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I nodded.
“Huh,” Phineas said. “Did you not want to bring him?”
I sighed. “I just met him, like I said. The plan was to look for him later and see how things go.”
“He’s here?” Phineas asked.
“He is on Treasure Ridge, yes.”
Philip’s eyes widened. “Is he another alpha? Are you going to be mated to an enforcer?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “No and no, and that’s all I’m going to say for the time being. I haven’t even had an opportunity to talk to him much.” Not at all, really. They didn’tneed to know that yet. All that I knew was he was supposed to be here later, and I had every intention of at least introducing myself and seeing if he wanted to go out on a date.
Suddenly, there was a new fear. Did I remember how to date? I’d not been on one in…twenty-four years. I’d finally ended my very long, dry spell after Philip mated with Knox and neither of the twins were living with me any longer. But then I’d suddenly found myself living with rescued omegas, and my opportunity to get away at night was no longer there. After I moved off Treasure Ridge, I’d simply not had the time or really the desire to search for someone.
“When do we get to meet him?” Philip asked.
I chuckled. “I’m not sure. Can I get to know him even a little before I bring him around?”
“You should—” Knox cut Philip off with a hand over his mouth. I looked at my brother’s mate and raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t want to know,” Knox said. “We wish you luck, and please let us know if you need anything at any point.”
“Thanks,” I told him.
“If he’s not an enforcer, but he was here…” Phineas said. He looked up at Ramsey, who was doing his best to not only distract his mate but entertain Hazel. “Do you know who his mate is? The two of you were quite talkative on the way here, it seemed.”
“And how would you know?” Ramsey said. “You were busy with Alexander.” Ramsey leaned in close. “Did you two figure out why you’re out of energy all of the time?” Ramsey looked up and stared at his brother-in-law. “He’s all right, isn’t he?”
“He’s fine,” Alexander said. “Let us know if you need us to keep Hazel for you soon. She and Rowan can have a long sleepover.”
Phineas immediately looked down at his hands, which were in his lap. Hazel had crawled off and was sitting in the middleof the blanket with her cousins. It took a moment for Ramsey to pick up on whatever it was that was happening.
“You’re not pregnant,” Ramsey said quietly. “You’ve not had a heat—” Ramsey’s eyes flew up to meet Alexander’s. “He’s going to have a heat?”
“Most likely. It makes sense since Hazel is eighteen months,” Alexander said.
I saw the look on Ramsey’s face and felt for Phineas. Raiden and Alexander would only ever have Rowan because Alexander had had such a difficult delivery. Ramsey had been terrified that Phineas would become pregnant with a gargoyle baby, and he would possibly lose his baby and mate at the same time. I understood. I, of course, didn’t want to think about the possibility of losing one of the twins.
“We can watch Hazel if the two of you want to go and talk about things,” I told the pair. Ramsey and I might not care much for each other, but we both loved Phineas and Hazel, and neither of us wanted anything to happen to either.
“Would you mind?” Ramsey asked.
“Of course not,” I told him. “She’s busy playing with her cousins.” Ramsey didn’t wait for anyone to say anything else. He simply stood up, taking Phineas with him. They walked off, and I could tell that Ramsey was not comfortable at all. I looked to his twin, wondering if he had any suggestions.
“I get it,” Philip said before I could. “But is Ramsey just going to force Phineas to not have any other children? Ever?” Philip reached out. “I understand why. What happened with you, Alexander, was terrible.”
It was Alexander who spoke up, not Raiden. “It was also not the norm. Ramsey is understandably cautious. But Phineas said neither of them were really tracking his heats and when they should be expected. I think that perhaps it’s simply that he wascaught off guard and he needs some time alone with his mate to discuss things.”
Philip seemed to digest those words before he nodded. We sat there for a little while longer, and when the noise around us seemed to increase, I realized what time it was.
“Are you all good with watching the little ones?” I asked as I stood up. I needed to go searching to see if I could find Beau anywhere. It was after six, and that meant he should be here somewhere. Didn’t it?
“If we weren’t, does that mean you would stay?” Philip asked.
I shook my head before I took a few steps away. Once I was on the mission to find my mate, my tiger finally started to relax, but I knew that would be short-lived if I wasn’t able to at least see Beau again. I had no idea if he would even recognize what we were to one another, but I was going to at least try to talk to him.
Not knowing exactly who Evan was, what he looked like, or any of the other fae enforcers, it took a while to locate them. Normally, my tiger would have been able to track Beau through scent, except that I’d not gotten close enough to him earlier. But there was no doubt that the group that was joking around and having a good time was who I was searching for. I didn’t see Beau there with them though, and that had me scanning the surrounding area. I spotted him walking with a slightly taller version of him and had to assume that was his brother, Evan.
