Chapter 14 #2
Steel watched as his parents climbed out of the helicopter, then, stepping off the porch he headed to help them with their luggage.
Receiving his father’s text a few moments ago, he followed its instructions to meet his parents by himself.
The unusual request had raised his curiosity as well as Jackson’s, but they’d have to wait to see the reason for it.
“Hi sweetie,” Oracle said, giving her son a hug and a kiss. “How’s Daniel?”
“Getting into trouble every day. I thought my son was supposed to be like me instead of my brother,” replied Steel, returning his mother’s hug.
“Daniel is like you, dear. Have you forgotten all the things you did in your childhood?”
“Uh-uh. You’re confusing me with Slate. He was trouble with a capital ‘T’.”
“You just keep thinking that, son.” Maximus laughed, embracing Steel.
“No…wait a minute. All the shenanigans were always Slate’s ideas and I was just trying to keep him under control,” replied Steel. Seeing his parents exchange smiles and knowing looks, he said, “Forgetting my trouble-making brother for a moment, why did you want to see me alone?”
“Don’t look so worried, son, your mother just wants to go to our suite without anyone seeing her,” Maximus said.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Steel blurted out, “Why?” Then realizing his mistake, he said, “Not important. Dad, you and Mom can enter your room through the French doors leading to your patio. Just follow that path. Everyone is still eating, so no one will see you. I’ll take care of your luggage and bring it to your room shortly.
Do you want a pot of tea and some toast? ”
“That would be great, son,” said Maximus. “Your mother and I ate breakfast at the hotel before we left but we could always use a cup of tea.” Taking Oracle’s hand, he then led her down the path Steel pointed out.
“It’s good to see you again, sir,” Robert, the pilot, said to Steel. “I’ll get the luggage.”
“C’mon, Robert, I’ll help you, and then get Mom and Dad their tea.”
~/~/~/~/~
Waiting for his muse to appear, Fionn stared at the blank piece of paper before him as he’d done since coming back from showering.
Finally, throwing his pencil down in disgust, he stood, too upset to draw; the bond with his mate had grown stronger when he went home to shower.
Now, all he could think of was his mate and his need to be near him.
It was driving his dragon crazy and Fionn wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep him from forcing a shift.
He was sure the cavern was big enough if he did shift but wondered if he’d able to force him to shift back; there wasn’t any way his dragon could use the portal and that would present a big problem. Stalking through his hoard, angry bursts of flames shot from his nose.
“Hi angel.”
Whipping around, Fionn’s mouth dropped open at the sight of his mother standing before him bathed in a white light. “Mum? What are you doing here? I didn’t call you.”
“No, angel, the gods sent me.”
“The gods? Really? How come? Oh crap, it’s because of my mate, right?”
“They can’t understand why you are here instead of with him.”
“What?” Fionn said, angrily. “You got to be kidding me! What am I supposed to do with a mate I never met before who isn’t even a dragon…and that reminds me…why didn’t you tell me about my white dragon? I had to find out from Kieran. Did my father know about my dragon?”
“No, angel, I kept that from him because I knew he’d force you to help him increase his wealth. As for not telling you, I’m sorry but I thought it best you didn’t know. I was afraid it would slip out one day and be used against you before you were protected.”
“You mean before I joined the Blackwood Pack, which I did, so why do I need a mate? Jackson and his brothers can protect me better than just any old wolf can.”
“Angel, while that’s true, they cannot give you the absolute love a mate can.”
“Love,” scoffed Fionn. “No thank you. I saw what father’s ‘love’ did to you.”
Fionn’s mother hung her head as sorrow washed over her, remembering what her son witnessed while growing up.
Raising her head, tears glistening in her eyes, she said, “Angel, that was not love. Your father bought me from my father when I was too young to protest and, when I came of age, he took me from my family, cutting off all ties to my mother who I loved with my whole heart. And while it wasn’t the life I dreamt about while I was growing up, I would gladly do it all again just to have you… the joy of my life.”
As Fionn listened to his mother’s revelation, he thought about the indignities she’d endured—bought by a cruel master to serve a life of slavery. “So he wasn’t your Fated Mate?”
“No, angel. I was just a business transaction to your father.”
“Why did my father want you for his wife if he didn’t love you?”
“For my bloodline. My mother’s family is a very old one in our world.”
Fionn sat down heavily in his chair of golden bars.
Finally, the relationship between his father and mother made sense.
Despite what must have been their intense dislike for each other, it was now clear to him why his mother never left his abusive father.
“You stayed because of me, didn’t you,” he said.
“No, I stayed because I loved you…and you needed me. Angel, don’t feel guilty. You were a blessed gift from the Fates, and you made me so very happy.”
Tears welled up and rolled down Fionn’s cheeks as he recalled his father’s cruelty to his mother, finally understanding the extraordinary sacrifices she’d made for him.