Chapter 23
When their wolves returned to their bodies, ending the light connection, Slate collapsed, rolling onto his side and bringing Dakota with him. What the fuck just happened? Staring at Dakota’s moonlit face, he could see the same question in his mate’s eyes.
“Slate?” Dakota called, his voice trembling, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, are you?”
“I think so but I don’t understand what happened? Is it part of our claiming?”
“I’m not sure because I never heard about this when I was taught about Fated Mates.”
It was then Dakota felt something inside him and when he examined it, he was shocked and cried out, “Slate, I have you inside of me! What’s happening?”
Slate, too, realized he now had Dakota in him—not just his wolf—but the man. “Holy shit! I don’t know what’s happening to us but I have you inside me, too. We need to speak to my mother…she’ll know!”
Dakota lay in his mate’s arms, his attention turned inward, said, “Slate? Hmm, I’m in your mind…”
Slate responded, “I know…I’m in yours. I’m so sorry this happened, babe.”
“I don’t mind,” Dakota said, surprised and smiling.
For the first time in his life, he felt whole; like the final piece of the puzzle had fallen into place and serenity descended over him and filled his soul.
But there was more…his body was changing as it acquired part of his mate’s DNA and he could see Slate’s body had gotten some of his.
Two halves now made into one. “Do you feel any different?” Dakota asked.
“Yeah, everything you are experiencing, I am too.”
“Thank the gods for that,” Dakota exclaimed. “I was afraid only I could see it.”
“No, I see it, too and I feel exactly the same…as if a piece that was missing is now in place…like I have just been waiting for this. Weird, huh?”
“Yeah…weird. Why do you suppose the Fates did this?”
“I haven’t a clue but I’m pretty sure my mother knows and I’m betting it has something to do with your gift.”
“You know what I have a hard time understanding?”
“What, babe?”
“How did the Fates know we would come here? I mean, it was a spur of the moment idea…something to fill the time while my kitchen was being cleaned up. Don’t you find it spooky? Does it mean we don’t have any choices at all because everything is decided by the Fates?”
“It does seem that way, but my mother told you the Fates have no control over the choices we make in our lives so that would mean we decided to come here and fuck…maybe the Fates just took advantage of an opportunity we gave them.”
Nodding his head, Dakota said, “Okay, does that mean if I never took you here, what happened here tonight wouldn’t have happened? Crap this is getting confusing.”
Chuckling, Slate answered, “See…that’s why I nearly failed my class on the Fates. I was always posing questions like that, making my teacher so frustrated that she would say to me: ‘It is what it is’.”
Dakota giggled. “I can see you doing that.” Then his mirth ended as he thought about himself. “I nearly failed that class because it wasn’t important to me. As far as I was concerned, the Fates didn’t care about me because they gave me my curse.”
“Aww babe, I know it’s hard to see it any other way, but my teacher told me the Fates gave empath ability to only very special shifters.
What you went through with your father was really bad, but the Fates had no way of knowing.
And if you step back and look at it, why would anyone think it would happen?
Your parents were Fated Mates and they should have been happy. ”
“I know. Can I tell you something? I’m not sure my parents were Fated Mates.
I mean...I didn’t understand what it meant to have a Fated Mate but now I do and I can’t imagine any circumstances where I could do to you what my father did to Logan knowing how much it would hurt my mate.
You know, even when I was growing up, I had a hard time accepting his behavior because sometimes I caught my mother crying in the kitchen after an episode between my father and Logan. ”
“Wow, that does make sense, but why would they pretend to be Fated Mates?”
“I don’t know. I could feel very little of my mother’s emotions, mainly because my father’s hatred was so overwhelming. I wonder if Jackson knows.”
“If he does, I bet my brother knows also. What about other family members?” asked Slate.
“I don’t know if my uncle knows,” said Dakota.
“I bet my mother knows,” Slate conjectured.
“You’re probably right but whether she’ll tell us is another matter.”
“Yeah, well…changing the subject…aren’t you upset because I’m in your mind?”
Pausing for a moment, Dakota was trying to figure out how to describe it to his mate.
“No, in fact it’s the opposite. See, the negative emotions of my father were so strong I felt like they were devouring me…
all of me…and it was frightening so I fought it with everything I could.
Then when it got too much and all I could find was a tiny bit of myself, I knew I needed time alone to block out everyone else so I could reassemble the pieces of me.
The number of times I had to put myself back together eventually made me gun-shy of being close to anyone. I figured it was easier that way.
“Then you came into my life and I had to rethink my decisions because I was drawn to you, so very much it was hard to even consider you wouldn’t be in my life.
But when I woke up after our claiming, I felt something missing in me and I thought it was because I wasn’t feeling the emotions of others.
When I found your wolf in me it was a shock, but only because being free of all emotions was just as overwhelming as being shackled to them.
Then I saw how happy my wolf was with your wolf in me and it made me rethink my decision about wanting your wolf out of me.
“Just now, when I discovered you in my mind, the first thing I felt was happiness…so much fucking happiness…because you were the part missing from me. All these years, I always knew something was wrong with me so I blamed my curse but I was wrong. I know this sounds strange but I finally feel whole. I hope you understand and feel the same way because I’m never letting go of you.
” Dakota dropped his eyes, afraid of what his mate would think of his explanation.
“Babe? Look at me please,” Slate murmured, and when Dakota did, he continued, “I do understand because I feel the same way. Your presence in my mind is not intrusive, it also completes me. You truly fill my heart, soul and mind and I have never been happier…I love you, babe.” Slate leaned in and gently licked Dakota’s lips before kissing them softly, then his tongue was inside, dancing with his mate’s.
~/~/~/~/~
“What are you grinning about, darling?” asked Maximus, watching his wife walk over to him.
“Grinning? I do not grin, I smile, dear.”
“Okay, what are you smiling about?” Maximus asked, taking Oracle’s hand and giving it a gentle tug before pulling her onto his lap and giving her a little love bite on her neck.
“Our youngest son’s claiming of Dakota is complete.”
“Complete? What does that mean? Was it different from what usually happens?”
“It was. It was necessary because the gods have given them a gift in addition to the one the Fates gave Dakota.”
“Isn’t that unusual?”
“Yes, it is, but Dakota is a very special shifter. Are you ready to be a grandfather again?”
“You mean Dakota’s pregnant already?”
“Yes, but no one knows so when they announce it, please act surprised.”
“Of course, my surprise face is fool-proof.”
“Really? Show me.”
Maximus made a number of funny faces that left Oracle laughing. “See, I will fool everyone. Now which one should I use?”
Still chuckling over the silly faces her husband made, she said, “None of them! They were terrible and will not fool anyone. I think you need more practice and I know exactly what will help you.”
Maximus smirked. “Does it have to do with a certain body part of mine?”
“It does, now put away your work and come to bed with me.”
“Absolutely, lover.”
~/~/~/~/~
They left their magical place after several bouts of laughter as Slate tried to locate the clothes Dakota had thrown helter-skelter in his haste to fuck his mate.
When Dakota was finally dressed, Slate stood toe-to-toe with him, giving his mate one last kiss.
Then looking around, he said, “Babe, let’s keep our magical place a secret, okay?
” After receiving a nod, Slate led Dakota down the path to the house, both enjoying the sounds of the forest at night.
When they finally arrived, Dakota was so sure no one would still be awake, he was surprised when he found Jackson in the great room. Concerned, Dakota asked, “Bro, is everything all right?”
“It is. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I head to bed.”
Smiling broadly, Dakota said, “I’m fine but that might change when I see my kitchen.”
“It better be perfect,” Jackson said, “or Steel and Zane are going to answer to me.”
“Thanks. We were on our way to check it out…”
“Because my mate won’t sleep until he knows his kitchen is spotless, right babe?” asked Slate, chuckling.
“Glad to see you know my brother so well. I’ll leave you to your inspection tour as I’m heading to bed.
It’s my night to get up with Daniel so every bit of sleep I can get is a bonus.
” After giving both of them a hug, Jackson headed to the stairs, but before he got there, he turned to Dakota and Slate and asked, “Is there a pup on the way?”
Smiling, Dakota nodded as his hand sought out his belly, where his little bean was growing.
“Congratulations to both of you. I won’t say a word so it’s up to you, whenever you announce it,” Jackson said, before continuing on his way to his bedroom.
Slate looked at his mate. “Babe, I never thought of making an announcement to the pack, did you?”
Shaking his head as he led Slate to his kitchen, Dakota said, “No, I guess we should, but do you mind if we keep it to ourselves for a while?”
“Not at all, but why?”
“When Jackson told us he was pregnant, some of my brothers made nasty comments and frankly, I just don’t want to deal with their reaction to me being pregnant.”
Growling, Slate said, “Well, let’s hope they learned their lesson with Jackson because they won’t like what I’ll say to them if they give you any shit.
The way I see it, is not only will they be insulting my mate but our pup too.
I don’t know what Steel did, but my advice to your brothers is ‘if you can’t say anything nice, then keep your trap shut’. ”
Laughing at his mate’s version of the proverb, Dakota said, “I love the way you say it babe, now let’s see the damage.
” Pushing the swinging door open and flipping on the lights, Dakota gasped.
“Holy shit, babe! What the fuck did they do?” He walked in slowly, running his fingertips over countertops, cabinet doors, and appliances before turning around and smiling at Slate.
“I can’t believe how clean my kitchen is!
It’s like new! I was always meaning to do a thorough cleaning but never got around to it.
Everything is spotless…I mean…Every. Fucking. Thing. How did they do this?”
“It does look amazing. Hey babe, I think my brother left you a note on the island, next to the flowers,” Slate said, pointing to a folded piece of paper.
Dakota walked over and picked up the note. Opening it, he began to read,
Dear Dakota, While I have probably said ‘thanks’ for cooking such great meals for all of us, I’ve never told you how much I appreciate all you do to serve meals that are varied and delicious…
all the time. But that is just a small part of what you do for everyone!
With each new member, you take the time to research and make the foods from their homeland, giving them a welcome that comes straight from your heart.
And then there are the pups...from the moment Daniel was born, you were there with his first bottle, making sure my son had everything he needed to grow healthy and strong and you have continued with Jessica and Jake.
I have no doubt Ian and Colton, Kieran and Logan will find your help as valuable as Jackson and I have.
Making your dinner tonight reminded me of all the work that goes into cooking a meal.
I was struggling just to cook for two so I can only imagine what it takes to do it for our pack.
So as Alpha Mate, I’m instituting a new policy which will give you one day off a week from your cooking duties.
Eventually, I hope to increase it to two days as Theo’s knowledge and skill increase.
So just let me know which day you want off.
Congratulations on your mating! May you and Slate be as happy as Jackson and I am!
Steel
PS: Don’t worry about your kitchen on your days off because I will personally insure it will be as neat as it is tonight.
Handing the note to his mate, Dakota sat down in one of the chairs at the island, blushing at the praise as tears dotted his long, thick lashes.
He was astounded at what Steel wrote, never expecting it, but those words meant the world to Dakota; it was the first time anyone had taken the time to tell him how much he was appreciated.
Slate quickly read the note, smiling at what his big brother had written.
Knowing what Steel’s words meant to his mate, he scooped up Dakota, setting him on the island.
Framing his mate’s face with his hands, Slate gently kissed Dakota’s lips, then, using his thumbs to remove his tears, asked, “Babe, are you all right?”
“Yessss,” Dakota said with a shaky voice. “Do you know Steel is the first person who ever told me that my cooking was appreciated?”
“You’re kidding me?”
Shaking his head, Dakota replied, “Really. It means a lot to me he knows how hard I work to make each meal special.”
“Hmmm, well I was ready to kiss the ground you walk on after tasting your cooking this morning so…”
Giggling, Dakota said, “I think I’d like to see that.”