Chapter 28
“Ready for me to claim you?” Remy purred, before outlining Carson’s lips with his tongue.
Groaning, Carson closed his eyes against the waves of need rushing through his body.
But as much as he wanted to feel his mate’s cock deep within him, there was more his mate had to know.
“ Mon amour, I am…but…” Carson moaned when he felt his mate’s finger brush his nipple before gently scratching his fingernail tip against it, igniting an explosion inside him.
Grabbing Remy’s hand, Carson moved it away from his chest in an effort to regain control over himself.
“Babe,” he murmured, “wait, there’s more… it’s about you.”
Remy pulled back a little, his eyes widening as he stared at Carson. “Me? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know if this’ll happen to you, but sometimes the Fates give the mate a gift, too.”
“What kind of gift?” Remy asked, puzzled.
“I have no idea. Dylon…he’s Cody’s mate…got the power of Hercules. I just wanted you to know it’s a possibility so if it happens, you won’t freak out,” Carson said.
Rolling his eyes, Remy said, “I’m not going to freak out. Besides, I don’t think it’s going to happen…I mean, think about it…I’d have gotten a higher level of magic when I was born if the Fates wanted to give me a gift.”
“Yeah, makes sense,” Carson said, giving his mate a quick kiss. “I wanted to give you a heads-up, though, just in case. ”
“I won’t spend the night thinking about it, but I’m excited that you’re getting a gift. I wonder what it’ll be?” Remy mused.
“Oh shit, I forgot, Jackson asked me if you and I had any objections to Hunter joining us when we see Oracle,” Carson said.
“I don’t care…it’s really up to you,” Remy replied. “Just curious…why does Jackson want this?”
“My guess is to have someone there from the pack who can protect me,” Carson said, taking out his phone to send a text to his brother. “My brother is a very good Alpha, but sometimes he can be a little over-protective.”
“I don’t have a problem with that,” Remy grinned. “Now, can we go upstairs so I can sink my cock into you?”
~/~/~/~/~
Watching the helicopter grow larger as it approached the pack house, Jackson heard the front door open behind him and smiled when Steel’s scent reached his nose. Glancing at his mate, he asked, “What did Slate have to say? You guys were on the phone when I left to come out here.”
“My brother’s worried about Dakota,” replied Steel. “He was telling me Dakota had fainted…”
“Is he okay?” Jackson asked, alarmed.
“Yeah, Slate caught him before Dakota hit the deck. He called me because Kota refused to see Mac to be checked over. According to him, it was nothing…just a little dizziness because he was standing over a steaming pot. I told Slate to give him my official order to leave the kitchen until Mac cleared him.”
Snickering, Jackson said, “So your brother made you the bad guy. ”
“Fuckin’ asshole,” Steel growled. “I’m sure I didn’t gain any points with Dakota when Slate relayed my order.”
“Do you want me to talk to him?”
“Maybe, but it can wait till after Mac’s examined him.”
“Dakota knows I’m leery about bringing in a temporary chef…that’s why he’s being so stubborn about soldiering on.”
“Which is also driving my brother up the wall.”
“Yeah, well, eventually cooking will be too much for him. You know, Hunter mentioned Mason did most of the cooking for them. What do you think about asking him if he’d consider helping out?”
Shrugging, Steel replied, “Hmm, not a bad idea…if I did alternative days with him…”
“You both would have Theo to help,” Jackson pointed out.
“Have you spoken to Hunter about this?” asked Steel
“No, I wanted to run it past you first.”
“The only problem I see is Mason finding out about Dakota’s pregnancy.”
“Yeah, I know…let’s see what Mac has to say about Dakota first,” Jackson said, watching the chopper land.
When the blades stopped rotating, Dylon got out and, extending his hand to a woman, helped her out of the helicopter while Cody and Zane followed.
“Thank goodness Willow is okay.” Jackson said, relief in his voice.
“Mom’s on pins and needles. I promised to bring Willow to her as soon as she arrived. ”
“Any word on Josiah? Has his meeting with Hunter’s uncle been canceled?” asked Steel.
“Yep,” Jackson replied. “Hunter sent me a copy of the email he received from his uncle…a real asshole. After he gave a bunch of bullshit about simply trying to form an alliance, he finally said the meeting was canceled.”
“Alpha Blackwood, I would like you to meet Willow Thatcher, your mother’s friend,” Dylon said, stopping at the foot of the porch stairs.
Lowering her head, Willow said, “Alpha, I’m very happy you and some of your brothers survived. How’s Hope?”
“Please call me Jackson. Mom’s doing much better and is eager to see you,” he said, joining Willow on the grass in front of the porch.
“This is my Alpha Mate, Steel Valentin and he’ll show you to your room.
Dylon gave me a brief summary of what you went through.
He assured me you’re okay but if you don’t mind, I’d like you to see our doctor just to make sure there aren’t any lingering effects from the sedative.
If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to let either of us know. ”
After nodding to Steel, Willow asked, “Did Dylon tell you I want to file a report with the High Council about what I witnessed?”
“Yes, he did, but it can wait a few days until you fully recover. Besides, you have a lot of catching up to do with Mom.”
“Yes, I imagine so,” Willow said.
“Mrs. Thatcher, whenever you’re ready, I’ll take you to your room,” Steel offered.
“Please…and call me Willow.”
“Okay, Willow,” Steel said, picking up her bags, “this way. ”
Jackson waited until the front door closed behind his mate and Willow, before turning to Zane. “I hate to put you right to work, but after you see David, would you please do a search and see if there’s been anymore contact between Josiah and Hunter’s uncle?”
“I thought the meeting was canceled,” Cody said.
“It was, but I don’t trust Josiah…or Hunter’s uncle for that matter,” Jackson replied. “Check phone records, Zane…see if there was contact made that way. I forwarded you Hunter’s email listing of all the phone numbers his uncle has access to.”
“No problemo,” Zane said, climbing the front steps. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, David is waiting for me.”
“How are the twins?” Cody asked as he, Dylon, and Jackson followed Zane into the house.
“Just fine,” Jackson replied. “They’re in the playroom.”
~/~/~/~/~
Slate helped Dakota onto the examination table, hiding his smile at his mate’s adorable pout.
Removing a lightweight blanket from the cupboard, he draped it around Dakota in an effort to keep him warm, before sitting down next to him.
Now, since his mate was no longer in a position to hurt himself if he fainted again, Slate quietly exhaled, letting out all the fear and panic he felt in the kitchen.
Tugging Dakota close, he murmured, “You okay?”
“Yeah, just embarrassed,” Dakota said. “I should’ve sat down when I first felt dizzy…but I thought I could power through it. I’m sorry if I caused you any worry.”
“Have you had these spells before when you were cooking? ”
“No…not that I can remember,” Dakota said, punching Slate’s arm. “Of course, I wasn’t getting my brains fucked out every night, either.”
“Hey, we can always stop until our pup is born,” Slate smirked.
“Only if you want to die,” growled Dakota. “My libido is going wild because someone…namely you…got me pregnant so it’s your duty to take care of it.”
Just as he started to respond, the door opened and Mac walked in. “Hi Doc,” Slate said, jumping down from the table, grateful for the interruption.
“Steel told me you fainted, Dakota,” Mac said.
“Yeah, it happened when I was standing over the stove,” replied Dakota.
“Did you injure yourself when you fell?” Mac asked.
“No, Slate caught me.”
“That’s good,” Mac said, putting down Dakota’s chart. “Let’s check your vitals and make sure everything is okay.”
Frowning, Dakota sat still while Mac examined him, trying to ignore the worry curdling in his stomach. His dizzy spells were coming more frequently now, something he wanted to ignore, thinking they were just another one of those pregnancy things that would eventually go away.
“Slate, can you find Colton for me? I want to have him do an ultrasound,” Mac said, taking Dakota’s blood pressure again.
“Is something wrong with our pup?” Slate asked, worry evident in his voice .
“Not that I can tell, but I just want to make sure,” replied Mac.
Waiting until his mate left the room, Dakota asked, “What’s the problem, Doc? And don’t tell me there isn’t one.”
“Ahh, yes,” Mac grimaced, “shadow voice…listened to my thoughts, did you?”
“No, I wouldn’t do that without your permission, but my…”
“Right…your empath abilities,” Mac said. “I guess I’m going to have to learn to school my emotions better.”
“I usually block them but I was worried about my pup so…” Dakota’s voice trailed off.
“Don’t be, I’m pretty confident your pup’s doing fine,” assured Mac. “Here, let me help you lie down.” Once his patient was horizontal, he asked, “How often are you getting dizzy? And don’t even think of denying it, Dakota.”
“How did you know?”
“Your blood pressure is quite low,” Mac said.
“What does that mean?”
“It happens often in pregnancy and is usually not a problem. However, I think you’re experiencing periods of extremely low blood pressure which is causing the dizzy spells,” Mac explained.
“Can it hurt my pup?” asked Dakota.
“Don’t know. I’ll discuss it with Ian since his knowledge is more extensive than mine. In the meantime, I’m ordering complete bed rest for three days.”
“Isn’t there another way? What if I promise to sit down if I get dizzy?”