Chapter 16
As Zane got up to make more tea for them, he peeked out the window. The storm had finally come, making him thankful to be inside in a cozy, warm cottage with his mate.
“Want something to eat?” he asked David.
“Are there any cookies left from our picnic?”
“Yup, Brian must have a sweet tooth because he sure did stock up on them.”
“The first time I ate cookies was on his boat,” David said.
“I’ve had lots of cookies,” said Zane, “but these are addictive. I gotta tell Dakota about these.”
“Why? Does he have a sweet tooth too?”
“Uhm, yeah, maybe. I know he loves making cookies for the Long Night Moon Festival.”
“He cooks?”
“Shit, I forgot to tell you. Dakota is the chef for the pack and wait till you try his food, you’ll never taste anything better anywhere else,” Zane said, as he sat down, handing the steaming mug to David and placing the package of cookies between them.
“Kota was studying to be a chef when our parents died, so he just assumed that role.”
“What do you do for the pack?”
“I’m a computer programmer, Logan is an interior designer…just for the pack right now…but once we get the crap with my uncle sorted out, he’ll be free to work for others. Cody and Dylon are starting a home for gay boys…”
“That’s kind of unusual,” said David. “Why?”
“Because lots of packs don’t want gay wolves, so the boys’ lives are horrible.
That’s what happened to Theo and Norman.
Their parents gave them to Arald who put them in chains and kept them locked up, so he could sell them.
Luckily Cody and Dylon rescued them in time.
Same with Kieran…sold by his parents and then locked up. ”
“Who would ever lock up a Shaman?”
“How did you know Ki was a Shaman? You once said you could see his power.”
“He’s surrounded by pure light. Can’t you see it? From what my mother told me, that makes Kieran the highest Shaman on earth. I can’t speak from personal experience because I never met a Shaman before, but when I saw it, I knew it right away.”
“You said I had power. How do you know that?”
“You’re surrounded by flashes of lightening. The best way to describe it…is it looks like the light that wrapped around our hands and arms when we shook hands.”
“That came from me? I thought it had to do with your ability to disappear.”
“Nooo, trust me, that came from you. Your body is surrounded by flashes.”
“Wow! How fucking cool is that! I wonder if it has to do with my gift from the Fates.”
“What gift?”
“Oh, that’s what I have to tell you. It started with Jackson. When he met Steel, the Fates sent an Oracle to tell Jackson about the gift he’d receive when he claimed his Fated Mate. That’s when we learned each of us would get a gift when we claimed ours.”
“Do you know what your gift will be?”
“No…oooh shit, Oracle is on her way to Scotland right now to tell me about it.”
“You know an Oracle?” asked David, sounding impressed.
“Yeah, sorry, forgot to mention it. Steel and Slate’s mother is an Oracle. She and her husband, Maximus, are members of the Blackwood Pack.”
“What was Jackson’s gift?” David asked, pressing on.
“He’s an Alpha/Omega hybrid so he can have pups.”
“What an unbelievable gift! So, Daniel is actually Jackson’s son?”
“Yes, wait till you meet him. He’s so cute and so smart. The original program I wrote for him was too simple so I’m working on one that’s more difficult. Daniel’s my first nephew and, fuck, were we ever blown away when Maximus discovered what was so special about him.”
“The Fates gave him a gift, too?”
“Not exactly. Maximus remembered a myth about a wolf that had silver fur and liquid silver eyes but it’s not a myth anymore, as Daniel proved.”
David’s eyes widened when he realized the implications of what Zane said. “How did he prove it?”
“Daniel showed us how he could change the color of his fur and, get this, he can talk to animals. Can you fucking believe that? See, he’s so bright I had to devise a new program that would challenge him…he just romped through the first one.”
David’s heart sank when he heard the myth had turned out to be true; he’d been praying that myths were just that—myths.
There was no way he could claim Zane if the myth about him was true.
To pull my mate into the morass that my life has become?
No, I can’t do that to him. But what if the High Priestess is wrong?
What if she just told me that to make me do what she wants?
That’s what my mother said. “Do you believe myths can come true?” David asked his mate.
“Myths were myths as far as I was concerned but then, with my nephew, I just don’t know anymore,” Zane answered, adding, “You know, you should talk to Mystia if you’re interested in myths. Or Oracle…but that’ll depend on what the Fates allow.”
“Uhm, who’s Mystia?”
“Crap! I’m screwing this up so bad. Mystia’s a witch who helped us after my parents were killed. She and her husband, Jimmy, are like our surrogate parents.”
“Is Jimmy a warlock?”
“Nope, a wolf shifter like us.”
“Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to.”
“Ask me anything you want. I want you to know everything about me.”
“What happened to your parents and younger siblings?”
Zane lowered his eyes. He knew his mate would ask about it sooner or later so, taking a deep breath, he began.
“When my brothers and I were in Las Vegas to have some fun at the end of the school year, my uncle and his enforcers came to our home in the middle of the night and killed everyone in our pack, including my parents and young brothers and sisters. We couldn’t even bury them, because afterwards, they burned every building to the ground including everyone they murdered, and nothing was left but ashes.
“We only found that out when Mystia went there a week later; Dakota had begged her to help him, so we could give them a proper burial. I was heartbroken but Kota, it was so much worse for him. I watched him day after day, spiraling downward with no end in sight. I knew what was causing it…our mother’s death.
You see, Kota’s an empath and I think mom helped him deal with the negative emotions around him.
And without her help, he was overwhelmed.
Anyway, after our family was killed, Jackson took control and formed a pack with just the seven of us, keeping us busy building our new home.
“We lived in tents and Dakota cooked for us over a campfire; I was worried as I watched him climb inside himself. I didn’t know it at the time, but Jackson had asked Logan to help get me through that summer so one day, when we were up on the roof, pounding in shingles, I told him what I thought was happening to Dakota.
I was so afraid I’d lose a brother that I begged Logan to talk to Kota, to make sure he was okay. ”
David sat stunned as he took it all in, then asked, “Did he?”
Nodding, Zane said, “The next day when we were back up on the roof, Logan told me everything was cool with Kota. I don’t know what he said, but after that, Kota seemed better, but it took a long time before he was more like his old self.
Since he’s found his Fated Mate, he looks a lot happier than he’s been in a very long time. ”
“Do you still miss your family?” asked David, suddenly angry at himself for asking such a stupid question.
“More than I can say,” Zane answered, tearing up, “especially my mom. After she died, I realized how much she supported and encouraged me to follow my dream. I don’t know how she did it with so many pups to take care of, but she made me feel special, like I was the most important person in her world.
That’s what I miss the most…the feeling that I mean everything to someone. ”
“What about your father?” asked David, treading carefully.
“Huh! My father was a piece of work. It’s taken me a long time to accept that because I ignored every bad thing he did to my brothers especially to Logan.
I felt I had to support his actions because not only was he my father, but the Alpha of the pack.
I spent my teenage years supporting him and his iron-fisted policies.
But I had to hide who I really was, which I hated, because I wasn’t being honest.”
David hesitated slightly before asking Zane, “In what way?”
“One day, I heard my father berating my mother for giving birth to pups that never should have been born because they were abominations. According to him, his standing as the pack’s Alpha had been damaged because his first born was, in his words, ‘a fucking faggot.’ By that time, I knew I was gay, but hadn’t told anyone because I was afraid my dad would hate me, so I said nothing, in fact, that’s when I became my father’s biggest supporter.
“Eventually, Jackson realized I was gay and keeping it a secret was hurting me so he took me shopping for some computer thing I wanted, but that was only a pretense. Instead, he drove to a coffee shop, bought us lattes and encouraged me to tell him who I really was. It took a while but when I finally came out to him, I suddenly felt lighter…my world seemed brighter. That’s when I realized how much I was hurting myself by not being honest about who I was.
“We talked a long time, so long the sun was setting when we headed back home. Once I felt the freedom in my soul…when I could publicly acknowledge who I truly was…I knew there wasn’t any way I was going back in the closet.
But Jackson convinced me to keep it from our father since he was going back to school and didn’t want me to incur my father’s anger while he was gone. ”
“Did you ever tell your father?”
“No, never had the chance but I don’t really care.
I did tell my mother, Kota, and my other brothers because I felt safe if they knew.
Jackson told me only to tell people I felt safe with and he made sure I understood my father was not one of them.
I kept up the pretense with him, but couldn’t wait until I could escape to college where I could begin living my life as an out-and-proud gay wolf shifter. ”
Changing the subject, David asked, “Is Cody’s home for gay boys open to all types of shifters?”
“Yup. I’m super proud of him and Dylon for doing this and I plan to teach classes about computers to the boys.”
“What does Colton do?”
“He’s a nurse and Ian is a doctor. Steel built a hospital on the bottom floor of the pack house when Jackson was pregnant. It was a good thing, too, because Jackson almost died. Ian’s an omega and his pregnancy is freaking Colton out, if you can believe that.”
“I don’t understand…Ian’s a doctor and Colton is a nurse…what’s the prob…oh no, there’s something wrong with the pup! That’s it, isn’t it?”
Chuckling, Zane said, “No, not at all. Jackson said it’s because they are Fated Mates so whatever medical knowledge Colton has is eclipsed by his wolf’s overly protective nature right now. He said Steel was just as protective when Jackson was pregnant with Daniel.”
“That’s a relief,” David said, letting out a deep breath he’d been holding. Then he asked, “Don’t you have one more brother?”
“Carson…my arch rival when it comes to bets,” Zane said, hastening then to explain when David looked puzzled.
“My brothers and I bet on everything and usually I have the winning bet so Carson is always trying to beat me by placing the first bet. For instance, let’s say we’re at the dinner table when Kieran and Logan announce they’re having a pup.
I’d immediately call out, betting it’s a boy and so Carson is left with the pup being a girl. ”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, really, cause the odds are even…50-50. But instead he’ll say, ‘I’m betting Kieran is having twin boys instead of taking the girl bet so I’m forced to make a bet for either two girl twins or a boy and a girl.”
“Sounds complicated,” David said, grinning.
“Yeah but it’s fun. When Jackson was pregnant, there were so many betting pools…like the day Daniel would be born, what his name would be, the color of his eyes, it was hard to keep ‘em all straight.” Zane laughed.
“Did you win any?” asked David, sure of it, but asking anyway.
“But of course. I might have had an advantage on one bet I made because I wrote a program to determine what name Jackson and Steel would choose and I won that.”
“Tell me more about Carson,” David said, curious to learn more about Zane’s ‘archrival’.
“Right. Well he was studying business because he wanted to join the corporate jungle.”
“Did he?”
“No. After our parents died, we went into hiding so he wasn’t able to pursue it, but when Steel claimed Jackson, Carson was offered a job with Dire Enterprises.
So, now he’s climbing the corporate ladder that he thought had eluded him and is happier than I’ve seen him for some time.
” Glancing around the cottage, Zane realized it had grown quite dark and the fire was dying out.
“Babe, while I make dinner, would you throw another log on the fire?”
“Will do,” said David. “What’s for dinner? Can I help?”
“I noticed there are cans of Beef Stew, so I thought I would heat them up and dig around to see what else there is. It won’t be a gourmet meal but it’ll fill our bellies and, of course, we have plenty of cookies for dessert.”
“After we eat, would you tell me about the claiming ceremony?”
Zane rose, pulling his mate up with him and into a hug. “Absolutely, but babe, trust me you have nothing to worry about.”
“I’ll take your word for it because as soon as we can, I want you to claim me,” David murmured.
“I’m all on board with that,” Zane crooned before lowering his lips to David’s, keeping his kiss light until he felt his mate push back. Then, his kissing harder, Zane felt David’s cock stiffen; his mate began to lightly grind against his own turgid cock.
Though David’s eyes were closed, he sensed bright flashes of sparks each time they touched each other, sending sensations such as he’d never felt before coursing through his body.
Nor had his cock ever grown so long and hard.
The pleasure radiating through him made his legs shake and his body shiver.
If sex is anything like this, I think I’m going to love it.