Chapter 35
Rubbing his face, Zane fought the sleep threatening him.
After Fionn’s party last night and an all-night research session, he needed some rest but was waiting to hear from the last person he’d contacted.
Hoping the answer would arrive soon, he glanced over at David, checking to make sure he was still sleeping, but found two eyes staring at him.
“Babe, what’s the matter? Why aren’t you asleep? ”
Sitting up in their bed, David smiled sweetly. “Because I can’t sleep without you next to me. What time is it?”
“Five o’clock.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Yeah, quite a lot. I’m just waiting for Jared’s answer, then I’ll join you.”
“Who’s Jared?”
“A hacker like me. We help each other out because we have access to different databases.”
“When will that come?” asked David.
“Soon, I hope.” Hearing a faint ding, Zane logged into his dark-web site and found a message waiting.
Quickly scanning it, he then printed it out and added it to the stack of documents, before closing his computer down.
Standing up, he stretched his cramped body, catching a glimpse of his mate’s lust-filled eyes.
“Have I told you today how much I love you tesoro mio?” Zane asked.
“Uh-huh,” answered David, grinning. “But I’m always willing to hear it again.”
Growling, Zane advanced on his mate, looking very much like the predator he was, eager to quench his mate’s insatiable thirst for love.
~/~/~/~/~
Brian chuckled to himself upon waking, finding himself held in place by Reif’s arm and leg, pinning him once again.
Ever since his mate found out his sea dragon was pregnant, cuddling with Brian was Reif’s preferred way of sleeping.
The first time it happened, Brian wasn’t sure what to think since he’d spent over 600 years sleeping alone, never having a sex partner spend the entire night with him.
It was his choice to send the guy on his way after sex, never wanting to lead anyone on.
There were times Brian was tempted to see if a relationship might develop, but in the end, always rejected the idea since he knew if he was ever so lucky to find his Fated Mate, it would kill him to have to choose between them.
Shifting slightly, Brian felt his ass cheek clench, feeling the after effects of Reif’s fuck last night.
Leaving the party, his mate’s hands were all over him as they walked down the hall to their room.
Once inside, Brian’s clothes were ripped from him after which Reif carried him to their bed, placing him on his hands and knees.
Looking over his shoulder he watched as his mate stripped, ogling Reif’s erect cock pointing at the place Brian longed for it to be.
It was a night of hard, fast, fucking, just what he wanted and needed; to be taken and owned in a way he’d never been before.
With Reif’s seed in him and his ass reminding him who it belonged to, Brian felt a deep happiness in his heart and soul.
It had taken many years to find Reif, the one made just for him, and while he’d had doubts about ever finding his Fated Mate, he’d always kept the faith.
“Nessie, you up?” Reif growled.
“Yeah, just thinkin’ aboot last night.”
Pulling Nessie tight to him, Reif licked the sensitive spot he’d found under Brian’s ear, smiling at the shiver he caused. “It was one to remember.”
“Ay, twas.”
“How are you?”
“Guid. I’m lovin’ that I can still feel ye.”
Grinning, Reif murmured into his mate’s ear, “I’ll make it my goal to have it happen often.”
Turning over, Brian’s hands cupped his mate’s face. Then, leaning in, he gave Reif, a deep toe-curling kiss before whispering, “I love ye so much.”
Thrusting his hips, his cock rubbing against Nessie’s, Reif groaned, his lust fueled by the fire inside him. Flicking his eyes up to his mate’s, he saw love glowing there—a love he never believed would be his.
~/~/~/~/~
“We’re late.” Reif glanced at Nessie as he dressed.
After an early morning slow, sexy fuck and then falling asleep again with Brian tucked in his arms, Reif had slept through the alarm on his phone.
Waking up an hour later, they still might have made it on time, but when he entered the bathroom and saw Nessie’s gorgeous ass in the air, Reif groaned, knowing his cock wouldn’t be happy until it was hilt-deep in it again.
“Ay, but they’ll wait for us.”
Pulling off his t-shirt, Reif moved behind Nessie, pulling him against his groin.
“Shower sex with you is my new favorite thing,” he growled.
“I think we should do it every morning.” Burying his face in Brian’s hair, he inhaled his mate’s scent deeply, wanting to surround himself with it. “I love the way you smell.”
“Ye know my scent is now a combination of yers and mine since we’ve claimed each other.” Turning around, he gave Reif a kiss while palming his bulge. “How are ye going to hide this?” Brian asked, squeezing his mate’s hard cock.
“Not gonna try, since being near you seems to make it hard all-the-fucking-time.”
“Well, stay away from Theo; he loves big cocks and I dinna share.”
“No worries, Nessie. I’m a one-sea-serpent kind of guy.”
“Guid. Are ye ready?”
Taking Nessie’s hand, Reif led him to the door. “Yup. Let’s go see what Zane found. The faster we find the green diamond, the faster we can look for a house for our babies.”
~/~/~/~/~
When they got to Kieran’s suite, Reif discovered he and Nessie weren’t the last to arrive after all. Claiming the spot next to Kieran, Reif sat down with Brian beside him. Looking around the table, he grinned as he took in the tired expressions on the rest of the faces.
Bursting into the room, Zane ushered David to a seat and then, setting down a stack of papers, lowered himself into the chair beside him. “Sorry we’re late guys, but we overslept.”
“Join the club,” Reif muttered.
“Did you find anything?” asked Logan.
“Yeah, I did but before we get to that, I have a question for Slate. What did your people discover about the green diamond?” asked Zane.
“That’s easy. According to my people, there’s no record of a green diamond this big ever being found, much less one called the ‘Serpent’s Teardrop’. Based on that, the transfer of it through the years had to be done between private parties,” Slate replied.
Nodding, Zane glanced at Ian. “Did your parents ever hear of a green diamond showing up in Scotland?”
“No. Yesterday afternoon, they went to my castle and checked the records but found no mention of it…which didn’t surprise them because my father knew every shifter in Scotland back then and none of them were wealthy enough to buy it for the sums listed in the bills of sale,” answered Ian.
“I expected as much,” Zane said.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?” asked Reif.
“Last night, I examined each document and I noticed something strange. It appears they were all written by the same person.”
“That can’t be,” Reif said. “I found them in different places and look at the dates…all different.”
Holding his hand up, Zane said, “Hear me out. But first, Reif, did you ever get help from ‘the man’ before when you were searching for the item they wanted you to steal?”
“Shit. Hmmm, I don’t think so but I might have. It’s been 500 years so I can’t be positive.”
“Okay, but would it be fair to say, it wasn’t a regular occurrence?” asked Zane.
“Definitely.”
“Good. Finally, did you ever have to give up because you couldn’t find items?” asked Zane.
“Nope, never. Some took a little longer than others but I always managed to get them.”
“Zane, why all the questions for my mate?” asked Brian.
“I’m getting to it now. As I said, I thought they were all written by the same person but I’m not a handwriting expert.
So I sent the docs to a friend of mine who’s one of the world’s leading handwriting experts and he confirmed my suspicions.
Once I knew they were forgeries, I searched the dark web to see if I could find the person who did them. ”
Pulling out a sheet from his stack of papers, Zane continued.
“About a year ago, someone was searching for a forger. Several people responded, asking what the job entailed. Here’s the list of documents they wanted forged,” he said, handing the list to Logan who, after reading it, gave a low whistle before passing it to Reif.
Shaking his head, Reif was dumbfounded at what Zane had turned up. “I get what you’re saying but I can’t believe it. It has to be a coincidence. I found the originals, like the diary. Fuck, I held it in my hands.”
“I get you,” said Zane, “but there’s more you should know. After finding who took the job, I hacked his computer and found these.” He handed over a number of documents to Logan.
Shuffling through them, Logan’s eyes narrowed at what he saw. “Bro, how do you know these aren’t copies of the ones Reif found?”
Handing over another stack of paper, Zane replied, “Because there’s a cache of emails between the client and the forger about the work the forger was doing.
The last email from the forger has all of the fake documents attached and, the very last one is confirmation that funds were being transferred to the forger’s bank account.
” Zane waited while the documents were passed around the table, noticing the expressions of anger, worry, and disbelief on different faces.
“Let’s say you’re right,” Reif said. “How do you explain the page I found in the diary? It was bound into the book.”
“He’s got a good point, there,” said Logan.
“I thought of that, too. I asked a friend that question and here’s his answer.” Zane pulled out an email and handed it to his brother.
After reading it, Logan looked at his brother in disbelief. “What the fuck…you’ve gotta be kidding.”
“What?” asked Reif, taking the email from Logan, reading it and then handing it to Brian. Slumping back in his chair, he stared into space, in shock, as if his whole world had crashed around him.
“I’m not kidding, bro,” said Zane. “The diary was stolen prior to Reif discovering it among the archives. It was recovered two days later but the thief was never found. Jared gave me the name of the person who was hired to steal it and my guess is it was taken apart and the page Reif found was inserted and then the diary was rebound before it conveniently showed up again.”
“But what about the others? If they are all fakes, who…how…” Reif couldn’t finish his question as he tried to understand what it all meant.
“Setting aside for a moment the documents you were supplied with, I’m pretty sure all the others were planted,” Zane continued.
“I haven’t found the person who did it yet, but I will.
Regarding the “clues” that were actually given to you, it was probably because they couldn’t figure out where to plant them that wouldn’t raise your suspicions.
I’m sorry to say this, but I’m pretty sure these assholes were playing you. ”
Playing me? This was all a hoax? But why?
What would they gain from it? It just didn’t make any sense.
For a thousand years, he and his father enriched the vampires and witches…
so why would they send me off on a wild goose chase?
Thinking it over, he suddenly figured it out.
Oh, my gods! “They wanted an excuse to keep my people enslaved!” Reif jumped to his feet.
“Kieran, help him!” shouted Zane. “Wait, Reif. Don’t let anyone know you’re on to them.”
Reaching up, Kieran placed his hands on Reif, sucking out his panic and replacing it with love. When his hands finally cooled off, Kieran asked, “Reif, do you trust me?”
Looking down at the Shaman, then at Nessie who nodded at the question, Reif sank back down to his chair. Turning back to Kieran, Reif murmured, “Yes I do.”
“Good. Will you listen to the rest of what Zane has to say?” asked Kieran.
Reaching for Nessie’s hand, Reif said, “I will.”
“Go ahead, Zane.”
“Once I figured out this was an elaborate scam, I wanted to know why they wasted your time, not to mention the big money they spent having all the documents made. You told us once you found the green diamond and handed it over, you and your people would be free. But what if you can’t find it? Then what?”
“Then I have to keep stealing.”
“Exactly, and your father accepted those terms, meaning he can’t go to the High Council and complain. They set you up to fail.”
“Fucking sonofabitches!” exclaimed Reif. “I must tell my father.”
“No, you don’t, because you’re going to find the green diamond and hand it over.” Zane grinned.
“I’m confused, bro,” said Dakota. “If the green diamond doesn’t exist, how is Reif going to hand it over?”
“The one Reif is looking for doesn’t exist,” said Zane. “But what happens if Reif does hand over a green diamond? What happens to the agreement between the assholes and Reif’s father?”
“They’d have to honor it,” Slate said, “but I see two problems with your plan. One, where the hell would Reif get a green diamond and, two, the assholes would know it wasn’t the right one.”
“Ah, ha,” laughed Zane. “How would the assholes know that? There aren’t any pictures of it, just a vague description in the documents.
But more important, do you really think these pricks are going to tell Reif the green diamond isn’t the right one?
Reif and his father could then go to the High Council to force these motherfuckers to keep their word,” replied Zane.
“Very clever,” said Logan, “but that still leaves the problem of finding a non-existent green diamond? “How do you propose to solve that one?”
“Fionn, this is where you come in,” Zane grinned.
Fionn smiled back. “I have a very large green diamond in my hoard that I got from my mother, you can have. It’s about the same size as the make-believe one and worth a fortune because the green color is embedded throughout the entire diamond.”
“You would do that for me?” asked Reif, dumbstruck at Fionn’s generous offer.
“Yup! That’s what we do in this pack, right?” Fionn looked at his new family, and grinned when they all nodded. “Helping someone in trouble is what my pack is all about!”