20. OUR property, brother.

**Octavius**

Ocean's laughter echoes off the walls of the dining room until she notices the look on Kieran's face. His face doesn't change, except for that barely noticeable moment when he registers how much he's said. I keep glancing back and forth between them, trying to understand if he's joking or not.

"How..." Ocean whispers as her hand meets mine. She holds onto my hand as if her life depended on our closeness. Not that I'm complaining about her need for physical contact, but I wish that need would occur under different circumstances.

I watch as Kieran stands up and shrugs. To be honest, he doesn't seem to care much about explaining himself. Still, out of what I assume is a tiny spark of respect, he tries to speak up. "Well, since I'm the..." His efforts aren't well-received, as Ocean interrupts him.

She jumps up and lets go of my hand. I watch a tear run down her cheek before she screams at the top of her lungs. "How could you?"

Her reaction doesn't fail to have an effect on Kieran. He grabs another chair and throws it against the wall. The sound of breaking wood echoes off the dining room walls, and Kieran stomps closer to Ocean. Instinctively, I step closer to her, just in case he loses control of his anger. I'm not going to let this idiot hurt her. "I regret nothing; it's my fucking job! Why don't you question the rat who stands by your side? Perhaps he has exciting stories to share!" Kieran spouts the words with such fury that even I think this whole thing might end in disaster. But to my surprise, he turns his back on us and leaves the room as if nothing bothers him.

Before I can say a word, Ocean collapses on the floor and bursts into tears. I have to admit I was pretty excited when I found out her birthday was coming up, but I didn't expect her to be of age already. Besides, how would Kieran know that and I didn't? Something doesn't seem to fit into the big picture in this situation. I drop to my knees and pull Ocean into my arms. I've heard that hugs calm people down, and I prove that theory to be accurate as she slowly calms down. Ocean whispers something, but it's hard to make out her words since she's crying. Honestly, I think it's better this way- there are some things I shouldn't hear. "Shhh, it's going to be alright, sweetheart," I whisper to her, trying to reassure her. Again, I have no idea what I'm saying or doing. I just repeated a few things I've heard that work.

"H-how could he?" Ocean hiccups as she throws her arms around my neck and pulls me closer. I like this feeling. Even though the situation is so dire, I love holding her in my arms.

"I don't know. I had no idea you were of age, nor did Kieran bother to bring up the subject. I'll talk to him, sweetheart, I promise. And don't worry, just because I know you are of age, I don't intend to force anything on you. Remember that I told you that if anything happens, it will only happen with your consent. I've spent a lifetime waiting; I can wait a little longer." I place a palm on her head and run my fingers through her fiery red curls. She snuggles a little closer, and once again, I feel like a fucking house cat. If I could, I'd purr with delight.

We hold each other in silence. The warmth of her body reminds me of the days when I was alive. Since day one, I have been kind of obsessed with Ocean, and maybe I just figured out why. She's everything I am not. She's alive.

Some of the servants pass by; some try to catch a glimpse of Ocean but quickly turn back. I don't care what they think of themselves or where they stand- I will change that. Once she's asleep, I will call in every servant, maid, and cook in this house to set boundaries for them. No underclassman will badmouth my woman. I feel the anger rise up inside me, especially as the memory of the morning comes to mind. Ocean stood in front of the woman who deserved the punishment, yet the others still look down on her. She's too good for her own good. I sigh and let my hand slowly slide down her cheek. "I think you should rest, sweetheart. While you sleep, I can talk to my brother and take care of some things around the house. When you wake up, we can have dinner together and take a walk around the city. What do you think of that?" As the offer leaves my lips, I notice the fire in her eyes. A wide smile spreads across her lips as Ocean nods her head in agreement. I don't need words now; her reaction is enough.

Helping Ocean back to her feet, I take her hand in mine and lead her to her bedroom. I make sure she locks her door and slowly step away. First, it's off to Kieran's office; my brother has some explaining to do. Usually, I wouldn't rush to get there, but I have a reason to hurry this time. I stop at Kieran's office door and knock until I hear the idiot groan, "Come in."

I step inside and drop into the chair across from him. "Judging by your reaction, you were expecting me. You don't seem happy to see me, brother."

It takes Kieran a good second to realise I'm making fun of him. I don't know what crawled up his ass and died there, but the guy can't seem to take anything today. He gets up, throws everything off his desk, and growls at me. Fucking animal. "I have been away for a few days, and I am coming back home to face the shitstorm you caused. Remember one thing, Ocean is as much as she is yours. She wears the collar of this house, the house that belongs to two fucking men- me and you. She's our property, not yours. You have no right to raise your hand at her unless I approve of it, and vice versa. Understand that at last, and I might be happy to see you next time. Humans are fragile, idiot!" Oh, is that what this is about? He's going to accuse me of something I didn't intend, while he's the one who spilt beans. Sneaky son of a bitch. He bears more blame in this situation than I ever will. Yes, I hurt Ocean, and I regret it, but that wouldn't have happened if she hadn't tried to protect the servant. Kieran, on the other hand, said all that because he wanted to hurt her. There's a difference.

"Speaking of which..." I wink at him. I know I'm pissing him off, but nothing would amuse me more than seeing Kieran smash up his own property. He'd start breaking furniture, and other things he thinks are valuable, then whine about it later. Never a dull moment. "Since when did Ocean come of age? I'm curious, brother, surely, if you knew something I didn't, you share the information. Am I right about that? You see, since you said that we are practically co-owners, I would assume that we should have the same level of knowledge when it comes to our property." I emphasize the word 'our' to piss him off even more. Let's call it a little payback for the last few tricks he pulled on me. First his sudden disappearance and then the announcement he made at the breakfast table.

Kieran shrugs, and the tension in the room fades. He sits down and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I might have reached out to the team that did her rank test. I didn't want to say anything upfront, and the results came in right before I got home to get some stuff. It just slipped out, okay?" he explains himself. Something tells me he's lying, but who am I to judge or doubt him?

I rise from my seat and nod my head. If that is all he has to say, I won't stay here any longer. Besides, several servants need to face the consequences. They have managed to do enough damage behind my back, but I will put an end to it.

"Where do you think you are going now?" Kieran raises an eyebrow at me.

I roll my eyes. I swear, sometimes he's the most annoying person for the fact that his word has to be the last one. "Away from you. The only reason I even entered your office in the first place is that I needed some answers. We sat down, talked, found the answers, and now I have a lot of things to worry about." I explain without any emotion. If Kieran knew what happened behind my back, even more so while he was away, he would question my ability to handle everything on my own. The longer I give him more reasons to doubt me, the longer he'll stay around me. At this rate, there's no way we are going to take over separate houses. I want to prove to the Elite that I am capable of handling everything on my own. Then I could take over my own house and take Ocean with me.

"Well, I'm happy you got your answers, but I didn't get mine. Sit down." I watch Kieran trudge to the office door and lock it. As if it could ever stop me- a locked door is no obstacle to an ancient vampire. The only worthy obstacle here is Kieran.

I could disagree with him and leave, but sometimes it's better to stay quiet and play by his rules. I sigh and sit down. "I don't have much time to waste with you, so please, don't hold yourself back from any questions you might want to ask." I glance at the watch on my wrist as if the time actually means something. It doesn't, though.

"I want to know everything about what happened this morning, in detail. I don't care about the excuses you have given me- there must be a reason why you decided to punish that servant. Needless to say, the reason must be pretty impressive if it happened in front of Ocean. And don't tell me I'm wrong- she was close enough to protect the servant. Did Ocean tell me the truth, or was she trying to hide a bad deed on your part? So, speak up." Sometimes I hate the way Kieran reacts to things. He's heard everything from Ocean; he's even stressed that he wanted to hear everything from her, and yet he'll question me again. It's like playing the same old record for centuries- awful.

"She told you everything; why should I repeat the same thing?" I groan.

"Because she told me everything from her point of view, and I want to know yours."

Apparently, I won't leave unless I give him the damn answers. I sink deeper into the chair and close my eyes. "I sent the damn servant upstairs to tell Ocean that breakfast would be served in a few minutes. I instructed the idiot to help her get ready and expected to see them downstairs within ten minutes. They didn't show up, so I decided to check on them. As I approached Ocean's bedroom, I heard loud voices and decided to stop there for a while. I know eavesdropping isn't good and all that shit, but I wouldn't find that out unless I listen. While I was busy working, the servants were insulting and humiliating her at every opportunity. Go ahead and make fun of how irresponsible I am and try to put yourself in my shoes. People are not stupid, especially educated servants. They can come up with a lot of shit and act like snakes. Turns out this shit has been going on for a long time, even when you were around. We both didn't realise what was happening, and we're equally guilty. Anyway, I went into her bedroom and tried to slap the bitch who made Ocean's life here a living nightmare. For fuck's sake, I didn't expect her to stand in front of that idiot. Ocean told me to leave, so I did. I tried to apologise, but she didn't want me anywhere near her. Later she came downstairs, sat down and called me a fucking master. I don't know why she did that, but I have no blame there- it's on her. And the rest of the story, you know that." I watch Kieran stare emotionlessly at the door for a moment. Then he nods his head and walks slowly towards the exit.

"Where are you going now?" I jump up from my seat.

"To check on our property," Kieran smirks as he emphasizes the word 'our' just like I did earlier.

"No," I try to stop him.

"OUR property, brother. You had a few days alone with her; I could send you away to have the same privacy. Take care of your responsibilities and don't get too close to her until I tell you."