Chapter 7
Pacing back and forth in the hallway, Zane was trying to control his wolf while also trying to hear what was happening with his mate.
He wasn’t doing well at either since his claws were out, fangs had dropped, and hair now covered his arms and hands.
As for what was going on with David, not even his wolf’s hearing could give him a clue.
How did I fuck this up? What did I do wrong?
He needed advice from the brother who’d been more like a father to him in his time of need.
Zane stopped abruptly in front of Logan, who was patiently leaning against the wall, looking relaxed and confident.
Of course, he looks that way…it’s not his mate yelling at him or rejecting him…
nope we got that all sorted out for him when he was fucking up.
Before he could utter a word, his brother spoke.
“Bro, cool it. Get your wolf under control. Kieran will sort things out and I promise you, David will be apologizing to you for jumping to the wrong conclusions,” Logan said.
“Really? As much as I hope that’s true, you guys didn’t see how pissed he was at me…and for what? I don’t have a clue as to what I did wrong!” Peering intently into Logan’s face, Zane said, “Fuck! You know what’s wrong, don’t you? Logan, you’ve got to tell me, so I can make it right.”
“I do, and no, I won’t tell you,” Logan said, ignoring Zane’s growl. “Because it’s not my story to tell, it’s David’s. Mind if I offer you a piece of advice?”
“Go ahead. You’re going to do it anyway.”
“Learn by my mistake.”
“Which mistake are you talking about?”
Snorting, Logan said, “You make it sound like I have so many.”
The corners of Zane’s lips twitched. “Yeah, sorry about that. My bad. Let me put it this way. How will your mistake help me?”
“Better. When I first realized Kieran was my mate, I wanted to claim him immediately and since he was willing, I did. Do you remember what happened then?”
“Ki left.”
“More like ran away. When I found him, I did what I should have done before biting him. We talked…about our childhood, what it did to us, how it changed us, who we were…about everything so when I claimed Kieran again, we were full partners and knew what we were getting into. I’m betting you haven’t done that with David, but you should.
Both of you have secrets the other should know and when all the ghosts have been exorcised, then if David and you want to proceed with the claiming, you’ll be starting your life with your Fated Mate on firm ground. ”
“So, I can tell him everything?”
“Yes,” Logan cocked his head, listening to Kieran’s laughter, now audible in the hallway. “Hey, I’ll arrange a suite for you and David tonight, so you’ll have a private place to talk.”
Smiling for the first time since his mate had disappeared from the dining room with him, Zane said, “Good idea, but first I want to ask my mate if that’s all right with him.”
“Perfecto,” Logan grinned. “Communication is key, and after you guys are mated, it’ll be even easier when you’re mind linked.
Always remember, Zane, even though the Fates chose you for him and vice versa, the relationship consists of two individuals and both have to respect the individuality of the other. ”
“Got it. I have another question for you…what happened to David and me when we shook hands?”
“I don’t know, but it was fascinating to watch.”
“Oh,” Zane said dejectedly, “I thought your spirit told you.”
“Sorry, not this time, but if I hazard a guess, I’d say it has something to do with you…when you claim David.”
“Oh shit,” Zane said, “you mean my…”
“By the way, you should know Oracle will be here tomorrow and will want to speak to you and David.”
“So soon? I thought she’d wait until we claimed each other.”
Shrugging his shoulder, Logan said, “Oracle does what the Fates want and that’s what leads me to believe the stuff that happened involves your mating.”
Zane glanced at the door, then back to his brother. “I’ve got a lot to tell my mate so is Kieran wrapping it up?”
Logan paused and asked his spirit what Kieran was doing, then chuckled, “Hmmm, well I’m not sure. Right now, my mate is clarifying some stuff for David.”
“Oh man, I can just imagine what Ki is saying. Maybe I should knock and interrupt them. I can ask David if he’s okay with the hotel tonight.”
“You can. But if you’re asking me, then the answer is ‘no’. Let David make the first move.”
“Yeah, not a surprise,” Zane said, adopting the same pose against the wall as his brother. “Sorry about all this.”
Logan looked at his brother in surprise, then asked, “Why are you sorry?”
Waving his hand at the floor above them, Zane said, “I fucked up your meal and now you’re missing dessert.”
“Hey, no problemo, bro,” Logan said. “Dessert was delayed so we could help you out.”
“Yeah,” Zane said, glancing at the door, “I just hope they don’t have another party booked for that room.”
“They don’t, so stop with the worrying. Everything will be fine.”
“If you say so,” Zane said, now staring at the break room door while biting his lower lip.
~/~/~/~/~
Jackson and Steel visited Oracle and Maximus in their sitting room where they were playing with Daniel, while Jake and Jessica scrambled about on the floor. Cody was sitting in a club chair, scrolling on his tablet.
“Whatcha doing?” asked Jackson, plopping into a chair next to his brother.
Looking up at his brother, Cody said, “Right now, I’m trying to narrow down my choices for cribs. Logan did a fantastic design for the twins’ room so as soon as he gets back from Scotland, I want to give him all my final choices for the nursery furniture, so he can get right to work.”
“Twins cramping your love life with Dylon?” asked Jackson.
Rolling his eyes as he glanced at his brother.
“What do you think? Not to mention the steady stream of visitors knocking on our door throughout the day wanting to visit Jake and Jessica making it impossible for us to have any alone time until after the twins are asleep. And then, we have to be very quiet.”
“The suite between yours and Colton’s is going to be reconfigured to make two nurseries with a bathroom between, right?” asked Steel.
“Yes, so demolition first, then construction before Logan can even begin to decorate it,” Cody answered.
“Did Logan do a floorplan before he left?” asked Steel.
“Yeah,” Cody replied. “He went over it with us, and we gave our final approval. Why?”
“I thought one of DE’s construction crews could get it ready so when Logan comes back, he can start on the design aspect of it right away,” said Steel. “It shouldn’t take them more than a week to get it done, at least on the nursery part of the design, and maybe even the bathroom.”
“Babe, that would be wonderful,” Jackson said.
“Fu..dge yes, that would be a lifesaver for us,” said Cody.
“Good, I’ll talk to Slate and see which team is free,” Steel said, then looking at the incoming text on his phone, continued, “Mom, Robert is a couple of minutes out in the helicopter. Is your suitcase in your bedroom?”
Oracle glanced at her son. “Yes, all packed and ready to go.”
“I’ll get it,” Steel said, walking towards his mother’s bedroom.
“I have one other thing I want to mention, Oracle,” Jackson said. “When you speak with Zane about his gift from the Fates, I’d like Logan to sit in on the discussion in place of me.”
“I have no objection, but it is not my decision to make. I will ask Zane if it is all right with him,” said Oracle, then smiled down at Daniel on her lap.
“Fair enough,” Jackson said.
“Come on, dear,” said Maximus, rising and holding out his hand for her. “Time to go, I hear the chopper making its descent.”
Hugging Daniel close to her, Oracle bent down and whispered in his ear making her grandpup laugh, before setting him on the rug next to Jessica—who also received a kiss and a tummy tickle. Then, Oracle got down on her knees, so she could reach Jake, who’d crawled away, and gave him the same.
Taking her husband’s hand, Oracle stood, smoothing her dress. “Okay, darling, ready to go. Do you know if Slate and Dakota will be returning with me?”
Jumping in to answer, Jackson said, “No, they won’t, Oracle. I’ve decided to let them stay and enjoy themselves for another week, considering what Slate went through.”
Maximus then turned to his wife. “When you’re finished with Zane and David, I’ll make sure the plane is ready to bring you back to me, sweetheart.”
Smiling tenderly at her husband, she said, “Do not spoil Daniel too much while I’m gone.”
“Moi?” Maximus grinned.
“Yes, you.” Oracle smiled, before saying to Jackson and Cody, “See you in a few days.”
“Bye, say hello to everyone from me,” Cody said.
Jackson turned to Cody. “Bro, watch Daniel for a minute, will you? I just want to see Oracle off,”
“Sure, no problem,” Cody said, waving to them as they left the room.
~/~/~/~/~
Kieran marveled at the difference in David—relaxed and happy after their talk cleared the air?then followed by David’s laughter and blushes as Kieran answered his questions about sex.
Now was the time for David and Zane to patch up their misunderstanding, so Kieran wrapped up by saying, “In the meantime, if you have any more questions, just let me know and I’ll see if I can find the book that explains sexting emojis, so you can use them with your mate.
Trust me, they’re very effective for getting your mate needy and ready to fuck you, as soon as he can find a place to do it. ”
Blushing, David giggled, “Even outside?”
“Ahh that would be a big ‘yes’ and, you know what, doing it some place you might be seen could be a real turn on for both of you.”
“I can’t wait to try sexting.”
“So, does that mean you have decided to claim Zane as your mate?”
“Yes, if he’ll have me,” David said, nodding his head before continuing. “When I brought us back here, he thought someone made a comment that hurt me and before I could answer, he was willing to fight whoever did it in order to protect me. No one ever offered to do that for me before.”
“That sounds like him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ask him about it, David, I think you’ll be quite happy with his answer.”
Looking at Kieran, hope flitted across David’s face briefly, before a frown replaced it. “I don’t know if he’ll forgive me for yelling at him. I never gave him a chance to talk.”
“Really? You don’t know much about Fated Mates, do you?”
“Not really. I was told that wasn’t in my future.”
“Whoever told you that was full o’ shit. Trust me, everyone has a Fated Mate; just not everyone will find them,” Kieran said, then adding, “Is it all right if Zane comes in now?”
Sighing, David said, “Might as well. I have to face him sometime and I’d rather apologize sooner than later.”
“Good idea,” Kieran said, as he got up and went over to the door. Giving one more glance at David, he opened the door, calling, “C’mon in, guys. All the fireworks are over.”
Zane sprinted into the room and smiled at David. “Hey, are you okay?” Zane asked. Luckily, as soon as the break room door opened, his wolf calmed down and wasn’t fighting him anymore.
“Zane,” David said softly, “would you sit next to me, so I can explain everything? Wait, first I want to tell you I’m sorry for yelling at you…”
Rushing to David, Zane pulled him up into his arms, hugging him tight, then murmured, “No, no. babe, it’s my fault. We should have talked.”
“No, it’s my fault because I misunderstood and instead of giving you a chance to explain, I started yelling at you. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Awww, babe, there’s nothing to forgive. It was just a big misunderstanding. How about we just forget it? I have so much to tell you.”
“Me too, but I don’t want to do it here. I have a small room upstairs that I rent from Morgan. We could go there, if that works for you.”
“Hmmm, I don’t…”
“David,” Kieran said, “I think it’s better if you guys have more space than your room. Would you agree to come back with Zane to the hotel we’re staying at? You guys will have your own suite and more privacy, so no one will be able to hear anything you tell each other.”
David looked at his mate. “Is that what you want to do?”
“Only if you do,” Zane answered.
“I guess it would be better, but I have to tell Morgan where I’ll be.”
“Why don’t you come back upstairs and have dessert with us. I’ll make the hotel reservation and give the information to Morgan,” Logan said.
Zane looked at his mate. “That’s okay with you?”
Nodding, David rested his head on his mate’s chest, inhaling the scent that he would relish for the rest of his life.
He never knew how much he needed to be held and the feelings filling his body and mind by being embraced by Zane’s arms, made him feel cherished and protected—two feelings he hadn’t felt for a long time.
Zane smiled tenderly when David’s arms slowly wrapped around his waist. Resting his cheek against his mate’s hair, he felt his cock harden and heard his wolf unleashing a mating howl.
After several deep breaths of the most delicious scent on earth, Zane said, “Logan, we’ll join you upstairs in a few minutes.
Please make the reservation and close the door behind you when you leave. ”
Kieran grinned impishly at Logan, then whispered, “C’mon, macushla, my work is done.” Then jumping up into his mate’s arms and wrapping his legs around Logan’s waist, Kieran kissed Logan before murmuring, “Let’s go.”
After hearing his brother and Kieran leave, Zane whispered, “David, look at me, please.”
Taking one last sniff of his mate’s scent, David raised his head slowly, knowing somehow this was it—the moment his whole life was about to change.
When his eyes met Zane’s, he gasped as he saw love burning brightly there, and a strange sensation flooded his heart and soul.
Helpless to unlock his gaze, David froze.