I'm going to bond."

"I did know four of them," I said. "The fifth didn't have anything to do with anyone because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father."

"Wow," Roland said again.

"I don't know why that is so shocking," I said. "I've got one more to bond and I barely know him."

"Your baseball coach," Jordan said.

"Yes," I said. "Jason did his part and bonded the basketball coach. I'll bond the baseball coach and we'll get this club started at school. Jason has to bond five teenage boys."

"You ready for that, Jason?" asked Roland.

"Ready and willing," Jason said with a smile. "I have to wait until school starts to find them but I'm ready. I want to live my life with the bonded the way that Damon does. It's beautiful and full of compassion and caring. I don't say love because he isn't in love with any of them." 

"Well I have to go and check on the construction at my house," I said. "Could you go and tell Evan and Declan that I'm leaving and will see them at home when they get there?"

"I'll do that," Jason said and got up. He left the room.

I hugged Jordan and William which shocked him but he hugged me. I shook Roland's hand and then I went to the elevator. One thing was for sure. They all loved me. That's what I wanted.