“Yeah, that was something else. It was quick, but it was like I could feel everyone’s magic around me.”
“In a way you can, this is one of the only times we open up our magic to each other. Nicholas smiled then tilted his head. “So, I hear you’re Bedwyr’s son. I knew your mom, we weren’t close, but Brigid was someone I called a friend. Looking at you now I can see the resemblance between you and Bedwyr.”
“It’s fine. I’m still getting used to the thought of having a father.”
“Sirius, I’m so glad you could make it,” Bedwyr said coming to stand by Nicholas.
“I’m happy I came. I got to see and feel magic at work.” Sirius bit his lip wondering if he should say more, like telling the man he was going to have a baby. “Um…I’m not sure if you know this, but Alphonso and I bought the house that used to belong to one of my mother’s relatives.”
“No, I didn’t know that, good for you both. Is Loretta still lurking around?”
“So, you know about Loretta?”
“Everyone did,” Nicholas added to the conversation. “She used to look out for us when we played in the woods as kids.”
“Alphonso said the same thing,” Sirius told them. “But no, she moved on. Did you know she was related to my mother?”
“That’s good,” Bedwyr said. “Yes, I knew of the familial connection. Maybe one day I will tell you more about what I know. I wish I could have said goodbye to Loretta.”
“I’d like that, my mom didn’t talk about her family, so I assumed she was an orphan.” All three of them stood there staring at each other, the silence dragging between them. The awkwardness between them made him very uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure what to say or do. He still couldn’t see or claim the man to be his father. He looked around and realized that it was only him, Nicholas, and Bedwyr still at the ritual spot, everyone else had left to do whatever they planned for the evening.
“I guess I better get going. I still need to get dressed for the ball.”
“Yeah, go on ahead. And I hope you have fun tonight,” Bedwyr said.
“Yeah, you too,” he told them both and started walking to his car.
A night filled with no holds bar sex with whoever and how many you want sounds like a whole lot of fun. But it will never have the passion or love I have when Alphonso and I make love.
Sirius couldn’t wait to see his mate that night. He drove back to the hospital and got dressed for the ball as well as getting Alphonso’s gift. He’d bought his costume online, and was grateful that it fit him perfectly. He shook his head wondering why no one talked Rosemary out of the costume idea. He had decided on a fashionable black suit, pairing it with matching black, white, and red stripes vest and frock coat. He inspected the joker’s mask he’d also bought, really liked the way it looked.
The mask was white with red, black, and gold accents that covered his face completely. He had to admit he was getting excited to see how long it would take Alphonso to find him. He exited his office and walked by the nurse’s station, smiling when the few working that night whistled and told Sirius he looked good as he got on the elevator. Pulling out his keys he strolled to his car, he was tickled pink that he had his own parking spot with his name and title on it. He was about to get in when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Turning around he was hit on the side of his head with something hard. The mask fell from his hand as he stumbled, his back hit his car, and he slid to the cold pavement. His vision blurred, and all he saw was the black mask covering the person’s face.
“You should have fucking stayed away,” was the last thing he heard before his world went dark.
* * *
Alphonso strolledaround the ballroom trying to find his mate’s scent. He knew that Sirius had done the ritual with the other witches, but that had been over for a bit. He’d seen a few of the coven members walking around the ballroom, either looking for their mates or already found them.
Alphonso was confident that he wouldn’t have a problem finding Sirius because he imprinted his mate’s scent on his senses. Glancing down at his watch he was getting worried instead of impatient. If Sirius was going to be late, Alphonso was sure that he would have called him. Pulling out his cellphone he went to call Sirius when he saw his uncle’s name flash on the screen.
“Hey, Uncle LaMarkus, can I call you back, I need to find out where Sirius is?”
“That’s why I’m calling, Sirius is in the hospital.”
Alphonso didn’t wait to hear the rest of what his uncle had to say and started running to his car. “What happened? Is it the baby? Is he all right?”
“I’m waiting for the doctor to get back to me. Shit, he’s pregnant?”
“Yeah, we just found out,” Alphonso told him. “You still didn’t tell me what happened?”
“From what we can tell he was attacked in the parking lot. A nurse found him on her way to her car. It looks like he was moved too.”
“Do you have any idea who attacked him
“No, the question is who has something against Sirius?”
“I don’t know. He just got to town.” Alphonso got in his car and started it up. He pulled out of his parking spot without looking to see who was coming, his only concern was getting to his mate. “I’m on my way, please, Uncle, stay with him.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Sirius is family.”
“Thank you,” Alphonso said then disconnected their call.Gods, what the hell is going on?
