Chapter 19
Brian strode quickly to the marina, his mate’s words playing on an endless loop in his head—‘This is the worst thing ever!’ He knew those words would be the last thought he’d ever have because they were indelibly etched in his heart and soul.
Though devastated, he wasn’t surprised; who’d want an old sea dog like him—regardless of what the Shaman thought.
Now, his last bit of hope gone, there was only one place he wanted to be so he could die in peace, with no one around to see him pass into the world beyond.
Reaching his boat, he climbed onboard and, after grabbing a few items, locked the cabin, and stuck the keys inside a hidden compartment on deck.
Then jumping off, he took off heading for his friend’s helipad.
~/~/~/~/~
“Soooo…when are you going to tell Hunter about the trip you’ve been planning…for what…months, years?” asked Mason.
Sawyer was bending down to check out the space under the dinette bench when his brother’s question registered. Surprised, he stood quickly, hitting his head on the edge of the table. “Fuck! Why did you do that?” he said, rubbing the spot where he was sure to have a bump.
“Do what? I just asked you when you planned on telling Hunter you were leaving,” replied Mason.
Sawyer looked at his brother, trying to decide if Mason knew or was on a fishing expedition. Since he hadn’t told anyone except his twin, he picked the latter. “What trip would that be?”
“Really? You’re choosing that one?” Mason chuckled, then shaking his head, he decided to play along.
“Only the trip you talked about since you were twelve.” Then in a falsetto voice, Mason said.
“I want to travel around, free to go wherever I want with no one telling me what to do. Sound familiar? The way I figure it, you plan to take off as soon as we return from seeing our cousins. So, I’ll ask you again… when are you going to tell Hunter?”
Shit! Leave it to my brother to remember what I said back then. “I don’t know…eventually…but he has so much on his plate right now, I thought it would be better not to add to it.”
“So, you admit you’re leaving…is that why you rejected the first three RVs we saw today? Because they aren’t right for you?” asked Mason.
Grinning at his brother, Sawyer said, “Well, you wouldn’t want Hunter to worry about me when I’m on the road, would ya?”
Batting his brother’s chest, Mason said, “You are so full of it. Now, what do you think about this one? Will it meet your needs for your road trip?”
Looking around, Sawyer grinned. “I’d have preferred a couple more bedrooms but I can make do with two.”
“Why two bedrooms? Who’s going with you?”
“Jeeze, what’s with the twenty questions?” asked Sawyer, slightly irritated. “Listen up. One, I haven’t asked anyone, and two, even if I had, what fucking business is it of yours?”
Staring at his brother, Mason wondered if he should just say it—that he wanted to go on the great adventure his brother had been planning for years?that Hunter didn’t need him anymore?that he missed the closeness of his brothers that had disappeared when their mother died?or maybe he would say nothing at all.
“What about this one? It has everything Mac asked for.”
“It’ll do. Are you buying it today?” Sawyer asked.
“Yup. We leave in a couple of days so I’ll have just enough time to outfit it with what we need.”
Smirking, Sawyer said, “And I get to drive it home.”
Pushing past his brother to find the salesman, Mason said, “You wish.”
~/~/~/~/~
Opening the front door, Steel grinned at seeing his friend standing there. “Hey Penn, what did you do, fly? Come in. Jackson will be here as soon as he’s finished changing Daniel. We didn’t expect you till later.”
Penn did a double take as he took in the new furnishings and colors in the great room, a dramatic difference from the last time he was here.
The teasing he used to do about Steel’s home looking like a cold, hotel lobby certainly no longer applied and Penn wondered if Jackson was responsible for the new look.
Hearing a child’s babbling, Penn looked in the direction of the sound, getting his first look at the Alpha as Jackson appeared, holding Daniel. Holy fuck! The strongest Alpha power he’d ever felt washed over him, forcing him to tilt his head and his wolf to respond.
“Babe, Penn’s here,” Steel said, stepping up to take their son. “Cody said he’d watch Daniel so I’ll be right back.”
Kissing Daniel’s cheek before he left with Steel, Jackson turned to Penn and, extending his hand, said warmly, “Penn, it’s a pleasure to meet you, finally.”
“Same here. Is there some place we can speak in private?”
“Sure,” Jackson said, heading for his study. “My mate will join us there.”
Following the Alpha, Penn finally acknowledged to himself that the old shifter was telling him the truth when he came to see him that day, long ago. Entering the study, he sat down in front of Jackson’s desk, studying the man who was tasked with an unenviable job by the gods.
Arriving, Steel shut the door before saying, “So, Penn, what’s up?”
Shifting his attention between Jackson and Steel, who was now sitting next to the Alpha, Penn said, “What I’m about to tell you, I haven’t ever told anyone else because I was warned to keep it a secret until a white dragon appeared on earth.”
Lifting an eyebrow, Jackson said, “That’s why you needed to see us?”
“Yes. What I’m about to tell you was told to me by a very old shifter who came to see me one day when I was just setting up my law practice.
I hadn’t met the man before and, after our meeting, I never saw him again.
When he first entered my office, he seemed very nervous, so I gave him a whiskey and chit-chatted with him about nothing much at all.
After an hour, when he was relaxed and comfortable with me, I finally found out the purpose of his visit.
Before we get to that, what do you know about white dragons? ”
Shrugging, Jackson said, “Very little…just some stuff from my childhood…I know there are two types, solar and lunar…and if I remember correctly the lunar has a power…and they are rare. That’s it.”
“Do you know what kind Fionn is?” asked Penn.
“Logan believes he is a lunar white dragon,” Jackson answered.
Nodding, Penn continued his story. “The old shifter told me that in the future, the gods would send another white dragon to earth if they believed the world was ready.”
“How long ago was that?” asked Steel.
“Maybe two thousand years, more or less…the old shifter wasn’t very clear on it,” Penn answered.
“What else?” asked Jackson.
“A lunar white dragon represents danger, death and rebirth. He is protected by the goddess of the moon who will give him a dangerous, supernatural power.”
Stunned, Jackson stared at Steel, worry written on his face about the danger Fionn could pose to the Blackwood Pack. Turning back to Penn, he asked, “Is there anything else?”
“Yes, he told me the white dragon would be sent to a powerful Alpha wolf shifter who would be the guiding hand the young dragon needed. When I asked him how a wolf shifter could ever control a dragon, he said because the Alpha Wolf will have a power greater than the dragon. What he was referring to is your Alpha power.”
“You mean, I’m supposed to be a babysitter to an out-of-control dragon?” Jackson sputtered.
“No, of course not! The old shifter described you as a mentor, helping the young dragon use his power for good. His words, not mine,” replied Penn.
“That’s fine, but what about my pack? Are we in danger?” asked Jackson.
“No…Fionn’s power will be ineffective within the pack.”
“But, what about outside the pack? What if Fionn uses his power…whatever it may be—and kills innocents? You said his power is dangerous. What will protect our pack against claims levied by families of those he kills?”
“It can’t happen, because your Alpha power controls his power.
If you give his dragon an order forbidding its use, Fionn must obey it, whether or not he agrees.
According to the old shifter, the gods will have given you everything you need to control Fionn’s power until he understands how to use it responsibly.
“Why did it take so long for the gods to send another white dragon? Did something happen to the last one that angered the gods?” asked Steel.
“According to the old shifter, when the other dragons found out a white dragon existed, they grew fearful of it and, after learning of the accidental destruction of a human village by fire, some of the dragons claimed the white dragon was responsible and used it to justify killing him. The gods blamed themselves for not giving the white dragon a protector who had the power to control every paranormal being on earth. The old shifter told me I would know who the gods had chosen when I met him. As soon as your Alpha power forced me and my wolf to submit, even though you didn’t require us to, I knew it was you,” Penn said.
Jackson finally had the answer to why his Alpha power had grown so formidable since he’d given birth to Daniel. “So, according to the old shifter, my Alpha power can control every type of paranormal on the earth, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck, babe, you’re one bad-ass Alpha,” Steel chuckled.
“Yeah…and you better not forget it,” joked Jackson.
“Penn, one other thing. When will Fionn get his power?” asked Steel.
“Don’t know. I asked the old shifter that, too, but he didn’t have an answer for me.”
“Maybe he just didn’t want to tell you,” Jackson said.
“Could be, but I rather doubt it since I didn’t scent any deceit,” replied Penn.
“What about the hearing Fionn has to attend? Logan believes the uncle knows about the white dragon which is the real reason he filed for emergency custody,” Jackson said. “Logan thinks the uncle may try to kidnap him if the hearing doesn’t go his way.”
“Good point. I wondered why the uncle would risk perjuring himself in court. I’m doing some research to see if there is a different way for Fionn to attend,” replied Penn. “If there aren’t any more questions, I’ll get going. I hate flying in the dark.”
“Babe?” asked Steel.
“Nope, I’m good. Thanks for coming out, Penn,” Jackson said.
Penn stood and buttoning his jacket, said, “You know, I had decided after all this time, the old shifter was blowing smoke up my ass so if I sounded strange when you mentioned Fionn’s dragon to me, that’s why. I was shocked when it turned out he was telling me the truth.”
Chuckling, Steel rose. “You should know better after all the times you stayed at our house, especially after meeting some of those strange visitors that came to see mom. C’mon, I’ll walk you out to the chopper.”
“True. Oracle did have some interesting house guests,” Penn recalled. “Oh, by the way, I won’t be repeating any part of this discussion to Fionn. That’s for you to decide—what and when you want to tell him.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” replied Jackson before Penn and Steel left his study. Swiveling his chair so he could look out the window at the forest, he leaned back, contemplating the story Penn just told him.
~/~/~/~/~
“Dakota, can you home in on Brian’s thoughts?” asked Logan.
“I can try,” Dakota replied. Closing his eyes, he turned on his gift, beginning the process of sorting through all the fragments of thoughts bombarding his mind. Knowing the voice he was listening for, he was able to quickly bypass the rest.
Reif watched Dakota, not understanding what was happening, then, after a few minutes, his frustration burst forth. “No offense, but…”
Kieran raised his finger to his lips, quieting the sea dragon.
“Got him. He’s headed to the marina,” Dakota said.
“Let’s go,” Logan said. “Everyone, take the same route back you used to get here. Reif, go with Kieran and wait outside for me. Zane and David, wait a second.” Logan watched as the team divided up and left before turning to Zane.
“I need you two to poof down to the marina right away in case Brian is planning to leave there.”
“Righto,” Zane said, grabbing his mate’s hand, and vanishing with him.
“C’mon, babe, and Fionn, time for us to leave,” Logan said after watching his brother and David disappear.
~/~/~/~/~
Emerging from the black hole, Zane quickly looked around, finding himself and David alone, behind a building on the far side of the marina. “Are you all right, babe?” he asked.
“Yes. You’re getting better at this than I am. This is a perfect spot you’ve bopped us to,” David said.
“Thanks for the compliment, but when we passed this building when we left, I made a mental note of it thinking it was a perfect place to hide. C’mon, let’s go find Brian.
” Linking his fingers with his mate’s, Zane led them around the corner, walking down the dock to Brian’s boat slip.
Zane stopped after realizing the boat was deserted.
“Babe, look around, Brian isn’t on the boat so he must be around here somewhere. ”
Seeing nothing, David turned around, his eyes squinting as he searched for his friend. Suddenly, he pointed, “There. Oh, no, he’s leaving again,” David said.
Turning so he could see what his mate was pointing at, Zane saw Brian walking toward a helicopter. “C’mon babe,” Zane yelled as he started running towards Brian.
“Brian…brIAN!” David screamed.
Hearing his name, Brian turned and seeing David running toward him, hesitated, before stopping. He wasn’t one for good-byes but for David, Brian would make an exception, knowing he’d hurt his feelings if he didn’t.
When he was a few steps away from the sea serpent, David launched himself into Brian’s arms, tears falling, as he said, “Don’t go Brian, Reif wants you to claim him. Please, don’t leave. He’s coming here. Please, I don’t want you to die.”
Patting David’s back, Brian said, “There, there, laddie. Dinna cry.” Glancing at Zane, he said, “What is it that David’s saying?”
“Reif wants you to claim him. He’s coming here. If you can just wait a few minutes, you’ll see for yourself,” replied Zane.
“But I heard him…he does nae want a mate and I canna force him,” Brian said.
“Well, he changed his mind. Shouldn’t you at least hear him out? Listen to what he has to say before you make up your mind? Someone once gave me the same advice and it was excellent, so maybe it can change your life like it did mine,” urged Zane.
Torn between what he’d heard from his mate say and what Zane was telling him, Brian wavered, afraid his heart couldn’t take any more battering. But when he heard David’s muffled ‘please’, he gave in. He’d give his mate a chance to explain.