"Why would the delivery man lie?"

Pacing behind the high-backed chairs, I voiced my anxious question. Three times I attempted to reach Vincent, and three times I was forced to leave a voicemail. "Is the guy afraid to travel in the snow and just needs an excuse? Or was he working for someone who wanted to cause trouble for me and Vincent?"

"I couldn't say," Caleb offered distractedly as he continued his phone research.

"You look a bit pale, Reese," Stan said, stepping in front of me to block my pacing path. "You barely touched your water."

I glanced across the room, eyeing the choices at the buffet table. What had I eaten tonight? Half a plate of canapés?  "Maybe I should..."

"Let me get it for you," he said. "We can't have you passing out on us."

His charming smile managed to soothe me, or maybe it was his British dialect. Either way, I appreciated the distraction. "Thanks, Stan. The pasta salad looked good. The one with all the veggies. And if there's fruit..."

"Ah, so that's how you keep your lovely figure. I won't be long." Stan swept gentle fingers across my arm, leaving me with goosebumps, and I was still staring at the back of his wool slacks when Caleb growled at his phone.

"I don't like this. Flights out of Verona have been temporarily grounded. That means Marco and Deidra have a few hours to kill before they can leave."

It only took me a second to figure out where he was going with his comment, and I resumed my pacing. "Do you think they have something to do with the delivery driver?"

"I don't know, but the driver must have had some reason to lie to you, and now with Vincent out of touch... It's worrisome."

"Hell yes, it's worrisome," I said. "I know Vincent can hold his own in battle, but... Could Marco take him on and have any chance of winning?"

Caleb grimaced. "If Marco had the right tools, he could give Vincent a serious licking. I'm going after him."

"Like hell you are." Minnie protested in the form of a shout that had Boris narrowing his gaze as he stood beside my abandoned chair. "You are about to become magister of your domus, Caleb, and Vincent is one of the most capable gollums we know, like his father before him."

"No gollum is invincible. Roberto proved that." Caleb's words came down like a guillotine, and Minnie turned to me with a pained expression.

"I'm sure he's alright, Reese. Cell reception is always bad during storms."

"But, he would have called from the inn if he'd made it," I argued. "He said he would check in."

Caleb stood from his seat as he pocketed his phone. "I'm going to talk to Adamo about locating Marco and Deidra. Minnie, you're in charge."

We both knew what Caleb meant by that, and Minnie nodded as she gestured him off. Stan returned with my food, and I nibbled from the plate, wishing I had a better appetite. If Vincent met with foul play during his journey, I might need my strength to save him. Or I might need to save myself from Stan's wandering hands. By the time I had picked through my dinner, Caleb returned with George and Joseph in tow. George looked wide-eyed, like he'd been pinched, and Joseph appeared to need a bathroom judging by the greenish tint to his face.

"George has volunteered to join the search party," Caleb announced.

"What search party?" Minnie asked, pinning Caleb in a haughty gaze.

"The three gollum search party I formed with George. We only need one more."

"I'll volunteer," Boris said, stepping forward and closing the gap between us. The one I'd been trying to widen. "You will need someone who is familiar with this landscape, and that would be me."

Caleb's eyebrows rose as if he believed otherwise. "Very well. I suggest we leave immediately."

"Excuse me," Minnie said. "I can't vouch for George, but you two have no business being out in this weather the day before the magister ceremony."

"Now, Minnie..." Boris began, but Caleb silenced him.

"I've got this, father." Caleb hugged Minnie around her shoulders and led her away from us. Shortly afterward, Boris' large hand came down on my back.

"Vincent will turn up," he said, although I didn't know why he felt the need to reassure me since he hated my guts. "He is more capable than any gollum I have met of his age, which is why I do not approve of his foolish commitment to you. Deidra was my pick."

And there it was. The kick in the side I figured was coming.

"I understand why you don't approve of me, Magister Seacrest," I said, adding the title for effect. "But condemning someone to a loveless relationship because of tradition and protocol is like saying none of us has the right to be happy except by chance."

Stan nodded his agreement until Boris' pompous gaze stopped him. Fortunately, Caleb and Minnie returned before Boris could throw out more insults.

"It's settled," Caleb said. "We will leave as soon as..."

"Excuse me," Joseph interrupted. "But I think that punch is making its way back up."

As if Terrance had special radar that detected the onset of a barf fest, he appeared out of nowhere to stand beside Joseph. "There is a bathroom downstairs next to the laundry. It is out of the way and won't draw attention to your unfortunate circumstance."

Joseph nodded, looking uncertain as he followed Terrance's pointing finger.

"Reese and I will see to Joseph," Minnie offered, pressing a kiss to Caleb's cheek before slipping her hand around Joseph's arm. "You boys be safe. I expect a phone call as soon as you have news, or in one hour, whichever is sooner."

Minnie gently nudged Joseph into motion, and I took hold of his other arm, helping her lead him away from the party. Stan felt the need to follow us, and while Minnie was definitely keen to his clinginess, neither of us wanted to be rude and tell him to shove off.

Joseph spent the next few minutes decorating the toilet with cherry red vomit, while Stan talked about himself. We learned that he enjoyed golf, he was a fan of hip-hop music, and his mate was killed during a battle two weeks after they were mated, which had Minnie and me nearly in tears. More than an hour had gone by before Caleb called Minnie with an update.

"No sign of Vincent, but you talked to the manager at the inn," she said as she held me in her wide, sympathetic gaze. "He saw the delivery driver talking to a couple just before asking the manager to lock the package in the safe. That's all the information he would give, huh? It sounds like we need to contact the delivery driver directly."

Minnie scowled as Caleb spoke in her ear. "You want me to find Adamo? He's probably not answering because he's doing unsavory things to his party guests. Well, how would you describe it? Okay, I'll track him down, but if I'm exposed to unseemly exploits, it's your fault. I love you. Be safe."

Minnie hung up the phone and stood to fix her hair in the bathroom mirror. "I've got to find Adamo. Caleb needs him to call his contact at the airport to find out if Marco and Deidra have checked-in." She looked at me, then at Stan, and finally at Joseph, who had passed out a good twenty minutes ago. "Stanhope, I am trusting you to behave like a proper gentleman with Reese."

Stan gave her a winning smile from his cross-legged position on the floor. "A true Brit is always proper."

"Well, let's hope your idea of proper is the same as Reese's. I will leave it up to her to decide."

Stan's smile widened a bit when Minnie left, and he leaned over Joseph's slumped body, giving his shoulder a subtle shake. "Looks like the bloke is out for the night. He'll be wishing he switched to coffee sooner. Tell me more about yourself, Reese? When did you find out you were a hybrid?"

Ugh. Really?

Because I had an unconscious gollum to attend to, I told Stan my story; that I spent two years in Manhattan before I was sniffed out, and Colin was the first Valentino to meet me before Vincent swooped in and stole my heart. That's when I noticed Stan had eyes the same color as Colin, brown like coffee beans. But Colin's were easy to read and softened any time he laughed, while Stan's roving gaze made me feel violated.

"I understand why Vincent is attracted to you," Stan said. "Your scent appeals to our need to mate and also to fight. The blend is intoxicating. Nothing like the punch Adamo serves."

As he spoke of scents, I was hit by a powerful blast of Stan's pheromones, and here I was in a remote downstairs bathroom with a worthless gollum at my feet.

"Have you been with another gollum apart from Vincent?" Stan asked boldly.

"No." I met his lustful gaze to prove how serious I was, but it only showed me the determination on his face.

"Just no? I'll take that to mean you're open to explore other possibilities." He glanced at my hand, eyeballing my diamond. "I see a ring, but no vows have been said."

Really, dude?

"I would be flattered by your suggestion if I were single, Stan, but I am not single. I am committed to Vincent. Vows or no vows."

"What if I told you I wouldn't be interested in a lifetime? Just something to satisfy our curiosities."

"A one night stand? Out of the question, and I would like to change the subject now."

Joseph burped from his prone position on the floor. "Me too."