Chapter 29
Dakota walked into the dining room with platters of scrambled eggs and thick Canadian bacon. Setting them down, he asked Logan, “Why is everyone in the great room laughing instead of being here? I sent Zane to give the word breakfast was ready.”
“It’s a big joke,” Logan said, “but no one can stop laughing long enough to tell me what it’s about.”
“Oh, it’s about bollocks,” said Dakota.
“Bollocks? You mean balls? What is so funny about that? I don’t get it.”
“I’ll tell you but first let me get all the food out here, so we can eat while it’s still hot. Do you need anything for Daniel?”
“No, he drank his bottle and now I’m just waiting for him to…” Logan answered just as his nephew burped. “Good job, sweetie,” he said to Daniel, rubbing his back.
“I’ll get the rest of the food,” said Dakota.
Logan could hear the laughter dying down in the great room. “It’s about time,” he grumbled to himself.
Jackson came back into the dining room, his eyes still dancing in merriment, and walked over to Logan. “Sorry about that. I guess I just needed to do that. Did he drink his bottle?”
“Yup and I burped him,” Logan replied.
“Thanks,” Jackson said as he picked up his son. “Hey, I have a favor to ask. Can you watch Daniel after breakfast? I have to meet with Cody, Dylon and Oracle and it will probably run most of the morning.”
“Sure,” Logan said, then added, “is everything okay with Cody?”
“Yes, I think so,” answered Jackson.
Dakota hustled in with more food and yelled out to Zane, “If you don’t get in here to help me right now, I’ll add another week to your punishment, bro.”
When Zane heard Dakota’s threat, his laughter stopped abruptly.
“Aww man, I gotta go. I don’t want more time in the kitchen.
” Rushing out of the great room, Zane made a beeline for the kitchen where he grabbed more platters of food and rushed them into the dining room as he heard Dakota issue his final warning about everyone being at the table within one minute.
As he was setting the food down, a stampede of his brothers and mates shook the table as they made a mad dash to claim their seats.
“Now that’s more like it,” said Dakota as he sat down. For the next while, the only sounds heard in the dining room were muted requests for platters of food to be passed, the clatter of silverware being used, and the slurping of coffee being drunk.
Finally, when everyone had finished, Jackson looked around the table and smiled at Ian. “Why don’t you start?”
Ian grinned at Colton and grasped his hand before turning to Oracle and announcing, “I’m pregnant! We’re going to have a baby!”
“Congratulations, Ian, and you too, Colton. Have you told your parents yet?” Oracle asked, smiling.
“No, we’re going to do it when we meet up with them in Scotland,” Ian said. “I want to see their faces and, well, Colton thought it would be nice to do it when we’re all in Scotland.”
“I am sure they will be very pleased,” Oracle said, before asking Maximus to hand her the shopping bag behind his chair.
Taking it from her husband, she continued, “I never doubted for a second you and Colton would have a pup, so when I was in San Francisco, I bought a few gifts for you.” Oracle pulled out several boxes and handed them to Ian.
“Oh wow, thank you, Oracle. Should I open them now?” Ian asked.
“By all means,” she said, “I think Colton is quite eager to see what is in the boxes.”
“You are so right, Oracle,” Jackson said, “Colton never could wait. Year after year, the wrapping on Colton’s presents would always be loose because he’d open them early when he snuck down in the middle of the night. He never could wait to see what he got, like the rest of us did.”
Colton stuck out his tongue at his brother before saying, “Well at least I didn’t buy myself a gift.”
“No, you just switched gifts with me or Carson if you didn’t like what you were getting,” Cody said, smirking.
“How did you… did not,” Colton protested.
“Oh yes, you did.”
Colton leaned over to Ian and whispered, “Save me babe, please.”
“It’s going to cost you a blow job…my choice of time and place,” Ian whispered back and, after receiving a short nod, Ian tore off the paper and opened the box.
“Oh, my gods, Oracle, it’s perfect.” He held up a tiny, red, plush bathrobe with a tiny, gold crown embroidered over the heart and, on the back, also in gold thread, were the words: ‘The Royal Highness’.
Colton gazed at the gift, realizing he was going to be a father. Something he never thought would ever happen and yet here it was, staring him in the face. He turned to Ian and hugged him. We’re having a pup! He exclaimed through their mind link.
Yes, we are! Ian answered back. Eager to see the other gifts, Colton opened the next one and found a tiny kilt and a white onesie.
“That is the tartan of Scottish Wolf Royalty,” Oracle explained.
“I remember wearing it when I was young,” Ian said, as he quickly tore off the paper of the largest and heaviest box.
Inside were two kilts, made of the same plaid, white linen shirts with bellowing sleeves, tall socks—everything needed for the traditional formal dress of Scotland.
“Oh my! Wow! I remember my father wearing this when he was sitting on the throne! Look darling, here’s yours,” Ian exclaimed as he held up the kilt.
Colton heard a few snickers and he glared at his brothers, silencing them immediately.
“Thank you, Oracle,” he said, “I will be sure to have our pictures taken wearing these, along with our crowns, while sitting on our thrones.” Smirking, he added, while narrowing his eyes and giving his brothers the death glare, “I’m sure all my brothers will enjoy seeing my mate dressed in his royal attire, won’t you? ”
“I know they’ll be very proud of both of you, as will I,” Jackson said, smiling.
“Your parents will be very happy, Ian. When are you going?” asked Maximus.
“Soon,” Ian answered. “We’re waiting to hear from them about what they’d like to see so we can plan an itinerary.”
“Let me know as soon as everything is set,” Jackson said.
Cody then spoke up, “Oracle, I believe you need to see me and Dylon and we want Jackson and Steel to join us, if that’s okay with you,”
“Certainly,” Oracle agreed. “When do you want to meet?”
“Now, if you have time. We have a lot to do but this comes first,” Dylon said.
Jackson rose and carried Daniel over to Logan. “Sorry, bro, I hate to do this, but Daniel needs his diaper changed.”
Reaching out to take him, Logan said, “Come here, my little wolf. Let’s get you changed and then we can have some fun.”
Everyone headed off in different directions. Carson saw Cody following Dylon, as they headed to Jackson’s office and he rushed after them, hoping to speak with Cody alone. Approaching from behind, he grabbed Cody’s arm.
Dylon could feel a hand on his mate and swirled around, baring his fangs, ready to protect Cody from assault.
Carson’s eyes widened and dropping his hand immediately, stepped back from his brother, “Whoa, Dylon, I’m sorry. I just wanted to apologize to Cody and you. I wasn’t going to do anything. Honest!”
Cody grabbed Dylon’s hand and whispered, “He is telling the truth, babe. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Turning to Carson, he said, “I know, and we will talk, Carson. But right now, I need to speak with Oracle and Jackson. Can we talk later?”
Carson nodded. “Let me know when, bro.” He backed away from them, unwilling to turn his back on Dylon. Holy fucking shit!
Cody tugged at his mate. “Let’s go, babe. He didn’t mean any harm.”
Dylon scowled at Carson before retracting his fangs and turning back toward Jackson’s office. Wrapping his arm protectively around Cody, he nodded before saying, “Okay, ma moitié, let’s get this over with.”
Oracle saw the whole thing and she smiled. The bonding was complete and Cody was now protected by Soteria, the goddess of safety. Quickening her step and falling in behind them, she was eager to reveal what she knew.
Once everyone was seated, Jackson looked at Cody and Dylon and then began, “I’m assuming your claiming has been completed.” Seeing both nod, he continued, “And now you want to find out what gift the Fates have given Cody, correct?”
“Partly…we know the gift but both of us have questions about it,” Cody said.
“Really? What’s your gift, Cody?”
Cody looked at Dylon who indicated he should answer. “I can become invisible.”
Jackson looked stunned. “What the fuck do you mean…invisible? You mean like…disappear? I won’t be able to see him? Will Dylon? What happens if he gets hurt? How will I find him?” Jackson growled. “Oh no, this is too much!”
“Bro, calm down,” Cody pleaded, “let Oracle explain. It’s all right. Please, Jackson. This is important. I need you to know this.”
Jackson heard Steel telling him to listen to Oracle through their mind link and felt his mate’s hand on his leg, offering support.
Closing his eyes, taking a deep breath and using his Alpha strength, Jackson calmed down.
He had to trust the Fates to keep his brother safe.
Opening them, he looked at his brother, noticing how calm and happy he was.
Taking that as a sign his brother was no longer in danger of dying, he said, “Okay, Cody, I’ll listen to Oracle. ”
Cody smiled broadly. “Thanks, bro. Oracle, please tell me and Dylon about my gift.”
“Let me start with his foresight ability because it is interconnected with his gift. As you know, Cody has visions, some of which are very graphic about the pain the person in the vision is experiencing. When he has a vision, he leaves this world and goes to another realm. There, he sees what is happening but feels nothing. However, upon his return to this world, Cody’s mind sees the vision many times and each time his mind feels the pain and suffering experienced by those in his visions.
“Over the last few years, the pain became so overwhelming Cody was thinking about ways to avoid it, including permanently shifting into his wolf or staying in the vision realm. His commitment to you and his brothers kept him from doing either. However, once Daniel was born and you and Colton were safe, Cody found it harder to come back from the realm where there was no pain.”
Jackson looked at his brother. “Cody, how close were you to not returning to this world before Dylon?”
“Maybe a couple of days.”
Jackson’s face was grim as he indicated that Oracle should continue.
“But fortunately, Dylon came into Cody’s life at that time.
Once he realized Cody possessed foresight, his training kicked in and he took control of Cody’s life as you discovered when Carson came to you with his accusation.
But as you can see, Dylon gave Cody the perfect environment to find some peace, allowing Cody to heal and regain the strength he needs each day to force the visions into a part of his mind that locks them away.
Unfortunately, he does not have the strength to do this by himself.
“The Fates tied Dylon to Cody by a life thread, allowing Dylon to constantly reinforce the wall in Cody’s mind that keeps the visions from causing him harm. I know Dylon has mentioned the bonding which needed to occur.”
“Yes, he did,” said Jackson, “but I still don’t know what he meant by that. How is it different from, say, the claiming, Colton and Ian did?”
Oracle continued. “The bonding is complex so let me break down the stages for you. Upon their first sexual act, Cody’s life thread embeds itself into Dylon’s heart.
At that time, it is thin and very fragile, and it is important that Dylon bite Cody during another sexual act as soon as possible after the initial embedding.
Once that bite occurs, their life thread continues to grow in thickness.
The next stage involves Cody’s acceptance of Dylon’s dominance over him. Once that happens…”
Cody interrupted. “Please, don’t go into detail, that’s private between my mate and me and not necessary for this discussion.”
Oracle tilted her head in acknowledgement and then continued.
“Suffice to say, the next stage forged their life thread into a thick unbreakable connection. In the meantime, Cody began to benefit from Dylon’s strength which enabled him to rebuild the wall in his mind his Shaman had given him.
The final stage required Cody to finally bite Dylon and complete the claiming.
If I am correct, that happened last night. ”
After receiving a yes from both of them, she continued.
“In that final stage, two things happen. One, Cody’s life thread becomes woven into Dylon’s heart so they will never be apart, ever again.
Nothing will ever be able to break the connection.
And two, Cody and Dylon’s wolves became one and now each of their wolves are half white and half gray…
mirror images of each other. This allows Dylon to feel anything Cody feels and thereby have instantaneous knowledge of what is happening to his mate.
But it also means that whatever happens to one will happen to the other. ”
Jackson sat quietly, absorbing everything. Then he said to Oracle, “So, if Dylon dies…”
“Then Cody will also, and vice versa.”
“I figured that. But how does that protect Cody when he uses his gift and becomes invisible?”
“When Cody uses his gift, Dylon will always find him by simply pulling on their life thread.”
“Dylon can see it?”
“Yes, I can,” said Dylon, “The life thread also reflects the feelings of my mate so if he is in trouble, I can see it in our life thread. For instance, right now it is a bright shining silver which tells me Cody is happy and at peace. Every emotion he has is reflected in that thread. I constantly monitor it so I can send him love or strength or whatever he needs through it to help him.”
“Okay, let’s say for the purpose of this discussion that one day Cody doesn’t want to return from the vision world. Can you pull him back?” asked Jackson.
“That won’t happen, bro. Not anymore,” Cody said.
“Humor me.” Turning to Dylon, he asked, “Can you pull him back?”
“No, it’s the one place I won’t be able to do it,” answered Dylon.
“Then what happens to you? Oracle said the life thread was woven into your heart and cannot be removed by anyone. What happens to you?”
Dylon’s eyes bored into Jackson’s. “I will die.”