Page 22 of By The Moon

“I’m not going to hurt her at all.” Hugo pushed the door open and walked into the security office where Gray and Key sat. “Any luck tracing the human kid?”

Gray had informed them all about what Louis had seen and they were all being extra vigilant. The sighting could potentially be a game changer for them, and tracking down the human kid and the one they believed was Maxim’s son had become top priority.

“Not so far. He knows the area well. Knows where all the cameras are so knows how to avoid them or make sure we can’t make out what he looks like if he’s near one.”

“Wonder how long they’ve known each other?” Louis asked as he sat next to Gray, watching him work his magic.

“I wonder if they’re mates.” Key turned around on his chair and faced them. “The human knows who this guy is and what he can do. How many vampires tell humans that?”

“Key’s got a point and that would make sense. It could also be why they’re being careful and making sure we can’t see them.” Louis smiled at Key. “If they’re mates then the human will know everything. He asked to go home, so he knows that we can teleport. The human has to be someone Maxim’s son could trust.”

“So, mate. Won’t that chap Maxim’s ass.” Hugo grinned. “His son, mated to the very thing Maxim hates.” The grin fell off Hugo’s face. “Shit. Poor kid. Finding his mate and having to hide it from his dad.”

“They haven’t mated, then.” Gray tapped on the keyboard. “Maxim would know the second he scented his son.”

“Yeah, he wouldn’t risk his mate’s life, but that’s if they are mates.”

“They kissed,” Louis murmured. “Hugged. I think Key’s right. I think they’re mates.”

“We have a weakness then, that we can use to lure Maxim out. Or lure the son out who will give us Maxim.” Gray raised his hands when Louis and Hugo argued with him. “I’m not advocating us hurting either of them. It appears the son is in a shitty situation, but if we can find out who the human is then maybe we can do something to get to Maxim. We all want that bastard found.”

“We could do something like that.” Key tapped his chin. “I’ll spend some more time searching the area, running analysis. If we can find him, track him, then we could get a name and go from there.” Key shook his head. “Poor kid.”

“Yeah. Imagine your mate being the very species your old man hates. Hey, Gray. How is Henry?”

Gray flipped Hugo off. “Henry is very happy or he was when I left him in bed earlier.” Gray pulled up Hugo’s work week. “Just remember, a few taps from me and you could be working the shittiest area of the city.”

Hugo grinned. “It’s funny and you know it is. If it was anyone else but you, you’d be laughing your ass off too.”

“But it is me, so stop.”

Hugo held his hands up. “Fine. I’ll drop it.”

“You’re smelling all mated, Louis…”

“Like you don’t know about being mated, Gray.” Louis smiled when Gray swiveled on his chair to face him.

“We never did get to talk properly at the party. How long have you known him, and has the council been in contact?”

“I’ve known him since he was twelve and I waited until now to mate him. The council does know but haven’t requested me to attend yet. I’m waiting for it.” Shrugging, Louis added, “I know they’ll punish me, but I waited six years for him. I’ve waited enough and he was of legal age and knew what would happen.We live together now. I’m happy and the council and whatever they decide won’t change that.”

“I’m happy for you too, and it explains why you never went out with anyone. You could have said something. Feel like shit now for giving you a hard time.” Hugo glared at Louis. “All the times I tried to get you to meet someone and you had a mate all along.”

He did feel guilty over that and apologized. “I didn’t want anyone to know. I was waiting for him to grow up.” Louis grinned. “He’s going to be a biochemist.”

“He can work in our labs.” Gray scanned the monitor. “This is where I lose the human kid.” The screen showed an image of him disappearing into an alley. “He always has his face covered.” Sitting back, Gray rubbed his fingers over his lips. “He’s good. Maxim’s son has coached him well.”

“If we could create a timeline of how often they meet we could estimate the next time.” Key pulled up several images on his monitor. “It’ll take time but it could be worth it.”

“Do it, but we can’t let it interfere with our other work.”

“Good thing I can multitask.” Key carried on working, his fingers moving quickly over the keyboard. “I’ll have something ready by the end of the week. Like you said, finding the human could be the start of the end of this, and I want Kelvin to come home and not be stressed.”

“Same here.”

How are your friends?When Jerome didn’t respond, Louis didn’t think much of it. For all he knew, Jerome could be in the lab doing something technical for an assignment that would go right over Louis’ head. His mate was smart and intelligent, and Louis was lucky and proud to have him.

“You want us to go out to that area and have a look?” Louis focused back on the conversation, realizing Hugo now stood and was leaning over Gray’s shoulder, staring at the monitor.

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