“My freaking computer system was infested with spyware,” Noah slapped a file on the kitchen table. Contrary to what Beau believed, Noah drove, not flew, apparently staying not far from the cabin, or Arrowtown. “IT ran analytics on my business system last night and it lit up like fireworks. Even my laptop was infected and a security company I hired found bugs in my offices and yours. All untraceable but it has to be father.”

“What about your car? Did you check that?” Liam asked. He’d been quiet since Noah arrived, but he’d clearly been paying attention.

“I got a last minute rental. Damn thing rattled all the way up here,” Noah grouched. “Not that it would’ve made any difference. Father knows you guys are here and after yesterday will probably assume I’d turn up sooner or later.”

“What did you find out from grandfather? How did you get in touch with him?”

“I flew,” Noah huffed. “That’s why I’m shattered. I’ve been running around like a headless chicken trying to find more information on mating among our kind. Grandfather was the only source I had in the end and I didn’t want to call him. I needed to see his face.”

“And?” Beau and Liam had already filled Noah in on what happened the day before as well as the events leading up to Theo’s death and their meeting with the Fates.

Noah leaned back in his chair, resting his foot on a free chair next to him. “Turns out, some three hundred years or so ago, Father had a very close male friend. Grandfather thinks they were mates because they were that close. I don’t know what species the guy was, although Grandfather thought he might be human, which as you know would’ve caused problems in itself.”

“Paranormals weren’t known about publicly then,” Beau said when Liam looked confused.

“Exactly and that’s without sodomy being a hanging offence, at least where Father used to live.”

“What happened to the young man?” Liam asked.

“That’s the problem. No one knows. Father clearly didn’t claim him, otherwise Grandfather would’ve known about it. All Grandfather would say was one day the young man was gone and Father moped about for weeks. Then it was like someone had flicked a switch, so Grandfather said. He started hitting the town big time, went to every party and social event for miles around and eventually came home with two women he’d claimed.”

“As bond mates.” Beau shook his head. “I should’ve known. Think about it. Our mothers were friends, but did we ever see them being affectionate with each other? No. They had separate bedrooms for fuck’s sake.”

“It seems that way, although it’s not as though it’s something we can ever know without asking one of them,” Noah said glumly. “But there’s more. You know how Grandfather’s mated to Elise and Jack?”

Beau nodded. “They’ve been together forever as far as I knew.”

“Well over five hundred years,” Noah agreed, “and they are true mates, and apparently growing up, Father was close to all of them. But once this young man, damn, Grandfather did tell me his name, but I forgot. Anyhow, once the young man disappeared, and Father took our mothers as mates, after that he refused to have anything to do with his father and Jack again. Point blank ignored Jack completely if he was in the same room. Jack and Elise were gutted over it and eventually Grandfather told his son to basically piss off.”

“Which he did.” Beau nodded glumly.

“Imagine what it must have been like for your father, though,” Liam said. “Hell, me and Lucien got kicked out of our pride for being gay and that was only fifteen years ago. I know times have changed now, but imagine what it would have been like back then. It could’ve been really dangerous for your father and this man to be together.”

“Normally, I’d agree, babe,” Beau reached over and took his mate’s hand. He meant what he said earlier, he really couldn’t seem to stop wanting to touch him. “But you have to remember, my grandfather was in a poly relationship and no one blinked an eye at his living arrangements. He was rich, powerful, even back then, and looked after the people in his village. Father could’ve done the same thing if he’d wanted this man badly enough.”

“The man could’ve rejected him,” Liam persisted, and Beau remembered his loving mate cared for everyone even when they were trying to kill him. “How long ago did you say this was? Three hundred years. Imagine if your father showed this man his phoenix to prove he was paranormal. The poor guy probably thought he was drunk or being tempted by the devil himself. No wonder he ran off.”

“We don’t know that he did run off,” Noah reminded gently. “But I agree, that could’ve happened. The thing is, Father’s obviously held onto a grudge for a freaking long time. I lost track of the number of times he was forever telling us, let your two mates meet first.”

“What about a male of our kind having the ability to become pregnant?” Beau asked. His father was a threat to him, his baby and Liam. He wasn’t about to feel sorry for him. “Was he able to clarify anything about that?”

“Oh yeah, you’ll love this,” Noah laughed. “It was grandfather who gave birth to his son, not Elise. Apparently, she can’t have children, but they were true mates, so Grandfather didn’t care. He’d resigned himself to having no children and was perfectly happy about it, but then bam, one day out of the blue he started getting big around the middle. Three months later our father popped out.”

“I bet that was a bit of a shock,” Liam said.

“Heaven’s yes. Remember this was centuries ago. There were no medical facilities, shifters were in hiding from humans. Our Grandfather was housebound, while Elise rode around the village with cushions stuffed up her dress. If anyone wanted to see Grandfather, Jack would tell them he was suffering from an illness and confined to his bed. Then once the baby was born, Elise got rid of the pillows and Grandfather made a miraculous recovery.”

“Times have changed so much,” Liam said, gripping Beau’s hand lightly. “At least you won’t have to hide away with this little one.”

There were a million things Beau wanted to ask about pregnancy and birth, but his nagging conviction his father hadn’t finished with them had him asking instead, “surely father was aware males could get pregnant then? He had to know it was his father that gave birth to him.”

“No one told him, at least not at first,” Noah said sadly. “Initially, when father was growing up in the village, Grandfather couldn’t say anything because if he’d blabbed about it with his friends, then it’d cause problems for all of them. Remember, no one in Grandfather’s village knew what they were, only that they cared for the village and kept them all safe. Later, after this man father was besotted with disappeared and father started to ignore Jack, Grandfather told him then, saying he had no right to treat his own sire that way.”

“I bet that went down like a lead balloon.” Beau could just imagine it.

“Worse, father called Grandfather an abomination. Told him he was sick for allowing the events that led to the pregnancy in the first place, and that Grandfather was nothing more than a pussy in trousers for allowing himself to be impregnated that way.”

“There’s a lot of women who’d object to that, and a few cats, too, I imagine,” Liam said.

“Again, you’ve got to think of the context,” Beau reminded his mate. “Three hundred years ago, women were nothing more than chattels, belonging first to their fathers and then to their husbands. They couldn’t vote, run a business or own property and were usually married off by their fathers to further business dealings or to prevent strife with a neighboring village or town. It cost grandfather two horses, four goats and a cow to secure Elise’s hand and they were all paranormals and understood the mating pull.”

“Didn’t you tell me your mother said all phoenixes were bi-sexual?” Liam was clearly saddened by the discussion and Beau felt like a shit for having this crap dumped on their laps when they were supposed to be enjoying a vacation.

“Elise told my mom, when we became adults and father refused to discuss anything about mating with us, except that damn rule of his.” Noah explained.

“It must have been kind of obvious seeing as Grandfather had a mate of each gender,” Beau added.

“Your father grew up with two fathers and a mother,” Liam said. “He had to know it was possible for his sons to have at least one male mate.”

“Not if he got rid of the male mate he had and decided having females to bond with was the better alternative.” Noah put his feet on the floor and stood. “I’m sorry, guys, but rehashing the why isn’t helping us work out what father plans next. I want to help, but I haven’t slept in forty-eight hours and I’m dead on my feet. Keep your sex screaming to a minimum for a few hours, would you please? And Beau, ring your mom, she might have some idea what’s going on with father.” Leaving his coffee mug on the table, Noah lurched off in the direction of the spare room. The door closed with a definitive bang.

“I’ll let you make your calls in peace,” Liam said, grabbing the cups off the table and taking them over to the sink. “Why don’t you curl up on the couch and do what you need to do.”

“What are you going to be doing?” Beau wasn’t comfortable with Liam being out of his sight.

“I’m just going to let my lion out for a stretch on the rocks outside. You’ll hear if anyone’s coming and I’ll let out a roar if I see anything suspicious. Now go on, you look like you need a nap as well.”

Beau was going to insist on tagging along, but the couch was a lot more comfortable than the rocks Liam’s lion loved to sun himself on. Plus which it was a lot cooler in the house, rather than out under the sun. Grabbing his phone, his usual one this time rather than the burner one, he went through to the couch and plopped down heavily. Gods, when did he get so tired? I’ll just close my eyes for a minute.

/~/~/~/~/

“Hey. Moron. Wake up.” Beau’s eyes flew open and he looked around. Noah was standing right in front of the couch, hands on hips, a scowl on his face. “Where’s Liam?”

“Liam?” Shaking his head, Beau reached inside, looking for their bond. “He went outside to catch the sun in his furry form. His lion likes to laze around in the afternoons.”

“In the dark?” Noah pointed to the window. It was completely black outside.

Beau’s heart started to race. “How long were we sleeping? What time is it?”

“It’s gone nine. Where would he go?”

“He wouldn’t run off,” Beau was certain of that. “Are the cars still here?”

“Yes, stupid, I checked that first.”

“Maybe he went for a run, got lost. He doesn’t know the area like we do.”

“He’s a shifter, he could scent his way home. Use your mate bond thingy.” Noah tapped his chest.

“I’m trying, damn it,” Beau focused harder, his panic rising. “The bond is barely there. It’s like…it’s like what happened when he died.”

“Get your clothes off,” Noah tugged at his shirt. “We’re going to have to track him the old fashioned way. By the way, grandfather said you can continue to shift until the last month of your pregnancy, so I hope like hell your third mate turns up by then.”

“I’ve got to find the one I’ve claimed first.” Beau shifted and flew straight out the window, rising sharply into the sky. It was a clear night; no moon but the starlight was enough to see by. Circling around, his phoenix strained to find the final traces of their link. I should’ve clipped a lock of his hair, when Liam mentioned it, Beau thought as Noah joined him in the sky, ready to follow him.