“I most certainly do not! I don’t think the back of the tree should be neglected. It probably feels lopsid..” I stopped because Lero had succeeded in distracting me. I sniffed the air, trying to smell who he was sniffing. Dead people sometimes had no scents. Incubi and succubi usually had some sort of scent. They usually smelled like sex, flowers, or candy. Though, the last few years had taught me there was a million invisible ways people could show up. The only thing I ruled out was his invisible friend being from my best friend Ni’s jaguar pard. Their members could find their true-mates by drinking a potion that made them show up where their mates were but that was well known enough that I didn’t think Lero would hide it.
“Mori,” he sighed. “Just leave it be. I don’t really owe anyone an explanation. I’m not a little kid anymore. You don’t have to understand it or be okay with it. You just have to leave it alone and if you open your mouth to say you’re going to call my dads, it’s going to prove just how old you are.”
I let out a long, slow breath and racked my brain for anything that might convince Lero to let me help him.
“Has it crossed your mind that I don’t need your help?” Lero asked, picking up on my thoughts over our family link. “Just because you don’t know what’s up, doesn’t mean something bad is happening.”
“Lero, you know if that changes, you can tell me, right? Like there isn’t anything invisible or otherwise that you can’t tell me?”
“I know, Mori, and I appreciate that. Just explaining it…” he sighed and shook his head. “One day you’ll understand. One day it’ll all come together for you.”
“Lero, you’re too young to talk like that,” I sighed.
“No, I’m not. Now go on back inside and let me have some peace.”
I hated leaving him outside alone with whatever the invisible man was but unless I was willing to cause a scene or call his parents there was nothing else, I could do. My carrier told me to leave it alone but such a course of action had never been in my nature.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Preston
Nightshade Bear Territory
We left the tree decorating party with Baby Andy and Mori in tow. The latter was helpful to carry all the leftovers and desserts our parents sent us home with. Yule was still a week away and there were so many seasonal desserts I hadn’t had a single bite of this year. There was still time and then would come the New Years food too.
“And you’re sure you’re done matingmooning?” Mori asked us as we walked home.
“I don’t know that we’ll ever be done, Mori,” I teased him and squeezed Wess’s hand with my free hand. “But it’s time for you and Andy to come home. Besides, if we leave you to your own devices much longer Lero’s going to beat you up.”
“As if he could,” he rolled his eyes. “He’s going to get eaten by an invisible man.”
Wess side eyed him and let out a long breath. What was everyone’s obsession with Lero recently? Sure, he might need a little extra attention since they never did find him another lastminute Mated for the Holidays match but surely they could stop watching him like he was a crazy person.
“Stop!” Wess hissed and we all froze. Even baby Andy went still in my arms and hid his face in my chest. Wess sniffed the air and a second later Mori and I were sniffing too. Big boot prints lined the sidewalk the rest of the way to our house and then up our walk. A shadow flickered in the big picture window. Wess passed off the rest of the desserts he carried to Mori’s levitating stack. Mori grunted as the extra weight hit his magic but he didn’t complain.
My heart thrummed in my ears, and I wished my machete was in my hand instead of under my armchair. The door was ajar as if we hadn’t pulled it closed behind us when we left. Except we had. I checked that it was locked three times before we left for the Yule party as had become my habit since the whole Sharon Claudis mess started. Wess didn’t call out or warn whoever was inside. He kicked the door and icy air bolted into the house as he did so.
“Shit! It’s me!” Colton’s voice carried down the sidewalk, and I raced up the path, slipping and sliding on ice, as Baby Andy held on for dear life.
“It’s me!” Colton said again as ice crashed into something inside the house.
“Wess!” I called out now that I knew there wasn’t some mad woman waiting inside the house to sacrifice my baby to some long forgotten magical gods. “Wess! Mate! Babe!”
Colton was nearly behind the tree with ornaments all over the floor. Thankfully, Mori had cast a ‘don’t break me’ spell onthem after the last broken ornament. Wess stood panting in the middle of the room.
“Babe!” I said, sliding Baby Andy into Wess’s arms. It was the quickest way I knew to calm down any decent alpha.
“Sorry, Preston,” Colton said, sliding out from behind the tree.
Mori burst into the house, the food boxes chasing behind him and went straight to the tree’s aid.
“I was bringing presents to surprise you. I had on pheromone blocker spray so you could tell Andy they were from Santa bringing them early. Well, that’s how I signed the tags anyway,” Colton explained. “I thought I had a bit more time before you guys got back. I counted on the debating to last longer than it did, I guess.”
“That’s why it smells like candy canes,” I said mostly to myself.
While Mori fussed about the tree, working to ensure it would survive the cold blasts it just received, I checked on Colton who had thankfully dodged whatever icy bolts my mate had shot at him. Colton was fine and maybe even a little impressed with Wess’s speed but my mate didn’t budge from his spot.
“Who else is with you?” Wess finally asked and I sniffed the air out of habit.
