Chapter 17
Blinking once, then again, Theo stared at David, sorrow flitting across his face.
Pushing it deep down inside him, he forced a smile.
Unable to give voice to his darkest secret, he hesitated, attempting to find something else to disclose.
But before he could come up with anything, he heard a squeal.
“Oh, my gods!” Kieran exclaimed, his hands on his belly. “Logan Jr. moved! He moved!”
“Let me feel!” demanded Quin, crawling over to his friend.
“Me, too,” Theo said, joining them and sliding a hand under Kieran’s shirt. “Is this the first time you felt your pup move?”
“Yesss…oh my gods…there…did you feel it?” Kieran replied, lifting his shirt up so he could watch the rippling of his belly.
“Oh, look!” Quin exclaimed, pointing, “is that Logan Jr.’s foot or hand?”
Giggling at the sight, Kieran replied, “I don’t know but if he’s like his daddy in bed, it’s probably a foot.”
Gazing at his friend’s belly, David was awestruck at the movement of the pup. Shifting his eyes up to his friend’s face, he was taken aback by the sheer joy radiating from Kieran, causing him to smile at the miracle taking place in front of him. “How does it feel?”
Looking up at David, Kieran said, “Amazing! Like Logan Jr. is real, well I know he’s real but to feel him move just makes it all the more real, like I’m actually going to have a pup soon and I can’t wait to see a mini Logan so I can fall in love all over again…
this time with my pup…but that makes me a little sad because my mother and father will never get to see him and my pup will never get to know the joy of having grandparents…
well that’s not exactly true because now that Hope is here my pup does have one grandparent, but I just wish my parents could see their grandpup, hold him and given him their blessing.
I can’t wait until Logan Jr. is born because now since I felt him move, I want to hold and cuddle him and give him lots of hugs and kisses.
It will be one of my bestest days ever!”
Staring wistfully at his hand being gently shaken by Kieran’s pup, Quin wondered if he’d ever experience having a pup; his timidity limited his contact with the outside world and finding his Fated Mate extremely unlikely.
Swallowing his disappointment, Quin perked up and said, “We need to have a pup shower!”
Sitting back on his heels, Theo said, “That’s a great idea. But what about Kota and Ian? Should we do one big shower for everyone or separate showers?”
“Wait!” Quin demanded. “Kota…you mean my cousin Dakota, right? He’s pregnant? He can’t be…he’s an Alpha!”
Theo exchanged glances with Kieran. “Oops.”
Kieran gave Theo a reassuring smile before looking at Quin. “Yeah, he is but you have to swear to keep it a secret because no one knows, well we know of course, and Hunter and Mac know and now you do, too, but your other brothers can’t know Kota is pregnant. Promise you won’t tell anyone?”
“Promise,” Quin replied, “but I don’t understand. Is he or isn’t he an Alpha?”
“He is,” answered Kieran, “but when Slate claimed him, the Fates made him an Alpha/Omega hybrid... ”
“Oh, my gods!” Quin squealed, “that is so cool! Wait, how come Hunter knows? I can understand about Mac but Hunter?”
“Fionn is his mate and that makes Hunter a member of the Blackwood Pack,” Norm said.
“So, does that also make me a member of the Blackwood Pack?” Quin asked excitedly.
“Maybe,” replied Norm. “To be honest, I’m not sure how it works.” Looking at Ki, he asked, “Do you know?”
“Do you want to be a member, Q?” asked Kieran.
“I do, I do!” Quin nodded. “All my friends are here…and so is Hunter and Fi and Mac. And what about the Love Queens? I’m one of them so I need to stay…please!”
“Duh! We need you too!” Kieran said, grinning at Quin.
“Now we just have to figure out how to get the Alpha to agree…uhmm, maybe it would help if Hunter also supported you and then we can all sign a petition or something and present it to the Alpha requesting he accept you as a member. And Theo can ask Kota and I can get Logan to stand with us…”
“And I know Zane would,” David said.
“Perfecto!” Kieran exclaimed, clapping his hands. “Let’s see…that would be nine Blackwood Pack members, cause I’m including Fi…”
“And what about Slate?” Theo asked. “If Kota does it, then Slate will too.”
“My mother will.” David said. “She’s a member.”
“Do you think Mac is a member?” asked Quin. “He’s gonna be here for a while.”
“It won’t hurt to have him sign,” Kieran agreed. “Tomorrow I’ll ask my mate to help write the petition and then we can have everyone sign it before presenting it to the Alpha.”
“I guess that’s settled,” Theo said, “so now what do you think about doing one pup shower for everyone?”
“I think it would be nicer to have separate showers,” David proposed.
“I agree with David,’ Norm said, sending a smile his way.
Glancing over at his Pooh bear, Theo grinned. “Sounds good…three parties…so how should we do this?”
“How about David and me doing it?” Quin asked. “Since Theo is getting ready for his wedding and Ki is in charge of planning that, it only makes sense for us to plan the three pup showers. What do you think, David? Are you in?”
“I’d love to,” David answered, “but I don’t know how much help I’ll be since it’ll be the first time I ever did this.”
“Pffh, don’t worry,” Quin said, “I haven’t either, but one time, when I was looking at one of my mom’s magazines, there was this article about planning the perfect party and it even included a to-do list, telling you what to do and when.
I saved it because I had a feeling it might come in handy one day. ”
“Oh,” David said, exhaling in relief, “that’s good…I have a lot of experience at following instructions.”
Dropping his shirt after his pup had settled down, Kieran said, “Perfecto! Now, where were we before we were interrupted by Logan Jr.”
~/~/~/~/ ~
Glancing up when his study door opened, Jackson grinned as his mate entered the room. “Are the pups in bed?”
Sitting down on the love seat, Steel said, “Yes, finally. I don’t envy Cody and Dylon at all…Jessica is pure Alpha and when she’s not happy, everyone knows it.”
“What happened?”
“She didn’t like the sleeping arrangements,” Steel said, snorting. “I moved the portable cribs into Daniel’s room so it would be easier to reach them if there was a problem.”
“Ahh, she wanted to sleep in her room,” Jackson surmised.
“Oh, no, she was perfectly happy to be in Daniel’s room as long as she could sleep in his crib with him.”
Chuckling, Jackson replied, “I can’t wait till she begins to date. I have a feeling Dylon and my brother are going to have a tough time with her following their rules.”
“Maybe…or she could be like me. My parents never had to worry about what I was doing,” smirked Steel.
“Uh-huh. Maybe I should ask your mother about that,” Jackson said.
Deciding it was better to change the subject than to invite further scrutiny of his teen years, Steel asked, “What’s the latest on Willow?”
“Zane has a new lead, so they plan to follow it up early tomorrow morning.”
“And Josiah? Is Zane keeping an eye on him?” asked Steel.
“Yeah,” Jackson said, joining his mate on the love seat, leaning against him. “I’m waiting to see what happens after Hunter talks to his uncle. If my cousin’s plan to call his bluff on a challenge works, Josiah should be getting an email canceling the meeting between them.”
“Slate asked me if there is any news about a temporary chef. He’s worried about Dakota,” Steel said.
“Shit, I forgot to ask Oracle for a recommendation…I’ll do it tomorrow,” Jackson said, “Why is your brother worried?”
“His mate is having a Dire wolf pup,” Steel replied, shaking his head.
Batting his mate’s chest, Jackson said, “I know that, smarty-pants…I was just wondering if there’s anything else.”
After hearing the nervousness in his mate’s voice, Steel pulled Jackson onto his lap, wrapping his arms around him.
“Babe, there’s nothing else. Colton and Ian are very much involved in Dakota’s pregnancy, making sure Mac is on top of everything.
The likelihood of what happened to you, happening to Dakota, is slim…
you know that. What did Ian say…the chances are one in a million? ”
Burying his face against his mate’s neck, Jackson inhaled Steel’s scent, letting out a sigh of relief as the calming pheromones flooded his body.
Logically, he knew his mate was correct, but emotionally, Jackson couldn’t help but worry about his brother.
There was still that one chance things could go south for Dakota and that’s what he couldn’t get out of his mind.
Rubbing Jackson’s back, Steel felt the tension in his mate’s muscles.
Since there wasn’t anything he could do about Dakota, he kept moving his hand gently in circles while pressing some kisses against his mate’s forehead until he finally felt Jackson relax.
“By the way, there was a lot of laughter coming from Theo and Norm’s bedroom when I passed by after getting the pups to sleep. ”
Smiling at that, Jackson said, “That’s good news…Zane was worried about leaving David alone at night. According to my brother, David has trouble sleeping without him.”
“Did he say why?”
“No…I got the feeling Zane doesn’t know why, but if I were to guess, it probably has to do with what David went through growing up,” answered Jackson. “When Zane gets back, I’m going to remind him about David speaking to the therapist, who’ll be arriving here soon.”
“Dr. DiLupo?”
“Yes,” Jackson replied, “Ian speaks very highly of him. Cody and Dylon hired him…and a teacher, Spencer Davis. He’s a wolf shifter.”
“Any word on when they’re arriving?” asked Steel.
“Not yet,” Jackson said. “Oh, and I forgot to tell you, Davis has two kids so he’ll need a couple of more rooms.”
“More wolf pups, hmmm? Do you know how old they are?”
“Nope,” Jackson replied. “Cody just said, Davis is a single dad. You might want to ask Dylon since he did the background check on him before Cody hired him.”
“I’ll do that,” Steel murmured against Jackson’s neck before giving him a series of light kisses, causing his mate to sigh in pleasure.
Placing his hand over the bulge in Steel’s jeans, Jackson palmed it, feeling the heat. “Ready for some fun, babe? ”
Growling, Steel scooped Jackson up, smiling as his mate squealed at the suddenness of his move, and headed for their bedroom.
~/~/~/~/~
“It’s Theo’s turn to answer David’s question,” Quin said.
“Wait, before Theo does,” David said, “who are the Love Queens?”
“Kieran gave us that name,” Theo said, “when we were trying to help Hunter claim Fi. Q was afraid his brother would stuff it up.”
“Stuff it up?” asked David.
“Mess it up,” Quin replied. “My brother isn’t very romantic so I was worried he wouldn’t know what to do to woo Fi. Hey, do you want to join? There are still my other brothers who’ll need help claiming their mates.”
“What will I have to do?” asked David.
“It depends,” Theo replied, “on what plan we come up with. For instance, for Fi, we got Q’s brother Robin to write a love song and then got Theo to cook them a romantic dinner.”
“Oh, that sounds lovely,” David said, “count me in.”
“Perfecto!” Kieran said, “Now, time for you to tell us the truth, Theo…what have you never told anyone?”
“Uhmm…” Stalling for time, Theo considered spitting out the first thing that came to his mind, but once it was out there, it would cause him to break down and cry.
And his Pooh bear would be upset and might try to do something which would put them both in danger, so it was better if he just totally forgot about that answer.
“Hmm, well, you know, we’re planning to have cubs… and…this is a wolf pack… ”
“With a dragon,” Quin said.
“Right, with a dragon…” Theo paused, unsure if he should proceed.
Cocking his head, Kieran listened to his spirit before asking softly, “Theo, are you worried about how your cubs will be treated?”
The lump in his throat prevented Theo from speaking. Wolves and bears shifters never mixed and the only reason he and his fiancé were in the Blackwood Pack was Cody feared if they returned home, their family would have them captured and then sell them into slavery again.
“Did someone say something to you that makes you feel that way?” asked David.
Shaking his head, Theo said, “No, not exactly.”
“Then what makes you worry about it?” asked Kieran.
Sighing, Theo murmured, “I got the feeling they were afraid of me and Pooh bear…you know…when...”
“When what?” asked Kieran.
Shrugging helplessly, Theo looked at Norman, pleading with him to explain.
Giving Theo a hug and a kiss, Norm said, “Arald hated Theo and me. When we were chained up, neither of us could shift and protect ourselves when he came into our cells and punished us…it seemed for no reason other than we were bears. It was the first time someone hated us just for being bears and since he was a wolf shifter, Theo’s worried about it happening to our cubs if they live in a wolf pack.
We don’t want our cubs to face that kind of crap growing up. ”
Leaning over, Quin wrapped his arms around Theo, hugging him tightly. “No, Theo, don’t worry…it won’t ha ppen here. Just because that asshole was a wolf shifter, doesn’t mean other wolf shifters feel that way.”
“Really?” Theo asked, quickly dashing the tears from his eyes.
“Really!” replied Quin. “None of the wolf shifters in this room would ever be mean to your cubs. Isn’t that right?”
“Theo, Q’s right,” Kieran said. “None of us could ever hurt your cubs…I know my mate wouldn’t…”
“Neither would Zane!” exclaimed David.
“And I know Cody and Dylon wouldn’t stand for it,” Kieran said, “nor Kota, and certainly not Ian or Colton. And frankly, neither would the Alpha. Look how he accepted you instantly. If he didn’t like bears, trust me, he’d have found some other place for you to go.”
“Honeybunch,” Norm murmured, rubbing his fiancé’s back gently, “no one will ever show our cubs anything other than love. And if, for some reason, you or I feel our cubs aren’t being treated right, we’ll leave this pack and go somewhere else, even if it means living by ourselves.”
Gazing at the love of his life, Theo saw only the truth of Norm’s words reflected back at him. Reaching up, he cupped the cheek belonging to the person whose love had sustained him through those awful years. “Promise?” he whispered.
“Cross my heart.” Norm whispered back.