Theo groaned at the cheesiness of that comment.
“Not good?” Alek asked.
“I think you should leave the jokes for Wylder. That is so something that he would say,” Theo pointed out.
“I believe he said it to me a few days ago,” Alek admitted.
That was even worse. Theo held out his hands. “Now you have to help me dress since you made my knees weak.”
Alek snorted. “And you said my jokes were bad.”
“But it’s true!” Theo said. And he was kind of tired and wouldn’t mind a nap.
“No sleeping.” Alek pulled Theo off the bed.
“Fine,” Theo whined. At least he would get to see his favorite people.
* * * * *
Alek
Stepping out of the portal holding Wylder’s hand, Alek called. “We’re here!”
“Boys!” Tate walked from the front room. “We’re so happy that you have accepted our invitation to dinner.”
Immediately, Alek knew that something was wrong. Tate was smiling but his energy was off. “What happened?” Alek questioned.
Tate shook his head. “Let me greet everyone.”
Tate kissed Alek’s cheek before hugging Wylder, then Theo. He shook hands with Dario and Mitch then motioned them forward. ‘I have drinks set out for all of us.”
“Where’s Father?” Alek asked. Vadir would tell him what was going on. He never tried to keep things from them. Tate was the worrier of the group, wanting to protect his boys.
“He will be down in a moment,” Tate said with a frown.
That was not the answer he wanted. It wasn’t really an answer at all. Alek could feel the energy of all his fathers in the house, so they were all home. A chill traveled up his spine.
He followed behind his mates, dragging his feet a little, hoping that one of his other fathers would be around.
“Everything okay?” Dario asked, dropping back to whisper in his ear.
“Something is going on. Tate is worried,” Alek shared.
“I’m sure they will tell us,” Dario said. “And whatever it is, we’ll help them through it.”
Alek nodded. They were the fiercest family in all the realms. His fathers had been the chosen for so long that they had allies everywhere. He entered the front room to find Tate passing out drinks. Non-alcoholic for the boys and Vadir’s preferred choice of drink.
Tate crossed the room to hand him and Dario their drinks. “Everything is fine.”
“Of course it is!” Carson clapped his hands as he entered the room. “We’re just so happy to see you all.”
Alek sipped the strong liquor, letting it burn down his chest as Carson greeted his mates.
Vadir, Seb, and Mah joined him and Alek nearly dropped his crystal tumbler. Mah had been crying. It was obvious with his red-rimmed eyes even though it looked like he’d tried to hide it.
Mah didn’t cry. He was the strongest man that Alek knew. He’d raised five rambunctious and stubborn boys, never letting them doubt their abilities. Mah would argue and take on Vadir if it came to something that he believed in.
He started forward, but Vadir gave a sharp shake of his head. Alek stopped. Were they going to have to sit through a full meal before he found out what was happening? Alek hated to sound like Theo but that wasn’t fair. Okay, no he didn’t hate sounding like his sweet mate. Theo had no problem speaking up for what he wanted. The boy had grown so much from that first time that he’d run away from them when the subject of mates came up.
