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“I just…” Perry swallowed. “I don’t want them to go, Seb. I am not allowed outside the house to visit our friends and family, and now I’m to be without my boys as well?”
“It is for their safety.”
“I know.” Perry hung his head and looked very miserable indeed. “I understand that they must go, but… what if this persists? What if we never catch who is responsible?”
“We will.”
It looked like Perry had something to say to that, but whatever it was didn’t make it past his lips. Instead, he wrapped his arms around himself dejectedly and sighed.
“The boys will leave tomorrow,” Sebastian said when his mate was silent. “And we will sleep in the hoard room at night.”
Perry opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped when the door opened. He whipped his head around and Sebastian leapt up from his desk, ready to set fire to any threat that walked through the door, but it was only Misha.
“My investigation did not take long,” he said. “First, a compliment. I must applaud you for how well you have protected yourself against drakons, but any human thief with half a brain cell would have no issue getting inside. Fixing this will take time. A month. Perhaps two. During this time, you must leave. There will be too many people in and out to guarantee your safety, which will give our friend the perfect opportunity to strike. Do you have somewhere you can go? Somewhere no one will think to find you, where you might be safe?”
Sebastian thought on it a moment, then nodded.
“Good. Prepare to leave. We must find a crew to start renovations as quickly as we can, and you must be gone before they arrive.” Misha clucked his tongue. “Oh, and do be mindful not to tell the staff. No one must know anything. No one. Information travels. You must stop it before it begins.”
Sebastian thought back on what had happened with Finch, who’d been attacked by who he assumed was a member of the staff, and nodded. “Agreed.”
“Will we be able to return home after?” Perry asked, climbing carefully out of his chair with one hand on his belly so he could face Misha when he spoke. “Will the boys?”
“You, yes. The boys…” Misha shrugged. “We shall see.”
Perry sighed, and Sebastian knew that he was not happy, but it could not be helped. This was a necessary pain. Danger was at their doorstep, and if they did nothing, they would suffer from more than simple discomfort, and Sebastian would not allow that to happen. No matter how painful, they would see this through, and by doing it, they would keep their family safe.
25
Perry
Present Day
In a flurry of luggage and laughter, the boys were gone. Perry smiled with all his heart and waved high over his head until the fleet of stylish black Town Cars whisked them away, but when the last car disappeared beyond the walls of the estate, it took Perry’s joy with it. Depleted, he dropped his arm and slumped against Sebastian, who stood all too rigidly at his side. Through their mate bond, Perry picked up on all the emotions Sebastian would not let surface—he was sad to see the boys go, too, and anxious over what was still to come.
“It won’t be forever,” Perry assured him, taking Sebastian’s hand and slotting their fingers together. “We have weathered storms before, Sebastian, and we shall weather this one, too.”
“We shall.”
“There’s a ‘but’ hiding in that sentence.”
Sebastian released Perry’s hand to squeeze the cheek of Perry’s ass. “There is only one butt I concern myself with, and I can assure you, I would never hide it.”
“Scoundrel.” With a weary smile, Perry lifted onto his toes to kiss Sebastian’s shoulder. “I would not hide it, either, were it not for the well-being of the children. And the staff, I suppose, although I dare say there are some who would not find it much of a hardship were I to parade about in the nude. I’ve seen how they look at us, you know.” With tremendous elegance, Perry slipped around to stand in front of his mate and placed one hand on his chest. Chin tilted up to look Sebastian in the eyes, he channeled what little happiness he could muster and infused it alongside a tremendous deal of flirtatious playfulness into their mate bond. “The flashes of white when their eyes go wide upon discovering us tucked away in a corner. The small gasps and the delicate clicks of softly latched doors when they find us pursuing our passions in… unusual places. And have you seen the way some of them look at me now? How their eyes wander to my bump to see for themselves how deeply you’ve claimed me? For those souls, transparency would be a delight.”
“And those souls,” Sebastian growled, scooping Perry into his arms in one swift movement, “had best keep their hands to themselves, lest they lose them. I do not share treasure. Ever. You, Perry, are mine.”
“Yours forever,” he swore, and meant it to the very core of his being. “However you may need me, and wherever we shall go. Which, come to think of it, is the question of the hour, isn’t it? Where shall we go, my lord? If we must leave here, where shall we make our home?”
“I cannot say.”
“Have you not made a decision? The workers arrive tomorrow.”
“No. Misha has ordered me not to speak it aloud for fear unwelcome ears may be listening.”
“He did, yes, but I thought at the very least, you’d be able to tell me. I suppose I see reason in it, though. You never know who might be listening.” Perry trailed a finger suggestively down Sebastian’s chest. “I suppose, then, it will have to remain a mystery. If only I weren’t so perpetually curious. However shall I distract myself? There’s only so much to pack…”
Excitement lit Sebastian’s eyes aflame, chasing away his melancholy, and while it did little to improve Perry’s own mood, it was a very welcome change indeed. Without a word, Sebastian turned on his heel and carried him into the house, and from there down the long corridors leading to their hoard. A distraction was found between the sheets of their hoard bed, where sparkling treasures dimmed in comparison to the dragon who owned them.
