5. Sandro #2
“Oh, that looks nice. I wish Marcello and I could go somewhere like that someday. But it would have to be when the twins are older. I couldn’t leave them anytime soon.”
Rio looked up from his phone. “All right. Secluded it is.”
I chuckled a little. “We have no say?”
“You have all of the say,” Rio said. He gestured toward Leo. “Grab your beloved.”
I already had my arm around his shoulders but pulled him closer.
That was all of the warning that we got before the world tilted, and my stomach did that familiar roll it did when Rio used magic to get us from one place to another.
One moment, we were in the apartment in Rome, and in a blink, we were in what appeared to be a cabin somewhere else.
“I went with Banff,” Rio said. “They have many cabins available for rentals, and there were a few that were available. I can take the two of you anywhere you wish though. I simply wanted to get you away, as I know how the others can be.”
I would be eternally grateful to Rio. “Yes. I do appreciate it,” I told him.
“You’re quite welcome.” Rio pointed to the kitchen area. “Kitchen is fully stocked. There are fresh linens upstairs, and you know you only have to message me if you should need anything.” Rio held out his hand to Leo. “This is my number. Your phone will work here; I’ve made certain of it.”
“Oh. Uh, thank you.” Leo took the piece of paper. “Why do I need your number though?” Leo looked up at me. “Isn’t Sandro a doctor too?”
My beloved was so incredibly young. “I am,” I told him.
“Yes, but that wasn’t why. I was suggesting that you might feel as if you needed something. I do know that you are perfectly safe with Sandro, but if he should need anything and is too stubborn, please send me a message.”
“Oh.” Leo took the paper and placed it in his pocket. “I can do that.”
Rio placed his hand on my shoulder, and I felt the surge of magical pain relief go through me.
I wanted to be upset about it, but I couldn’t.
I hadn’t asked again, but Rio knew. He was much more observant than anyone realized.
Well, perhaps not since I knew he was aware that even moving caused me pain at times.
“Thank you,” I told him.
“You are most welcome,” Rio said. “Message me if you need anything. Even if it’s daily because certain things happen because of progress in the relationship.”
I nodded slowly. “I will do that. I have to assume that everyone will let Master Vincent know.”
“I’m certain that Marcello has already done so.
” Rio looked back at Leo. “I meant it. Message me if you should need anything. Enjoy your time away because it will get a bit hectic at the villa once you’ve returned.
Especially since Abel is going to be excited about having another shifter that is close in age to him around. ”
“Oh. I will,” Leo said. He looked up at me once again, confusion on his face. Then, Rio was simply gone, and it didn’t take Leo long to start asking questions. “How old is Abel? He looked to be barely legal.”
“He will forever be grateful that you have said as much. It is my understanding that fox omegas tend to always look to be in their late teens to early twenties. But Abel is right around the same age as you are, if not a little bit younger. I’m not exactly sure of his birthdate.”
“Oh.” Leo nodded a few times. “And he’s a fox?”
“An arctic fox, yes.” I took the bag from Leo and placed it on the chair beside us. “Would you care for anything to eat or drink? I realize it is dark outside here, but that doesn’t mean we are automatically on local time.”
Leo wrapped his arms around his waist once again, and I felt for my beloved. He was so incredibly nervous. His world had been completely turned upside down in a matter of minutes.
“If you would rather, I can call Rio and have him come back and take us to the villa. There will be a flurry of activity there, as there always is. But you would not be alone with me in what appears to be a remote cabin in the middle of Canada.”
“Is that where this is?”
“Yes. Rio mentioned that the kitchen is fully stocked. Perhaps something to drink if you aren’t hungry?
” I moved over toward it, and as expected, I found bottles of water, juice, sport drinks, fizzy drinks, and a few others.
There was also a wide selection of what appeared to be prepared fruits, chunks of cheese, and many other snacking foods.
“Did you eat lunch?” I asked Leo as I turned to look his way.
I was a bit surprised that he was standing just on the other side of the kitchen.
“No. I had to finish scrubbing the floors first. That didn’t happen, and I ended up running instead of sticking around to see if I was going to be punished. I’m not too hungry though.” Leo looked around once more.
“Very well,” I said as I pulled out a bottle of water and closed the refrigerator.
“What do you wish to do? Perhaps we could sit and talk? You must have some questions for me.” I knew I had plenty for him.
First and foremost, I wanted to know his full name so I could let the family know to look into his parents.
He’d mentioned that they’d died but didn’t sound as if he believed it was an accident.
That was certainly something that Marcello would be good at looking into.
“Talking is always good. I’m not sure what all there is to discuss though. You’ve lived a whole lot more than I have. My life, you basically already know everything that’s happened. It’s not really been all that exciting or anything.”
“There’s always more to ourselves than we realize,” I said.
“I’ll start boring you with all of the old man stuff that I do, and you can tell me that I need to enjoy life more.
” I handed Leo a bottle of water because, despite him saying he didn’t wish for anything at the moment, I knew that if you were running from others for an extended period of time, you would become parched.
“Shall we?” I asked, holding out my hand to my beloved.
He placed his free hand in mine, and after I slowly walked back to the sofa, I sat and pulled Leo down with me.
He turned to me with rounded eyes. I shrugged.
“It’s not as if we’re not going to get to know one another,” I told him.
“I’m not going to claim you until you’re ready, but I will warn you that it is only so long that a vampire can go without blood.
Not only that, but there is also the issue of your heat that will set in with you having met me. ”
“I’m on suppressors though,” Leo said. “Alpha Franco didn’t like for any of the omegas to have heats unless we were claimed.”
I slowly shook my head. That was something else that needed to be looked into.
“I’m not certain, and it’s possible that they will work.
But there is also the possibility that, despite you being on them, you will go into heat even if we don’t claim each other.
Simply being in close proximity can set it off. ”
Leo sighed. “Very well. They’re not fun, and I really would rather not have one, actually.
Have you ever been around a cat in heat?
It’s much the same, but I was told that’s just how it is with feline shifters.
Maybe that’s why Alpha Franco didn’t want us having them either.
That and because most of the pride are assholes. ”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. There was so much to discuss. The question was, where did we begin?