The Twelve Zenati

Authors note: Hello everyone. Welcome to the new Twelve Tables series and the new family I have for you all to meet. I hope you come to know and like them as much as the families from the past series. Thank you once again to David and Kate for being my second set of eyes. Enjoy! ~ellie.

*****

It was close to midnight when Noah walked into the suite at the clinic and found Gideon leaning in the doorway to Olivia's room. Gideon raised a questioning eyebrow and Noah shrugged, not bothering to make the same inquiry of his big brother. It was obvious that neither of them was spending the night with their dates.

"Why's he not answering his phone?" Noah asked, his real concern and reason for his late night visit to the clinic furrowing his brow.

"It's in his pants pocket," Gideon chuckled. "The problem is that our baby brother is not wearing any pants right now!"

"Progress?" Noah asked, hopefully.

"Seems so. She's not sleeping in her own bed tonight," he said quietly.

"Why are you here?" Genesis grumbled, coming from a room on the other side of the suite. "I thought you both had hot dates."

"Not as hot as yours, obviously," Gideon grumbled in return. "Answer your phone. Then we won't have to make these late-night visits and disturb you."

"I was just coming to get it," Genesis said, as he continued to grumble and rolled his eyes.

"Can we assume that there's progress? Or just that you finally gave in to the curse?" Noah asked curiously.

"Progress, I hope. I guess we'll find out tomorrow if it sticks," Genesis said, picking up his discarded jeans from the floor and retrieving his phone. "Hector gave me a friendly warning that my absence was making it hard on some of the others, so it's time to get my head back into the family business, sooner rather than later."

"I'll get hold of Zanto and Rigo tomorrow and sort out space I can work from here while Olivia recovers. Have you guys been showing up at the Table when summoned?" he asked his brothers.

"We aren't missed as much. Papa and Nunzio have our positions well anchored. You're the one who made yourself indispensable. Now you have to suck it up," Noah shrugged. "There haven't been many meetings that included us. To tell you the truth, the old guard is doing all the chest pounding mighty protector moves like it's their last hurrah," he chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure Xavier and Dom would like to call a meeting of our Table when we are all back on deck," Gideon mused. "I think they are giving us both some time. Dom seems pretty concerned about you and your girl."

"Yeah. He got a reading on her the other day that worried him, and I haven't really seen him since," Genesis confirmed.

"Don't rush things that shouldn't be rushed. We'll all survive, you know," Noah advised. "Some of the Suebi pods have gone to ground, so that's where the real focus is at the moment. I think that the watchmen would just like the media off their back because they're more of a hindrance than help at the moment."

"That's why I want to set up an office here and work remotely. Olivia could still be a target, or at least seen as a valuable commodity by the Suebi who haven't been rounded up yet. I can't leave her, not at the moment. I won't leave her unprotected. Orlando has a couple of watchmen checking in with us here, but they need all-hands-on-deck too, after the attack on Zia and Emma," Genesis explained what he planned. "Once I'm set up I'll be able to video-conference with Zio and Xavier to find out what and where the hot spots are and twist the information feed to our favour."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll touch base with them tomorrow too," Gideon nodded.

"We can talk about it tomorrow then. It feels like months since I've slept in an actual bed so, unless you came to tell me how badly your dates went..." his voice trailed off and he looked between his brothers.

"It can wait," Gideon said dryly. "I had words with Viv about giving your Pixie ways to keep hiding. She gets it now, I think, but that doesn't mean she's happy that I had to point it out to her again.

"It wasn't so bad. Her dumb idea gave me the opening I needed to make some ultimatums and strengthen the bond we've been building. Olivia knows what she needs to do now, so we just have to wait and see," Genesis shrugged. "We'll talk tomorrow." He yawned loudly, and his brothers moved toward the door. "Unless Noah needs consolation from striking yet out again," he chuckled.

"Actually, I'm the one playing hard to get," Noah smirked at Genesis. "We can talk about that tomorrow too. Go to bed, little brother." He clapped his hand on Gideon's shoulder as they both left the suite, leaving Genesis with his girl. The lowered tension in his younger brother's demeanour was obvious, and Noah hoped that it was the breakthrough Genesis needed to start moving forward with Olivia.

"Playing hard to get?" Gideon chortled, as they walked to the car park together. He assumed his brother was joking, but he was also surprised to see Noah here at the clinic tonight. He and Marcella had seemed so flirty and eager to be with each other all night during dinner.

"Yeah, she was keen," Noah admitted.

"What's your problem then?" Gideon asked and raised an eyebrow.

"She's going to be family once Genesis convinces Olivia of who she is and what she means to him. Could make for weird family gatherings once my curse breaker shows up, especially if it keeps going so well and the only reason I have for dumping her is that some other woman gives me a fucking heart attack." He tried to explain his reticence.

"I guess, but you're both grown-ups, aren't you? Can't you have the friends-with-benefits talk?" Gideon asked.

"She already did. She doesn't want a relationship, just casual sex, but when I was flirting with her, and then tonight at dinner, it hit me that we couldn't just walk away. She's going to be our sister-in-law, or at least Gen's sister-in-law. It would just be weird, you know?" Noah sighed.

"So, let me recap. You're both single, she likes you even though you're a big nerd, and she wants a casual no-strings-attached fling with you and you are playing hard to get?" Gideon chuckled. "You need to turn in your man card," he quipped and shook his head disgustedly.

"Yeah, probably. She didn't look very happy when I kissed her goodnight and left," Noah grimaced.

"Damn. She took the rejection badly, then. I hate to break it to you, but you fucked up big time. Good luck salvaging that friendship," Gideon commiserated.

"What do you mean? I was saving our friendship by not complicating it by jumping into bed with her straight away," he argued.

"You rejected her, or at least intimacy with her, after being so flirty. I'm not sure there's much of a friendship to save anymore," Gideon said, seriously.

"I didn't reject her. Not the way you think. I got a call and said that I had to go because of a family emergency. It will be fine, trust me. She needs me to help her with some stuff, and we can date and have fun until her sister is out of the woods and able to stay in contact with Marcella when she goes home," Noah said easily. "Have a little faith in me. I'm not that much of an arsehole. I just bought myself some time to consider the ramifications."

"If you say so, but if Viv had been ready to move us forward then no way I would be here checking on my baby brother," Gideon chuckled.

"That's different. She's your curse breaker. Mine's still coming, one day," Noah shrugged.

*****

"Would you like to talk about what's on your mind?" Genesis asked, turning toward Olivia on finding her awake and moving out of his arms.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," she automatically apologised.

"I would rather if you did when you can't sleep," he murmured, pulling her close again, needing the physical touch of her to ease the ache in his chest. He sighed in relief as she snuggled against his side and rested her head on his shoulder. "Tell me what you were thinking about," he commanded quietly, kissing the top of her head.

"Why did you come to the hospital to look after me?" she asked. She had known, despite what Kairos had said, that Remy would never have given her to another man. Olivia was under no illusions that Remy would carry out his threat to kill her rather than see her with another man. If he kicked her out, or she tried to leave, she would have nothing and no one because he would stop hiding her from the men who searched for her and her life would be over. Leaving Remy and his way of life had meant death for her, but now he was dead, and she had no idea where that left her except here with this man, and for good or for bad, she had chosen him last night. Now she wanted to know why he had chosen her. He certainly didn't need her. He could have any woman he wanted.

"I don't want any more secrets and lies between us, Olivia. This story is long. Would you rather wait until the morning to hear it?" he asked.

"I'm not tired," she whispered nervously. "I would like to know please, Genesis. Why did you come for me?"

"On the day of your wedding, the organisation that Remington was part of, the Suebi, mounted a nationwide attack on all Twelve Tabled families. It went badly for them because, by some miracle, the leaders of the tables got a few minutes warning from the Vitali family, who were the main focus of the attack," he began and felt her stiffen beside him at the mention of the Twelve Tables. "We believe that when it went badly the remnants of the team that Remington had sent to carry out the attack on the Mother of our Table returned to the church. We think that had always been the plan, even if they were successful. The men who survived the doomed attack, however, thought Remington had set them up on a suicide mission and sought revenge. So, they opened fire in the church during your wedding."

"That explains how Remy died, not why you chose to care for me," Olivia pointed out.

"I'm getting there. I did warn you it was a long story," he reminded her with a soft chuckle. "After the shooting, one of Remington's men went to a church near on the docks, close to O'Shaes, where you used to work. He told the priest that a young woman was in terrible danger and would be murdered if he did not help her. He told the priest that Remington had manipulated and brainwashed you and detailed quite a lot about the relationship the two of you had and how it came about. He also advised that priest to seek out my help."

"Kairos?" she asked. She couldn't think of anyone else who would have details of their relationship, except maybe Landon or Aunty Bea.

"We believe so," Genesis continued. "Before Kairos's arrest, we understand that he was trying to consolidate his hold on Remington's assets and men, and you were in the way. Whether that was because his enemies could use you like a bargaining chip if Remington recovered or because you were somehow in his way, we aren't sure. He wanted you out of the picture, and the only way to ensure that you got out of his way was to tell us who you really were and the danger you were in. He knew that the Twelve Tables were the only ones who had the resources and people to protect you properly from the Suebi, who were in disarray and looking to exploit what they could from the remnants of Remington's power base," he explained.

"None of them came to visit me at the hospital," she stated, having never seen anyone from her life with Remington once her bodyguard, Leila, had been sent away.

"A woman named April, who was in a relationship with Jay Snell, tried to see you. Also, a young woman named Alaina tried on the first day, but your bodyguard would not let them, or anyone but the doctors, near you," Genesis explained.

"She let you and the priest in," Olivia challenged. "Why not the people she knew?"

"Because I threatened to have her escorted from the hospital grounds if she tried to stop Father Bob or me," he said and shrugged. "I have connections there, as you know, but the following day she was arrested, along with the Suebi who were known to us."

"That tells me why you came but not why you stayed, or why you and Kairos lied to me about Remy giving me to you," she said.

"When I saw you in that bed, looking so frightened and fragile, my heart stopped," he replied as honestly as he could. "I knew that I needed to do everything I could to help you. So, I called in an expert in trauma suffered by women used in the way that I knew Remington had used you. Then Vivienne and I called your family, thinking that having familiar people around you would aid your recovery. I can see that was a mistake, but I did what I thought best when you were barely talking to anyone about what you wanted or needed."

"Your heart stopped?" Olivia lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him.

"It's a strange thing that happens to the men in my family when they meet the woman they're meant to be with. Their heart literally stops for a minute. It's terribly painful." He tried to explain the phenomenon in terms that not only she was comfortable with but he was comfortable with as well.

"You think that I'm the woman you are meant to be with?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yes," he admitted simply, with no further explanation.

"I knew you had lied about Remy giving me to you, so I thought you were lying about Remy being dead," she admitted. "But then he was dead, and I didn't know what to believe anymore."

"How did you know it was a lie?" he asked, curious about why she had been so sure that it was a lie when they had first told her. They had set it up to come from Kairos so it was more believable for her, because she wasn't talking to anyone, or eating, or looking after herself, at all. She had been acting as brainwashed as he had been led to believe she was. Now he wondered why she had been acting that way, because he doubted the whole drugging and brainwashing story.

"Remy told me all the time that he would kill me rather than see me with anyone else. I was his, and he made sure that everyone, especially me, knew that I belonged to him and him alone. He didn't let anyone touch me, not even to shake hands, and I had to be careful in crowds not to brush against anyone. In the beginning, if I made him very angry or unhappy, he said that he would kick me out and tell the men who were looking for me where I was so they could kill me. I didn't have anything of my own. No money, no place to go, no friends, so I did what I was told. There was no way that he would give me to anyone that would care for me the way you were trying to," she explained patiently. "You didn't know him, and if you did, you obviously didn't know him well. He would have killed you for touching me, and then me for letting you."

"Were you scared of him?" Genesis asked.

"He taught me how to keep him happy. He put me on a special diet and exercise program. He gave me what I needed to stay healthy and look the way he wanted. I might have been scared in the beginning, but I don't really remember. The special diet made my head fuzzy, and I don't recall much of those early weeks, but I knew that as long as I kept him happy, I had nothing to be afraid of," she said slowly, as if thinking about the question.

"Your head was fuzzy all the time in the beginning and not so much at the end?" Genesis asked, trying to understand the conditioning that Remington had put her through. Whilst he wanted a Dominant and submissive relationship with her, he didn't want or expect abject slavery because she was scared of what he might do if he was unhappy.

"He didn't threaten me once my mind started getting clearer and I knew how to make him happy. We were both happy, and I had no reason to be scared," Olivia lied. "Serena loved him, and she was his good girl."

"You were happy?" Genesis asked, unsure of the odd lilt to her voice.

"He loved Serena, and she loved him. He gave her everything she needed, and she did the same for him," she said easily. It was better that Genesis didn't know about the times they spent the night at Hermione's in the industrial room. Invariably she would be injured there, and Remy would leave her alone for days after those sessions, being looked after by others as she recovered. Those times scared her, but she did as Remy commanded because the consequences were much worse and the love that he had for her shone through when she healed again, and he was tender with her when she was able to serve him again.

Genesis heard her talk about Serena as if she was a completely different person, as she had done with Olivia until last night. He would have to talk to Vivienne about compartmentalising personalities perhaps. He hadn't tested her acceptance of the name Olivia since they had woken in the predawn. It was enough that she was talking honestly with him, for now. He lapsed into silence as he considered what she had told him about her relationship with Remington.

What Genesis had described seemed like love at first sight, and Olivia had a sick feeling that he had felt that for Serena, the good girl who could be loved, deserved to be loved. He didn't know how awful Olivia was. He didn't know what he was asking when he asked her to take her name back. The good girl that he had seen, and fallen for, in that first moment was not Olivia, the girl who always messed things up and would only drive him away in the end like she did everyone else. He didn't know what he was asking of her, and she vowed that she would try hard not to let Olivia make the same mistakes she always made. "The same mistakes I always make," she thought sadly, knowing that she had to accept that she was Olivia or risk losing the strong protective man who held her and told her he wanted her, wanted Olivia to be his forever.

"I am your Olivia," she said softly into the silence and felt his arms tighten around her and his lips drop a kiss on her head.

"Yes, you are mine, and I will keep you happy and safe. You just have to trust me, little one," Genesis said equally softly and pulled her to lie on top of him, being careful of the unprotected wound in her side. He kissed her then, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck, holding her in the deep kiss and supporting her with a hand on her lower back.

She would become his lover, his protégé, his sub. He would tell her how to live her life, and she'd do just that. If he had to go to extremes and tell her what to wear, what to read, when to masturbate and what to think about when she did, then he would, at least in the beginning of their relationship, if that was the level of control she needed. He just had to get beyond her past experiences and how they had affected her. She seemed to think that they'd made her inferior, worthy of nothing but punishment and degradation and to be controlled. He had a different opinion of her submissiveness, though, and he needed her to see it, and herself, through his eyes.

Olivia wormed her hands beneath his neck as the kiss extended, giving into the need that she felt radiating from him to ignite her own. She moved to press her hips against him and better feel his arousal, but as she moved, her damaged side protested. She grimaced into the kiss, her eyes squeezing shut.

Genesis felt her surrender to him and kiss him back, the small noises she made inflaming his need for her. Olivia's need for him matched his own as she moved but she suddenly stiffened and grimaced, and he drew her back, searching her face.

"Please," she whispered softly and tried to press forward to kiss him again.

Feeling helpless to the whispered word but not wanting to harm her, he moved, rolling Olivia to her back and moving them both to the bottom of the bed, her legs dropping down over the edge of it. She widened her thighs in a lewd welcome, moaning softly as he moved between them and bent over her to renew the feverish kiss. Genesis brought his hand to her pussy and was not surprised to find her wet and ready for him. He rolled his thumb over her clit and pressed two fingers into her, just to swallow her gasp and whimper of pleasure.