Chapter 31
Jimmy watched the shifter gas up his truck and knew the guy was trouble.
As he vacillated between alerting Mystia or handling this himself, he sniffed again just to make sure he smelled Silver Point Pack.
Yup, the guy belonged to that pack and he would bet anything he was an enforcer.
He watched as the guy looked up behind Jimmy’s place to where the Blackwood Pack house stood and that clinched it—this dude was hunting today.
Dylon knew he was being watched but couldn’t spot who it was.
He looked up the mountain. Nope, nothing there.
He slipped on his sunglasses and then saw Jimmy.
Now, why was that old wolf staring at him?
And fidgeting—like he might know who Dylon was.
He topped off his tank, put the nozzle back, and decided to pay in person instead of at the pump. Maybe the old wolf knew something.
This was an easy assignment Rudy had given him.
Dylon was new to the Silver Point Pack and was still learning pack politics.
He’d left his old pack soon after he became an enforcer there because his job required shaking down or threatening pack members the Alpha wanted targeted.
His parents hadn’t raised him to be a thug; to Dylon, being an enforcer meant keeping the pack safe from outside enemies—not harassing members of the pack who hadn’t committed crimes.
Rudy told him they were tracking a band of brothers who killed his Alpha’s brother and others in the brother’s pack.
They found where the killers were hiding but failed to execute them because they’d fled.
So, Rudy sent him back here to see if he could pick up the trail.
He headed inside to pay for his gas and maybe, if he got lucky, the old wolf would know something.
“Hi,” Dylon said as he walked up to the counter, fishing his wallet from his pocket. “How much do I owe for the gas?”
Jimmy told him and as Dylon handed over the cash, he nonchalantly asked, “Hey, I’m looking for an old friend named Jackson. Do you know him?”
Jimmy pressed a button under the counter before he replied, “Maybe, depends on what his last name is.”
“Well, can I speak plainly here? I know you’re a wolf, as am I, so let me just say Jackson is a member of the Blackwood Pack. Do you know them?”
“Who are you, young man?”
“I’m sorry, I’m Dylon and as I said, Jackson’s an old friend of mine.”
“Is that so?”
Dylon’s eyes narrowed. The old wolf hadn’t given him any information and avoided giving answers to his questions.
His gut told him something wasn’t right.
He glanced around, his eyes settling on a business license taped to the wall behind the counter.
Owner: Jimmy Blackwood. Fuck! Dylon now knew why he felt something was fishy and his eyes narrowed as they swiveled back to Jimmy.
“I think you know exactly who I’m looking for, don’t you, Jimmy?
Are you going to tell me where he is or do I have to convince you to help me? ”
Suddenly, Dylon heard a melodious female voice behind him. “Now why would such a handsome man want to do that to someone clearly not a threat?”
“Mind your own business,” he snarled, turning around.
And in a split second, Dylon knew he’d made a big mistake as the witch waved her hands and he felt himself falling, but could not shift.
The witch had paralyzed him. Jimmy quickly moved around the counter, caught Dylon, and laid him gently on the floor.
The last thing Dylon remembered was thinking how sad his parents would be about his death.
Jimmy looked up at Mystia. “What are you going to do now?”
“I want to talk to him,” Mystia replied.
“Okaaay, about what?”
“You’ll see. Move aside so I can teleport him into your office.”
Jimmy got up from his kneeling position next to Dylon, moving away. He watched as Mystia waved her hand over the prone body, and then headed back to his office where he found Dylon sitting in a chair.
“Jimmy, I want you to record my interview with this shifter.”
“His name is Dylon,” Jimmy said.
He took out his smartphone and set it to record mode as Dylon slowly woke up.
When he came to, Dylon became aware of the two people—no, make that a wolf shifter and a witch—standing before him.
Damn! He had to get out of here, report back to Rudy and come back with reinforcements.
He tried to get up but found he was still frozen.
Snarling, Dylon said, “Let me go. You have no right to hold me!”
“I have every right,” said Mystia, “You lied to my mate and threatened him. Now, I’m going to ask some questions and you will answer them truthfully.”
“I don’t have…” Dylon started to say, as Mystia waved her hand and murmured the words of a spell. “…yes, madam, I will answer truthfully.”
“Jimmy, start recording,” Mystia said, before continuing. “Dylon, are you an enforcer for the Silver Point Pack?”
“Yes”
“Why did you stop at this place?”
“I needed gas.”
“Why did you ask about a person name Jackson?”
“I’m looking for him.”
“Why?”
“Because Rudy sent me to find out where he is.”
“Who’s Rudy?”
“He’s Alpha Silver Point’s second-in-command.”
“Why is Rudy looking for Jackson?”
“To kill him.”
“Kill just Jackson?”
“No, Jackson’s brothers, too.”
“Who have you killed so far since becoming an enforcer for the Silver Point Pack?”
“Nobody.”
Mystia looked over at Jimmy to make sure he was recording, and then asked Dylon, “Is there a kill order out on Jackson and his brothers?”
“Yes, they are enemies of the Silver Point Pack.”
“Who put out the kill order?”
“I-I-I don’t know, the Alpha? Rudy just told me that there was a kill order on Jackson and his brothers.”
Mystia turned to Jimmy, indicating he should stop recording. Once he had turned his phone off, Jimmy asked, “What now?”
“Now Dylon is going to leave here and he will remember only that he did not find anything of interest,” said Mystia as she did one more spell over him before teleporting him to his truck.
As they watched Dylon drive away, Jimmy asked Mystia, “Why did you want me to record him? We already knew all that.”
“Yes, we did, but the video will be useful for those who don’t.”
~/~/~/~/~
Steel found his mother in the solarium reading one of the many books in his library.
Sitting down in one of the large, plush, club chairs next to hers—as he waited for an acknowledgment—his thoughts drifted to Logan and his incredible design ability.
He’d already told Jackson he had no objections to Logan doing the nursery, great room, and dining room, but now he had another design project for Logan to do.
It would have to be kept secret and Steel just hoped Logan would agree.
Oracle inserted a bookmark, closed the book and looked at her son. “I assume you want to see me about something, sweetie?” Oracle asked.
Steel handed his mother the list of baby clothes Logan prepared. “Logan gave us this list a couple of days ago and said it’s what the pup will need for his first six months.”
Oracle glanced at it. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”
“Wait, are you telling me we’ll need all these clothes for a baby who is going to sleep most of the day?”
“Ah-hh-h, you think the list is excessive, is that it?”
“Well, yes. Look at it. Don’t you think it’s a bit too much?”
“Not really, I think it is quite conservative. If I had done the list, there would be plenty more on it. But maybe Logan was careful about spending your money,” replied Oracle.
Steel’s mouth flopped open as he processed what his mother said.
More clothes? Bending forward, he buried his face in his hands so his mother could not see his panic.
This was too much. Don’t I have enough to worry about just keeping my mate safe?
Now I will have a helpless baby. What if I screw up?
Hurt the baby? Shit, shit, shit. Oracle set the list down and leaned forward.
Steel felt his mother take his hands away from his face as she said softly, “What is the real problem here, sweetie? Why are you so upset about the clothes?”
Steel looked at his mother, sighing. Trust her to know him.
“I freaked out when Jackson handed me this list. Then he talked about a nursery and suddenly I panicked because I’m not ready to be a father.
What if I screw up or hurt my pup? Ever since I saw that list, I’ve been freaking out.
I’m trying to hide it from Jackson because he’s also freaking out with his own worries and fears. ”
Oracle took her son’s hands in hers, “Look at me, Steel. Every new parent feels exactly as you do. We all worry something will happen to our babies. We never want to let them out of our sight. And we all think we will be the worst parents and screw up our kids so they will hate us forever.”
“Did you feel this way? Did Dad?”
Oracle chuckled. “Someday, I’ll tell you all the stupid and dumb things we did as new parents.
But you know what? You and Slate survived and even thrived.
You know why? Because we loved you with our whole hearts.
And love overrides a lot of dumb things new parents do.
So, my advice? Don’t worry. You and Jackson will be great parents, trust me.
And besides, you have Mystia and me as backups if you ever truly fuck up. ”
“Mother! Jeeze, when did you start using that language?”
Oracle laughed. “Oh sweetie, I’ve never stopped but just never did it around you. Now, do you want me to take care of the clothes list?”
“I thought Jackson and I could do it—or at least start—when we’re on the babymoon. I looked online and bookmarked some stores that sell stuff that’s on the list and I’m sure he’ll enjoy doing it but if not, it’s all yours.”
“When are you going on the babymoon?”
“I’m hoping we’ll go next week”
“Does Jackson know about it yet?”