After looking through every drawer and under the bed, I felt confident I hadn’t missed anything. I turned and finally looked at Oliver, he lookedpained, and hell if that didn’t make me feel like an ass. He clearly cared for Aiden, and it had seemed Aiden cared for him too, with the way they’d laughed together before Aiden spotted me.
“Can I have your number?” I asked, knowing Oliver deserved to know how Aiden was doing, and if it took him weeks to wake up, I would feel awful that Oliver would worry for that long without hearing anything.
“Oh, sure,” he said, handing me his phone. I was getting better at using their technology, but I still had to use a bit of magic to guide me as I tapped in my number. Nix or was it Juno? One of them had figured out how we could message between the worlds, so I knew it was possible from their phones too and not just our slates.
“Thank you.” I handed him back his phone and slung Aiden’s backpack on before picking Aiden up again. Now, I just needed my stuff.
My slate chose that moment to chime with an incoming call and because Aiden was in my arms, I accidentally accepted, projecting the rulers out from it and causing Oliver to see everything.
“You found him!” Trise exclaimed, her tone a bit snappy, like I’d intended on keeping it a secret.
“Wow!” Oliver gushed, stepping closer to inspect my slate. “That’s wicked cool! Where did you buy this thing?”
“Um, Nolen?” Henriette asked, her tone a bit unsure.
“I apologize,” I said, knowing I now had to wipe Oliver’s memory, or at least alter it, so I just spoke the truth, he would forget it anyway. “I found Aiden and before I’d even spoken a word to him, he kissed me.” Alecsnorted, but I kept going. “He was with his friend Oliver here.” I gestured with my head since my other hand was busy placing Aiden back on the bed. “I was packing up his things and was going to call you when I was back in my car with Aiden, but I accidentally accepted your call since he was in my arms and I fumbled with my slate.”
“I see,” Trise mused. “Is Aiden okay?”
“Unconscious,” I sighed. “I fear he won’t wake up until I make it back home, and he can’t survive that long without food or water.”
“Would a helicopter work?” Alec asked. “We can have one of the others order one to pick you up and dump you at the edge of the forest. Then it’ll be less time.”
“No. They wouldn’t be much quicker than a car, and they need to refuel too often for it to save us time. But a plane could work, if you can help me get into one.”
“We can make sure one is ready for you at the closest airport,” Trise informed me.
“So cool,” Oliver commented from my right, I’d briefly forgotten about him. “Wow,” he said, pointing to the rulers. “Who’s that handsome one?”
Grovar’s face came closer and soon it was the only face that was projected. “Bring him back here, Nolen.”
“Oliver?” I questioned.
“Yes, he’s mine,” Grovar said, his tone firm and sort of possessive.
“Hold on,” I began, feeling my headache worsening. “Are you saying Oliver is Aiden and Derek’s brother? Another one of their father’s donor children?”
“It appears so,” Grovar grunted, but I could tell he was itching to get to Oliver himself.
“I love how you claimed me and all,” Oliver said, his tone amused. “Like silver fox daddy vibes apparently does it for me, but I don’t know you people, and I doubt my parents would be okay with me leaving with a stranger.”
Having no idea what a silver fox daddy was, I mentally went through the options on how to get Oliver there. He needed to meet Grovar, and I could always use magic on his parents.
“Bring him closer,” Grovar ordered. And since he was the ruler and all, I stepped closer to Oliver so they could talk. “You, Oliver, belong to me in a way you aren’t used to in your world. Look into my eyes and tell me you don’t feel it, even through the device.”
Oliver swallowed loudly. “I do.”
“Then go with Nolen, he’ll make sure your parents are okay with it, and I promise you can go home again any time you want.”
“Okay,” Oliver whispered, his eyes full of longing and trust as he stared at Grovar’s projected face.
“Good boy,” Grovar praised, then ended the call.
I guess that meant I had two parents to convince, a plane to catch and my unconscious mate to deal with. I couldn’t wait to get home to my Derek. My mates would soon reunite and that made me hasten my steps.
Using my magic to convince Oliver’s parents what a good idea it would be for Oliver to explore the world, was easier than I’d expected. I was also surprised how little they cared for his education; had he not been monitored like the others had been with their donor father? A question I knew Grovar would find the answer to, so I tried not to think about it too much. It was actually weird how certain Grovar was that Oliver belonged to him. I knew Grovar had yet to meet his mate, but the rest of us had a pull to leave our world, he had seemed content to stay, or maybe he felt he needed to, because of his ruling status.
Oliver was asleep next to me on the private plane we somehow magically made free for our use. I knew it was one of my team mates who’d secured it, but no idea who. I was thankful for it, in just a few hours, I would be home with Aiden and then I could kiss Derek again. I missed him like crazy, even with Aiden in my arms, I still missed my other mate. When I could finallylay with them both at my sides, I would be content for the first time in my life. I knew now what I had longed for, what I had needed.
