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“I will not discuss my body’s abilities with you. That is something that will be between me and my mate,” I said.

“We’re back!” someone called out. It sounded like Lukan, but my body wasn’t exactly working at full function at the moment. I looked over at Evan and growled.

“The magic. You need to remove it.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.”

I felt another ball of something enter me, and this one was energizing rather than incredibly calming. I was certainly going to discuss that with Evan at a later time, but for now, that was going to have to wait. Evan grabbed my arm again and was pulling me toward the front of the house. When we stepped into view of the entryway, I could only stare. There was no doubt in my mind who Lewis was. I knew all of the others, but when he was surrounded by them, it was quite obvious which one of them was the omega.

My body instantly started to react, and my beast pushed for me to grab our mate and run and hide away with him. I wouldn’t do that, but it was what my beast wanted. The last thing I desired was to scare my little mate.

My first impression of him was of someone who seemed irritated with the others, but that didn’t detract from how beautiful I found him. His hair was the color of golden wheat, and his eyes were the color of the sky on a clear sunny day.

I heard Lewis asking who I was, and then he looked up at Lukan. I’d been patient enough, and I gave in to my beast’s need to be closer to our mate. I closed the distance between us in three strides and stopped close enough to reach out and touch him, but didn’t.

Lewis looked up at me and whimpered. That had a different kind of effect on my body, and if I didn’t get my mate out of here soon, everyone in the room would know just how well my dick actually worked.

“I was wrong,” Lewis said quietly. “That isn’t a tingle. My body is vibrating.”

I pulled my eyes away from Lewis and looked up at Lukan in question. “Much like warlocks, our bodies vibrate when our aura gets near our mate. We don’t scent our mates like shifters do. Our mate will, of course, smell pleasing to us, but it’s not the same.”

I nodded before I looked down at Lewis. “Hello, Lewis,” I said. He made another noise, and I was beginning to wonder if this was going to be how the day was going to play out or if I would be able to convince my mate to go for a walk. Anywhere but here was preferred. I just needed to get him alone so I could talk to him freely. “I’m Vaughn.”

Lewis nodded. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “You are.”

I smiled. “Would you perhaps care to go for a walk? I realize you haven’t eaten yet, but maybe a short walk first?”

“Uh-huh. Walking is good,” Lewis said while nodding. He looked back up at Lukan. “He’s…Vaughn. My mate, Lukan.”

“Sure seems like it,” Lukan said. “Congratulations.”

Lewis continued to nod. I looked at the others. “I’ll bring him back in a bit. I’d like to talk to him though.”

“Sure,” Evan said. “And if you two happen to not make it back, we’ll understand.”

“It’s not going to be that fast, is it?” Lukan asked.

“Wouldn’t you claim your mate right away?” Evan replied. He gave my shoulder a little push. “Off you go. Enjoy your walk and your conversation. He lives over past the council building. Cute little cottage that’s bright yellow. It’s the only one, and you can’t miss it.”

“Thanks,” I said absently. I held out my hand, wondering if Lewis was going to accept it or not. He looked up at me as he slowly placed his hand in mine. He was wearing mittens, so I couldn’t feel his skin against mine, but I could be patient. We were going to have the rest of eternity to touch one another.

The others moved out of the way, and I led Lewis out the front door and into the cold. The wind had picked up a bit, and I was suddenly second-guessing myself and my idea of a walk. He wasn’t a shifter, and he would easily get cold. He was so tiny. The door closed behind us, and I looked down at Lewis, who was staring up at me. “Hi.”

“Yeah. Hi.” I grinned. When I did, Lewis made another whimper. “All right. You will have to stop the whimpering, or I’m going to pick you up and fly home and have you naked in minutes.”

Lewis gasped. At least it wasn’t another whimper that seemed to go straight to my dick.

“I wouldn’t say no. I’m fae. We don’t wait. We don’t court. We meet our mate, and then we go home with them.”

“What if you end up not liking me?”

“I can’t see that happening,” Lewis said.

“I’m old, and I’m boring.”

“You’re a gargoyle, right?” I nodded. “Aren’t you all a bit…standoffish?”

I frowned. “Does it seem like I’m being distant with you?” With others? Absolutely. But never with our mates.