A long, heavy sigh left Aiden. It was an option, but not their only one. Unfortunately, the better option came with a little uncomfortable baggage. “Once we find a safe spot, I’ll call Bel.”
“Checking in with your son?” Ronan asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Aiden shook his head. “Asking to borrow his two wolves. They can come pick us up in a closed van and get us somewhere safe for the daylight hours.”
Ronan snickered. “Why do I feel like that’s going to come with a side of questions and teasing?”
“At the very least.”
“Well, you can blame me. They already don’t care for me.”
Pushing off the tree, Aiden frowned at Ronan. “Why do you say that?”
Ronan winced and quickly turned away, starting toward the apartment building. “We should hurry and check out the apartments. See if there’s anything empty we can use for the day.”
Aiden skipped a couple of steps to catch up with his companion as he briskly crossed the street to the dilapidated four-story building in question. A number of the windows were boarded up, and there was a foreclosed sign across the front door. The old red brick and dirty windows made it look as if the building had stood there a good fifty years, with at least five of them being empty. The interior was cold and smelled of urine, mold, and feces. Such a lovely combination, but Aiden ignored it as he followed Ronan toward a set of stairs.
“You’re not avoiding this,” Aiden snapped. “Why do you think they don’t like you? Did they say something to you?”
Ronan paused on the landing to the second floor, his lips twisted in a strange smile. “They might have visited me during the day.”
“What?” Aiden cried, horror streaking through him. It wasn’t just the idea of his vampire sons running around during the dangerous daylight hours, but rather, that they’d done it to corner Ronan when he was at his most vulnerable.
“It was actually kind of sweet. They wanted to know what my intentions were toward you.”
“Of all the—” Aiden broke off his rant to stomp up the rest of the stairs to the second floor.
“Don’t be too hard on them, Aiden. They clearly love you and want to protect you,” Ronan called after him before his footsteps echoed up the passage. “You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same for your sons.”
Aiden spun around to stare down at Ronan, fury coursing through his veins. “I wouldn’t and I haven’t. Bel is with two werewolves, for God’s sake. Tell me that wouldn’t give you palpitations if it were your son! And Winter…Winter fell for a witch. A witch we all thought was trying to kill our clan. Did I involve myself in their personal lives? No! I let them work it out for themselves because they’re grown men.”
Ronan looked as if he were struggling not to laugh right in Aiden’s face. He cleared his throat and smiled. “Yes, but you’re their father. They’ve already lost their mother, and they are very protective of you. Wait…am I the first suitor they’ve had to deal with?”
There was no covering up his shock at Ronan’s use of that word. Aiden straightened, hating the feel of the flush staining his cheeks. He could only hope Ronan thought it had to do with their run through the city or his rising anger at his sons.
He didn’t.
“No! I can’t be the first!”
Aiden growled and turned to head down the hallway in search of a tolerable place to hide while he made his call to Bel. “You’re not my first suitor, but you’re the first they are aware of.” He was also the first Aiden hadn’t immediately brushed off, though he knew he should.
“I don’t know whether to be flattered or horrified.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Aiden barked. He stopped at a partially open door and carefully poked his head inside, looking around the dim interior.
“It means that you’re an incredibly intelligent, compassionate man.” There was a pause, and when he spoke again, it sounded like Ronan was whispering directly in his ear. “Fucking sexy too.”
Every muscle in Aiden’s body froze while blood rushed to his cock. He could feel that Ronan had moved into his personal space but was being very careful not to touch him. Part of him wanted Ronan to put his hands on him, to pin him to the closest wall so he could feel all of Ronan’s body pressed to his own.
“Ronan,” he ground out, trying to get a hold of himself.
“It’s the truth. You should have people lined up out the door, trying to win your heart. But trust me, I’m glad I don’t have to worry about so much competition.”
Aiden’s brain automatically argued that no one stood a chance against Ronan. Or was it his heart? Never mind.
Seeing no one in the dingy living space, Aiden pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside. It was better to just ignore Ronan’s comments and press forward. He frowned at the windows along the main wall. Only one of them was boarded up while the other offered full exposure to the rising sun. He continued on silently through the apartment to find that it was actually a studio. The only other room was a bathroom, which, as luck would have it, also had an uncovered window. The bright side was that it was completely vacant. He’d been worried they’d run across a squatter or two.
“Not ideal,” Ronan muttered. “We should have at least a corner of space where the sun can’t reach us in the main room. There was also a closet off the bathroom.”
Aiden glared at Ronan. “I’m not hiding in the closet with you.”
“Why not? It’ll be cozy.”
Aiden walked toward the main room and dropped onto the dirty floor with his back pressed to the corner the farthest from where the sun was most likely to pour through the one window. It was temporary. He grabbed his phone and scrolled to his contacts, hesitating over Bel’s name. The sun was rising, and his sweet son was likely falling asleep already. Waking Bel once he fell asleep was never an easy feat, and he didn’t want to send him into a panic over this situation.
Instead, he scrolled down and tapped Wyatt’s name. The werewolf was infinitely calmer and more level-headed. Was it wrong of him to hope that Bel was asleep? Maybe his wolves could just slip out and pick them up without Bel finding out until he woke that evening.
“Hey, Aiden,” Wyatt greeted in his usual rich, deep voice.
“Hi, Wyatt. I’m sorry to be disturbing you so late.”
“It’s no problem. Did you need Bel? I think he left his phone on the charger downstairs.”
“No! No, it’s okay. I was actually looking for you.”
In the background, he could hear Bel’s sleepy voice. “What’s wrong? Is that Aiden? Is he in trouble?” With each question, he could hear his voice growing more worried and awake.
“No, please tell him I’m fine and that he needs to go to sleep.”
Listening as Wyatt gently relayed his message, Aiden scrubbed a hand over his face. He lifted his gaze when he heard Ronan settle on the floor next to him. The vampire nudged his foot with his toe and smirked, but there was something warm and supportive in his eyes.
“What’s up?” Wyatt asked.
Aiden swallowed a sigh. “It seems that I’ve gotten into a position where I can’t get home prior to sunrise. I was wondering if maybe you and River could come fetch Ronan and me.”