Chapter 2 #2
Suddenly, Ollie understood why his mate had prevented him from approaching Theo.
So eager was he to find his cousin, he’d forgotten about asking permission to enter the territory of a wolf pack—especially a pack with an Alpha whose power was off the charts.
Jackson could kill him without any help from the rest of the pack if he wanted to.
Drawing on his years of experience with Alpha wolves, Ollie lowered his head and kept his eyes on the floor, showing the respect Jackson was due.
When the room remained silent, Ollie’s shoulders fell in dismay.
The Alpha would not forgive him for the slight, and that meant he would have to leave.
But how can I leave Mac behind? He couldn’t, but he wouldn’t have a choice if his mate stayed.
Upset at the thought that he might have to leave his mate, Ollie didn’t notice that Jackson had walked over and stopped in front of them.
“Congratulations on finding your Fated Mate, Mac,” Jackson said, softly, “and he is very much welcomed in my pack.”
Looking up, Mac smiled. “Thank you, Alpha.” Then, tugging his mate’s hand to get his attention, he continued, “Jackson, this is Oliver, who’s also Theo’s cousin.” Then, turning to his mate, Mac added, “Ollie, this is Jackson Blackwood, Alpha of the Blackwood Pack.”
Looking up at the Alpha, Ollie found a face with sparkling blue eyes and a wide smile gazing down at him. Forgetting to filter his response, he said the first thing that popped into his head, “Whew…I was afraid you were gonna kill me!”
“No!” Rushing over to his cousin, Theo planted himself in front of Ollie and glared at Jackson. “Why would you do that to my cousin? He’s my cub’s cousin and the only member of my family who didn’t betray me.”
“I didn’t say…” Jackson began.
“Honeybunch,” Norm murmured, joining the group and wrapping his arms around Theo, “no one is gonna hurt Ollie.”
“But my cousin said…”
Giving a loud whistle, Jackson waited until the room became quiet before saying, “Theo, I will not hurt your cousin…and Ollie, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression I was going to kill you…
I would never do that to the family of one of my pack.
Just so there’s no mistake about how I feel, I’m delighted Mac found you, along with Theo reuniting with you. And I promise, you are very safe here.”
“Thank you, Alpha,” Ollie said, his cheeks red with embarrassment from causing the misunderstanding.
“Call me Jackson. I’m not much for titles.”
“Right…Jackson,” Ollie murmured. “I’m sorry for speaking without thinking. My mother always said it would get me in trouble someday, and I guess she was right.”
Waving his hand, Jackson chuckled. “No need to apologize…no harm, no foul.”
Smokey had been patient long enough, but he’d had enough of all the friendly chit chat.
The sudden appearance of a long-lost relative had caused every red flag in his head to appear, and he was sure Ollie posed a threat to Theo.
And if he had his way, Ollie would be strapped to a chair undergoing one of Smokey’s special interrogations, but Jackson would never agree to it, especially since the man was a mate to Mac.
Since that was off the table, Smokey decided the only alternative was to question Ollie in front of the Alpha wolf.
That way, if he lied, Jackson would know it.
He would start with the question he needed the answer to most, but first, an apology would lull Ollie into a false sense of security.
“Sorry for any misunderstanding before…”
Glancing over at the man who nearly shook his brains out of his body, Ollie found only an expressionless face, making him feel there was a hidden agenda behind the apology.
But what it could be was a mystery to him.
Deciding to ask Mac about it later, Ollie said, “Thanks but no worries…as Jackson said, no harm, no foul.”
“I appreciate that,” Smokey murmured. Doing his best to sound friendly, Smokey said, “Well, I’m glad you are here…it means a lot to my mate.” Pausing, he then asked, “Who told you Theo was here?”
Mac immediately picked up the undertone of suspicion in Smokey’s voice and glared at him. “Why does it matter how Oliver knew…what’s important is that he’s here.”
“Babe,” Ollie murmured to Mac, “it’s okay.
” Then, returning Smokey’s enigmatic gaze, he said, “I work for Frontline Doctors as a nurse, and my last assignment was in Tajikistan. One of my patients told me about Arald and his atrocities. I couldn’t imagine anyone could be that evil, but I felt compelled to check it out.
I contacted one of my friends from nursing school who works for the High Council, and he confirmed it.
Because he knew I was a Ghost Bear, he thought I might know the two Ghost Bears held prisoner.
You can imagine my shock when I heard my cousin’s name.
” Shrugging his shoulders, Ollie continued, “At first, I couldn’t believe it, but I then decided to find out for sure.
Once my friend told me where Theo was, I took a leave of absence and came here. ”