Chapter 17
Theo burst into Kieran’s room, exclaiming, “Did you like my cottage pie? What about the barmback? I told Dakota the game you used to play with us and asked him if he knew how to make some of the dishes. We looked up recipes online…did you know how many recipes are online…and he helped me make them for your lunch. Were you surprised?”
Kieran hugged Theo, saying, “I loved them. Dakota brought them up to Logan’s studio, so I ate them with Logan who thought they were delicious too.”
After following Theo into Kieran’s room, Norman asked, “Where were you last night? We watched a couple of movies and I thought you were going to join us.”
“Oops, I forgot. But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because I fell asleep on Logan’s sofa while he was working. I woke up this morning in my bed, so I guess he carried me here last night.”
With one raised eyebrow, Norman stared at Kieran. “Soooo, what happened after…you know…in your bedroom…with Logan.”
“Nothing,” Kieran said smiling. “Hey, can you keep a secret?”
“Absolutely!” They said in unison as they crossed their hearts.
Smiling broadly, he said, “I found my Fated Mate!”
Kieran giggled at his friends’ reaction—both mouths formed a perfect ‘O’ before morphing into broad smiles as the meaning of what he said sank in.
Squealing and jumping up and down, Theo exclaimed, “Oh. My. Gods. That is huge! When did this happen? Who is it?”
“Is it Dakota?” asked Norman.
“No, it’s Logan! Can you believe it?” Kieran asked.
“Logan? I thought you had the hots for Dakota,” said Theo.
“You’ve been keeping stuff from us!” said Norman. “When did you find this out?”
“My spirit told me two nights ago,” Kieran said gleefully.
“So that’s why you wanted to work with him yesterday instead of Zane,” Norman said. “You had me fooled.”
Kieran laughed. “When I found out Zane was writing software, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to get to know Logan better. I just had to tell you guys because I was literally bursting inside keeping it a secret. And I knew you would be happy for me even though I’m a little nervous. What if he doesn’t like me?”
“Of course, he will…what’s not to like?” said Theo.
“Well, when you put it that way…I’m fabulous!” Kieran exclaimed, twirling around in his best skinny jeans set off by a deep, rosy pink mesh top. “We’ve got to go, but don’t forget, mum’s the word.”
“Promise,” Theo said, as he zipped his mouth closed with his fingers.
“Me too,” Norman added. “So, when will the claiming happen?”
“I’m not sure,” Kieran said, biting his lower lip. That was bothering him as he hadn’t figured out how to get to that point.
“Don’t worry, it’ll work out,” assured Norman.
“Thanks,” replied Kieran, grateful for his friends’ support, as he walked to the door and opened it. “Come on. Chop! Chop! I need some food! I missed dinner last night.”
~/~/~/~/~
Jackson was sitting in the great room playing with his son as everyone began to arrive in ones or twos waiting for the breakfast call.
Steel finally arrived and sat next to him, taking Daniel. “Sorry, I was on a conference call with Penn and my brother. The High Council is becoming increasingly adamant about Kieran, Theo, and Norman doing a deposition, so Penn is going to step in and negotiate for a sworn statement instead.”
“When does it have to be done?”
“Don’t know for sure, but soon. Penn will let me know after he talks to the High Council prosecutor.”
Jackson’s eyes searched out the boys, finding them with Zane.
His eyes moved on until he got to Cody, who looked fine after his panic attack, but Dylon, not so much as he was staring at Logan with a fierce look.
What’s with that? Shifting his gaze to his twin and expecting him to be looking back at Dylon, he found instead that Logan’s gaze focused on the boys.
Continuing to watch his brother, Jackson wondered what was going on between Dylon, Logan and the boys.
Suddenly it hit him—Logan must have said or done something to one of the boys that Dylon didn’t like.
He’d have a word with Dylon later and see if he needed to speak with his twin though he couldn’t see Logan doing anything like that.
Logan stood in the corner, his favorite place, watching Kieran, unable to take his eyes off the hint of skin showing through the mesh top.
His wolf growled, letting Logan know he was unhappy with that particular top.
Me too, buddy. The only thing keeping him from striding over there and tearing the top off was…
was…shit, I have got to get hold of myself.
He forced himself to look away only to encounter Dylon’s piercing stare.
What the fuck is wrong with him? Last night, and now he’s doing it again.
Cody saw what Dylon was doing and gave him an elbow in the ribs.
Stop it babe, Jackson has already noticed and, I swear, you’ll do my punishment along with your own if you keep this up.
Kieran knows what he’s doing. Look…see what he’s wearing?
Now stop interfering! Here’s your mom. Let’s go.
Cody rose along with Dylon and headed to the dining room.
Kieran knew the instant his mate was in the room with him and though he was talking to Zane, Theo and Norman, he surreptitiously kept glancing at Logan beneath his lowered lashes.
He couldn’t wait for breakfast to be over so he could have his mate all to himself for the day.
His eyes shifted to Logan’s cock, and Kieran was forced to bite his lip hard to keep from moaning out loud as he pictured it between his lips.
Holy shit balls! I better speed things up because I don’t know how much longer I can wait.
Letting Norman grab his arm to pull him into the dining room, Kieran’s mind was filled with a new plan for claiming his mate.
Jackson hung back, still watching the scene unfold and after everyone had left for the dining room, he stood up, along with Steel.
“You want to tell me why Dylon was giving Logan the stink eye?” asked Steel.
“I have no idea, but it certainly was entertaining wasn’t it? My brother seems to be clueless about it also, but Cody probably knows. I wonder what’s going to happen at breakfast?” Jackson said, walking with his son and mate into the dining room.
~/~/~/~/~
“Nothing!” fumed Rudy. Josiah’s nephews didn’t take the bait. And now his Alpha was waiting for his report. Fuck! What the fuck is it with these punks? Every trap set for them fails. Nobody can be that lucky! Getting the approval to enter, Rudy walked in and stood in front of his boss.
“Well? How many did you kill?”
“None…they never came…not your nephews nor any enforcers, nobody.”
“Bah,” Josiah said disgustedly, “you fucked up again. They probably spotted your men and realized it was a trap. Shit! You can’t do anything right. I’m getting sick and tired of you failing me. Maybe it’s time I look for a new second…someone who can do the job.”
Rudy was getting fed up with taking the blame.
“You’re wrong! My men were so well concealed, you wouldn’t have been able to find them…
if you had bothered to check. Your fucking nephews never came!
Not them, not enforcers…nobody! It’s as if they knew what you were planning.
” Rudy held his hand up to stop Josiah, “And no, I don’t have a fucking leak.
So maybe you should look elsewhere for how those assholes are always avoiding every fucking trap we set. ”
Taken aback at the ferocity of Rudy’s response, Josiah snapped his mouth shut as he considered the possibility of someone in his own house.
He’d have to look into this. Waving toward the door, he said, “Go, check your men again for leaks…especially those who knew the punk with the Vice-Chair as a father.”
~/~/~/~/~
Almost running from the dining room, Logan thought breakfast would never end but it had, and now he was escaping to his studio.
He made a mental note to talk to Cody about what he’d done to upset Dylon because it had to be something that provoked those dirty looks from him throughout breakfast. Filing that thought away for later, his mind shifted—Kieran would be there shortly, and the thought sent a charge through his body.
All day Kieran would be his—all day to look at, talk to and enjoy that sassy mouth.
No one had ever made him laugh like his pink-loving twink did and he wanted more of it, all the time.
Ohhh, I wonder if he’d like to work with me permanently?
Maybe I should ask Cody first? Mmmm, no, my brother made it clear the boys were making their own decisions.
But what if Kieran doesn’t want to? Oh fuck!
Reaching his studio, Logan immediately set up the conference table for them to work on the new plans for Cody’s boys’ home.
Making extra copies so Kieran could make changes if he wanted to, he spread them out along with freshly sharpened pencils.
Standing back, he looked to see if he had missed anything.
Coffee! Grabbing two Blackwood Pack mugs and the pot of hot coffee, Logan set them off to the side and added some pink paper napkins left over from some long-forgotten party.
Satisfied, he looked through some of his furniture catalogues and paint chips, marking the ones he thought would give the home the feeling he was aiming for.
~/~/~/~/~
Kieran was eager to see Logan, but he had something to do first—find out about the dance club.
Logan had worked for most of the afternoon yesterday, but the plans would not have included a dance club because he forgot to mention it.
Shifting from foot to foot, Kieran was standing off to the side waiting for Cody to finish with the twins.
Seeing an opportunity when Miss L took Jessica from Cody, he said, “Yo, Cody.”
Turning around, Cody replied, “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to know if I can do my dance club in the home because I want to tell Logan about it today.”
Cody studied Kieran and then said, “Pretty snazzy top you have on today. I love it.” Smiling, Cody continued, “Yes you can have the dance club, but Jackson wants it in a different place because he wants the boys to interact with the pack as much as possible. So, you might as well tell Logan, so he can help you get started. Jackson said he’ll be paying for the renovations, so get me a plan. ”
Kieran’s eyes sparkled with joy as he bounced up and down on his toes. “Well to begin, I have to measure the room so where is it going to be?”
“Jackson will email Logan, letting him know where it will be and the budget for it.”
“Perfecto! I gotta run, Logan is waiting for me. Toot-a-loo!” Kieran gave a wave as he rushed towards the stairs eager to see what Logan had drawn.
Cody chuckled as he turned back to his twins. “Hey, babe, let’s go see Colton and Ian. We can tell them we agree on the locations for the nurseries and I want to ask Ian to recommend a therapist we can hire for the boys—present and future.”
~/~/~/~/~
Standing outside, Kieran gathered his thoughts before taking a deep breath and letting it out. He wasn’t sure why he was nervous since as Fated Mates, Logan would want him no matter what, but he wanted more. So here goes. Lifting his hand to knock, he suddenly found himself looking at Logan.
“Good, you’re here,” Logan said, opening the door wider so Kieran could enter. “Everything is set up, so we can get started right away. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of my plan. I mean, after all you provided the inspiration.”
Kieran walked over to the conference table and sat in one of the two chairs while Logan sat next to him.
Shivering at the closeness of his mate, he realized this day might be more difficult than he thought because Logan’s scent was pushing his wolf and spirit to the edge.
Concentrating on calming them down, he didn’t hear Logan’s first comments and was forced to ask him to repeat them.
“These are copies for us to go through and make notes or draw on. Once we are in agreement, I’ll transfer everything to a master set and then present it to Cody and Dylon for approval. Any questions?”
Shaking his head, no, Kieran chewed on his lower lip, studying the drawing slowly, going through it and writing down notes along with making small sketches and jotting down questions he had about particular items. And as he proceeded, he began to understand the mind of his mate—and what a glorious mind it was.
Logan’s design was everything he could have hoped for plus more and Kieran knew the boys who were rejected by their parents would never feel they weren’t worth anything because his mate had designed a home that was truly a home.
Logan gazed at Kieran’s face, seeking out any nuances he could find there, eager yet fearful of what he would find.
His leg was twitching as he watched Kieran examine his plans and with everything he wrote, Logan’s nervousness rose.
He grabbed his stress ball and started squeezing it, to have something to do.
He wanted Kieran’s approval badly—though he didn’t understand the need for it—but he waited silently for him to finish so he could find out what he thought.
Just when he felt he couldn’t take anymore, Kieran put down his pencil and looked up at Logan, his face radiating happiness.
“It is fucking brilliant! You are a genius! I love it and I know every boy whose parents are assholes will think they’ve hit the jackpot when they see their new home.
And it is a home…a fucking, gorgeous, fabulous home…
where they will be loved, and they will learn how to love again.
” Jumping up, he wrapped his arms around Logan, hugging him tight and whispered, “Thank you, you have made me so happy.”
Surprised at first, but then, as he felt the love from Kieran radiate throughout his body, Logan felt the first crack in the wall he’d built up during his childhood, teen years, and in the aftermath of the massacre.
Slowly lifting his arms, he returned the hug, feeling closer to Kieran than to any other, even his twin, and so he tightened his arms and rested his cheek against the light he held, never wanting him to leave.