Chapter 2
Trying to decide what to eat, Zane heard the door open and the voice of the waitress talking to someone.
As the air currents moved around the room, he suddenly heard his wolf howl when his mate’s scent hit him full force.
Whipping his head around, he saw a slender, yet muscular, man staring at Slate.
“Mate!” Zane shouted, rising and rushing towards him.
David froze. His eyes shifted from the man who’d come back from the dead to the shifter coming at him, before looking back again at the guy Feris and Hook had abducted from the pub just days before.
He’s alive! How did he escape? Nobody escapes from those two.
Shit, where are Feris and Hook now? I need to know!
Then his brain finally registered what the other man said.
Mate? Me? No fucking way! In the blink of an eye, David vanished into thin air.
“Wow!” exclaimed Theo. “Did you see that Norman? Zane’s mate can disappear!”
“Holy shit!”
“What was that?” asked Colton.
“Samuel, did you see that?” Lili asked her husband.
“I haven’t heard of a shifter who could do that,” Ian said.
“How did he do it?” asked Lizzie.
Zane skidded to a stop where his mate had just stood, unable to believe his eyes. Frustrated at losing him once again, he turned to the waitress, yelling, “Where did he go?” The young girl began to tremble.
Slate stood, strode over and said, “Stop it, Zane!”
“She knows my mate! She knows where he went!” Zane exclaimed.
Kieran joined the group, laying a hand on Zane and said, “Zane, please, you’re scaring her. Let Logan find out what she knows.”
Zane stared at Kieran. Feeling his anger subsiding, he nodded. “Please find my mate, Ki. He needs me,” Zane pleaded.
Logan walked over to the waitress, scenting her fear. When he reached her, he said, “Hi, I’m Logan. What’s your name?”
“An-n-na. Anna Gall, sir.”
Seeing her whole body shake, Logan gentled his voice. “Anna, may I ask you about the young man who disappeared?”
“You mean David? I never knew he could do that, but then I don’t know very much about him since I was only recently hired,” Anna responded.
“He’s a waiter here?” asked Logan.
“Yes, sir. He’s training me tonight…well, was supposed to train me,” Anna murmured. “Now I don’t know what I should do.”
“I’m sure they’ll arrange for someone else to do it,” Logan said, thinking about how to proceed next. “Will you do something for me?”
“Yes, well, it depends, because I can’t take orders yet,” Anna said.
“No nothing like that,” Logan assured her, “David is the Fated Mate of my brother Zane and we need to find him. Would you please ask the manager to come up to see me?”
“I’m not in trouble, am I? I swear I didn’t know he could do that,” Anna said, her voice still unsteady.
“No, Anna, please don’t worry. I just want to ask the manager about David,” said Logan.
“O-o-okay, I’ll go get him,” Anna said, turning and leaving the room.
Logan spoke to his spirit for a minute, before saying to Zane, “My spirit tells me your mate is safe and close by. When the manager comes, please let Kieran and me find out how you can meet him. Okay?”
“Zane, will you trust us to help you?” Kieran said, his hand still on Zane’s arm, sending him love.
Searching Ki’s face, Zane found what he needed. “Yeah, I will. But Ki, my wolf is telling me he’s in danger. I need to find him soon.”
“I know. Here’s the manager. Let see what he can tell us,” Kieran said.
One of the owners of the Wolf Pack Pub walked in, glancing at the shifters sitting at the table before his eyes settled on the group standing before him. “Anna said you wanted to see me.”
Logan swung around to face the owner. “Hi, thank you for coming. I’m Logan, my mate Kieran, my brother Zane and my brother-in-law, Slate…”
“Which one of you attacked my waiter?”
Startled, Logan said, “None of us…”
“My waiter said someone attacked him. Are you calling him a liar?”
“Not at all,” Logan insisted. “If I may explain. My brother Zane discovered tonight David is his Fated Mate and when he caught his scent, he was eager to meet him. Unfortunately, in my brother’s rush to get to David, it may have looked like he meant to do him harm, but I can assure you, Zane is incapable of hurting his Fated Mate. ”
David’s boss studied Zane intently before he spoke. “David is your Fated Mate?”
“Yes, sir,” Zane said, stepping forward. “I caught his faint scent downstairs but didn’t know who it belonged to…that was, until he walked in here.”
“What pack are you with?”
“The Blackwood Pack, sir. It’s in California,” Zane replied.
“Stay here. If everything checks out, I’ll be back and take you to David.”
“Yes, sir.”
The owner gave a hard glance to the group in the room, before leaving and closing the door behind him.
Zane stared at the door, then said, “Who is he checking with?”
“I don’t know, but I have to call Jackson,” Logan said, already dialing his brother’s number.
~/~/~/~/~
Morgan left the private dining room and headed down to his office.
There was only one person he could trust to give him the info he sought about the group upstairs.
David has a Fated Mate? Shitbedammed! How the hell could that youngster take care of someone as special as David?
What the fuck were the Fates thinking? And why was Lizzie here?
Closing and locking the door to his office, he pulled out his phone and dialed his best friend.
While waiting for him to pick up, Morgan sat down behind his desk.
“Hello? Morgan is that you?”
“Hello Franklin, I see you finally decided your mate would be better off with me, hmm?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Chuckling, Morgan said, “Presently, Lizzie is upstairs in the private dining room with a bunch of wolf shifters.”
“Did she see you?”
“Yes, she just waved but didn’t say anything. There was a problem with David, and one in the group by the name of Logan told me about it.”
“What happened? Did David get hurt?”
“Not exactly. It seems he’s the Fated Mate of Zane, a member of the Blackwood Pack. Do you know anything about them?”
“Holy fucking shit! Damn!”
“You know the pack? What’s the matter with them?”
Franklin was silent for a moment, then said, “Morgan, this is strictly off the record and confidential. Agreed?”
Now worried about what he was going to hear, Morgan began to plan how he could whisk David out of Scotland to some safer place. Realizing Franklin was waiting for his answer, Morgan said, “Agreed. Now tell me.”
“My son, Dylon, found his Fated Mate…”
“You sly old dog! Keeping that to yourself. Shit, does Lizzie know?”
“Of course, she knows.”
“So, what’s the problem? When were you going to tell me, so I could send a mating gift?” Morgan asked. “Shit, Dylon probably thinks I’m an asshole for not acknowledging his mating! Who’s his mate?”
“No, he doesn’t think you’re an asshole…I reserve that right,” chuckled Franklin. “Anyway, it only happened very recently; his mate is a brother of Logan and Zane.”
“Fuck! You’re pissed about it, aren’t you? Because I bet Dylon refused to join you at the High Council?”
Franklin’s laughter boomed through Morgan’s phone.
“Stop! You got it all wrong. First of all, Lizzie and I are delighted with Dylon’s mate.
And no, Dylon won’t be working at the High Council and, in fact, I’m looking to retire and move out to California with Lizzie, so we can be closer to our grandpups. ”
“Grandpups? You and Lizzie are grandparents? Congratulations! Shit, now I owe a mating and a new pup gift.”
“Two new pup gifts! Dylon and Cody adopted twins…Jake and Jessica.”
“Well, I’m confused. You sound happy about Dylon’s mate, yet it doesn’t look like you want David to be mated to his brother. What gives?”
“No, no, no…you got it all wrong. I think it’s the perfect place for David to go because he’ll be protected by an Alpha who has more power than any Alpha I’ve ever met.
That’s what I need you to keep confidential.
I don’t know exactly what the Blackwood Pack is, but when Lizzie and I visited Dylon to meet his mate, I did my usual shit with their Alpha…
Jackson…and instead of rising to the challenge, he simply rolled out his Alpha power quietly and pushed mine back.
Then, when I met him the next day in his office, I did the same thing and he called me out on it and told me to keep my balls in my pants. ”
“And then what?”
“And then…nothing! He brushed me off as if I were some pesky fly!”
Morgan pictured his friend sitting there, perturbed because he wasn’t allowed to play his game, and began to laugh. Wiping the tears from his face, he finally was able to say, “So you finally met your match! What I would’ve given to see that! Tell me, what did Lizzie do?”
“She chewed me a new one. Told me if I couldn’t respect Dylon’s new Alpha then she wanted me to leave…immediately…because she wasn’t going to be banned from seeing her son and his mate just because I didn’t know how to behave.”
“Holy fuck! My sweet Lizzie said that?”
“Sweet Lizzie? You haven’t seen her go all Mama Bear when it comes to Dylon. Let me tell you, I sure did back down quickly.”
“I woulda paid to see that!” Morgan exclaimed. Then, lowering his voice, he asked, “So what do I do about David?”
“Where is he now?”
“He’s in the break room. From what I know, he was scented by Zane when the group entered the pub, but Zane couldn’t find him, so they all went upstairs to the private dining room and when David walked in, Zane rushed at him, scaring the hell out of him.
So, David disappeared and reappeared in my office, telling me he couldn’t work here anymore.
I calmed him down and told him I’d look into it and, if need be, kick the group out. ”
“Morgan, you know me,” said Franklin, “I’m rarely impressed by shifters or packs but there is something special about the Blackwood Pack.
As to their character, I think my son can attest to their integrity.
I don’t know all their secrets, but I can and will tell you this…
I trust their Alpha and you know I don’t give my trust lightly.
Also, I met Zane and he’s wicked smart…just the sort our David needs. ”
Morgan sat back in his chair, flabbergasted at Franklin’s praise for the Blackwood Pack. In all the years he’d known him—and it was many—his friend never spoke like that about any shifter or pack. “So, you think David will be safe if I introduce him to his Fated Mate?”
“I’d stake my life on it.”
Morgan whistled. “Shit, that’s the first time I ever recall you giving such a ringing endorsement.”
Chuckling, Franklin said, “Jackson runs his pack the way I wish all Alphas would. David will be protected as the mate of Zane by the entire pack. I can’t imagine a better place for him. Now go put Zane out of his misery.”
“Thanks, Franklin. I’ll speak with David, first. Nice talking to you again and don’t be such a stranger.”
“If things go the way I want, I’ll soon have time to visit you, my old friend.”
“Make sure you do! Bye.” After the call ended, Morgan sat deep in thought, sorting through everything Franklin said and didn’t say about the Blackwood Pack.
In the end, what swayed him most was Lizzie’s acceptance and support of her son joining the Blackwood Pack.
Franklin was right, he’d never seen Lizzie in Mama Bear mode, but he knew if she thought the pack and its members weren’t good enough for her son, she’d let everyone know, especially Franklin.
Getting up, Morgan left his office and headed to the break room to see David.
~/~/~/~/~
Clicking his fingernails against each other, Zane stared impatiently at the dining room door, waiting for the manager’s return.
As time dragged on, his wolf began to pace, expressing his own unhappiness with the delay.
Finally, unwilling to wait any longer, he headed for the door, so he could search for his mate.
“Zane, sweetie, where are you going?” asked Lizzie who’d been keeping an eye on him.
Stopping and glancing at Dylon’s mom, he said, “I’m going to find my mate. Something’s gone wrong and the manager isn’t going to come back.”
“Oh, no, sweetie,” Lizzie said. “Morgan will be back, I promise you. He and my Frank are probably chatting up a storm.”
“You know him?” asked Logan, surprised.
“Oh, my goodness sakes, of course I do. He’s Frank’s best friend. They go way back.”
“So why did he want to check us out?” asked Slate.
“Because he wanted to make sure Frank knew where I was. So, don’t worry, sweetie,” she assured Zane, “I’m sure Morgan will be here soon and then you’ll be with your mate.”
“Miss L, why didn’t you say ‘hello’ to him?” asked Theo.
“I waved to him when he came into the room, but he didn’t return it, so I figured he was pre-occupied with David and what had happened to him.
And since Zane is fretting so much, I didn’t want to do anything that would cause a delay in having David meet him.
Morgan used to work for the High Council before his father fell ill and he had to come back here to take over running the family business.
I guess I’m used to his abrupt ways, so I knew he’d call Frank and my hubby would set him straight about Zane and the Blackwood Pack.
I’m sure Morgan will talk to David to make him comfortable and then he’ll want to meet Zane,” Lizzie said, smiling brightly.
“That makes perfect sense, Miss L…right, Zane?” asked Kieran.
“I guess, but if Frank has done that, then why isn’t David here?” asked Zane.
“Morgan’s probably with your mate now, making sure he isn’t going to disappear again,” Logan grinned.
“How does he do that anyway?” asked Fionn.
“I don’t know,” Slate said, “I’ve never heard of a shifter that could do that. Do you want me to talk to my father, Zane? He might have read something that would shed some light on David’s ability.”
“No, I don’t think so, at least not yet,” Zane said, “I’d rather hear it from my mate. Shit, what’s taking so fucking long?”