Chapter 18
When Dakota and Slate finally made it to his brother’s study, Oracle had already arrived.
Dakota felt Slate flood him with love as his mate grasped his hand while they sat down.
Hoping for a short meeting, Dakota said, “Jackson, anything you want to say to me will be said in the presence of my mate.”
Nodding in approval, Jackson replied, “Fair enough. I’ll assume you’ve agreed to be claimed by Slate.”
“Yes, and I will be claiming him, also.”
Jackson glanced at Slate, then said to Dakota, “I’m happy for you, bro.
The reason I wanted to see you was to make sure you know what would happen if you do.
” Jackson paused as he saw the look on his brother’s face.
“Hear me out Dakota. I always felt you had a plan for your life…and while it might have included a mate…it certainly didn’t include pups.
And unless I’m wrong about your gift from the Fates, pups will be part of your future once you mate with Slate. ”
Dakota was silent for a moment before he said, “You’re right.
I admit my plan didn’t allow for a mate or pups but it’s changed, in large part, due to my mate.
” Shaking his head as he saw Jackson begin to object, he continued, “Not for the reason you think…but because I realized yesterday my ‘plan’ had changed…or maybe ‘evolved’ would be a better way to put it. You, and maybe Logan, know why long ago I’d decided never to mate, so I can see why you’d question my position now, but times have changed and I’ve changed.
Owning a restaurant isn’t that important to me anymore but having a mate who knows what I am and accepts me… that’s what really matters to me.”
“What about pups? I always thought it was something you never wanted.”
“That’s true. Even though Oracle hasn’t confirmed what will be my gift, I don’t have to be a genius to figure it out.
Before my mate told me what he wanted, he asked me whether I wanted them.
That’s why he’s perfect for me. Slate gave me a choice about having pups regardless of what the Fates intended.
And by doing that, he also gave me control of my world, something I’ve struggled with for most of my life.
After gaining that freedom, I concluded I have the chance to be the right kind of parent to my pups…
a father who accepts and loves them for who they are, not what I think they should be.
So yeah, my ‘plan’ has been up-ended and I now have a new one in place… one that includes a mate and pups.”
“I’m happy for you, bro,” smiled Jackson. “Congratulations to the both of you. Oh, and Dakota, thanks for helping out this morning, but this is your time with your mate, so go enjoy it. Don’t worry. Between my mate’s and Oracle’s cooking skills, we’ll survive”
“Yeah, but will my kitchen?” Dakota muttered.
Chuckling, Jackson said, “I promise you, it will survive.”
“It better!” Dakota said, then asked Oracle, “Slate told me you wanted to speak to me before we claimed each other. I already know about my ability to have pups, so is there anything else?”
“Yes, about your gifts the Fates are bestowing on you.”
“You mean my ability to have pups?”
“Yes, you are the second Alpha/Omega hybrid the Fates have created. But there is a second gift.”
“Another gift? I don’t understand,” said Dakota, confused.
“The Fates have two gifts for you. Would you like me to tell you about the second gift in private or do you want your mate to be present?” Oracle asked.
Dakota replied, “When I told my mate what I am, it was the best decision I ever made because I realized the toll it had taken on me keeping it secret. I don’t…no, make that I won’t…go back to living that way anymore. So I want him present.”
“Wait a minute,” Jackson said, “I’m missing something here. Dakota, What do you mean when you say, ‘what you are’. What exactly are you?”
Dakota knew once Jackson found out about his curse, it might change how his brother would treat him and, for a moment, he wanted to hide it again, but then he felt Slate’s love, and said, “I’m an empath.”
His brother’s words hung in the air as Jackson tried to accept what he was hearing. My brother feels the emotions of others? Holy shit! Wanting more information, Jackson said, “I know what an empath is but…”
Slate took over for his mate who was sitting rigidly in his lap, “My mate feels the emotions of anyone near him no matter who or what they are. As you can imagine, positive feelings are no problem, but if the feelings are negative, he’s badly affected.”
“How long have you had this ability?” asked Jackson.
“All my life.”
“How close does a person have to be for you to feel their emotions?”
“Uhmm…not sure…I mean I never tested it but I can feel everyone’s emotions right now…”
“In this room?”
“In this house.”
Jackson thought back to when he first discovered his mind link with Steel and how hard it was to hear him in his head until he got used to it. Then he remembered the few times he felt his mate’s emotions—Steel’s anger over Josiah’s latest crap—and how it affected him.
“Sometimes the mind link with my mate, let’s me feel his emotions, especially if they’re intense. Is that what happens to you?”
“I don’t know, because I never had a mind link,” answered Dakota.
Oracle spoke, “It is something like that but far more intense. While you feel only the emotions of Steel, Dakota feels the emotions of everyone in this house at the same time regardless of what type of emotions they have. For instance, Dakota, please tell Jackson the emotions you are experiencing right now.”
“Anxiety, sadness, joy, happiness, anger…just to name a few. I try to concentrate on the positive feelings because the negative ones, especially if there are a lot of them, upset me,” Dakota said.
“Did our mother know?” Jackson asked, then realizing, “Oh shit, of course she did.”
“When our father turned on Logan, all I could feel was his hatred, and when it became too much, Mom taught me how to block it out…at least for a little while…just to give me a break,” Dakota said.
Then turning to Oracle, “I have a question for you, Oracle. It’s about the blocking I can do.
Is there any way I can improve it? So it would last longer? Maybe just block one person longer?”
“Your second gift will provide the answer you are searching for,” said Oracle.
“Regarding the gift you are about to receive, Dakota, the Fates have looked a long time to find a person worthy of it, because it is so easy to use it to do evil. I know you have suffered because of your empath ability but that was never what the Fates desired. They are very proud of you and the fortitude you have demonstrated. In response to your questions, this gift will allow you to block out all the emotions of others, when you choose to.”
“What is it?” asked Dakota, taking a quick glance at his mate and seeing Slate’s quizzical look. No matter what it was, if it let him block the emotions assaulting him every day, then it couldn’t happen fast enough.
“The Fates are giving you Shadow Voice.”
“I don’t know what that is,” Dakota said, obviously puzzled.
“What the fuck, Mom? Shadow Voice? Really? You don’t think being an empath is hard enough?”
“What is Shadow Voice?” asked Jackson.
Slate growled the answer. “Shadow Voice is the ability to hear a person’s thoughts…whatever.”
“I don’t want that,” protested Dakota, horrified at the prospect. Hearing thoughts along with feeling emotions would destroy him. “Nonononono, I won’t accept it! That’s too much to ask of me! Why do the Fates hate me? I’ve never done anything to them. Slate, I can’t do it, please, don’t make me!”
Slate pulled Dakota to him, holding him tight against his chest. “Hush babe, everything will be all right, hush,” he crooned.
Glaring at his mother, Slate said, “Mom, the Fates have gone too far this time. Dakota has paid a terrible price for being an empath and he shouldn’t have to suffer any more.
Tell the Fates he won’t accept it…I don’t care what you say… but my mate has had enough.”
Alarmed at Slate’s outburst, Jackson asked, “Slate, what do you mean my brother has suffered?”
Growling again, Slate said, “For most of my mate’s childhood, the dominating emotion he was subjected to was hate…
from your father…his hatred of Logan for being gay, and his conviction that he passed it on to you.
Every fucking day, Dakota could feel your father’s intense rage and he had to deal with it.
Think about that! It’s tough enough as it is growing up, knowing you’re gay, worrying what someone might call you, or that they’ll beat you up because of what you are.
Yeah sure, Dakota could feel anger but that was a drop in the bucket compared to your father’s.
“How come none of you noticed what was happening to your brother? Did you really think it was normal for him to spend his youth in the kitchen? Why do you think he was so eager to move out, away from his brothers and sisters? Not because he didn’t love you, but because he needed to escape the poison your father spewed.
Mom, my mate has paid a terrible price and I don’t care what the Fates want, he isn’t accepting that gift. ”
Jackson knew immediately what Slate was referring to; he’d lived it too and his soul bore the scars of it.
The only good thing was he was able to avoid most of it by simply going to his room.
But Dakota never escaped it—it bombarded him from the minute he woke up till the minute he went to sleep—it was always with him.
How did my brother survive such a toxic environment?
“Oracle, I agree with Slate. My brother has paid a tremendous price. I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like for him. The hatred…” Jackson said, shaking his head, trying to rid himself of his thoughts about his father. “Tell the Fates thanks, but no thanks.”
Oracle leaned over, laying her hand on Dakota’s arm, and said gently, “I can go to them and tell them your decision, but before I do that, will you listen as I explain everything about the gift they wish you to have?”
Dakota nodded, relieved that he could refuse the gift.
“The Fates never intended for you to suffer the way you did, but unfortunately each one of us is free to choose how we live our lives…whether it is with love, as your mother did, or with the hatred that consumed your father’s life.
We are each given a finite time on this earth, and how happy we are totally depends on our choices.
Your father chose poorly and because of it, in the end, it cost him the love of his mate.
And that is the worst thing that could ever happen to a shifter.
“We all are born as empaths but as we grow, the ability to feel the emotions of others fades until only a tiny fraction remains, but your empath ability grew until you could feel the emotions of everyone at once. That is very rare, as usually an empath can only feel the emotions of the person closest to them. Do you know why your ability grew Dakota?”
“Bad luck,” he muttered.
“No, my dear, it was because you care so deeply for everyone around you. How many times did you tell your mother one of your siblings needed her? But that was only the beginning, wasn’t it?
No matter how much hate your father spewed out, you absorbed it, kept quiet about it while trying to figure out a path forward for yourself.
Dakota, your past is strewn with countless examples of good choices you made.
“Given that, the gifts the Fates have given you are a reward for all the suffering you had in your childhood. First the Fates gave you the gift of pups so you may experience the joy that children bring. And the gift of Shadow Voice will free you from the burden of being an empath for much longer periods of time.”
Dakota was sitting up now, listening attentively to Oracle. “How would I be free? Does that mean I’d finally be rid of my empath ability?”
“Not quite. The Shadow Voice gift gives you the ability to hear thoughts; however you must consciously choose to use it so you can go days, weeks or even years without it impacting your life in any way. Knowing the price you paid as an empath, the Fates tweaked this gift. If you decide to accept it, Shadow Voice will join with your empath ability to create one gift that you can choose to use only whenever you want to.”
At first, Dakota didn’t understand Oracle’s words until they finally settled in his brain causing his wolf to howl with joy.
Oh shit! No more! Never Again! I will be free of my curse…
my pups…oh my gods! “Really? All I have to do is to accept the gift and that will be the end of my curse? Babe, can you believe it?” Dakota said, grinning at his mate.
“Mom, you are saying my mate will never be forced to feel another’s emotion if he doesn’t want to, correct?” asked Slate, hoping he understood his mother correctly.
“Yes, I am.”
“Oh thank you so much Oracle! Yes, yes, I’ll accept the Fates’ gift of Shadow Voice,” exclaimed Dakota. “Oh my gods, I can’t believe it after all these years, I’ll finally be free of my curse! Free at last! How do I do it?”
“In your mind, you decide whether you want to feel emotions and hear thoughts or not…basically the same way you would block emotions. Go ahead and try it, Dakota.”
Dakota complied and the results were instantaneous—he no longer could feel anyone’s emotions.
Jackson smiled at his brother’s joy, but something didn’t seem right. If the Fates can alter my brother’s empath ability why not remove it completely? They know he can choose never to use it again so why are they giving him Shadow Voice?