CHAPTER 7
It was an hour later when a knock came at the door. Iskander rose to answer it, and Keegan heard Apollo's voice in the hallway. But it was the second voice that made his heart skip a beat.
Jaron.
Keegan took a deep breath, trying to compose himself as Iskander led Apollo and Jaron into the room. He stood to greet them, his gaze meeting Jaron's.
For a moment, Keegan was transported back to the visions he'd had the night before. Visions of a future where he and Jaron were together, living their happiest life at each other's side.
He blinked, forcing the images away. He'd come here to see this dragon, yes, but he also had a job to do.
Keegan schooled his features into a neutral expression, extending his hand to Apollo. "Thank you for coming," he said, doing his best to keep his voice steady despite the storm of emotions inside of him.
Apollo shook his hand, his grip firm. "Of course. We'll do everything we can to find Holly and the others."
Keegan nodded, then turned to Jaron, heart racing as he took in the sight of his mate staring back at him with bright, curious eyes, obviously surprised to see him.
Something fluttered in Keegan's belly, a sense of excitement and nervousness that was entirely new to him.
"What are you doing here?" Jaron asked.
"Iskander is part of my coven," Keegan said, nodding at his friend. "Your missing mortal is the mother of his mate's children."
Jaron took two seconds to process Keegan's words. "That sounds complicated."
Keegan snorted. Iskander and Rhyme's relationship was the least complicated thing Keegan had thought about all night.
"What's so funny?" Jaron wondered, and then, looking straight at Keegan he asked, "Did you get my gift?"
Not one to back down, Keegan returned the stare. "Do you really want to discuss that in front of your boss?" he challenged—while Jaron looked as if he wanted nothing more than to take this conversation somewhere else.
Meanwhile, Apollo's eyebrows rose, probably wondering what this 'gift' was and picturing some sort of sextoy.
Jaron glanced between Keegan and his boss. He didn't decide to clear up the confusion. Instead, he said, "My boss isn't easily scandalized. He used to be the first person to arrive at the office every morning until he started dating his vampire and when he's late now, we all know it's not because there was a long line at the coffee shop."
"Jaron!" Apollo shot the dragon a sharp look.
"Oh please," Jaron waved him off. "You're sleeping with their best friend." He motioned at Iskander and Keegan. "They know."
Apollo looked like he was seconds away from exploding at Jaron, but Jaron didn't seem concerned.
"Okay, okay," Jaron said. "We're here to do our job. I know. Relax." He turned to Iskander. "Is your mate around?"
"I'll wake him up." Iskander disappeared into the bedroom.
While they waited for him to return, Keegan offered for Apollo and Jaron to sit down. "Would you like some tea as well?" he asked them. "I can offer chamomile."
Neither of them wanted tea, so Keegan settled into a chair as Apollo and Jaron took their seats on the couch. Keegan asked Apollo how things were going with Mordyn.
Apollo shrugged and mentioned that they were looking at apartments near the coven's base as if moving in together wasn't a big deal.
Jaron didn't let that slide, of course. "Haven't you only dated for a few months?"
"We're mated," Apollo replied. "It doesn't get more serious than that."
Jaron considered this. "Are you guys fated?"
"Yes." There was no doubt in Apollo's response. He didn't tell Jaron about the past life stuff, and it wasn't Keegan's place to bring it up, but Keegan wondered if Apollo ever told anyone about that part.