Chapter 21
Jackson’s eyes narrowed as he studied his twin but decided to deal with what he saw later. Instead he said to the group in his office, “Kieran is gone and according to Theo and Norman, he left because he was rejected.”
“My friend left because his Fated Mate rejected him,” said Norman, pointing to Logan.
“Logan, is Kieran your Fated Mate?” asked Jackson.
“Was my Fated Mate,” Logan corrected.
Growls erupted from Dylon and the bears, but Jackson ignored them and continued, “Was? So, you did reject him.”
“I didn’t reject anyone. I don’t know why you all are looking at me like I committed some grievous offense. Kieran rejected me when he left, so stop with the blame game.”
“You did, too, reject Ki. He said so in his note to us,” cried Theo.
“What note?” asked Logan.
“We went to his room this morning to see if you had claimed him and found a note he left for us. You rejected him…and stop calling Ki a liar! He left because of you!” yelled Theo.
“Enough Theo. Colton, did you or Carson find the note Theo and Norman say Kieran left behind?” asked Jackson.
Stepping forward and handing a piece of paper to Jackson, Colton replied, “Here. I think there was more but this is all we have.”
After reading the note, he passed it to Logan whose face turned white as he read it.
Looking up at his brother, he whispered, “I don’t understand this…I didn’t reject him at all…”
Looking at his brother, Jackson made a decision, “I want to talk to Logan alone. Please wait outside until I call.”
Cody spoke up. “I think I should be here also.”
“No, Cody, I’ll get to you after I speak with Logan first,” Jackson said, then waited until everyone filed out before getting up and walking around the desk. He leaned down to give his twin a hug before sitting again. “I know this is painful, but please
tell me what happened when you claimed Kieran. Has he claimed you also?”
Logan yanked the neck of his t-shirt over so Jackson could see the scar. “We both wear mating scars, so I know our bites took and we are mated. The last thing I remember is falling asleep with Kieran lying next to me until Dylon woke me up this morning.”
“You didn’t hear Theo and Norman’s bears roaring this morning? They were pretty angry.”
“No, nothing.”
“Start at the beginning. How did you know Kieran was your Fated Mate?”
Not comfortable talking about it, he nevertheless haltingly began telling his brother about yesterday and how good it felt to work with Kieran.
Logan smiled when he told Jackson about realizing he was in love with Kieran and how happy he was.
And even though it had been a long time since he confided in his brother, Logan explained why it meant so much to know Kieran was his and would never leave.
Jackson’s heart lurched when he heard Logan’s voice crack on the last part because he knew the deep need his twin had. “Tell me about the claiming.”
“I’m not telling even you what Kieran and I did in bed, but it was amazing. I went to sleep last night thinking I was the fucking luckiest shifter in the world.”
Sitting back and staring at Logan, Jackson could tell more had happened but knowing his uber-reserved brother, he would have a long wait in hell before Logan would voluntarily offer up the information.
So, he decided to approach it a different way.
“Did I ever tell you how shocked I was when Steel bit me in the claiming?”
Rolling his eyes, Logan said, “No, and remember TMI.”
Batting Logan’s arm, Jackson smirked. “I’m not talking about that! I’m talking about what happened between our two wolves?”
Shaking his head, Logan said, “I don’t think so…”
Shifting his eyes from his brother to a spot over Logan’s shoulder, Jackson paused, remembering what happened and how he felt.
“When Steel bit me, I instantly felt a fiery heat course through my body as my blood grew so hot in my veins, I was sure it was boiling. It was so shocking. I immediately withdrew my fangs and panicked as I tried to handle the sudden pain…”
Curious, Logan asked, “What did you do? Did the pain stop?”
Chuckling, Jackson continued, “My body was frozen while the pain was consuming it but then I felt Steel’s wolf inside me and he was merging with my wolf. Let me tell you, I was freaking out. No one ever told me about this happening in a claiming.”
“I bet. What did you do?”
“Nothing because his wolf left my body and the pain disappeared.”
“Wow! I never heard of something like that happening! Did you ask Steel about it? Did he feel it too?”
“Yeah, I asked, and Steel told me it would happen like that every time he was in toirchigh and trying to impregnate me. Weird, huh!”
“Uh huh…but why are you telling me this? I’m not a Dire Wolf or get toirchigh.”
“I know that, but Kieran has a wolf and a spirit inside him and I wonder if your wolf rejected Kieran’s spirit?”
Logan thought back to that moment last night when Kieran’s wolf and spirit entered him and joined with his wolf. “No, my wolf didn’t reject them…uhh…nope, I have all three inside me now.”
Jackson smiled, confident now that this could be sorted out soon and Kieran would come home. “Well, have you talked to them this morning? Did you ask them where Kieran is?”
Logan’s face turned red with embarrassment as he wondered what his brother would think of him. “I haven’t spoken with them this morning.”
“Well go ahead…ask them if they know where your mate is.”
“Fuck off. Sometimes you really are stupid. Don’t you fucking think I did that already? It was the first thing I did when Dylon told me Kieran was missing.”
“Oh shit!” said Jackson. “They don’t know where he is!”
“I didn’t say that!”
“You said…”
“No, I said I hadn’t spoken with them this morning…because…well, because they won’t fucking talk to me…even my damn wolf. Nada…not a word!”
Stunned, Jackson tried to make sense of it. “I don’t understand…our wolves always talk to us…I mean, I know sometimes I don’t listen to mine, like when he was telling me to find Steel…but…are you sure? Maybe because there are three voices, you are getting confused.”
“That might happen, when they finally decide to speak, but right now…none of them is talking. Not a peep!”
“I wonder if this is happening to Kieran also.”
“Who knows? All I know is he doesn’t want me. Whatever! I survived before he came into my life and I’ll survive now.”
Jackson saw the sadness lurking in his twin’s eyes and knew how much Kieran’s disappearance was hurting Logan.
Something happened for Kieran to feel he was rejected but what?
Thinking back to everything that happened to him at his claiming and then about Logan’s claiming, he asked, “What exactly did you do when you felt Kieran’s wolf and spirit enter your body? ”
“When it happened, I was so shocked I tried to pull my fangs out of Kieran, but my wolf wouldn’t let me.”
“How did Kieran react when you did that?”
Realization dawned, and Logan uttered, “Fuck!” When he tried to break free, Logan remembered how Kieran had stiffened and even after they were finally separated, his mate had remained oddly quiet and remote. Groaning, he stared at his twin and whispered, “I fucked up!”
“Bro, tell me what happened!”
Looking down, Logan was at a loss for words.
How can I explain to my brother how stupid I’ve been?
As the silence stretched on, the weight that had settled on him when he found out Kieran had left was now so heavy, Logan felt his body in danger of breaking in two.
Tell my brother? Give voice to my stupidity?
How would that change anything? “It doesn’t matter, Jackie,” Logan said, using his childhood nickname for his twin.
“I fucked up and now Kieran is gone. My wolf won’t talk to me and neither will Kieran’s wolf and spirit…
” Logan’s voice trailed off as he sat looking at his hands, wringing them expressing his distress.
The distraught twin sitting in front of Jackson was the one he remembered standing by him during his childhood, helping him when their father berated him and then providing the absolute, iron support he needed that summer after the massacre.
He felt the waves of sorrow from his brother and if he didn’t do something, he was going to lose his twin.
“Logan, please tell me what happened so I can find a way to make it right for both you and Kieran.” Jackson placed his hands on top of Logan’s to still them and provide comfort and support.
The minutes ticked by while Logan sat still, only his jaw showed any sign of movement as he repeatedly clenched it, grinding his teeth in the process. Finally, Logan began telling his brother—faltering at times—what happened, sure he would never be able to look Jackson in the eye again.
Jackson listened without interrupting, afraid if he did, Logan would stop. When his brother finished, Jackson leaned over and hugged Logan tightly, whispering in his ear, “I got your back. Now let’s fix it and get Kieran home in your arms where he belongs.”
Logan nodded slowly, hoping against all hope, his brother could work miracles and give him back his pink-loving twink. “O-o-okay,” he said, exhaling in relief that he had his twin’s support. “But how? I don’t even know where he is?”
“Do you mind if I bring in Cody and Oracle? I think they may be able to help.”
“Go ahead.”
Jackson opened the door and said, “Sorry guys, if you would just be patient, I’ll be with you shortly. Cody? Oracle? Will you join me?” Shutting the study door after they came in, Jackson walked over to his desk. Looking at Cody, he asked, “What exactly is Kieran?”
“He’s a wolf, you know that.”
“Yes, but what else?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Bullshit, Cody! You know exactly what I mean so for the last time…what is Kieran?”
Cody looked at Oracle, helpless. All he knew is he couldn’t answer his brother—his Alpha—and knew all hell would break loose if Jackson used his Alpha power on him. Already he could see the life thread connecting him to Dylon turn darker and heard his mate asking if he was okay.
Seeing the problem, Oracle spoke for Cody. “Jackson, Cody cannot tell you…”
“Can’t or won’t?”
Shrugging her slim, elegant shoulders, she waved her hand.
“It does not matter which one you pick. If you force Cody to talk, Dylon will break down that door to protect him. The problem lies not with Cody, but with the Fates who decreed that Kieran…and only Kieran…can divulge who he is.” Holding her hand up to stop the next question from Jackson, she added, “And it even applies to me. This was done so no one would ever be able to betray Kieran and use him for evil.”
“Then how did Cody find out? Did Kieran tell him?” Turning to Cody, he asked, “And if he told you, why didn’t he tell his Fated Mate who absolutely cannot betray him? Why is Logan in the dark about who his mate is?”
Cody sent a message to Dylon, letting him know he was all right and then answered Jackson, “Before all my visions became painful, I had a vision of Kieran. I had forgotten about it when my mind was taken over by pain. Only by chance did it come back to me, but Kieran knows I will never betray him because the Fates have ordered me to protect him…and Dylon must too.”
“As to why Kieran did not tell Logan,” said Oracle, frowning, “we can only guess, but you should know Logan’s mate has never had anyone who accepted him for who he was except Theodore and Norman. That is why their bond is so tight and why it is also so strange that he left them behind.”
Jackson glanced at Logan, then asked Oracle, “Do you know what gift the Fates have given Logan?”
“Yes, I do,” she answered, “but I am unable to tell Logan until I speak with Kieran.”
Jackson nodded, expecting that answer. Then he asked Oracle, “Do you know where Kieran is?”
“Yes, but I cannot tell you,” Oracle said, ignoring the growl from Logan.
“However, if you think about it, you will figure it out. One of you knows the answer. Sorry, that is the best I can do except to tell you that Kieran will die if he does not reunite with Logan so that his spirit may be made whole again.”
Logan cried out in pain, clutching his chest over his heart as he looked at Jackson, tears slowly running down his face.
“Cody, get everyone else in here and let’s see if we can figure this out,” Jackson said. And while Cody was sending a message to Dylon using their mind link, he turned to Logan. “Think, did Kieran mention any place specific he might have gone?”
Logan shook his head. “Yesterday we only talked about the design I had done for Cody’s home for boys. I wanted to take some time today, so we could just get to know each other and talk some more.”
When everyone had returned, Jackson looked at Theo and Norman, and asked, “Guys, do you have any idea where Kieran would have gone? When you were at Arald’s, did he mention a place he wanted to go to after he was free?”
After conferring through their mind link, Norman answered, “Scotland. It was the only place we heard him talk about, but that was here, not when we were locked up.”
Jackson thought for a moment. “Scotland! Yes, he said he had to be there next week. But would he have gone so early? He told us his spirit would tell him why he had to be there but if his spirit isn’t whole…”
“Then how could his spirit tell him, right?” Logan asked.
“Right. I don’t think he went to Scotland,” said Jackson. The room fell silent as everyone tried to recall if Kieran had mentioned any other place. Then Jackson asked Cody, “When Kieran wanted to take Theo and Norman after you rescued them, did he say where they would go?”
Recalling the conversations with Kieran back then, he slowly shook his head, and said, “No, I think Slate asked him where he would go, or maybe it was me, but it doesn’t matter because Kieran never answered it.”
The group fell back into silence, each trying to remember all the conversations they had with Kieran since he arrived but none of them had revealed anything about a place.
Jackson asked Theo and Norman, “Did he ever tell you where he was from?”
Hope lit up their faces as Theo exclaimed, “Ireland!” but it was soon dashed when Norman added, “I got the impression he never wanted to return to his parents, though.”
Cody was trying to pin down the thought that was darting around his mind, but he was unable to until Dylon did it for him. And there was the answer they’d been looking for. “I know where Kieran went…Hill of Tara!”