Chapter 35
As soon as he saw the cottage, Alex instantly fell in love with it, certain that the charming, fieldstone house had been conjured up by fairies.
Grinning, he climbed out of the SUV, his eyes taking in every detail from the storybook style roof to the leaded glass windows framed by pink, climbing roses.
From the depths of his memories, he remembered seeing something similar in one of the many books he read each summer during his childhood, and he recalled his overwhelming desire to some day live in one like it.
Now was the time to make his wish come true.
“Mates, this is the kind of home I want to raise our cubs in.”
Standing beside him, Glenn gazed up at the house, nodding his head in agreement with his mate; it would be perfect for the three of them.
He’d already come to the conclusion that living in the Blackwood Pack house wasn’t going to cut it for him because there were too many shifters there for his tiger to ever feel at ease.
And then there was his relationship, or lack of one, with Dylon that would cause endless tension within the pack, putting Sawyer in the middle.
And that would not do at all, so he’d come up with the alternative of building a home for just the three of them somewhere near the Blackwood Pack house—though he’d decided to wait until they all returned from France before broaching the idea to his mates.
Watching Alex’s face as he fixated on the house, Sawyer saw the longing he had for it, making it easy for him to agree and, after listening to his mate talk about his childhood, it wasn’t hard for him to imagine what it must have felt like.
A shiver went through his heart when he thought of never living in a home filled with love and laughter in the air and vowed their children would never suffer as his mate had.
Gazing at the cottage, Sawyer’s mind pictured their cubs and pups playing games in front of a fire on a cold night while he and his mates cuddled together on a huge sofa.
It was perfect. “I’m in. When can we start building? ”
“What about you, tiger mate?” asked Alex.
“Count me in, too,” Glenn replied.
“Great! Now all we have to do is figure out where,” Sawyer said. “In the meantime, let’s go meet your brother.”
Smiling broadly, Alex strode up to the door and raised his hand, but before he could knock, the door swung open, revealing two men. Glancing at them quickly, it was easy to spot Sawyer’s brother so that meant the other one was…
“Alex,” Fionn said softly, “hi, I’m Fionn, your brother.
” No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, Fionn found himself enveloped in Alex’s arms. His brother’s unexpected reaction surprised him but gave him hope his brother would understand why he had to kill their father.
Patting his brother’s back in return, he felt his dragon roar with approval at the sight of Alex’s dragon.
Taking a step backward but still keeping his hands on Fionn’s shoulders, Alex grinned at his brother. “My dragon is doing a happy dance just like me…finally meeting you is like a dream come true. I always wanted a brother.”
“You did? Me too!” Fionn exclaimed, returning his brother’s grin. “I was heartbroken when my mother finally told me it wasn’t going to happen. That’s when Gus was born.”
Frowning slightly, Alex asked, “Who’s Gus?”
Chuckling, Fionn replied, “My imaginary brother. From that point on, whenever my mother caught me misbehaving, I blamed Gus.”
“Did she punish him?”
“Yes…but she said it was only fair if she punished me, too, since I was his accomplice.”
Giggling, Alex replied, “Your mother was one smart lady.”
“Yeah…she was,” Fionn said, his smile dimming as his memory of her filled his mind.
Stepping in, Hunter said, “Pet, why don’t you take Alex into the living room…we’ll be in shortly.”
Nodding, Fionn grasped Alex’s hand, leading him through the short entryway and then under the archway to the living room. “Quin is up at the chateau, preparing a bedroom for you and your mates. I haven’t seen what he’s been up to, so…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll blame Gus,” Alex replied, laughing.
Hunter paused for a moment, making sure Fionn and Alex were in the living room, before extending his hand to Glenn. “It’s finally nice to meet the man who the Fates picked out for my wanderlusty brother.”
Smiling, Glenn shook Hunter’s hand. “Nice to meet you, too.” Then, peering over his shoulder, he said, “Maybe we should join our mates.”
Batting Glenn’s abdomen, Sawyer squeezed by him, giving Hunter a warm hug. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” Hunter muttered. “What about Henri? Did you talk to him?”
“Yeah,” Sawyer replied. “He’s cool.”
“Good…good.” Moving aside, he gestured for Sawyer to follow him. “C’mon…they’re waiting for us.”
Glenn followed them, but before he got very far, Hunter grabbed his arm, stopping him.
Looking down at the hand holding him, Glenn heard his tiger growl in warning, thrusting forward to deal with the threat.
Using his free hand, Glenn slowly lifted Hunter’s hand from his arm.
Then, turning his eyes to him, he snapped, “Next time, my tiger will remove it…permanently”
Raising his palms upward to signal he wasn’t a threat, Hunter stepped back. “Sorry…I just wanted to assure you Alex is safe with Fionn.”
“Yeah…well…I hope you’re right,” Glenn muttered.
Shaking his head, Sawyer grabbed his mate’s hand. “Stop with the bodyguard shit. If my brother said Alex is safe, then he’s safe. Now, c’mon, Alex is waiting to introduce us to his brother.”
Following Sawyer into the living room, Glenn heard the front door close, before Hunter joined them.
Glancing around, he noted the layout of the room and, ignoring Sawyer’s glare, claimed the chair next to Alex.
Regardless of Hunter’s assertion about Fionn, his many years in the field taught him never to accept anyone’s word.
Learning it had been a painful lesson but one he never forgot.
~/~/~/~/~
Reading the incoming message on his phone, Carson looked up at Brady. “According to Dylon, there are plans to move the low-level magic users being held in the basement of the Witches’ Council building out of reach…and soon.”
“Does he know where?” asked Brady.
“He didn’t say…but he thinks it will happen in the next day or so,” Carson replied.
“I have to stop it!” Brady exclaimed. “Otherwise, I’ll never find them.”
“You mean we have to stop it,” Carson corrected. “Remy has already issued an order granting all low-level magic users their freedom. Whoever’s behind this is disobeying his order and needs to get their ass handed to them.”
“We need a plan,” Lucius said.
“Oh no, this doesn’t involve you, leelan. It’s too dangerous,” Brady insisted.
“But it’s not for you? Am I understanding you correctly?” asked Lucius.
“Well, no…I mean, yes it is but it’s different because I’m a magic-user,” Brady said, glancing over to Carson for support.
Shaking his head, Carson muttered, “Dude…not good.”
“A magic-user with no magic,” Lucius said. “How is that different from me?”
“Well when he puts it that way…” Carson’s voice trailed off.
Ignoring Carson, Brady faced his mate. “Leelan, I know these people and what they are capable of doing…to me, as well as you. If I allowed you to accompany me, then I wouldn’t be doing my job of protecting you from harm. Don’t you see? I’m acting in your best interest.”
“This is not going to end well,” Carson mumbled.
“What I see is you think I’m incapable of fulfilling my responsibilities as your mate,” Lucius huffed.
“That’s not what I said.”
“Ah…yeah it kinda is,” Carson agreed, holding up his hand to forestall a continuation of the argument. “Guys, I’m not the best one to talk about being a mate…especially since I tend to be a tad over-protective…”
“A tad?” Remy raised an eyebrow as he entered the room. “It’s a constant struggle for my mate to balance his need to protect me and the boys with my need for independence…or the boys’ needs to be…well…just boys.”
“How do you handle it?” asked Lucius.
“I remind myself everything Carson does, he does because he loves me and the boys. Is it smooth sailing all the time? No way. For instance, right now, I know Carson is trying to figure out how to protect the boys when they’re with his brothers at the Blackwood Pack while he’s with me at the Witches’ Council.
And even if it doesn’t show, it’s driving him crazy. ”
Brady jumped in, turning to Carson. “But it would be worse if the boys weren’t with your brothers, right? So by sending them away, you are doing your best to protect them. See leelan…by not letting you come with me on a dangerous mission, I’m doing what’s best for you.”
Before Lucius could respond, Remy said, “Brady…I cannot believe you just said that! Did you leave your brilliant legal mind upstairs? Can you tell me in what court a judge would find merit in your argument? Even with my limited legal knowledge, I know the answer is none. Lucius is your Fated Mate…not your child…and as a Fated Mate, he has the same rights you do. Not only that, he has the same abilities you do, so how do you think you could stop him from transporting himself to the Witches’ Council building? ”
“Brady,” Lucius murmured, hesitantly, “I would never do that…not without your permission.”
Appalled at his actions, Brady chastised himself for making Lucius feel like he wasn’t free to decide for himself. “I’m so sorry, leelan. You don’t need my permission to do anything. I didn’t claim you only to confine you to another prison, unable to make decisions for yourself.”