Chapter 14
Theo fell silent the closer he and Ollie got to the meadow that meant so much to him.
He and Norm had discovered it during their first week at the Blackwood Pack, and it had become a welcome respite from the tensions of learning to live in a wolf pack.
During those early weeks, Theo wasn’t sure he and Norm should stay, even though leaving would mean deserting Kieran, who had become their best friend.
It had been particularly hard on Theo since the pain of his parents’ betrayal wasn’t something he could easily forget.
Whenever Norm sensed Theo was becoming overwhelmed by thoughts of his past, he’d take him to the meadow for a soul-soothing session.
As they lay staring up at the sky amid the tall grasses and wildflowers, Norm would feel his mate’s pain slowly fade away.
Sometimes they’d talk, but other times Norm would just hold Theo close to him as they listened to the sounds of the creatures who called the meadow home.
It was during one of those times that Norm suggested they plan their wedding.
Surprised at first, it only took Theo a moment before he agreed.
Somehow, Norm knew exactly what Theo needed.
The thought of becoming a family and having cubs filled Theo with happiness and helped heal much of his pain.
The only thing left, then, was to forgive his parents, but as he found out, that wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded.
Reaching the edge of the forest, Theo stopped and turned to face Ollie. Smiling at his cousin, he said, “Please, Ollie, close your eyes.”
Cocking an eyebrow, Ollie asked, “Why?”
“You’ll see in a moment.”
Ollie studied Theo for a second before complying with his cousin’s request. “There…my eyes are closed…now what?”
Taking Ollie’s hand, Theo murmured, “Come with me.” He slowly walked both of them forward until the meadow surrounded them. “You can open your eyes now.”
The sunlight that shone into his eyes nearly blinded Ollie.
Several moments and a few blinks passed before he could clearly see the beauty of his surroundings.
Scanning the meadow, he saw bees swarming in abundance, buzzing from flower to flower, gathering nectar to make honey and, in that instant, he understood why Theo had brought him there.
It was a mirror copy of the meadow where he and his cousin had spent many hours during their summers together when he’d stayed with his aunt and uncle.
“Oh wow!” he murmured, inhaling the sweet smell of wildflowers. “I can’t believe it…”
“I know,” Theo said, grinning. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“That’s an understatement for sure…” Ollie’s voice trailed off, his eyes fixed on the beauty before him. It took several moments before his gaze landed on a structure in the middle of the meadow. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing.
Following Ollie’s gaze, Theo grinned when he spotted the gazebo, its slender white aspen limbs almost glowing in the morning sun.
Glancing quickly at Ollie, he said, “Our friends initially built this for Norm and my wedding, but now that Smokey is also our mate, it’s where the three of us will say our vows. ”
“You are going to be married here…in the meadow?”
Nodding, Theo replied, “Yeah, once we showed Ki, he was ecstatic about it. The meadow means a lot to me since it’s where Norm and I proposed to Smokey and …”
Ollie waited for Theo to finish his sentence, but when he said nothing else, he asked, “And…what?”
“Nothing,” Theo said. Then, tugging on his cousin’s arm, he said, “C’mon…you have to see it up close. Ki’s gonna cover it with pale blue and white flowers along with some ivy and moss.”
“Ki?” asked Ollie, walking alongside his cousin.
“That’s what I call him, but his name is Kieran. He’s my best friend, and I can’t wait until you meet him.” Entering the gazebo, he plopped down on the grass and gestured for his cousin to join him. “Ki’s in Scotland right now, but he’ll be back soon.”
“What’s he doing in Scotland?” asked Ollie, sitting down facing his cousin.
“Visiting friends,” Theo answered, unwilling to be more specific, which bothered him.
Ollie was his cousin and mated to Mac, so that made him a member of the Blackwood Pack.
But his bear wasn’t happy, and it clearly had to do with Ollie, though he couldn’t figure out what, exactly, his bear was upset about.
Not knowing made him uneasy, and he wished Norm was there to help him figure it out.
“When’s the wedding?” Ollie asked.
“We decided to wait until the cub was born,” Theo said.
“Why not before?”
Shrugging, Theo glanced away for a moment before looking back at his cousin. “What do you know about pregnancy in Ghost Bears?” he asked softly.
“Not much…just that it’s very rare for it to happen before the age of twenty-five.”
“Oh…Ian said the same thing.”
“Did he tell you it’s high risk?” asked Ollie, quietly.
Nodding, Theo said, “He did… but I didn’t care because I knew it would be fine. My mates are more worried than I am, but I guess that’s what Alphas do…worry about everything.”
Chuckling, Ollie said, “That’s certainly true from everything I’ve seen…especially when their mates go into labor.”
Rolling his eyes, Theo exclaimed, “No kidding! I’m pretty sure Norm will be okay, but I know Smokey won’t.” Then, growing serious, he asked, “Are you gonna stay here now?”
Pausing for a moment, Ollie replied, “It depends…Mac and I haven’t talked about it, but we might have to leave.”
“Because of your job?”
“Yeah…and other things.”
“Oh,” Theo murmured dejectedly. “I was hoping you could stay until my wedding so you could walk me down the aisle. Dad had promised me he would, but…oh, never mind.” Feeling stupid for even bringing up the subject, Theo lay down and stared at the vivid blue sky peeking through the gazebo’s arching aspen branches.
“Don’t do that,” Ollie said firmly, but softly, staring intently at his cousin.
“Do what?” Theo murmured, keeping his gaze upward.
“You start to say something but then you stop. You’ve done that several times this morning already.”
“Oh…that,” Theo muttered. Then rolling over on his side, he studied Ollie, searching for what he wasn’t sure. Maybe for a clue why his bear was unhappy, or maybe it was…“Why did you come here?” he asked.
“I told you last night…why?”
“Did you talk to my parents first?”
Shaking his head, Ollie said, “No, I swear.”
“Why not? Weren’t you curious why they gave me to Arald? Didn’t you want to know what terrible thing I did to make them do that?” Theo asked softly before rolling onto his back.
“You are incapable of doing anything bad, Theodore,” Ollie said.
“If that’s true, then my parents must have just stopped loving me.”
“No! That’s impossible!”
Sitting up quickly, Theo looked at his cousin angrily.
“Then tell me why they sent me to that awful place. I didn’t do anything to deserve it!
And even if I had, they could have just told me to leave.
Norm would’ve gone with me. We were…are Fated Mates, and he promised he would always take care of me.
Instead, they joined forces with Norm’s parents and sent us both away…
like we were guilty of some unspeakable crime! ”
Theo closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, tears began to flow.
“Ollie, I sat in that cell, day after day, waiting for them to come for me…to tell me it was all a mistake…that they didn’t mean it…
to explain why they did it. Every day, my hope grew dimmer, and when I finally accepted that they weren’t coming…
it nearly killed me. Only Norm and Kieran kept me alive…
for three long years. When Cody and Dylon rescued us, they gave us the choice of going back home, but Kieran put his foot down and told them it was impossible, so they offered us a home at the Blackwood Pack.
Norm and I accepted—at least we knew we’d be safe here…
something I’d never have felt if we had gone home. ”
Ollie sat quietly, but his emotions churned within him at the pain he heard in his cousin’s voice, yet there was something more—a longing that Theo was trying to hide. “But what if you could…go home…and be safe there? Would you want to?” he asked softly.
Staring at Ollie, Theo opened his mouth and then snapped it shut.
Jumping up, he stalked out of the gazebo and over to a huge, old, fallen log in the meadow.
Breathing heavily, he gazed down at the wildflowers that dotted the field, reminding him of the ones at home—the ones he missed.
He’d given up ever seeing them again, but his cousin had asked him a question.
Do I want to go home? Theo reached down and cupped one flower, his eyes studying the petals and color.
It differed from the flowers at home and yet was still very much the same, at least in his mind.
Snapping the stem, he raised the flower to his nose, inhaling the sweet scent, but even that didn’t smell like the ones at home.
He twirled the stem between his fingers and watched the blur of the petals as they flew around.
It reminded him of the many hours he’d lain in the meadow at home with dreams of a bright future filling his mind.
A fated mate was always part of it, especially after the stories his parents had told him about them.