Lucien huffed while at the same time, tightening his arms. “That takes a lot of time.”
“I know.”
“And I don’t think we have a lot of time.”
This time Calder huffed. “I know. But he’s our mate, Lucien. We want him to be safe and happy about all things. If he needs time, we have to give him time.”
“Oh, thank God!” Lucien cried with a loud, relieved sigh.
“What?”
“You’re going to be the logical, responsible one in this throuple. I knew there was no way in hell it was going to be me. And I really doubt it’s going to be Gio.”
Calder chuckled and bumped Lucien with his elbow. “Idiot,” he said with obvious warmth.
Lucien laughed and kissed his neck. “We’ll figure this out together. If Gio needs time, we’ll give him time.”
“And the pestilents?”
Lucien moved behind him as if he shrugged. “We keep doing what we’ve been doing. We hold them off until Gio realizes that we’ll always be there for him.”
Calder nodded. “Good plan. At least we won’t be driving the others crazy now.”
“Oh, we’ll probably still do that.” Lucien chuckled, tightening his arms.
Something plopped into the water and Calder looked out over the pond. It really was beautiful with the moonlight sparkling on its surface. Somewhere close by, an owl hooted, the sound almost haunted. It was easy to forget all about the pestilents during times like this and for a moment, Calder let himself enjoy Lucien’s hold and the warmth of his body against him.
He snuggled in and Lucien pressed his lips to the side of his head again.
With patience and time, they’d help Gio realize they were truly meant to be. At least it felt like he and Lucien were making headway. Not only sexually, but having this moment. He could feel Lucien breathing and when he released a soft sigh, there was something about him that felt at peace.
Neither spoke a word as they took in the night. Just held each other. With mates, he’d no longer be alone. He had brothers and Lucien. He would have Gio, too, whether the man realized it yet or not.
He rubbed his hand down Lucien’s arm and held his hand. It felt so good to just sit here quietly with him. No intruding thoughts of the pestilents and death.
They had to find a way to close that rift permanently. Then he would have a long life with the two men he realized he was starting to love.
Chapter Fifteen
Some of the tension pulling the muscles tight in Gio’s shoulders since they left Savannah that morning relaxed as soon as Charleston’s familiar skyline came into view. Savannah was surprisingly similar with its towering bridge and church spires. Neither city was crowded with flashy steel and glass skyscrapers, but rather a lush and preserved historic district. Probably why he’d immediately felt at home in Savannah after a lifetime spent in Charleston.
Of course, being in Charleston carried another worry, but he had enough on his plate already. There was no time to panic about his past sneaking up to haunt him while he was in town. If he was lucky, he would be headed to Savannah before anyone he knew realized he was in town.
The drive took only about two hours, but he’d spent most of it making calls to make sure his work was covered while he was in town and that all his appointments were rescheduled. While he certainly didn’t agree with Grey’s pronouncement that he was the soul mate of Calder and Lucien, that didn’t mean he was going to leave the Weavers when they could clearly use his help. Charleston was his hometown. He knew every inch of it. He might not have powers, but he could definitely give them a hand in finding people.
At the very least, the calls had allowed him to avoid Lucien and Calder longer. He’d expected them to be upset after rejecting all the talk about being soul mates last night. There might have been a bit of lingering tension in their voices, but both men seemed to be taking his rejection well.
Sure, maybe his heart flipped like a gymnast going for a gold medal at the Olympics simply at the thought of being destined to be with both Calder and Lucien. But then reality set in.
He’d sworn off poly relationships permanently. He was never going down that road again. Even if it meant saving the world from the pestilents. There had to be another way.
Or maybe Grey was just mistaken about him being tied to Calder and Lucien. Maybe the Fire and Water Weavers needed only to work through some shit, and they were meant for each other alone.
That made a hell of a lot more sense than him being meant for something so big as this.
To his relief—and maybe secret disappointment—Lucien and Calder dropped the subject of soul mates, bonding, and relationships completely on the drive up.