Chapter 126 The Reconciliation
CALLUM
The message arrives through Moira. Handwritten note. Cormac's writing.
"I need to talk. Alone. Neutral ground. Tomorrow at sunset. Abandoned church on Whitmore Street. Please come. -C"
Please. Cormac never says please. Never asks. Always demands.
"It's a trap," Tom says immediately. "Obvious trap. You can't go."
"Maybe. Maybe not." I study the note. "Moira delivered it. She wouldn't help him trap me. She hates what he did."
"People lie. People manipulate. Especially Cormac."
"Which is why I'm bringing backup. You're covering me from adjacent building. Valentina's watching the exits. Isla's ready for medical evac if needed."
"So you're going."
"I'm going. But carefully."
The next evening, I arrive at the abandoned church. Gothic. Crumbling. Perfect noir movie setting.
Cormac's already inside. Standing near the altar. Alone. Unarmed visibly. Could have weapons hidden but doesn't seem aggressive.
"You came," he says. Sounds surprised. Grateful.
"Moira delivered message. I trust her. Not you." I stay near the door. Escape route clear. "What do you want?"
"To talk. Really talk. First time since..." He gestures vaguely. "Everything."
"Since you framed me? Sent me to prison? Tried to have me killed multiple times? Worked with vampires against wolves? Allied with Parliament for genocide? Be specific about which 'everything' you mean."
"All of it. Everything I did. Everything I became." Cormac sits on a pew. Tired. Defeated. "I was wrong. About everything. Can we... can this be fixed?"
I laugh. Bitter. Harsh. "Fixed? You destroyed my life. Destroyed our relationship. Destroyed yourself. What's there to fix?"
"I don't know. Maybe nothing. Maybe I'm too corrupted. Too broken. Too far gone." He looks up. "But I have a son now. Finn. Your nephew. And he deserves better than monster father and absent uncle."
"Using Finn to manipulate me?"
"No. Genuinely thinking about him. About what he'll inherit. About what family means." Cormac stands. Approaches slowly. "I was jealous. My whole life. Seven minutes. That's what separated us. Seven minutes of birth order. And I let it consume me. Destroy me. Turn me into monster."
"I know. I've known since we were kids."
"You knew?"
"Yes. Everyone knew. Father's favoritism was obvious. Your jealousy was obvious. Your resentment was obvious." I move closer. Still careful. Still ready to fight. "But I tried to be fair. Tried to be good brother. Tried to make sure you got recognition. Credit. Respect."
"It wasn't enough. Nothing was enough. Because I wanted Alpha. Wanted primacy. Wanted to be first for once."
"So you destroyed me to get it."
"Yes. And it was hollow. Empty. Worthless." Cormac's voice breaks. "Being Alpha without legitimacy is prison. Being leader without respect is torture. I had title but nothing else."
"And now you want what? Forgiveness? Absolution? Reconciliation?"
"I don't know what I want. Maybe just... acknowledgment that I was wrong. That you were right. That everything I did was terrible." He meets my eyes. "Can people change? Can monsters become decent? Can corruption be undone?"
"I don't know. Ask me in five years. Ten years. When I see what you do with Finn. How you raise him. Whether you repeat cycles or break them."
"That's not absolution."
"That's all I have. I can't forgive you. Not now. Maybe not ever. But I can... watch. See if you actually change. See if this remorse is real or manipulation."
"Is tentative ceasefire possible? Not friendship. Not brotherhood. Just... not actively trying to destroy each other?"
I consider. He's my twin. My brother. The person I should be able to trust absolutely. Who betrayed me completely.
"Ceasefire. Not trust. Not forgiveness. Not reconciliation." I extend my hand. Formal. Cold. "We stop actively fighting. We acknowledge Finn deserves family. We see if change is possible. That's all."
He takes my hand. Shakes it. Agreement sealed.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me. Prove yourself. Be better. For Finn. For yourself. For the brother you should have been."
"What if I can't? What if I'm too broken?"
"Then ceasefire ends. And we return to being enemies. But at least we tried." I release his hand. "Finn is your nephew. He should know his family. His history. His options. Not just your corruption."
"You'd meet him? Spend time with him?"
"If you prove yourself trustworthy. If you demonstrate actual change. If you show you're prioritizing him over ambition." I head toward the door. "I'm not promising anything except observation. Prove you've changed. We'll see what happens."
I leave. The church. The conversation. The tentative truce.
Outside, Valentina's waiting. Full vampire now. Night-bound. Dangerous.
"Well?" she asks.
"Ceasefire. Not reconciliation. Not trust. Just... stopping active hostilities."
"Do you believe he's changed?"
"I don't know. Maybe. People can change. Theoretically. Whether Cormac can remains to be seen."
We walk back toward safe house. I'm processing. Confused. Uncertain.
Isla's waiting at home. "How did it go?"
"He wants reconciliation. Claims he's changed. Says he was wrong about everything. Wants ceasefire for Finn's sake."
"Do you trust him?"
"No. Absolutely not. He's manipulated me too many times. Betrayed me too completely." I sit down. Exhausted. "But maybe people can change? Maybe monsters can become decent? Maybe..."
"Maybe you want to believe your brother isn't lost forever."
"Yes. Exactly that." I look at her. "I don't trust him. But maybe... maybe people can change? Watch your back anyway."
"Always." Isla starts organizing supplies. "But hope is good. Even cautious hope. Even skeptical hope. It's better than pure cynicism."
Maybe. I hope. Cautiously. Skeptically. Desperately.
Because he's my brother. My twin. And maybe, possibly, potentially, he can be saved.
Or I'm being manipulated again. And this ends with more betrayal.
Time will tell. Time always tells.