Page 18 of Roman
I shook my head. “You aren’t. I’m trying to convince my tiger it is not a good idea to go running around the mountaintop and searching for him.” I was actually just about to give up and do exactly that before Phineas knocked on the door.
“Well, maybe you should. That’s what I did when I went looking for Ramsey. I just followed my nose, and when I found the place that scented like him most, I curled up on his little back porch and waited. Probably not the best thing to do, but it was what my fox felt needed to be done at that time.” Phineas slid off the bed. “I hope things work out for you and Beau, Roman. And that you don’t have to wait too long for your mate. You, more than anyone, deserve someone to call your own and who can finally give you your own children.”
I slowly shook my head. “I don’t need to have children, Phineas. They aren’t a make-or-break thing for me.” Did I want them? Yes, but if they weren’t what Beau desired the most, that would be fine with me. We’d talked about families briefly, but weneeded to have a more private setting to discuss everything that really needed to be said.
“You are an amazing father, Roman. It would be sad to not see you with children of your own. You were so wonderful to me and Philip. I know we didn’t necessarily believe so at the time, but we did know that you loved us, and you were doing what was needed to keep us all safe.”
There were so many mistakes along the way, and I didn’t have the heart to tell the twins that I had almost failed on more than one occasion. I had done my best, but even I had slipped up at times. Ramsey’s sudden appearance in the doorway kept me from saying anything more.
“There you are,” he said as he took a step into the room. “Is everything all right?”
“It is,” I answered before my brother. “He was offering an early congrats on my hopefully impending mating.” I shook my head. “Although I’m not sure I’ll be mated by the time I see the pair of you again.” I stood and held out my arms for Phineas. He closed the distance between us, and I wrapped him up in a hug. He was tiny in my arms, but he and Philip had always been. “I love you, Phineas. Nothing will ever change that,” I whispered to him. “Now, go back to your mate and enjoy your time with him.” I looked up at Ramsey as I let my brother go. “Thank you for everything. But I’m going to drop my clothing on your back deck and go for another run. I won’t be back this evening,” I told him.
“There is no need for you to stay away,” Ramsey told me.
I shook my head. “There is. My tiger will not settle, and I know it’s because Beau isn’t here with me. It’s too soon for that though, and I’m going to settle my other half by exploring the area a little. It’s been a while since I’ve been up here for a good run—earlier wasn’t nearly long enough. I’ll be sure to grab my clothing in the morning though.” I glanced between the two. “Iwish you both the best in the upcoming weeks. I know that no matter what happens, the family will be here for the two of you.”
Of course I didn’t wish for anything to happen to my brother. Either of them, for that matter. Phineas was young though, and despite his small size, he was strong. If he were to end up experiencing a difficult pregnancy, I would do anything I could to help him. We all would.
“You don’t have leave,” Ramsey said.
“I don’t feel pressured to do so. But you must remember what it was like in the beginning before you claimed Phineas. I was horrible to the two of you and made you wait. I do not deserve the kindness the two of you are offering now but appreciate it. I must go though.” I tried to convey to Ramsey that my tiger wasn’t really giving me much of an option at this point. It had been easier before Phineas came to talk, but now I knew there would be no way to keep him from having his way. He wanted to at least scout out where our mate was and ensure he was safe. I had no doubt that was the case, but my tiger wasn’t exactly being rational at the moment.
“I can perhaps help some,” Ramsey said. “I do not know which exact house number, but I know that Evan and Beau live in the middle row that faces the council building.”
I smiled at my brother-in-law. “Thank you. That will certainly make things a bit easier. I have no plans to knock on the door, but the hope is that if I’m a bit closer to him, my tiger will settle enough to rest.”
I could curl up and sleep anywhere on the mountain. It wasn’t as if a white tiger would be mistaken for being an out-of-place native species to the area. Not only that, but many of the enforcers knew my scent from the days of me running the council’s store.
Ramsey pulled Phineas from the room, and after I heard their footsteps fade away into their own room down the hallway,I turned back to the bed. I wasn’t sure if Phineas would want me to strip and change it or not, so I pulled the covers up and made the bed.
Within minutes, I had let myself out of his back door and stripped off my clothing. Once it was folded and placed on one of the lounge chairs on the back deck, I knelt down and smiled as my tiger chuffed in my mind. It only took moments for him to come out, and when my enhanced human eyesight sharpened even more in the darkness, I scanned the immediate area before shaking out my coat.
With ease, I padded down off the back deck and onto the soft grass. It felt damp beneath the pads of my feet, telling me that we’d hit dew point already. It wasn’t as if that was an issue for me. My tiger had no issues with any type of terrain that I’d ever encountered before.
Knowing the general direction I needed to go, I headed toward the council building. The mountaintop had changed quite a bit since my brothers and I had first moved here. There were not only more buildings around the council building itself, but there were many more houses. Some were in neighborhoods, some in single rows, some scattered in various places on the mountaintop.
The single enforcer housing had also been added to, despite many of the once-single enforcers now living in mated housing. I chuckled in my mind. It seemed as if the enforcers, and the council in general, were on the fates’ radar when it came to being matched with mates. I had always assumed I wasn’t going to be so fortunate since I wasn’t an enforcer. Apparently, I had been wrong.
It only took minutes for me to travel from Ramsey’s house to the council building. Once there, I ventured behind to where the single enforcers lived. What was my intention? Nothing too specific, except to maybe see if I could scent my mate around oneof the units more than others. Sure, he and his brother had come through here hours ago, but so had many others. I might be able to locate him, but if not, my tiger was already calmer just being closer to where Beau was.
Was this going to be an issue for me? Possibly. Like any other alpha, until I’d claimed Beau, I was going to be a bit territorial about my mate. Actually, that wasn’t completely true. I was going to be possessive our entire lives. It was just how we were. I had been so harsh with Ramsey in the beginning, and it took a lot of self-reflecting to be able to step back and let him and Phineas have the mating they deserved. And now? He had been nothing but helpful when it came to me having any chance with Beau.
I made it to the center building, and immediately, a familiar scent that I hoped to have next to me for centuries to come jumped out at me. I froze and looked around, wondering if Beau had been by here recently. Why was his scent so prominent?
“You’re close, but he’s not there,” a voice said from a distance. I didn’t need them to speak loudly in order for me to hear them though.
I turned, looking toward the sound, and found a completely different fae standing against the building. This one, I had only seen from a distance earlier.
“I’m Lukan,” he told me. It wasn’t as if I could talk to him in my current form though. “Beau lives there with his brother.” He pointed at the building he was leaning against but over to his right. “Two doors over. But he’s not there. He and Evan were having an argument earlier, and Beau left.” Lukan pointed behind him. “He’s in my spare bedroom, sleeping.”
That absolutely wasn’t what I wanted to hear. The flash of anger was instant, and a bit unexpected at the level I was experiencing. I wanted nothing more than to rush into the housethat Lukan had indicated and tear into Evan for making my mate upset. At the same time, I needed to comfort my mate.
“Don’t worry, big guy.”
I looked back at Lukan and realized I’d been growling while staring at the house Beau lived in.
“The other guys are having a sit-down with Evan. We all love Beau like he was our little brother, and the fact that he’s been gifted a mate is amazing. Evan is struggling with the fact that his brother won’t have only him in his life anymore.”
