Chapter 1
Almost two months earlier…
Colton stuck his head into Jackson and Steel’s bedroom where Logan was admiring the results of his decorating job. “Hey, bro, come on! The helicopter will be landing in a few minutes.”
Logan turned around, smiling. “Yeah, I’m coming.
” Looking around once more, he knew Jackson would love his efforts.
Steel hired him to redo their bedroom while they were in San Francisco on their babymoon.
“Make it romantic and serene,” Steel said, responding to Logan’s questions.
Everyone was astonished that Jackson had finally found his fated mate and discovered he was a very rare Alpha/Omega hybrid who could bear pups, chosen to mate with Steel, one of the last Dire Wolves on earth.
Though the mating was blessed by the Fates, not all of Jackson’s six brothers welcomed the news about their Alpha having a baby.
It was rough in the beginning but now they were eager to greet the soon-to-arrive new member of the Blackwood Pack.
Colton headed downstairs to welcome the couple back.
He thought about the last few years, beginning with the massacre of the Fox River Pack that wiped out his parents and younger siblings.
He and his six brothers were in Vegas partying at the end of the school year when word reached them.
Jackson took control, getting them to a place of safety.
As the eldest, Jackson was now the Alpha of the newly formed Blackwood Pack.
Other members were Logan, Jackson’s fraternal twin, the triplets, Cody, Colton, and Carson, and Dakota and Zane.
The pack had expanded when Steel claimed Jackson and now included the last four Dire Wolves on earth—Steel, his brother Slate, and their parents, Maximus and Oracle.
One of the fallouts from the massacre was that their educational goals screeched to a halt.
And for Colton, that meant he never finished nursing school.
One year short. Just one fucking year…and he would have received his degree.
He’d since picked up a few online courses but was still short of the credits he needed.
Before Jackson became pregnant, Colton’s nursing skills were confined to sick or injured animals found in the woods surrounding their old pack house.
But now, Jackson’s pregnancy gave Colton a real patient to use his knowledge and skills on. Eager to see the expectant father, he bolted down the rest of the stairs, joining his brothers on the porch.
Zane shouted, “There they are!” Joined by Steel’s parents, Colton and his brothers scanned the sky as the chopper grew larger and noisier, finally landing.
Waiting for the blades to stop, Steel emerged first, helping Jackson out.
“Hey guys, I need a hand with some bags,” shouted Jackson, waving his brothers over.
Colton studied Jackson. What he saw pleased him.
His brother’s face was calm, his body relaxed, his spirits high—just what the doctor, or in this case, the nurse, ordered.
Colton hugged his brother and then Steel. “Did you guys have a good time?”
“Oh, my gods, we had a fantastic time,” boasted Jackson. “I took lots of pictures so maybe we should do a picture-night.”
Steel passed the bags to Colton and the other brothers. When Jackson reached for one, Steel admonished, “No, babe, I don’t want you carrying anything.” Jackson rolled his eyes behind Steel’s back making them all laugh.
“Are you doing that thing again?” asked Steel.
“What thing?”
“You know the eye roll thingy you do.”
Jackson reached over, kissing Steel, “You know I love you, babe.”
“Holy crap, did you guys buy out all the stores in San Francisco?” Logan asked, as Steel kept passing shopping bags to the brothers.
“What the hell you bitchin’ about? You gave us the list of baby clothes we needed,” smirked Jackson.
Logan and the brothers started their hike back to the house while Steel greeted his parents. Oracle hugged her son, then asked Jackson, “How’s the little one?”
A wide smile crossed his face. “We felt him move for the first time last night, didn’t we, babe?”
“Yup, it was amazing, Mom.”
Oracle hugged Jackson, murmuring, “You look radiant. I will take it that the babymoon was good?”
Jackson nodded as he looked lovingly at his mate. “It was the best.”
Steel asked his dad, “Did you hear anything more from Slate about the kill order on our pack?”
“Nope,” Maximus replied, “I think the Dire Warning did the job.”
“Come on, let’s go eat. I’m starving,” announced Jackson.
Laughing, the four of them walked toward the house.
~/~/~/~/~
Evening found everyone relaxing in the great room as Jackson showed their babymoon pictures on the huge TV screen.
Listening to his brother describe the trip, the urge to travel swept over Colton.
His goal, after becoming a nurse, was to join Frontline Doctors, to serve where the need was greatest. Colton sighed heavily.
Well, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen. After all, he was a Timber Wolf shifter and they lived a long time.
He knew Jackson would never allow him to volunteer until the mess with the Silver Point Pack was resolved.
Steel’s brother Slate had made progress when he forced Colton’s uncle—the Alpha of Silver Point Pack—to rescind the kill-on-sight order for Colton and his brothers.
But it was only temporary. He shook his head.
Who would have thought his uncle would order a massacre that orphaned Colton and his brothers?
No one… The day Jackson’s friend Jimmy called, telling them what happened, would be forever etched in his memory.
Nightmares plagued Colton for months, imagining his family’s pain and suffering that awful night.
It went against everything Colton dedicated his life to prevent.
Growing up, it was he who his brothers and sisters relied on to take care of their cuts and scrapes, yet he wasn’t there when they needed him most. And that was something he couldn’t forgive himself for.
He never talked to Jackson about it because his brother had enough on his plate just making sure the seven of them survived.
Yup, his brother had risen to the task at hand, providing a roof over their heads and food for their bellies.
Just for that, Jackson deserved all the happiness in the world.
He knew some of his brothers were jealous of Jackson finding his mate and discovering he could have a pup, but he wasn’t.
Nope, his eyes were clearly focused on the attainment of his goal.
A mate? No, not right now. Maybe sometime in the far-off future…
sure that would be nice. But right now, he had more important things to do and nothing was going to stop him from achieving them.
Cody nudged him. “What?” he asked.
“Jackson asked you a question,” murmured Cody.
“Oh, sorry. What did you say?” Colton asked Jackson.
“I asked if you had talked to Dr. Wallace while we were gone.”
“Uhm, yes. He ordered some blood tests along with the weekly ultrasound,” said Colton. “We can do that in the next few days. No hurry.”
Jackson smirked. “Well, that’s good to know, but did he tell you when he’d be arriving?”
Colton’s face turned pink. “Oh. Sometime at the end of this month.”
Logan came to his rescue, asking Steel if he was ready to show Jackson the surprise he ordered.
“Babe, another surprise? You are spoiling me. What is it?” asked Jackson, smiling.
Steel stood, pulling Jackson into his arms. “Well, do you want me to tell you or show you?”
“Show me, no tell me, no tell me first then show me!”
Everyone began to laugh. “Did my brother ever tell you he used to buy himself a gift for the Long Night Moon Festival?” asked Logan.
“Hush,” shushed Jackson. “Don’t give my childhood secrets away.”
Steel said, “I know about it babe. Remember, you told me.”
“Yeah, but your parents didn’t know,” pouted Jackson.
“Oh no, you leave us out of this,” said Maximus. “We’ll pretend we didn’t hear anything about your secret gift buying vice,” he laughed, as everyone cracked up again.
Jackson smiled. “What’s my surprise?”
“Well, I’ll let Logan tell you since he’s responsible for it.”
Jackson looked at Logan. “Well?”
“It seems you bragged about my interior design skills so your mate hired me to redo your bedroom while you were away.”
“What? Really?” exclaimed Jackson, wrapping his arms around Steel’s neck, kissing him senseless before asking, “Wait, is that why you didn’t let me go upstairs before?”
Steel replied, “I wanted to tell you first. And by the way, Logan, you did an outstanding job.”
Smiling at Logan, Jackson said, “Come on. Show me what you did. Has everyone seen it?” A chorus of voices chimed in, claiming they helped in some way.
“Okay. Come on and you can tell me what each of you did.”
~/~/~/~/~
Getting ready for bed, Colton looked around his room.
He supposed he should let Logan do his magic in here but he’d declined his brother’s offer.
Why? Who knows? No wait. That’s not true.
He knew exactly why he rejected the redesign.
He felt if he accepted, it would mean giving up on his dream.
Yup, that was dumb on my part. Just seeing Jackson and Steel’s beautiful bedroom tonight showed him what a mistake he made.
Colton resolved to talk to Logan tomorrow.
He climbed into bed, pulling his cock from his briefs. Slowly tugging on it, he thought about the man consuming his thoughts since first hearing his voice. Dr. Ian Wallace. That did it! His cock went from 0 to 60 in three seconds.
Just thinking about that voice did it to him every night.
He wondered what the man looked like. Mmm, maybe I should do an internet search on him and see what comes up.
It would be nice to have a picture he could put to the voice.
Shit, maybe not. Nah, it would just make the man too real.
Right now, the fantasy worked just fine—except to his dismay, Ian invaded his dreams every night.
Colton’s hand worked his cock, using his copious pre-cum as a lubricant, stroking it with just the right amount of pressure.
Nearing completion, he twisted the shaft, striving to satisfy the endless need that now was his daily companion.
As his cock exploded, soaking his hand and abs with cum, he roared Ian’s name while his body shuddered with the pulses.
Coming down from his high, Colton drew in deep breaths, waiting for his heartbeat to slow down.
Shit, he did it again—calling out Ian’s name when he came.
He hoped everyone was asleep because how embarrassing would that be if his brothers heard him—they would rag him mercilessly.
After wiping himself off, he turned over to sleep.
But it did not come easily. Pictures of Jackson and Steel’s happiness and love kept flipping through his head.
Shit. Shit. Shit. No, I won’t go there. Colton refused to let his mind picture him and Ian as a happy couple.
No! No Way! He was going to finish his degree and spend his life saving lives, not setting up house with a mate.
Colton punched his pillow, frustrated that his mind wouldn’t stop thinking about Ian.
Groaning, he sat up. What the fuck. This was getting worse every day.
He knew even if he fell asleep now, his dreams would be filled with Ian.
How the fuck could that happen? He didn’t even know what Ian looked like, yet every night, Colton clearly saw him in his dreams. And shit, the multiple wet dreams he’d been having forced him to change his sheets every day.
So far, Cody, who took care of the pack’s laundry, hadn’t mentioned it.
But he would soon. And then what was Colton going to say? Shit!
He rose from his bed and was struck by the beauty of the trees swaying on the mountain behind the house as he looked out the window.
It would soon be time for another full moon run.
It was something he missed most after he and his brothers were forced into hiding.
Even with the spell Mystia—Jimmy’s wife—cast to protect them from being scented by other wolves, Jackson insisted they stay close to their pack house.
But when they’d moved to Steel’s place with 200,000 fenced-in acres and electronic surveillance, Jackson resumed the pack runs again.
Sighing, he knew he had to get some sleep. Lying down, he worked on clearing all thoughts from his brain by breathing deeply in and out, concentrating solely on the action of his lungs. Slowly, his body relaxed, finally succumbing as silence fell over the household. All asleep. Except two people.
Downstairs, Oracle listened to Colton’s voice calling out Ian’s name. Yes, he had been doing that more frequently. She turned over, facing Maximus who was leaning against the headboard reading the latest business reports from their son, Slate.
“Honey, did you hear that?”
“Mmm, hear what?”
“Colton.”
“Uhm, yeah. Why?”
“Well, the Fates are at work again.”
“What? You mean Colton? And who is it this time?” asked Maximus.
“Dr. Ian Wallace.”
“Ian? But how? They never met…at least not yet.”
“But they did talk on the phone, which was enough to trigger the mating pull.”
“Ian’s a good man. Colton could do worse.”
“I agree. But Colton is fighting it.”
“Why?”
“Because he has things he wants to do first.”
“Ian won’t stand in his way.”
“I know that and so do you, but Colton will have to discover it for himself. The Fates have big plans for Colton…so it is imperative that he claim his fated mate.”
“You’re enjoying all this, aren’t you?”
“Of course. Rarely do I have a front row seat to the Fates’ actions on earth. Yes, I know what they tell me, but I am never where their decisions are being carried out. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love being an Oracle but I am finding out how wonderful it is to see the Fates in action.”
Maximus set the reports on his night stand, rolled over and gathered his wife in his arms. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?” he whispered, nuzzling Oracle’s neck before kissing her passionately. Only a deep sigh was heard in reply.
The Fates looked down at their Oracle and smiled. “This is a great match we made. Still in love after all these years.”