Page 9 of Roman (Destined Paranormals #7)

Chapter 9

Roman

I was certain that I could find something to do for the next few hours. After my unexpected conversation with Master Edison this morning and subsequent relocating to a new house, there were certainly things to be done. I understood Master Edison’s reasoning for suggesting the new house. I was about to have a mate and eventually children, hopefully.

The house was in council housing, only it wasn’t on Treasure Ridge. The council had “leased” some land from Alpha Forest’s pack, and they had built a rather nice neighborhood that was completely paranormally occupied. Beau and I would fit in perfectly. If only he agreed, that was.

After the interaction I’d just had with him though, I had a feeling that there wouldn’t be any issues with him eventually agreeing. He was certainly interested in what we could have together. But I needed to know more about what had happened yesterday. Why was my mate in Lukan’s after arguing with his brother? And what all had Evan said to my mate?

Master Edison had assured me that everything with regards to Evan would be cleared up. I didn’t know exactly what all that entailed, but I knew I wanted to be there for Beau in any way needed. And that meant asking him to dinner and getting to have a private conversation with him.

Sure, we’d talked about things yesterday at the council’s get-together, but it was anything but private. With a plan in place, I once more forced my tiger to walk away from our mate. I tried my best to reassure him that we would be seeing Beau soon enough, in just a few hours, actually, but we needed to get to the store in order to prepare for tonight’s date.

I had absolutely no idea what all Beau liked and didn’t like, but I was going to hope for the best with something as simple as spaghetti. He wasn’t a shifter, and although I’d noticed he ate quite a bit yesterday, he hadn’t eaten nearly as much as either of my brothers did. What I had noticed was that he seemed to be more inclined to eat the various salads and especially the fruit, so I needed to make sure I had something to go with the spaghetti.

With that thought, I walked the short distance from the bakery to the transport building and soon enough found myself down off Treasure Ridge and in my SUV, on my way to the store. As I drove through Timber Valley, my mind couldn’t keep from wandering back to Beau. Master Edison had shared a little with me this morning, and although I had known of my mate for only just a day, already I was incredibly proud of everything he had already accomplished.

“The council wants to be self-sustaining here. This isn’t anything you haven’t already heard.”

“No.”

“Beau is here because Thomas and Canyon brought him with his brother who volunteered to come and join the council as an enforcer. It makes sense now why.”

I smiled at Master Edison. Yes, it did.

“What will become of the bakery if Beau doesn’t continue running it?” I shook my head when Master Edison raised an eyebrow at me. “I would never ask him to give it up. I was simply inquiring. I know very little about making pastries and baked goods. But I could help him run the bakery if he wanted.”

“That will be between you and Beau. For now, Konrad will help with making sure the menus he’s selected are kept up with. The two of you will have your time as newly found mates. But if Beau decides he no longer wishes to run the bakery, the council will make it a more automated place until something more permanent can be secured.”

Last week, I was certain I was going to give up teaching at the local college. Now, I wasn’t so sure. Although Master Edison had offered a position with the council, I wasn’t interested in becoming an enforcer, nor did I wish to step on Monroe’s toes. He’d stepped in and had taken over running the council’s store like a pro.

I would need employment to support Beau. Yes, I had funds, but nothing like either of my brother’s mates. Not that it was a competition. But I was going to have to have a discussion with Beau, and soon, because I needed to let the college know if I was going to return this fall or not.

I pulled into the grocery store’s lot, and after I found a spot, I slid from the vehicle with a purpose: shop to hopefully impress my mate. I could cook. But my brothers and I were shifters, and we were absolutely always up for a steak. But I already recognized that with my mate being fae, I would need to expand my menu to include much more.

I grabbed a cart and immediately headed for the produce section. Once I had the fixings for a nice salad, I added some fruit to make a fruit salad for dessert. I had noticed that Beau seemed especially fond of fruit, and there were a lot of fruit-based pastries in the bakery.

I couldn’t keep from smiling. I had a mate, and my tiger was chuffing in my mind about the fact that we were currently selecting things to provide for him. Sure, I’d raised my brothers and had provided for them. This was different.

After fruits were selected, I went to the meat counter and then the pasta aisle. I was going to cheat and use jarred sauce, but I was pressed for time. I only had a few hours to get everything together for Beau, and although I would love to make him a from-scratch meal, it simply wasn’t in the cards tonight. Perhaps for our next date.

“Excuse me.”

I looked next to me and had to look down quite a way to meet the smiling eyes of the older lady.

“Can I help you?”

“I hope so. I can’t reach the pasta there,” she said, pointing to the shelf that was head level for her. “I know it’s back there, but I can’t reach it. Would you be a dear and get it for me, please?”

I smiled as I reached to the back of the shelf and pulled the boxes forward. “These ones?”

“Yes, dear.” I handed her a box as she was reaching for it. When she continued to reach, I handed over a second one. “Thank you so much,” she told me.

“You’re welcome.”

She placed them in her cart and then walked away. I grabbed a couple of packages of spaghetti noodles and then reached for the sauce. Minutes later, I was checked out and took my bags to the SUV. I would, of course, need to do a much larger grocery run, but the hope was that Beau would be with me, and we would be filling our new pantry together. I thought about the pantry in the new house.

“The cabin you were renting from Forest was fine for just you,” Master Edison told me. “You’re going to have a family soon enough, and that means you need to live in something larger than a two-room cabin.”

I followed Master Edison through the massive house. It was larger than any place I’d ever lived, even when I had the twins.

“Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and an office downstairs,” Master Edison continued. “For those late-night grading sessions.”

I could only nod. “I guess my decision about if I’m going to continue teaching or not has been decided.”

Master Edison stopped as he was walking toward a short hallway that I assumed led to the downstairs office he’d just mentioned.

“You aren’t planning on continuing to teach?”

I shrugged. “It’s all right. I didn’t exactly enjoy my first year teaching here. It might be the students, or maybe it’s the changes. Either way, it’s not a terrible job. I was going to consider other options. Then I met Beau, and now I’ll continue teaching since I’m going to need to support not only him but any children we might have in the future.”

Master Edison stared at me for a moment before he gave a subtle nod and then continued down the hallway.

“I’ve taken the liberty of providing some furniture. All of your things from your cabin will be brought over later if you agree to this place.”

I looked around the office and couldn’t help but laugh and shake my head.

“Is my taste in office furniture comical?”

I shook my head. “No, Master Edison. I just found it funny that this home office is larger than my office at the local college. It’s a glorified closet without a window even.”

Master Edison scowled. “Next door,” he said, pointing out the window, which was on the side of the house, “is Calum and Asher. Calum is a fox alpha, and Asher is fae like Beau. Once you and Beau are settled and things have done what things do, go talk to Calum. He’s head of his department at the university. Perhaps he has room for you in his department. I know he teaches online more than in person, and it’s possible he can offer something more fulfilling for you.”

“I’ll be sure to do that. Thank you.” I looked around the office and shook my head. It was difficult to think of this place as being mine. Well, mine and Beau’s. “This place is perfectly fine. More than, actually. I hope that Beau likes it.”

“I’m sure he will. It is a good neighborhood to live in, and although I don’t recommend you shift and go for a run down here, Beau will be able to get you up to the mountaintop easily enough.”

I found myself smiling at the memories from the morning. Never would I have envisioned just how much my brothers’ and my lives would change when I answered the ad looking for a shopkeeper for the council. It had been a huge chance I’d taken, but at that point, I was exhausted and needed something, anything that could help me protect the twins. Did I expect my brothers would find their mates? No. Me either. But here we were.

It didn’t take long to get to the new neighborhood, and when I turned onto the road, I was met by another vehicle. They waved as they left the neighborhood, which was something new for me. I had no idea who they were, but hopefully, I would soon enough.

When I pulled into the driveway of my new place, I pushed the button, and the garage opened. Another new thing. I’d been “with” the council for some time, and I was still getting used to what I considered the luxuries that were basically normal for most associated with the council. I carefully pulled into the garage, and after I removed the bags from the cargo area, I pushed the button to close the liftgate.

I managed to remember to push the button on the wall to close the garage door on my way in, and when I set the bags on the center island in the kitchen, I realized something was off about the place. It only took a glance toward the back room to understand that my things from the tiny cabin had been moved here. Master Edison had said he would have my things brought over, and sure enough, they were here.

I chuckled at the sparseness of them in the much larger room. Beau and I would need to do some shopping in order to fill the rest of the house with things. That would all wait though. He was going to be busy with his bakery, and I was going to have to figure out how I could best support him while trying not to lose my own mind with the frustration of teaching at the local college.

If I were able to secure a position at the university, that would be so much better. They had good reviews, both from faculty as well as students. Teaching at the collegiate level had always been my dream, and I had loved it when I first taught. Then life happened, and I had to resign from my position. I wouldn’t go back and change anything though. My brothers were more important, and I didn’t regret giving it up in order to protect them.

Now, I had to think about Beau. It was going to be a heavy conversation for what I was considering a second date, but it was important and needed to be discussed before we took our relationship anywhere.

With that thought in mind, I unpacked the groceries and got started on making the fruit salad once certain things were placed in the refrigerator. It didn’t take too long to complete the task, and once that was in the fridge, I glanced at the clock and decided against making meatballs. A simple meat sauce would have to do tonight, but I promised myself I would make him meatballs soon. Well, unless he absolutely hated spaghetti.

It had often been a go-to for us when the twins were younger. We didn’t have a large food budget when running from place to place, and spaghetti was an inexpensive meal. We didn’t have a whole lot of money, period. I took a deep breath and looked around the house. It wasn’t mine. I was only here because the council was allowing me to live here. I would have loved to be able to provide such a place for the twins when they were younger. It simply wasn’t possible. We never knew when we would have to leave in the middle of the night and not know where we were going or how long we would need to be on the move.

There were still times that I woke up in a panic, even after not having to worry about anyone trying to get to the twins for the past few years. I shook my head, not wanting to get lost in those thoughts again. I quickly cleaned up the mess I’d made, and after everything was as ready for this evening as it was going to get, I went to explore my new home until it was time to go pick up my mate and bring him here.

The house was so much bigger than I needed. But I had to remember that it wasn’t going to be just me for too much longer. Beau was going to be in my life, and the two of us would be starting a family. I tried to picture him and what he would look like with a cute baby bump. Would he enjoy being pregnant? Did he want more than one baby? Did I?

I somehow found my way to the main bedroom and stopped in the doorway. That definitely wasn’t my bed. I wasn’t going to complain because it was larger and quite a bit nicer than what I had in the tiny cabin I’d been calling home for the past several months. There was a piece of paper lying on the side of the bed, and when I picked it up, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

Roman,

It was a bit presumptuous of me to assume you would wish for a larger bed, but I took the chance and this is a gift to you and Beau. The bed that was in the cabin is in one of the other bedrooms. In case you have forgotten the web address for the council’s furniture store, I’ve emailed it to you. Be sure to utilize it with Beau.

Good luck in your mating. If either you or Beau have questions about anything, do not hesitate to reach out. We will all be here for the two of you. If you have specific questions, Wallace is open to answering any, as is Emir.

Do not worry if things end up not going as planned or intended. The bakery will be covered. Your focus is to be on strengthening your relationship and bond with Beau.

Congratulations, Roman. You certainly deserve the happiness that a mate will bring you.

Master Edison

I looked at the room, and although I saw some of my things here and there on the surfaces, the room still looked barely decorated. The addition of Beau’s things would help, but unless he had a lot of things to bring with him, we were definitely going to need to do some shopping.

I wasn’t too worried about that at the moment though. I needed to shower and then go to pick up my mate for our date. When I had told Beau I would be a perfect gentleman, I meant it. That didn’t mean that I wouldn’t flirt with my little fae mate, nor did it mean that I wouldn’t hope for at least some cuddles or kissing. But that was all going to be up to Beau. I might be the alpha in the relationship, but he was the one who controlled how far and fast it progressed. My only hope at the moment was that he didn’t make me wait too terribly long. My tiger was already pushing me, and although it wasn’t an issue yet, I didn’t know how long I had before he decided to take matters into his own hands, as it were. For now, it was time to take a long, hot shower and find a bit of relief.