Chapter 16
“Nothing, why?” Glenn answered.
Sighing, Riley leaned back in his chair. “Well, it’s an interesting story…more so because three of their members are here in New York and, I’m guessing, searching for your mother.”
“What do they want with my mother? Are they working for The Collector?”
Snorting, Riley replied, “Hardly. The Blackwood Pack was formed by the seven remaining members of the Fox River Pa…”
“Wait, my mother’s best friend is the Alpha Mate of the Fox River Pack,” Glenn said.
“You mean was her best friend. According to a complaint filed with the High Council, Josiah of the Silver Point Pack is responsible for the massacre of every member of the Fox River Pack except for the seven oldest sons of the Alpha and Alpha Mate. They escaped…although I don’t know how…
and formed the Blackwood Pack. The eldest brother, Jackson, is now the Alpha and has recently claimed his Fated Mate, Steel Valentin, CEO of Dire Enterprises. ”
“No shit! The Hare got me a ride here on their jet.”
“There’s more,” Riley said. “Dylon Royd, only son of Franklin Royd, Vice Chair of the High Council, recently claimed his Fated Mate…Cody Blackwood, brother of Jackson. Dylon was formerly an enforcer in Josiah’s pack…”
“Did he take part in the massacre?” asked Glenn .
“No, he was hired after it happened. You should also know, Cody and Dylon were granted temporary custody of Fionn MacDùghlas , a dragon…”
“What’s a fucking dragon doing in a wolf pack?”
Shrugging, Riley continued, “There’s more. Very recently, another brother met his Fated Mate, a young Italian wolf who’s the High Priest of the Paranormal World. His word is final on all moral issues in our world.”
Staring at his buddy, Glenn sat down heavily in the chair he’d recently vacated. “How big is the Blackwood Pack?”
“The seven brothers and a few mates. Oh, by the way, Slate Valentin, COO of Dire Enterprises is the Fated Mate of another of Jackson’s brothers.”
It took Glenn a few seconds to put together all the pieces Reilly had dug up, before murmuring, “That explains why the Fates gave the Blackwood Pack a High Priest…they can protect him very well with the Valentin money behind them.” Then he asked, “Mom’s friend was killed in the massacre?”
“Yes.”
Frowning, Glenn asked, “When did it happen?”
“About six years ago.”
“FUCK!” Glenn yelled, slamming his fist down on the table next to him. “My Mom was there…she saw it…that’s the trouble she was referring to when we argued. Holy shit, Riley! I need to know everything about the Silver Point Pack, especially about the Alpha…what did you say his name was? Josiah?”
“On it,” Riley said, nodding as he turned back to his screen. “But we still don’t know why the Blackwood Pack wolves are here in New York or what they were doing in that apartment.”
“They want her to be a witness!” growled Glenn. “We need to find my mother before they do!”
~/~/~/~/~
Standing outside Theo and Norm’s bedroom, about to knock, David heard muffled voices and loud laughter coming through the door, causing him to lower his fist. Flashbacks of his childhood flooded his mind, reminding him of the lonely times he spent in his room while the High Priestess entertained her guests.
Sitting chained to his bed, music and laughter would float in every time she opened the door to bring one of them in to view him.
Then he’d be forced to stand and recite from memory whatever she told him to.
Afterward, the High Priestess would ridicule him in front of her guest, embarrassing him until he could do nothing except pray for the floor to open up and send him to hell—the place he was sure he was destined for.
As soon as they left, he’d collapse on the floor, tears streaking his face, his loneliness and despair threatening to break him.
But just before he reached the point of no return, his mother would sneak into the room, somehow knowing he needed her to reassure him that he was loved.
If it weren’t for her, he’d have perished.
All those lonely nights, endless tears, hours spent hating himself for failure to meet the High Priestess’ standards—all bearable because his mother made sure he knew she loved him.
Now, once again, he was isolated from the party that had started without him and, just as before, he realized no one cared if he was there or not.
Taking a step back, a lone tear escaped as he tried to swallow the sob in his throat.
Turning away, he decided to leave, even though the pain of not joining them cut him deeply.
It doesn’t matter because I have a choice now…
and I can refuse to go where I’m not wanted.
Reluctantly, David took a step back toward his and Zane’s bedroom.
Suddenly, the door to Theo’s bedroom flew open.
“There you are!” Kieran exclaimed, giving David a hug.
“C’mon, we’ve been waiting for you because you’re the tiebreaker.
We’re planning the food for Theo and Norm’s wedding and they can’t make up their mind, so Theo thought we should vote on it and I thought that was a smashing idea but the problem is the vote keeps coming out two to two because either Quin is voting with Theo, and Norm is voting with me, or the other way around so nothing can be decided without you. ”
Kieran smiled and took a deep breath, before continuing, “Oh good, I see you brought your pillow and blanket. Wait till you see what Norm did, he borrowed another mattress and took his mattress off the bed and put both next to each other on the floor so it’s like one big bed for all of us to sleep together.
Isn’t that so cool? It’s like we’re camping in the woods but without a tent or maybe we do have a tent if we look at the room as being our tent.
Oh, I know, we should leave the shades up so we can see the stars and then it will be like sleeping under the stars… ”
“David,” Theo said, rushing over to hug him. “Come in! Dakota helped me make all the snacks for tonight…perfect for a sleepover. Oh, I love your pajama pants. Did Ki buy them for you?”
“No, uhm, they belong to Zane,” David said softly, embarrassed to admit he was wearing his mate’s clothes.
“Oh my god, they’re adorable,” Theo said. “I would do the same thing if Pooh bear was gone. ”
“You would?” David asked, staring with surprise at Theo.
“Of course…that way I would have Pooh bear still wrapped around me,” Theo said, grabbing David’s hand and leading him into the room. “We need to settle the menu so we can get onto the fun part of the evening. Do you love rom-coms?”
“I don’t know. What are they?” David asked, frowning slightly.
“Romantic comedies…movies…Ki introduced me to them,” Theo said, flopping down next to Norm. “And I’ve been hooked ever since.”
“Hi David,” Quin called, “you’re just in time. Theo and Norm can’t agree on anything. At this rate, there won’t be any food at their wedding.”
“Hey, that’s not true,” Norm replied, “we agreed on…on…on…”
“See,” Quin giggled, “that’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
Sitting down next to Kieran, David said, “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be since I’ve never been to a wedding.”
“Look at it as a regular dinner except everyone is dressed up,” Kieran said.
“But before the eating starts, Theo walks down the aisle to Norm who is waiting for him under the gazebo. Then I say some stuff, then Norm says his vows and Theo says his vows, then I have them put on rings and pronounce them as husband and husband and tell them to kiss…”
“That last part might take a while,” Quin interjected.
“True,” Kieran nodded, “Theo and Norm love to kiss… ”
“Hey, he’s my Pooh bear,” Theo exclaimed. “Of course I love kissing him.”
Rolling his eyes, Kieran giggled. “Uh-huh. Well, anyway, after they finish their kiss, they walk down the aisle while everyone throws rose petals over them, then pictures are taken…oh, my gods, I need to find a photographer…mental note…Q don’t let me forget…
then everyone sits down to eat but first there are some toasts, yada yada, yada…
then it’s food time and that’s what we need to figure out tonight. ”
“Why don’t we start with the wedding cake?” asked Quin. “We should be able to decide on that.”
“Good idea,” Kieran said. “What flavor do you want?”
“I don’t know,” Theo said, looking at Norm. “Pooh bear, any ideas?”
“Not really, honeybunch,” Norm replied.
“What about a honey vanilla cake?” asked David. “My mother used to make me honey vanilla cupcakes and they are really delicious.”
“Honey vanilla?” Theo echoed, staring at Norm. “That sounds absolutely perfect, doesn’t it Pooh bear. We both love honey, right?”
“We do,” Norm nodded, relieved they could agree on something.
“Then that’s set,” Theo said, excitedly. “Do you think your mother would give me the recipe, David?”
“Of course,” David said. “She loves to bake so don’t be surprised if she offers to make your wedding cake.”
“Oh, my gods, that would be fantastic,” Theo said. “I haven’t made very many cakes yet, so I’d love it if your mom wants to do it. ”
“Okay, now that that’s settled, let’s move on to the dinner part,” urged Kieran.
“What is your favorite dish?” Quin asked, looking at Theo and Norm.
Grinning, Theo exclaimed, “Poached Honey-Coated Bake Salmon! We absolutely love it!”
“Oh, my goodness!” David said, excitedly, “Why don’t we make it a honey theme dinner?”
“Brilliant idea!” agreed Kieran. “What other honey thingies do you like?”
“There’s grilled honey beef…” Theo said.
“And don’t forget tenderized honey venison,” Norm added.
“I love it!” exclaimed Quin, clapping his hands. “So, is this final…three main honey-based courses and a honey vanilla cake?”
Kieran looked around and, seeing everyone nodding in agreement, said, “This will be the bestest wedding ever!”
“Any ideas about what else you want to have?” Quin asked Theo.
“Other than what we decided, I don’t have a clue but I’ll ask Dakota tomorrow for some help figuring out what will go good with it.” Theo said.
“Perfecto!” Kieran exclaimed. “So, what’s next…movie or a game?”
“What kind of game?” asked David. “I haven’t played anything other than video games Zane put on my computer. ”
“Don’t worry,” Kieran replied. “We can play games like ‘Truth or Dare’. You don’t need to have any experience to play that.”
“That sounds good,” said David. “What do I have to do, Ki?”
“We start by choosing who’s going to go first, then that person chooses either Truth or Dare and if they choose Truth, they have to answer a question like ‘what is the naughtiest thing you ever did in public’…stuff like that.”
David turned to Quin. “What if I picked Dare?” he asked. “How does that work?”
“You get something funny to do, like ‘put four ice cubes down your pants’ or ‘curse like a sailor for 20 seconds straight,’” Quin laughed.
“This sounds like fun,” David said. “Let’s do it.”
“I think Ki should be first,” Theo said, loudly, “does everyone agree?”
“No way,” Kieran said, shaking his head, “I’m voting for Q. Who’s with me?”
Looking around, Quin grinned when all the hands of his friends shot up in the air. “Fine, I go first…hmm…truth or dare…uhmm…DARE! I choose dare!”
“I got the perfect dare for you!” Theo exclaimed.
“What is it?” asked Quin.
“You have to slap out a song beat on your butt cheeks till one of us guesses it!”
“Ohhh, that is a good one,” Kieran said. “Okay, go ahead Q, let us hear those ass cheeks sing!”
Grinning goofily, Quin stood and, thinking for a moment, then turned his back to the group and began tapping on his rear.
When no one guessed it, he repeated it several more times while his friends shouted out titles.
Finally stopping, he looked over his shoulder at the group.
“Really, guys? You can’t figure it out? It was very popular a few years ago and still one of my favorites. ”
Giggling, Theo said, “Do it again!”
“Oh, come on,” Quin implored, “my ass is getting sore. What do you expect me to tell Mase when I can’t sit down tomorrow?” Sighing, he resumed his slapping.
“Oh, my fucking gods! It’s Roar !” Kieran exclaimed, clapping his hands. “I love it, huh, how come I didn’t figure it out sooner, I play it all the time!”
“Finally!” Quin said, turning around and collapsing with relief onto one of the mattresses. “It’s one of mine too…a personal anthem. It’s on my favorite playlist.”
“I never heard of it,” David said. “I don’t even know what a playlist is.”
“A playlist is made up of songs you like…for instance…I have one called my ‘Power’ list,” Quin explained. “They’re songs I listen to for inspiration, when I need to boost my confidence… Roar is on it along with others, like Fight Song. “I can help you make a playlist, if you’d like.”
“Thank you, I would love that,” David said, with a big smile.
“Ki, you’re next,” Theo said, “Truth or Dare?”
“Truth!” shouted Kieran.
“I got one,” Quin said, “who has the nicest butt in the room?”
“I’m glad you limited it to us,” Norm said, chuckling .
“Hmmm…” Kieran mused, “this is tough…nope…can’t answer it without further research. Okay, I need you all to stand up and turn around…c’mon, do it, then bend over so I can compare everyone’s butts.”
David’s eyes widened at Kieran’s order. “Are you really going to look at our…you know…backsides? Won’t Logan get upset?”
“Nope,” Kieran said, giggling.
Allowing his mate to pull him up, Theo grinned at David. “Ki always claims he’s taken but not blind. When we went to the Meat Locker in Edinburgh—because Fionn wanted to find a hook-up—Ki sat next to Logan, pointing out all the hot men in the club that night.”
Whipping his head around, David stared at Kieran. “No way!”
“What? I was just helping Fionn shop,” Kieran grinned. “He hadn’t done it before so I was giving him some lessons. Now, go ahead, bend over.”
After several minutes, Norm spoke. “Ki, enough already…stop perving on our asses. Just answer the fucking question.”
Giggling at the sight of his friends’ taut butts, Kieran finally said, “Truth? They’re all fantastic but if I have to pick just one, then I’m going with Q’s.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” David said, straightening up before flopping down on the mattresses. “Now I won’t have to explain to Zane why Kieran likes my butt the best.”
After the laughter subsided, Kieran announced, “You’re next, Theo. What will it be…Truth or Dare?”
“Easy…Truth.” Theo said, smiling .
“Can I ask Theo a question?” asked David.
Nodding, Kieran said, “Go ahead.”
Looking at Theo, David asked, “What is something you never told anyone?”