Chapter 33
Pulling into a dusty, rutted parking lot in front of a run-down bar, Glenn killed the engine and glanced around, finding only an old, rusty, pick-up truck parked nearby.
Climbing out, he stretched, smirking at the sounds of his bones popping and cracking.
Since leaving Riley, he’d driven straight through, stopping only for gas and food.
If luck was with him, the man waiting inside would agree to be the second member of his team.
Opening the metal-clad door, Glenn paused, letting his eyes become accustomed to the dark interior.
“Either come in or get out,” a whiskey voice rasped.
Grinning, Glenn moved towards the figure sitting at the end of the bar, letting the door slam behind him. “Hello to you, too.”
“Traveling alone? What happened? Did the Hare finally kick your sorry ass out the door?”
“Nope…vacay,” Glenn chuckled, claiming the stool next to his friend.
“And you want to spend it with me. How touching.”
“Still hard up, Smokey?”
“Well, my dick is hard and up, so, yep, you nailed it,” Smokey snorted. “Good to see you, old man.”
“Same here,” Glenn replied, grabbing the cold bottle of beer waiting for him.
“What’s up? Who do I have to kill this time?”
“Here…it’s all in there,” Glenn said, slapping a folder down in front of his friend before hoisting his beer and draining it in one long swallow. Reaching for another, he po pped the cap, taking a swig as he watched Smokey’s face.
“Sonofabitch! He went after your mother? What a fucking douchbag!” Smokey exclaimed. Closing the folder, he drummed his fingers on the bar, staring at it, his thoughts elsewhere, putting two and two together. Finally, he said, “So, you want me to join your hunting party. Who else is in it?”
“Riley, me of course,” Glenn replied, “and Ghost, if he’s available.”
“He is. The last I heard he’s living the life of a beach bum, ogling all the wildlife.”
“Good, I’m heading there next. How soon can you join me?” asked Glenn.
Slowly looking around the empty bar, Smoky smirked. “My bag’s packed and I was just waiting for my ride.”
Throwing back the rest of his beer, Glenn stood, grinning. “It’s a good thing I came along, because by the looks of this fuckin’ place, you’d be waiting a long time.”
Leaning over the bar, Smoky snatched his bag from the floor, hefting it over his shoulder. “Let’s go…Ghost better be tellin’ the truth ‘cause my dick’s craving some nice plump lips on it.”
~/~/~/~/~
Rapping his knuckles against Jackson’s partially open door, Logan asked, “Got a minute?”
“Sure,” Jackson smiled, pushing his keyboard aside. “How’s Queenie? Any luck retraining him?”
Snorting, Logan shook his head, taking a seat in front of his brother’s desk.
“Kieran forbade me from doing it. He claims Queenie is expressing his inner desires and we must respect them. I finally gave up and agreed we’d go find him a mate.
Oh! Shit, I can’t believe I forgot to tell you…
I felt our pup move for the first time.”
“You mean Logan, Jr., right? Amazing isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Logan said, his eyes getting misty.
“There are times, I still can’t believe it…
Kieran’s framed every ultrasound picture and I catch myself staring at them, wondering how he’ll look…
what’ll he be like…will he love me. Sometimes, I’m so eager to meet him I don’t know if I can wait, yet other times I’m petrified I’m not ready to be his father.
You know I didn’t have a great role model. ”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jackson said. “Our dear pop taught us everything we needed to know about how not to be a father.”
Laughing, Logan said, “Got to agree with you, Jackie. I know exactly what not to do.”
“There you go, you know more than you think,” Jackson smiled.
“Logan, listen to me…you are the strongest person I know. What you went through with our father is the worst kind of emotional abuse that can happen to a kid. Yet, you survived…no, you actually did more than survive because you grew up to be a man capable of giving unconditional love to Kieran, me, your brothers, your nephews, niece…and you’ll give it to your pup.
Whatever our father tried to do to you failed…
he fucking failed…and there isn’t anything he can do now to change it.
You’ll be a great dad. Besides, do you honestly think Kieran will let you be anything else? ”
“Nope…and thanks for the pep talk.”
“Any time…now what is it you wanted to see me about?” asked Jackson .
“Kieran told me Quin wants to become a member of the Blackwood Pack.”
“He’s already a member because of Hunter,” Jackson replied.
“I thought so, but I wasn’t sure if that meant he can choose to stay here when the rest of his brothers go back home.”
“Oh, I see,” Jackson said. “Well, Quin’s an adult, so he’s free to make his own decisions, but this is a tricky situation.
Hunter has agreed to stay because of my connection to Fionn.
Mac will be here for a while and Mason is working with Dire Enterprises, handling some of their investments, so I don’t see him leaving soon.
That leaves Robin and Sawyer and I don’t know what their plans are. ”
“Does Mason know about Dakota?”
“No…not yet…but I might have to tell him soon.”
“Why?”
“Dakota fainted yesterday while cooking,” Jackson explained, waving his hand at seeing alarm on his brother’s face.
“He’s fine, but Mac insists he spend three days in bed.
And Slate’s not helping…worrying about our brother, who can pick up on his emotions, which is just making Dakota feel guilty for making his mate feel bad. A real clusterfuck.
“The solution,” Jackson continued, “is to find a temporary replacement for Dakota, but that’s harder than I thought it’d be. I came up with a possible solution but it’ll require me telling Mason about Dakota and, if I’m right, Mason will figure out everything else.”
“I’m missing something. Why does Mason have to know? ”
“Dakota’s condition is going to be obvious and I don’t want him to feel we’re keeping him in the dark, especially when we’re asking him for help.”
“Got it,” said Logan. “Is he any good as a cook?”
“He did all the cooking for our cousins. I figure he and Steel can take turns and with Theo there to help, it’ll at least provide a short-term solution.”
“Hmmm, well you should know that Quin knows about Dakota. Theo spilled the beans during the pajama party when he suggested doing a baby shower for Kieran and me. My guess is Mason will also find out shortly.”
Snorting, Jackson rolled his eyes. “Great, well that takes care of one problem. I need to have a discussion with Theo and Norm about keeping pack secrets. Regarding Quin, Hunter will be calling me this afternoon, so I’ll run it past him.”
“Okay, you should also know if it turned out Quin wasn’t a member, he was planning to have everyone sign a petition.”
Chuckling, Jackson said, “Let me guess…Kieran’s idea?”
“Uh-uh…my lips are sealed.”
“Wise man. It doesn’t matter because I don’t think it’ll come to that,” Jackson smirked.
“Good. It will do Quin a world of good to be part of a pack again,” Logan said.
“Why is that?” asked Jackson.
“Don’t know but our spirit thinks so. I get the feeling he hasn’t had a very happy life.”
“Yeah, when I first met him, his fear of me was so strong, I could taste it,” Jackson said .
“You are a very scary dude, you know,” Logan chuckled.
“Fuck off! I’m half Omega and they are not scary , as you put it.”
Chuckling, Logan stood. “Yeah? Maybe you should have your Omega half tell that to your Alpha half.”
Jackson gave his twin a fake frown. “Go! I have work to do.”
Laughter trailed after Logan as he headed up to his studio; his mate needed a fucking dance and Logan was up for it, in more ways than one.
~/~/~/~/~
After a restless night brought on by her anger at Josiah, Willow rose early, slipping out the French doors of her suite.
Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes, concentrating on finding her inner calm to relieve her of negative feelings.
Not going to happen. Giving up, she shifted, giving herself over to her tiger, hoping a run in her animal form would do what she apparently could not.
Bounding into the woods, her tiger took over, running at a breathtaking pace until she was deep into the forest. Finally slowing down, her tiger explored different paths, relishing the freedom that Willow had denied her for so long.
After an hour, Willow’s tiger slowed to a walk, ascending a steep path until she was near the top of a mountain.
Clearing the last patch of brush, she reached an outcropping of rock where the Shaman and a Siberian tiger were calmly waiting, watching her.
Stopping ten feet away, her tiger whined, dropping to the ground, cradling her head between her paws.
Sniffing, her eyes widened when she scented one of Hope’s sons .
“Hello, Willow,” Kieran said, walking slowly over to her.
Catching a movement behind the Shaman, she saw the other tiger padding docilely behind Kieran, obviously trying to show he meant no harm. Returning her focus to the Shaman, who was now within touching distance, her tiger chuffed.
“May I touch you, Willow?” he asked softly.
After hearing another chuff, Kieran placed his hands on the back of the tiger’s neck burying his fingers in the fur.
As he closed his eyes, his hands grew warm, allowing his spirit to pass through them and into the tiger until it found Willow.
Increasing the heat, he began to remove the guilt and anger from her, replacing the empty spaces with love.