Eternity, our mate, it belongs to us…
~/~/~/~
Sometime later, Conrad stirred, something tickling at the edges of his consciousness. The darkness alerted him to the fact it was the middle of the night. How he felt suggested he’d slept for maybe a couple of hours. His body ached pleasantly from when he’d untied Kylo and he’d showed his enthusiasm for Conrad’s ass, enough that he’d come again untouched.
He grinned at the darkness and reached out to find the bed beside him empty. The grin disappeared as the reason for why he’d woken became clear. He sat up, his senses searching for Kylo. Up off the bed, his animal’s vision helped him to find some underwear to slip on before he left the bedroom, padding silently through the quiet house, going in search of Kylo.
He found him sitting, nursing a cup of coffee, and wearing a look that had Conrad going to grab a mug of coffee to join his mate. He sat and took a sip of the coffee, letting the bitter taste burst through his system and giving it a wake-up boost as he waited.
Dark, troubled eyes met his, and Conrad saw what the issue was. “You need to speak to James.” It wasn’t a question, yet Kylo nodded.
“I need…”
“Answers,” Conrad finished when Kylo looked to struggle.
“Yes. Will you help me?”
Chapter Eighteen
Kylo
It took two days to get a call connected to Wyatt and James. Two days where Kylo fretted about what Selina might do. And at other times he laughed as his mom seemed to make it her life’s mission to make Conrad feel as mothered as possible. When she came back from the shops on day two with a pile of T-shirts in Conrad’s size, and three pairs of underpants, Kylo had to leave the kitchen, staggering as he doubled over with laughter at the look on Conrad’s face.
It wasn’t the underpants so much. Kylo’s mom knew her boys didn’t wear them. Kylo owned a couple of pairs, just like his brothers did. They were more for formal occasions where thin suit pants showed off everything they were blessed with that might not be suitable for public events. Kylo’s mom had gone for more personalized options for her newest son. The memory of Conrad holding up a pair of scant thong-like underpants, which had “I’ll rise to any occasion,” emblazoned on the front—Kylo didn’t know what was funnier—his mom’s innocent expression, or Conrad’s bright red face as he muttered, “thank you.”
There were some serious moments as well. Kylo’s dad pulled him aside at one point, asking about the house wards after the ones Selina had put up had mysteriously disappeared. In a way, that was a relief. Now Kylo knew how strong she was magically, he wouldn’t put it past her to ward their home so none of the family could get in it. He’d had them tweaked before, but clearly, Selina had other ideas and withdrew hers completely.
A chat with his dad, who had made some new contacts on his travels, saw the arrival of a man in a coat made of feathers who set up new wards, accepting the basket of food Kylo’s mom gave him, before disappearing back into the jungle. It was incredible how different the vibe of the house was, with completely new wards in place.
In the meantime, Conrad was working with Kelvin Thalassa over the phone, arranging for a video call, which Conrad said was the best Kylo could hope for if he wanted to speak to James. At the appointed hour, he and Conrad shut themselves in their room, and Kylo faced the flickering screen, feeling nervous. He rubbed his sweaty hands on his pants and let out a long breath.
“You won’t actually be talking to James,” Conrad reminded him. “Wyatt’s worked really hard with him to make this happen, as a favor to me. Speaking to James personally is not something Wyatt or James will agree to. James has agreed to answer your questions. He’ll pass them onto Wyatt via their mind link, and Wyatt will pass that information onto us.”
“I know. I know. Wyatt was very clear about his instructions.” Kylo didn’t say it, but he desperately hoped to catch a glimpse of James, and he really hoped that would happen during the video call. The man he’d spent twenty years chasing would want to look at him. Kylo was sure of it. Or at least he hoped James would.
Conrad would likely never understand how badly Kylo needed to lay eyes on James—the man he still privately thought of as Devil. There had been many times over the years where Kylo wondered if he had seen the man just randomly on the streets. Perhaps James was the handsome stranger he noticed at a coffee shop, or maybe the man was in the guise of a homeless person who turned his face when Kylo drove past. Kylo had never known if he had caught so much as a glimpse of the man he’d devoted his life to finding.Just once,he told himself,just once I want to see what the man who haunts my life looks like.
The computer dinged, and Wyatt’s face appeared on the screen. “Conrad.” Wyatt nodded at his friend, who was standing behind Kylo’s chair. “Mated life suits you. Is that a new band shirt from the 80’s?”
“Kylo’s mom got it for me.” Conrad ran his hand down the front of his new vintage T-shirt. “I think she likes me. She’s very huggy.”
Wyatt laughed, the sound only slightly distorted by the microphone. Kylo already knew the Thalassas had set it up, so the call couldn’t be tracked in any way, by any means—another insistence from Wyatt. “I’m pleased for you. Truly. But, we have twenty minutes, and Kylo, I understand you have questions for my mate. He can hear you, regardless he will not speak. If he chooses not to answer any questions you might have about his past actions, then he has the right to just not reply, and I will tell you if that happens. Is that acceptable?”
It had to be. Kylo wasn’t given any choice, so he nodded even as his jaw tightened. “I appreciate you doing this. However, I don’t want to talk about James as such. My questions are about Selina, his daughter.”
“The magic user?” Wyatt tilted his head slightly to one side. “That is… unexpected. Go on.”
Letting out a long breath, Kylo said, “Selina has been pestering me since you two disappeared, determined that her father wasn’t dead, and that I needed to find him.” Talking about James in the third person helped Kylo keep his focus where it needed to be. “I admit, at the time, I believed she was just an innocent woman wracked with grief over losing her family. Various actions recently indicate I was very wrong.”
Wyatt’s eyes narrowed. “What happened?”
Conscious of the time limit they had, Kylo simply said, “She kidnapped my parents from the airport. When Conrad and I went to save them, Selina was talking… something she’d never done before, or should I say we’ve never heard her do before. We overheard her getting progressively angrier, almost unhinged. What she said.” Kylo caught his breath, which had quickened as he tried to get everything out in the time allowed.
“She said that her father was a construct—she specifically said he washerconstruct,hercreation. I need to understand what she meant by that. We also have reason to believe she was deliberately created, as a female, I mean, rather than simply a mistake being allowed to live because she was of no consequence. Some clarification on that—a reason. I need something. She’s threatening my family now.”
“Well, shit.” Kylo distinctly heard a hiss, and it didn’t come from Wyatt. After a sharp glance from Wyatt off-screen, the noise stopped. “She’s unraveling, and that doesn’t bode well for you two.” Wyatt fell quiet, and Kylo assumed he was listening to James in his head.
“Selina was a beautiful child.” Kylo realized Wyatt was quoting James’ words. “Back at that time, it never crossed my mind a girl could be born. For some reason, the scientist, the doctor who created the brothers… wanted her dead. I could not allow that. I was not then as I am now.”
