Chapter 8
The exhaustion on Fionn’s face when they arrived at his hoard had Hunter kicking himself for not realizing his mate needed help.
But first, he needed to rest. Pulling his mate down onto Fionn’s favorite gold bed, Hunter held him in his arms, humming the same songs he’d sung to Quin when he was a child.
As morning arrived, Hunter tightened his grip on Fionn who, thankfully, was still sleeping.
Ever since his mate found out about Alex, Hunter had remained silent, not wanting to influence Fionn’s decision.
But now he could see what a mistake that was; all it did was to leave his mate adrift, unsure of which way to go.
And as last night proved, it wasn’t good for him at all.
So while Fionn slept, Hunter spent time organizing his thoughts, planning how to help his mate reach a decision they’d both be happy with.
Feeling a soft burst of air as Fionn sighed, Hunter looked down, locking his eyes with the now opened ones of his mate. “Good morning, pet.”
“Mornin’ mate.”
“Better?”
Nodding, Fionn sat up. “Thank you for…”
Leaning over, Hunter’s lips found his mate’s, devouring them with an intense kiss before gentling it.
Finally letting go, he smiled at Fionn, his lips puffy and red from their recent workout.
“Pet, I’m sorry for not being there for you.
I left you to make a decision alone that will affect both of us and that was very wrong on my part. ”
Fionn’s eyes grew round. “You want to talk about Alex?”
“Yes…if that’s okay with you.”
Nodding vigorously, Fionn’s face broke into a huge smile. “It is…I’m so confused…I don’t want to hurt you…my dragon wants to shift and find his brother…and…and…”
“Pet, stop,” Hunter commanded. “Let’s take it one step at a time. What’s the biggest issue you’re dealing with concerning Alex?”
“That’s easy…you. I need to know what will happen between you and Sawyer if I decide not to have Alex in my life. See what I mean? I’m not really free to choose because one choice would hurt you and I can’t do that. I love you too much.”
“I can see that, but let’s take me out of the equation for now. Let’s talk about you. What’s your biggest fear regarding Alex?” asked Hunter.
“He’ll hate me for killing his father,” Fionn murmured.
“That’s a possibility, but I don’t think he will,” Hunter replied.
“Why?”
“After Sawyer found out that Artur was his mate’s father, Sawyer sent me an email, telling me about Alex’s childhood…
about how lonely it was. Then he went on to describe the man Alex grew up to be…
someone who didn’t dwell on the past but spent every moment enjoying the freedom he found after his father died.
I know you were protecting your friends the night you went to see your father, but pet, you also saved your brother.
For eighteen years, his dragon was a prisoner, unable to fly free.
Can you imagine how your dragon would feel if that happened to him? ”
A shiver consumed Fionn’s body at that thought.
How did my brother survive? He knew from the time his father locked him in the cave, his dragon’s will to live grew weaker each day.
Unable to shift, to escape, to feel the wind beneath his wings as he soared over the glorious Scottish mountains; his dragon had cried until his tears ran dry.
It was then, Fionn realized, he’d given up.
It was only through Kieran’s efforts that he and his dragon survived.
“How did Alex do it?” Fionn whispered, as tears rolled down his cheeks.
“I don’t know,” Hunter murmured, brushing the tears from his mate’s face.
“What else did Sawyer say about Alex?” Fionn asked, sniffling.
“He has a great sense of humor…loves action movies especially spy ones…is pregnant with their son…”
“Wait! Alex is pregnant?”
“According to Sawyer who, I might add, is freaking out about being a father.”
“You mean, I’m going to be an uncle?” asked Fionn, unsure how he felt about that.
“Do you mind?” asked Hunter.
“Uhm…maybe…I don’t know. What if I’m not good at it?”
“Pet, being an uncle is way easier than being a parent. You’ll be great. Trust me.”
“Oh, my gods!” Jumping up, Fionn began to wander around, occasionally picking up a precious object before rejecting it.
Watching his mate’s curious behavior, Hunter asked, “Pet, what are you doing?”
Turning to his mate, Fionn said, “Duh, finding a gift for the new baby. It’s very important to pick the right thing for my nephew’s hoard. I’m just not sure…”
“Not sure of what, pet?”
“Well, usually when a dragonlet is born, everyone in the family gives a gift which ends up becoming quite a sizable hoard. But in this case, there isn’t any family left except me, so I’m not sure what to do.
Should I give my nephew more than one gift or should I give him an enormous one? See I just don’t know.”
“Why must he have a hoard? Alex doesn’t.”
Flopping down on a solid gold throne, Fionn scrunched up his face. “I know…I never heard of that happening. Dragons and hoards go together. I wonder why my…our father didn’t allow Alex to have an hoard.”
“If Alex’s birth wasn’t registered…”
“Of course!” Sitting upright, Fionn continued, “It would have to be registered and the keeper would have to be approved, so if our father didn’t record Alex’s birth…”
“There’d be no way to explain it was Alex’s hoard, without endangering him.” Hunter said. “Instead, he set up a trust, probably with the profits from his businesses. Totally untraceable in the dragon world.”
“Exactly. Dragons absolutely do not trust banks, even though they use some owned by paranormals. But they only keep a small balance there…mainly to cover credit card purchases.”
“Hmm…I don’t think Alex can register his son at birth, either, because that would alert the authorities of his existence,” Hunter said.
“So my nephew can’t have a hoard,” Fionn said sadly.
“I don’t think so, but maybe there’s a way around it.”
“How?”
“Not sure…but we have time, right?” asked Hunter, pleased to see his mate nod in agreement. “In the meantime, do you want to see the picture Sawyer sent of Alex?”
“I guess,” Fionn murmured, wondering if his brother looked like their father.
Walking over to his mate, Hunter found the recent photo his brother sent him on his phone before handing it to Fionn. “The other guy is Glenn…Willow’s son.”
Staring at his brother, Fionn could see the happiness on Alex’s face as he stood between Sawyer and Glenn. “He doesn’t look like our father at all.”
“No?”
“Uh-uh,” Fionn murmured, his eyes roaming over the photo. “There’s kindness in his face, something our father never had.”
“He must take after his other father,” Hunter said softly.
“Yeah…” Fionn’s voice dropped off as he continued to stare at his brother. “He looks different than I expected.”
“Good different…or bad different?”
“Uhmm…good, I think. There’s something about him that just draws me in but I can’t figure out what it is.”
“Your brother is an Omega…someone who cares about people…someone who would have been horrified to hear what your father was doing to you.”
Glancing up at Hunter, Fionn asked, “You think so?”
“Pet, it’s the Omega’s nature. They are nurturers so it pains them to see someone hurting. If your brother knew what your father was doing to you, trust me, he’d have done everything in his power to stop it, even though Artur was his father, too.”
Touching his brother on the screen with a fingertip, Fionn wondered what it would have been like to grow up with Alex.
“Far different, I bet,” he whispered, answering his own question.
Committing the picture to memory, he finally knew what to do.
Rising, he handed the phone back to Hunter before saying, “Mate, I want to meet my brother.”
Smiling, Hunter asked, “Ready to go back?”
“In a minute,” Fionn replied, “I want to pick out something of mine to give him for a mating gift.”
Hunter’s gaze swept the huge cavern, then chuckled. “Any ideas? Or should I figure we’ll be here for a while.”
Batting his mate’s chest, Fionn headed over to a particular spot where he figured he’d find exactly what would be perfect for Alex. “Don’t get too comfortable,” he called over his shoulder.
Smirking, Hunter claimed the seat his mate had just vacated, watching Fionn paw through a large pile of golden artifacts. It didn’t matter how long it took, he’d pass the time looking at his mate’s perfectly round ass bobbing up and down as he searched for the perfect gift.
~/~/~/~/~
“Arghaaaaaa.”
Colton’s eyes shot open. What the hell was that? Searching the darkness for the cause, his eyes finally landed on Ian just as his mate grabbed his stomach.
“Arghaaaaaaaa. Fuccckkkk. Colton!”
Sitting up quickly, Colton flipped on the bedside lamp before turning back to his mate. “Ian…what’s the matter?”
“It’s the pups…they’re coming….arghaaaaaaaaaaaa.” Ian began panting as the pain grew. “Get Mac! Now! Arghaaaaaaaaaa!”
Panicking, Colton jumped out of bed, heading for the door until another howl of pain, longer than the others came from his mate. “Fuck!” Turning around, Colton hurried back to Ian. Finally, his training kicked in. Placing his hand on Ian’s stomach, he waited for the next contraction.
“Arghnaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Shit…Ian is right…our pups are coming! “Hang on, babe.” Grabbing his phone from the bedside table, he called Mac, growing impatient as the phone rang several times.
Glancing down at his mate, Colton saw beads of sweat forming on Ian’s forehead as he struggled to cope with the pain of the contractions.
He was just about to hang up when Mac answered.
“Colton?”
“Mac, the pups are coming…Ian’s in labor.”
“How far apart are the contractions?” asked Mac, getting dressed as he spoke.
“Two minutes. We need to get him downstairs.”