Chapter 13
Ollie listened as Theo talked about the garden he was planning, and it reminded him of their childhood.
His cousin was never happier than when working with his mother in her garden, listening intently as she taught him all about the soil and which plants would grow best in it.
Every time he visited, Theo insisted on showing him how much everything had grown, followed by a gift of a luscious, sun-ripened tomato or a beautiful flower in full bloom.
Now, as his cousin continued his explanation of why he’d chosen certain vegetables and flowers, he couldn’t help but sneak glances at Mac, standing next to Theo.
The sunlight highlighted the blond strands in his mate’s breeze-ruffled hair, and Ollie’s urge to run his fingers through it was nearly overwhelming.
A mate! His body craved Mac’s touch, and his bear was huffing in frustration at him because he’d delayed their claiming until the rescue was over.
As for Mac, images of Ollie sleeping with him that morning filled his thoughts, and he had to admit they surpassed all his dreams of having a mate. Lost in his thoughts, it took a moment before he realized Theo had stopped talking. Looking over at him, he found Theo staring at him. “What?”
“Are you gonna answer your phone?” Theo asked.
“My phone?” Mac’s puzzlement lasted only until his phone rang again. “Oh…sorry about that.” Slipping it out of his pocket, he accepted the call while walking over to the back porch.
Theo turned to Ollie and said, “Wait till I show you the meadow where Norm and I proposed to Smokey…it’s my favorite place cause it reminds me of the one at home.
” Then, almost too quickly to see, a look of sorrow flitted across his face before he corrected himself.
“I mean, where I grew up…it’s not home anymore. ”
“Sure,” Ollie said, smiling because, though Theo had tried to hide his feelings, he wasn’t fooled, and it gave him hope that his cousin and parents could become a family again.
Waving at Mac, he waited until he’d gotten his attention before pointing to where they were going.
After receiving a nod from his mate, Ollie grasped Theo’s hand and said, “Lead on.”
Mac watched Theo and Ollie head toward a well-worn path leading into the forest. Then, turning his attention back to his phone, he said, “I’ll be right there…
and see if Ian can join us.” Ending the call, he slipped his phone into his pocket before taking a last look at the spot where his mate and Theo had entered the forest. He wished he could join them, but it was probably best if Ollie kept Theo occupied.
Sighing, Mac headed inside to Jackson’s study.
~/~/~/~/~
Logan had just begun to gather up his sketches for the Scottish Wolves’ new housing project when he heard the door open.
Looking over his shoulder, he smiled at Brian standing in the doorway with Julius perched on his shoulder.
Setting down his leather case, he turned and said, “I can’t believe how big he’s gotten. ”
“Ay…guid strong blood they have,” Brian said.
“From two very strong daddies,” Kieran added, before slipping past him into the room. “I can’t wait until they shift. Won’t it be wonderful if their hair matches the color of their scales? I can just see it now…Julius with pink hair…”
“I don’t think that would be so good,” Logan replied.
Kieran’s eyes widened. “Why not? I would love pink hair!”
Chuckling, Brian said, “Ay…pink is nae so bad, but what aboot rainbow hair?”
“Or blue hair…or green hair?” Logan asked. “The only one who would fit into the human world would be Tobias with his midnight-colored hair.”
“Uh-uh, macushla,” Kieran said. “A lot of humans are dyeing their hair pink or green or even purple now, so the nessies would fit right in.”
“Who told you this?” asked Logan.
“Quin did. He wants to dye his hair but couldn’t make up his mind which color, so we looked on the internet, and you wouldn’t believe how many pictures we found of humans with so many different colors.
We couldn’t decide which color would look the best on him with, you know, with his high cheekbones and delicate features, but then I had the bestest idea of all time.
Do you want to know it? I’ll tell you. Q has just a ton of fabric he bought because he decided to become a fashion designer…
that was my idea because he has so much talent… ”
“Babe, what does this have to do with dyeing his hair?” asked Logan.
“Everything! We sorted through his pile of material and picked out ones that were close in color to the ones we saw online and then I draped the different pieces of fabric over his head and that made it so easy to see which color worked best with his skin tone, lips and eyes. After we finally agreed on a color for him, we did the same for me and Theo. I can’t wait till you see his new look! ”
It took a moment for it to sink in, but when it did, Logan’s expression changed from amused to horrified. Shaking his head, he said emphatically, “You are not dyeing your hair. I love it just the way it is.”
Giggling, Kieran replied, “Don’t be silly…
I didn’t say I was going to, macushla…only Quin’s gonna do it…
at least for now. I don’t know about Theo but I’m pretty sure he wants to wait until after his cub is born, but he might do it for his wedding and, oh shoot, I better check with him to see if he plans to because then I’ll probably have to make some changes to their suits.
I better send him a text and make sure he’s gonna wait until after the ceremony, but that reminds me to… ”
“Wait a minute,” Logan interrupted Kieran. “Let me get this straight. Quin is dyeing his hair, but you and Theo aren’t…right?”
“Well…not right away, but then, Theo might have changed his mind since I left. That’s why I have to ask him, so…”
“Thank fucking gods,” Logan muttered under his breath.
“Well anyway, that’s why the nessies will blend in because so many humans now have pink or green or blue or purple or…”
“I get it,” Logan said, “but I still don’t think the nessies will have anything other than normal hair color…just like Brian or Reif do.”
“Ay,” Brian said. “Naw fancy colors.”
“Pink hair!” Julius chirped excitedly as he launched himself off Brian’s shoulder and flew around his daddy’s head.
“Ye never mind,” Brian said, shaking his finger. “Brown will be guid enough.”
Pouting, Julius opened his mouth and shot out a small flame that was followed by a puff of smoke before shouting, “Pink hair! Pink hair!”
Shaking his head in exasperation, Brian said, “Shaman, ye have to fix this. My son canna have pink hair.”
Kieran giggled, then held out his arm and called, “Juli, come to Uncle Ki!”
After several more circles around Brian’s head, Julius headed over to Kieran and landed on his arm. Then, after rubbing his snout along Kieran’s cheek, he puckered his lips and noisily kissed it.
“Aw, Juli,” Kieran murmured, gently kissing the nessie’s head. “Are you excited to see Uncle Angus tonight?”
His confusion over Kieran’s question clearly reflected on his face, Logan said, “Er…babe…I don’t think it’s wise…”
Interrupting, Brian said sheepishly, “Me mate thought it was a good idea to take the nessies to meet Angus tonight.”
Glancing over at Logan, Kieran grinned. “Isn’t that exciting, macushla?
The nessies’ first trip! You don’t have to worry about anything, well except making sure we all get there safely, but I’m not worried because I know you will be so careful, especially since it’s gonna be our squirt’s first trip too…
well, the first one he’ll be aware of since he was so tiny the last time we flew but this time he’ll be very aware and he’s jumping for joy, well not literally jumping but you know what I mean, right?
I think this has to be the bestest of bestest ideas I have ever had! ”
“Your idea?” Logan asked faintly.
Nodding vigorously, Kieran said, “We were all with the nessies after their naps, and Reif thought they should invite Angus so he could meet all of them, and that’s when my bestest idea happened.
Once I told Brian and Reif about it, they agreed it would be better so the nessies could meet all the Scottish Wolves at once.
After that, it was just a matter of figuring out how to do it, but luckily Reif’s fathers had brought with them a big leather bag that all the nessies could fit into and Reif was going to carry the bag as he flew alongside us, but then the nessies wanted to ride a black dragon so the bag will sit between me and Brian who can hold on to the bag and to you at the same time. So it all worked out in the end.”
Raising an eyebrow, Logan shifted his glance to Brian and asked, “You okay with this?”
“Nae really,” Brian muttered, “but the Shaman assured me ye wont let me fall.”
Logan’s eyes widened comically for a moment at Brian’s answer. Shaking his head, he said, “I was referring to the baby nessies…are you okay with them being on my back?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Nae danger to them… they can fly…it’s me I’m worried aboot.”
“You weren’t the last time you rode my dragon,” Logan said, smirking.
“Ay…but me mind was on savin’ my mate,” Brian replied, then sighed. “I swore after that time ner’er to do it again, but then…”
“You didn’t count on your nessies looking at you with their puppy eyes,” Logan said, chuckling.
“Naw, someone shoulda warned me aboot it,” Brian muttered.
“That wouldn’t have mattered…no one can resist those eyes,” Logan said.
“Ay, that’s aboot right,” Brian said resignedly. “C’mon, Julius, Papa Nessie is waitin’ for us.”
“Don’t forget to put on their sweaters and the puffer coats I brought for them, along with the knitted hats I made for them,” Kieran said, smiling as Julius took off toward Brian.
“They’re color-coordinated, so they will look absolutely fabulous when they meet Angus for the first time.
Oh, and don’t forget to wrap each of them in their blankets before putting them in the bag. ”
After Brian and Julius left the room, Logan turned to Keiran and asked, “You made them coats?”
“Not just me, exactly…Q helped me with stuffing them with down feathers since according to him ‘there isn’t anything warmer’.
I also made them real long so their entire bodies would be covered.
I was gonna make them with hoods but Q thought it might be more useful for them to have beanies so they could wear the hats when they sleep if it was a very cold night and since they live in Scotland, there are lots of cold nights so I knitted each nessie a beanie to match the color of their puffer coats. ”
“Makes perfect sense,” Logan said, smiling.
“Yup…perfecto!” Kieran agreed, giggling.
“Speaking of cold weather, make sure you dress warmly since it’s gonna be chilly tonight. There won’t be any clouds to keep in the warmth from the ground.”
“Already on it,” Kieran said, grinning. “I’m gonna wear my pink silk long underwear under my black jeans, which, you know, are lined with pink fleece, and my pink puffer jacket with the new hat you got for me after my last one got ruined.
I still don’t know how you found me one since the lady told me I’d bought the last one, but then you can do anything. ”
“Well, not everything. I can’t figure out why Reif and Brian changed their minds about keeping the nessies’ existence a secret and decided to take them to see Angus and the entire pack of Scottish Wolves.”
“Oh, that’s easy. Angus and the Scottish Wolves owe Brian their survival, so they can be trusted to keep the secret about the nessies.
And after you told Brian and Reif the reason Jackson wanted you and me to meet with the Alpha of the English Wolves, they thought it would be a good thing if they had an alliance too. ”
“They already have one with the Blackwood Pack,” Logan said.
Nodding, Kieran said with a catch in his voice, “They know that, macushla, but we aren’t here all the time and what if some humans find out …
or greedy paranormals who think it would be a good idea maybe to capture them and that would be so bad for the nessies and it would hurt Brian and Reif so much and in that case, it would be good if there was a place the nessies could hide while Brian and Reif… ”
“Along with the Blackwood Pack, take on the bad guys,” growled Logan.
“Absolument, macushla, and no one knows that the Scottish Wolves are still alive so no one would look for the nessies there and they’d be safe and happy because they’d have met Angus and the rest of the pack so Reif and Brian wouldn’t have to worry about their babies…”
The unshed tears Logan heard in Kieran’s voice broke his heart, and the enormous need he felt to take away his mate’s pain nearly brought him to his knees.
Wrapping his arms around his mate and pulling Keiran tight to his chest, he murmured, “Hush, mo anan cara, I promise you that no matter what happens in the future, all the nessies will be safe from anyone who would dare threaten them, whether they are with Angus or with us at the Blackwood Pack…okay?”
Burying his face against Logan’s chest, Keiran nodded briefly, knowing his mate would always keep his promise to him. The scent of his mate eased his tension, and he felt satisfied that, for now at least, the nessies would be safe.
When Logan felt the change in Kieran’s body, he bent down and kissed the top of his mate’s head, then murmured, “Babe, you need to change so we can go. Angus is waiting, and since the nessies will be with us, I’ll have to fly slower than usual.”
Pulling back, Kieran looked up at Logan and grinned impishly. “Don’t you mean you have to go slower because of Brian?”
“That too,” Logan said, chuckling. “Since we now know of his fear of flying, let’s make a change to the bag with the nessies and add some straps for your arms to go through.”
“Like a backpack!”
“Exactly. Brian can still hold on to it, but if something happens where he lets go accidentally, the nessies will still be secure.”
“Absolument perfecto, macushla!”