Unease traveled up Theo’s spine.
“Should we go?” Theo asked. He needed to keep suspicion out of his tone. Taking the chance and following Steve’s directions was the only move that Theo had now. That didn’t mean that he would trust Steve blindly.
Steve turned and offered Theo a smile. “Yes. Sorry. I’m just glad we got out of there before the predators came out.”
While the words were right, there was still something off. “Let’s go then.”
“It should only be another couple of hours,” Steve told him.
“Lead the way,” Theo replied. He’d almost said thank you. Words were important in this realm. Theo needed to be very careful.
Steve skipped in front of them.
Garrett leaned against Theo.
“It’ll be fine,” Theo assured his friend. Even though Theo hated everything about what was happening, he was also grateful not to be there all alone. Theo hated to be alone. Now that he had his mates, Theo had believed that he would never be alone again. With four men who’d claimed to care about Theo, they were supposed to keep him safe.
Not that Theo blamed his mates. Blame wasn’t the word he would ever use. It was just that Theo wanted his mates to be looking for him. To find him. To do the worrying and heavy lifting, so to speak.
His mates.
Where were Theo’s mates?
* * * * *
Alek
“Thanks, Mah.” Alek hung up the phone before turning toward his mates. He knew that all of them wanted to be searching for Theo already but there had to be a plan in place. Alek hated it. Despised not being able to throw away rules and just go after his mate.
The worst realm that Theo could have been taken to was fae. Even the good guys weren’t always that good. Especially when it came to those in charge.
The fae were primarily divided into two opposing, yet equally dangerous, courts based on disposition. TheSeelie Court,supposedly light or benevolent, and theUnseelie Court,known for being dark or malevolent.
Truthfully, both courts held creatures that cared more about power and what they could gain from others. Those that they felt were lesser beings.
Mahah was the best at dealing with either side of the courts. Light or dark. Alek was putting all his faith in Mah’s ability to get them safe passage to search for Theo.
Although even Mah couldn’t tell Alek which side might have taken their mate. Seelie fae might be known for being good-natured but could be tricky and vengeful. If they made a deal to capture one of the chosen, they would do whatever they could to protect themselves while fulfilling their obligations.
The Unseelie loved unprovoked attacks and creating chaos. They didn’t need a reason to go after Theo. They would do it just for fun.
Neither option was good.
Not that Alek was going to have mercy for whoever tried to take Theo away from them. Chosen or not, Theo was special. The most kindhearted and loving shifter ever to be born.
It wasn’t fair.
Whoever took Theo was going to feel Alek’s wrath once he got his hands on them. Protocol and promises be damned. Someone would pay for this. And if one hair was harmed on Theo’s sweet little head, then Alek would repay that tenfold.
“Hey.” Evian bumped into Alek’s shoulder. “I sent you the list of everyone that has the ability to summon a shifter from here and into the fae realm.”
“How many?” Alek asked quietly. He didn’t want to draw the attention of his mates—more accurately Wylder—quite yet.
Carson and Tate were thankfully distracting Wylder, giving the human a quick rundown on what to expect in the fae realm and what to say and not to say. Wylder’s attention was mostly on Alek’s fathers, even if he couldn’t stop touching his face.
Wylder had never done that before.
The scar, while noticeable, hadn’t never seemed to bother Wylder. He didn’t like to talk about it but Alek knew how that injury had happened. He wasn’t sure if the others did or not.
