Page 63 of The Maestro's Mates
Wolf glared at Justin, and for a moment, Justin worried the man might hit him. But finally, Wolf’s eyes relaxed, and he replied, almost in a whisper.
“I… Neither of us can escape the past, not with our parents. And I know my childhood wasn’t his fault. But…”
He glanced back at the house looming behind him but didn’t say more. Justin swallowed and asked once again.
“Can you help me? Please.”
Wolf sighed and stepped back.
“I don’t have a way to reach him. Linda might, but she won’t help you. If anyone believes in keeping family business in the family, it’s her. I’m sorry. Best to leave Veronica and Sebastian to themselves.”
“Maybe they’ll work out a truce,” Wolf added, although from his expression it was clear he didn’t believe that likely at all.
Justin simply nodded. If he couldn’t get help here, he knew where to turn.
Milesof colorful costumes lay out in front of Justin. A melange of textures and time periods, the collection was overwhelming in size and scope. He’d never been in the basement of the opera house before, having no reason to visit the huge storage space. Pavel had said it would be safe to speak here.
A few rows in, his maestro stood, arms folded, next to a metric ton of shoes separated into clear plastic bags. His face was inscrutable, although that was typical. Even so, Justin caught a glimpse of anxiety in Pavel’s eyes.
What Justin wanted, more than anything, was to go to the man, to wrap his arms around the gargoyle’s strong back, to hold and be held. To taste Pavel on his lips.
But this wasn’t the time for that.
“What’s happened? Where is Sebastian?” An undercurrent of bottled rage simmered beneath Pavel’s flat tone.
Justin swallowed, the smell of dust and old fabric filling his nose. “He went after his sister. He’s been gonefor four days. Wolf… His brother said to leave them to each other. But Sebastian should have been back by now.”
“Where?” Pavel pushed the word through his clenched jaw.
Shaking his head, Justin stepped in closer to his mate. The gargoyle wasn’t angry with him, but the furious aura he exuded was intimidating. Reaching out his hand, Justin rested it on Pavel’s bicep.
“I don’t know. He used some kind of spell to find her. She was more than thirty miles away. That’s all I know.”
Pavel’s jaw dropped open, and a bellowing roar issued forth. Justin flinched but didn’t remove his hand, instead squeezing lightly with his fingers.
“How do we find him?” Justin asked.
Breaking away, Pavel started toward the elevator. “I can follow our bond. It’s not complete yet, but it’s stronger than I ever expected. Strong enough to track him. Gargoyles are good at that.”
Pavel stopped at the elevator door, pressing the button and turning back to Justin.
“You should stay at your covenhouse. We don’t know if his sister has people in the city.”
“What?!” Heat rushed to Justin’s face. He tamped down the anxiety blooming in his stomach and sped toward Pavel. His footfalls clicked like an ever-increasing metronome on the concrete floor below. “You aren’t going without me.”
“It isn’t safe.” Pavel broke away from Justin’s gaze.
Justin would have none of that. The conductor might look fifteen years older than him and might actually bethree thousandyears older than him, but Justin wasn’t his ward, nor his child.
He reached and grasped the gargoyle’s jaw in his hand,pulling his eyes back to him. Pavel’s eyes went wide, perhaps shocked at the slight man’s strength.
“I am a vampire,” Justin growled. “I’m not breakable. And I’m not getting left behind when my mates are in danger.”
Pavel grabbed Justin’s wrist, pulling his hand away. “We won’t complete the bond?—”
If Justin had rolled his eyes any harder, his eyeballs would have dislodged from their sockets. This man was so infuriatingly stubborn. How could he be so lacking in self-awareness?
“You are about to fly who knows how many miles and maybe fight a whole bunch of witches to save Sebastian. You don’t do that for an acquaintance. Or a student. Whether you like it or not, we are your mates.”
