Duron looked away, and for a moment, Beaumont wondered if he should push or leave it and pretend everything was all right. They hadn’t known each other very long, and Duron had a life experience Beaumont would never understand. But when Duron spoke, his words were a shock.
“Selina is a very pretty woman.”
“You fancy her?” The words were out before Beaumont could take them back.
His eyes hard, Duron snapped, “No, not that. Never that. You said yourself she looks like your daughter, and daughters often look like their mothers. So I’m thinking that Eugenie was probably a really pretty woman, too. And then I wonder what the hell you must be thinking being with someone like me. That maybe you regret it.”
There were so many things Beaumont could’ve said, teasing his mate about how if he fancied Selina, it would be twisted incest or just scoffing at the very idea that Beaumont could look at a woman after what he and Duron had shared. He’d asked Duron to tell him what was bothering him. Duron had shared that and not for the first time, either.
“Clearly, I’m not doing a good job of letting you know just how important you are to me,” he said quietly, taking Duron’s hand in his. “I’ve never been good at talking about feelings. I generally don’t have a lot of time for people, full stop. What I feel for you… it’s all-encompassing. It’s like every cell in my body is in tune with yours. You make me proud, you make me happy, you’re so damned sexy it’s a struggle sometimes to think of anything else.”
That made Duron grin, and Beaumont basked in the warmth coming through their bond. “All I want right now is to get this case finished. To find the Devil, and if I find answers about what happened to my family, then I do… or not. I want to take you home. I want us to build a life together.”
“Do you have a lovely home?”
Beaumont snorted. “I live in a mausoleum. God knows why, I just felt it was a way of stopping people from getting close to me. But now I have you. Do you like house hunting? We could find something together, that suits us both.”
“I’ve never done it.” Duron nudged his shoulder against Beaumont’s. “We’ll need something big. My bear loves a cozy den.”
“Then we’ll find one, wherever you want,” Beaumont promised. “I think I could do with some cozy in my life, too. Do you see now, though? I don’t want anyone else. I don’t look at Selina and dream of my dead wife. I told you I would never disrespect Eugenie’s memory, and I won’t, but my heart is in your strong and capable hands, no one else’s. Does that help ease any concerns you have?”
“Thank you.” Duron nodded. Then he flicked his head back to the house. “We should go and look at those records. There might be some information about who this father is that Selina wants to impress so badly.”
But when Kylo gave them access to his office, and they opened the files, every single page was blank—wiped clean, with a distinct and familiar magical signature over every page.
“Damn it!” Kylo flung the folder he was holding against the wall. “I trusted her. That was Nico’s file—I know what was in it.” He elaborated on what he’d read in the now blank files, which was minor consolation when they couldn’t prove fuck all in any court with blank pages. “I was there the day we pulled the stuff from that lion’s office. Valuable information completely wiped…”
“Where is she now?” Beaumont said urgently. Maybe he would have to do some shaking after all.
“Gone.” Kylo shook his head. “There one minute, gone the next. No one saw her go. You found her once, do you think…?”
“No.” Duron interrupted. “We don’t need to find the girl. She’s clearly being manipulated by whoever this father figure is.”
“These files could’ve told us who that person might be.” Beaumont dropped his pages onto the desk. “Now we have nothing.”
“We have her scent,” Duron said. “Remember, your son’s genetics is only part of her scent signature, which means one of the other parts is the father she refers to. We track that, not her. Kylo, we’re going to need some equipment. My mate and I are going camping.”
Chapter Seventeen
Duron
The night air was humid. The rainforest was alive with the sounds of nocturnal animals as they went about their business of searching for food. They had left after finding the files devoid of information, a sense of urgency leading them back into the night in search of answers. Duron wasn’t absolutely convinced they’d find anything, but as Wyatt was working on gaining access to the Devil, this was the only avenue they had other than sitting around talking more. Which, for Duron and Beaumont, who were both on the same page, wasn’t an option.
That did not mean his bear was happy. His elephant was in its element, trudging through the muggy heat of the rainforest. Duron was hard pressed to not want to rip his own head off with all the complaining his animals were doing.
The weight of the pack, and thoughts of what was inside were an excellent distraction. They had ladened the pack on his back with everything they needed. And if he had slipped in a tube of lube, no one needed to know that. Duron wanted to make sure that if the opportunityaroseto let Beaumont reinforce his earlier claims, then being prepared was a wise move. Bugs and insects gave him a wide berth, which, in places like this, was a good thing, especially if he got naked. No one wanted something biting their butt… except maybe he wouldn’t mind Beaumont doing that to his.
The increase in his scent alerted his wayward thoughts and got his mind switching to his raccoon. His vision at night was perfect for going into densely wooded areas. The only issue was the raccoon pushed to be set free. Nighttime was when he got a chance to be allowed out, and his raccoon didn’t think that happened often enough.
Usually, it was his bear that got out at night, as Duron slept in that form for comfort when he was outside. However, having his mate with him, he wanted to ensure Beaumont was comfortable. Duron was unsure if his mate was used to sleeping on hard ground. He couldn’t see it, not when he lived in a fancy house.
His bear and elephant tracked the scent that was strongest in Selina. His rumbling raccoon he worked on ignoring, as he mused about house hunting with Beaumont.
Such things were a strange concept. Marvin and Ajani didn’t appear to want to have their own house. Although Ben had bought an island for Teilo and Nico. They liked space. That was obvious with how Nico was around the babies at the baby shower Marvin had for his gorgeous son. Teilo was as happy as a clam. Nico, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to attack any of the toys with the knife he wore strapped to his body. One Duron hadn’t missed.
Duron understood the mistrust Nico displayed. It was hard to act differently when they’d had ingrained training. Those habits would be hard to break, even for cute babies. Duron liked the babies, and secretly loved it when they crawled over to him and tugged on his clothes, wanting him to carry them. They smelled of innocence to him. Something sadly lacking in his life. Death was something he was more accustomed to.
He gave Beaumont a side eye glance. His night vision picked up all the details of what was around them. And how Beaumont’s eyes were reptilian in appearance as he moved as stealthy as Duron.
