Chapter 34 #2
“Err, Cody, did you want something? I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“I know. I’m going with you. Two pairs of eyes are better than one. Come on, I have the supplies we need already packed,” Cody said, as he turned and walked down the hall.
“What do you mean…supplies? And how did you know I was going after Ian?”
“We can talk about that later. Ian’s in trouble and we need to get to him soon. So move it.”
Colton shook his head and ran after Cody; he could sort out his brother’s behavior another time.
His wolf had been warning him their mate was in trouble and hearing his brother warn about the very thing he’d feared for the last two hours had his wolf standing, hackles raised, growling and snarling at the threat.
Once outside, Colton saw Cody had rigged a backpack with camping gear and asked, “How are we going to take that with us?”
Cody was stripping, “I’m shifting first and you’ll put them on my back. You can use the straps to buckle them around my forelegs and under my belly,” he said, as he threw himself into his shift with sounds of bones cracking and stretching filling the air.
Colton picked up the backpack, placed it on Cody’s back and strapped it in place.
Then he shifted. In his mind he heard Cody tell him to keep his mating link open in case Ian reached out for him.
And then they were off. Colton followed closely behind his brother.
After hours of running, Colton grew more fearful.
He felt nothing from Ian through their mind link and it was getting cold, very cold as Cody led him up a mountain.
Unless Ian hunted in his wolf form, he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
After several hours of running, Cody suddenly stopped and pointed with his snout.
Colton heard Cody tell him Ian was in front of them but he saw nothing until the clouds parted and moonlight flooded the clearing.
His wolf found Ian, shifted and naked, partially covered by leaves.
Shifting quickly, he removed the backpack from his brother’s wolf and then ran to his mate.
Scooping him up in his arms, he carried him over to a fire Cody had started.
Catching a blanket Cody tossed at him, he wrapped his mate’s frigid body tightly in it and, sitting close to the fire, he crooned an endless stream of love declarations to him.
Rocking Ian in front of the roaring fire, he prayed to the gods and the Fates to keep his mate safe.
He vowed never to lie to Ian again and to cherish the mate he was given.
For a long time, Colton held Ian while Cody set up a tent for them.
Then he joined Colton at the fire and kept it fed as they waited for Ian to wake up.
After an hour, Cody asked Colton, “Why did Ian run away?”
“Because I lied to him.”
“Why would you do that? That’s not you.”
“I know. It’s a long story and I was stupid and afraid. You know I wasn’t eager to have a mate like Logan is. I always wanted to get my degree and join Frontline Doctors. It’s been my dream since I was a child.”
“But why couldn’t you do that and have a mate at the same time?”
“I can. However, when I found out about Ian, I’d just recovered from a near fatal fall and trust me, I wasn’t thinking straight. Everything was a jumble, my pow...” Colton stopped himself before he blurted out about his gift.
“Relax, I know about your gift. I overheard you and Jackson talking after you saved him. So you’re saying you lied because you were confused?”
“Yes…no. I woke up after the angel gave me his power and smelled this delicious scent. My cock hardened and all I could think of was finding its owner. I knew immediately it came from my mate. When I saw Ian, I fell in love instantly and all I could think of was claiming him. He was so thrilled he saved me I didn’t have the heart to tell him he didn’t. ”
“But he did save you.”
“Yes, in a way he did. I was dying and when Ian bit me, he gave my wolf enough strength to survive until Archangel Raphael healed me. You’re right, Ian did save me, just not the way he thought.”
“So why didn’t you tell him that?”
“I don’t know. Looking back, I thought I was behaving as a mate should…
you know, protecting my mate from unhappiness.
And then there was my new power. I didn’t want it.
I didn’t want to choose who would live and who would die.
Oracle told me it wasn’t that way but I didn’t believe her.
But you know what? She was right. Because when I was in the room with Jackson as he lay dying, it became so clear to me.
I’d been looking at it all wrong. This power isn’t playing God and choosing who lives but it’s another weapon in my arsenal to save shifters, just like my natural healing ability.
And that is who I am, and who I’ve always been and who I always will be. ”
“That’s why I fell in love with you the first time I saw you,” a sleepy voice said.
“Oh Ian, I love you so much!” Colton said, bending down to kiss his mate.
“I’m leaving,” Cody said. “Everything you need for a couple of days is here. And I think this is as good as a place as any for you two to have a badly needed conversation.” Shifting, Cody disappeared into the shadows of the night.