Chapter 2
Jackson hurried along the hallway leading to the hospital, eager to check on Theo’s condition.
Dakota had filled him in on the sudden arrival of Ollie—a cousin of Theo’s he’d known nothing about.
And as he thought further about it, Jackson realized he knew little about the families of Theo or Norm.
When they’d arrived with Cody, their faces had reflected the trauma they’d suffered under Arald’s harsh hand, so he’d refrained from asking them.
And when they finally settled in and seemed happy, Jackson decided it wasn’t necessary for them to relive their horrors by questioning them about their families.
The only thing he needed to know was that both sets of parents had abandoned any claim to them, and that was perfectly okay with him since both the Ghost Bears had become valued members of the Blackwood Pack.
Arriving at the examination room, Jackson pushed open the door and saw Theo standing next to Smokey and Norm. Glancing quickly around, he found another man near Mac at the ultrasound machine. After seeing Mac’s reassuring nod, Jackson looked at Theo and smiled. “You okay?”
Ollie studied the wolf shifter, feeling the overwhelming power emanating from him, and concluded the man was the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack. He waited for Theo to answer the man’s question.
“Dakota told ya, huh?”
“Yeah…he was quite worried about you and your cub,” Jackson replied. “I take it everything is good?”
Grinning, Theo held up the recent picture of their cub. “He’s growing like a weed, and Mac thinks my due date is four months from now.”
“Hey, that is good news,” Jackson said, looking at the photo for a moment before handing it back. “Just take it easy for now…no more fainting spells.”
“That’s what I told him, too,” growled Smokey.
Norm shook his head. “Not gonna happen.”
“It will if you back me up.”
“Stop it…both of you,” Theo said. “You both heard Mac…I’m fine…our cub is fine, and I have stuff I’ve got to do.”
“Like what?” asked Smokey, frowning.
“Duh…kitchen duties, remember? And in between I have to design the nursery for our cub…who’s gonna be here a month sooner than we thought and don’t forget about the plants I’ve ordered for my garden, which will be here shortly and if I don’t get them planted, they’ll die.”
“That’s too much…” Smokey started to object.
“Maybe I could help,” Ollie spoke up. The Grizzly Bear’s fierce glare at his offer made him take a step back, attempting to fade into the background.
Briefly glancing at the man who spoke, Jackson paused for a moment before turning his focus back to Theo and saying, “We need to talk…Mac, will you show our guest into…”
“We’ll be in my office,” Mac answered, grasping Ollie’s hand and leading him out of the room.
Once the door was closed, Jackson headed over to a chair and pulled it over to the small sofa in the room before claiming it. “Why don’t we sit down?” he said.
“Good idea,” Smokey muttered. “Theo should rest after what just happened.”
Jackson grinned as Theo rolled his eyes, and once everyone sat down, he said, “Dakota said your cousin arrived.”
“Yeah…Oliver, but I always called him Ollie,” Theo said, nervously biting his lower lip. Looking down, he watched as his mates each claimed one of his hands, giving him the reassurance he needed at that moment.
“Were you expecting him?” asked Jackson.
Shaking his head, Theo replied, “No…that’s why I fainted. I didn’t believe it was really him.”
Frowning slightly, Jackson said, “Why not? Isn’t he a member of your old…?”
Speaking up, Norm said, “No, he wasn’t…and he didn’t have any part in sending Theo to Arald’s, if that is where you were going.”
Shrugging, Jackson replied, “That’s good to know, but…”
“He’s my cousin,” Theo said, “on my father’s side. His parents—my aunt and uncle—died when he turned twenty-one, and after that I didn’t see him at all.”
“He’s older than you?” asked Jackson.
Nodding, Theo replied, “He’s about ten years older than me.”
Jackson hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you know what he’s been doing since the last time you saw him?”
Shaking his head, Theo said, “I remember my parents talking about Ollie graduating from nursing school, so I’m guessing that’s what he’s been doing since then.”
“Right…that makes sense,” Jackson murmured, thoughtfully.
Smokey could tell there was something else about Ollie that interested Jackson, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t the same thing on Smokey’s mind.
Remembering his friend, Ghost, warning him about Theo and Norm’s former Alpha offering a reward for their location, he doubted it was just a mere coincidence that Ollie had shown up.
However, since he hadn’t discussed it with Dylon yet, he decided not to mention it.
Norm glanced at Theo and saw the worry on his face about all the questions Jackson was asking about his cousin, and knew he had to do something.
Mac had told him how important it was to keep Theo calm, since stress could cause a miscarriage given the high risk of his mate’s pregnancy.
Glancing over at Jackson, Norm asked, “Can we go now? Smokey and I promised Theo he could talk to Ollie after the ultrasound.”
Smiling, Jackson stood. “Sure…and I think it’s time I meet your cousin and officially welcome him.”
“Before you meet Ollie,” Norm smiled, “there’s one other thing we need to tell you about him. Mac says they are Fated Mates.”
Theo’s face brightened. “Perfecto…I can’t wait to tell Ki about Ollie.”
~/~/~/~/~
Bemused by everything that had happened since his cousin opened the front door, Ollie had kept silent while following Mac to his office.
There was just so much to digest, especially the discovery of his Fated Mate.
When he began his quest to find his cousin, the only thing on his mind was the question of what had happened between Theo and his parents that caused them to send him to Arald.
But the scent of Mac made him forget that.
While being restrained by Smokey, he had watched Mac carefully examine Theo and realized that the Fates had picked the perfect mate for him—even though it was a wolf.
As he entered Mac’s office, Ollie paused for a moment to look around for any clues that might give him more information about his mate, but the room was devoid of personal items other than a framed picture on his desk of two Macs.
Walking over to it, he picked it up, studied it, and suddenly realized…
“You have a twin?” he asked, looking up at Mac.
Staring at the photo, Mac smiled. “Yeah…his name is Sawyer.”
“Huh…that’s unusual.”
“Why do you say that?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Ollie replied, “Parents usually pick names that start with the same first letter for identical twins…like Tom and Tim, but they didn’t with you and your brother.”
Chuckling, Mac said, “They did…my first name is Sam, but I hated it so I changed it.”
“What was wrong with Sam?”
“Kids used to call me Sammy and my brother knew how much it pissed me off, so he used to beat them up. But after getting in trouble with my parents for fighting, he suggested I change my name.”
“So you chose Mac? Why?”
“My mother used to play Fleetwood Mac’s songs when I was growing up, so it was the first thing that popped into my head when Sawyer asked me for a name. And since I could imagine all the names the other kids would taunt me with if Fleetwood was my name, I chose Mac.”
“Fleetwood, eh?” Ollie said, grinning. “I rather like it.”
“No, you don’t,” Mac said, shaking his head.
Setting the frame back down, Ollie turned around and leaned against Mac’s desk before placing his hand over his mate’s heart and softly saying, “I would’ve loved it if you had picked it.”
Covering Ollie’s hand with his, Mac murmured, “Good to know.” Then, deciding he couldn’t wait any longer, leaned forward and pressed his lips against Ollie’s, swallowing his mate’s soft gasp.
It was better than he ever thought it could be, and, for the first time, he understood Sawyer's behavior when he’d found Alex.
Mac knew there would never be a time when he wouldn’t want to kiss Ollie and savor his taste on his tongue.
Deepening their kiss, he pressed closer until their chests were nearly touching, losing himself in Ollie’s scent, which swirled around them.
Mac wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted, but eventually he felt Ollie pull back and they both inhaled some much-needed oxygen. Leaning his forehead against his mate’s, Mac murmured, “You taste of sweet honey. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of it.”
Before Ollie could reply, there was a rapping of knuckles at the door, causing him to step back from Mac. Glancing over his mate’s shoulder, he saw Jackson grinning at them. Not sure what to do, he shifted his gaze to his mate and whispered, “Help.”
Giving Ollie a quick nod, Mac turned around, concealing his mate behind him, and said, “Hey, where’s Theo?”
Ducking under Smokey’s arm before squeezing past Jackson, Theo flung out both arms and announced, “Voilá, here I am!”
“What the hell was that?” muttered Smokey.
“I think Ki is rubbing off on Theo,” Jackson laughed.
Peering over Mac’s shoulder, Ollie grinned at his cousin, seeing the happiness shining in Theo’s eyes. Stepping away from Mac, he moved toward his cousin, but his mate grabbed his hand, halting his approach.
“Wait a moment, Oliver,” Mac murmured. Then, turning his gaze to Jackson, Mac tilted his head in submission before saying, “Alpha, Theo’s cousin, Oliver, is my Fated Mate. Is he welcome in your pack?”