Chapter 15
“ Y ou didn’t have to come,” I reminded Beau. He’d apologized a half dozen times for disappearing so quickly, but I wasn’t particularly bothered by it. He was fighting his own demons and I couldn’t expect more from him than his best.
“I wanted to,” Beau insisted. “I need to be adaptable right now, and I feel better taking Lucy out for the first time if you’re here. Not that I plan on passing her off on you. It’s just been a long time since I’ve had to care for children.”
Beau was on his first grandfather outing, with Lucy in the stroller, and my boys walking on either side of me. He’d secured himself a ticket to Night of Knights to join us. I didn’t have a huge amount of entertainment fund, but last-minute tickets weren’t quite as pricey.
“It’s a stroller, not a bomb.” Mirth laced my tone. “Try to relax a little bit. Babies don’t like when people are tense around them.”
He rolled his shoulders, laser-focused on the sidewalk ahead.
We slipped into the hotel and out of the summer heat, venturing into the depths of it to get to the venue. Rows upon rows of seating rose up from the arena, and my tickets were near the top. Or at least I thought so until I scanned my phone and they guided us to the front row.
“These are the wrong seats,” I told the usher.
“I had the order updated,” said Beau. “The price of yours was refunded and I bought us all front-row seats so the boys would have a good view.”
I pursed my lips. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted you all to have the best experience,” he said.
I settled with Sammy on one side and Ollie on the other. Beau sat down with Lucy on his lap, and the usher tagged the stroller, taking it away to stow for the duration of the show.
My boys were wiggly little worms, overwhelmed with excitement that they were going to see knights jousting. Dinner was brought around: Cornish hens, dinner rolls, cups of soup, chunks of steamed vegetables, and potato wedges. Sammy and Ollie ripped into it like I hadn’t fed them a day in their lives. Beau held a chunk of steamed carrot for Lucy to gnaw on.
“She won’t choke on it, will she?”
“She should be fine. Just keep an eye on her.”
Beau fixed his gaze on Lucy, scrutinizing her tiny nibbles.
“I didn’t mean literally,” I said with a laugh. “You can relax a little bit.”
Eating a miniature chicken with my hands would have scandalized my ex. I was fairly certain he never would’ve allowed us to attend a show like this, but maybe we could’ve gotten away with the non-dinner option. Half the fun was the meal, though. I had a stash of wipes in my purse and we used plenty of them as we worked through the food. Beau looked distinctly uncomfortable trying to wrestle bits of the Cornish hen free to eat while also holding Lucy.
“Do you want me to take her?”
“You have plenty to manage with your own children. I’m sure I can figure out one meal.”
I wiped my fingers down carefully and with a look to him for permission, I dissected the meat, separating it out into more manageable sections for him to eat with one hand.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
By the time the food was finished, my boys were half-feral and ready to vibrate out of their seats when the trumpets blared, announcing the start of the show. I set the cardboard crowns the venue had provided on the boys’ heads, and added one to my own. Beau looked less than enthused, but donned one as well.
A man bedecked in emerald robes and a glittering crown swept out into the audience amid a sea of smoke. “Greetings, one and all, to Night of Knights!”
The audience cheered.
“I am Arthur, King of the Britons, and tonight you will see my knights of the round table compete in feats of glory. You have partaken of our fine food and drink. Now behold the colors of your section, for that is the knight you will cheer for tonight.”
He went on to introduce the knights by their Arthurian names: Bedivere, Agravain, Lancelot, Galahad, Gawain, Tristan, and Mordred. I wasn’t really brushed up on my Arthurian legends, so the names went over my head. We were in the yellow section and supposed to cheer for Lancelot.
The music started, and seven knights on horseback raced out, looping the arena gracefully. Seeing those beautiful animals made me ache for my childhood. I wanted to be up on one of those horses. Each of the knights paused in front of their respective sections, and when our Lancelot turned to smile and wave, it was like iced water pouring over me.
Shit.
That was Dylan on that horse. I stared down at my lap, afraid if I looked too long he would notice me.
“Allow me to introduce you to my magnificent queen, Guinevere,” the king announced.
I spared a surreptitious glance, seeing a beautiful woman with long black curls, dark brown skin, and a gown of sky blue joining the king in the middle of the arena. The audience cheered again.
“Who among you children present would like to sit with the king and queen to watch their champions compete?”
Sammy was up on his feet, standing on his chair, his arms waving wildly before I could even react to stop him. “Me!”
“Honey, sit down.”
That only made him jump harder. I stood to collect him, but he had gotten the king’s attention…and Dylan’s too. His green eyes widened when he saw me, and adrenaline ripped through my system at the recognition there.
No, no, no, no. I could not deal with this tonight.
“My king, I see we have an enthusiastic young squire,” Dylan’s voice boomed. “The queen’s ladies-in-waiting will collect you, young sir.”
Oh lord.
Sammy looked like he was about to die and go to heaven when some of the servers from earlier, changed into more ornamental outfits, appeared in our section.
“Is it all right if he comes to sit with the king?” one of them asked.
If I said no, he was going to be devastated. “It’s all right with me.”
“Me too?” OIlie asked, giving them his best puppy eyes.
“There is certainly room for two squires. It would hardly be fair to separate brothers,” replied one of the servers.
Dylan’s gaze was heavy on me, and I simply refused to look him in the eye. I couldn’t. Too much guilt and longing churned through me.
“Are you okay?” Beau whispered.
“No,” I whispered back. “Lancelot is one of my scent matches I ran out on.”
Beau stiffened next to me, focusing on Dylan like he was assessing every aspect of him. It was unfair how good Dylan looked up on that horse. The costume had faux-fur-lined edges and bright gold fabric over chain mail, making his shoulders look even broader than I remembered.
I had no idea what to do with myself when both of my children excitedly went off with the ladies. I kept hawk eyes on them until they were seated between the king and queen at the far end of the arena on a raised dais. At least I could see them from here, and it gave me a good excuse to avoid looking at Dylan. The alpha in question raced off to join the others in another circuit.
“Nervous?” Beau asked.
“I always am when it comes to them.”
“We’ll both keep an eye on them, and if you don’t want to talk to the alpha, I’ll block him.”
That was a small relief.
I was glad my boys would get this experience, but I had been hoping to be able to watch them up close, to see the excitement in their eyes.
It was difficult to focus on the performance with my attention divided, constantly checking on Sammy and Ollie, who looked like they were having the time of their lives. The show had dancing and drums, sing-alongs and sword fights, but I couldn’t properly enjoy any of it. Every time Dylan swept by, I’d get a fresh rush of adrenaline.
“I bet they would let you sit up there if you asked,” said Beau when he caught me watching my sons instead of the knights expertly tossing their javelins at targets.
“I don’t want to leave you alone here.”
Beau dared to slip his hand into mine, giving it a squeeze. “Lucy and I will be fine. Go, if you need to.”
Before I could answer, another of the knights dressed in red paused in front of our section. I glanced up at his face, half of a whine slipping out before I clapped my hand over my mouth. Eduardo was here too?
Fuck me.
He stared down at where Beau held my hand and I sharply extracted myself, heat flushing every inch of me. He didn’t stay long, spurred on by a new portion of the show, but I watched him come together with Dylan and another of the knights dressed in green.
“What’s going on?” Beau asked, shifting Lucy to cuddle her against his chest.
“Another one works here. What do I do?” I wanted to leave. How could I face them both? But my kids… Fuck. The compulsion to slip away into the night again burned bright in my chest, but I couldn’t leave Sammy and Ollie here.
“First, breathe,” said Beau. He looped an arm over my shoulder and his purr stuttered to life, trying to soothe me. I hated that it helped. I tucked myself closer, willing the universe to make me invisible. The music and crowds were so loud around us I could only hear Beau’s purr if my ear was pressed against him, but I needed it, so I scooted closer and tried not to let my panic overwhelm me. The universe hated me; that much was obvious. It didn’t give a damn about what I wanted and was shoving scent matches on me left and right.
“What’s after breathing?”
“I don’t have that answer yet,” he admitted. “Do you want to leave and I can collect the boys?”
I desperately wanted to accept, but that seemed like the peak of cowardice. How many times could I run away from these men? What if there was no escape from fate and the universe would keep making me trip over them at every turn? Was it better to face this head-on, and simply tell them I had no interest in doing anything about the scent matches?
I clung to Beau through the final sword fights of the night, Dylan as Lancelot coming out victorious.
“This is nothing you can’t face,” Beau assured me. “You’re a stronger omega than most, and these alphas will be at your mercy.”
I peeked up at him. “You really think so?”
“I know so.”
Before I could ask him what he meant, the show was over, and three of the knights were trotting over to us. Panic dug in its vicious claws as the identity of the third knight became all too apparent.
Francisco smiled down at me from his horse. “Hey, duchess. Nice to finally see you again.”