Chapter 25
Staring at the spot where his mate had disappeared, Hunter clenched and unclenched his fists, fighting his wolf who was snarling at him for letting Fionn go without him.
He understood his wolf’s anxiety because he felt the same way.
In his gut, though, he knew he needed to give his mate a semblance of independence, but that didn’t mean he liked it or that it was easy.
Unable to remain still, Hunter rose and started pacing, avoiding the place where the portal had appeared.
Each moment his mate was gone felt like forever and the only thing keeping his wolf under control was the knowledge no one but Fionn could go to his hoard.
Deep in thought, Hunter didn’t hear the knocking on their door until someone called out Fionn’s name. Striding over, he pulled the door open, frowning at the two bear shifters. “What do you want?” Hunter growled.
Norm quickly shoved Theo behind him. Then, holding up their friend’s backpack, he said, “We’re looking for Fi. Can you tell him we’re here?”
“He’s not here.”
“Where is he?” asked Norm.
Peering around his fiancé’s shoulder, Theo said, “He has to be here because he asked me to bring his backpack to him.”
“He’s at his hoard,” Hunter said, grabbing the pack from Norm. “I’ll let him know you were here…oh, and thanks.” Shutting the door, Hunter tossed the backpack on their bed, resuming his pacing, trying not to think about how long Fionn had been gone.
~/~/~/~/~
It was taking Fionn longer than he thought it would, but he finally located two matching gold rings that were the right size.
Lifting his shirt, he held them up to his nipples, admiring himself in a mirror.
Smiling, he couldn’t wait until he was wearing them.
A fantasy of mine comes to life. Lowering his shirt, he called for the portal, walked in…
and out into his mate’s bedroom where he found a very agitated Hunter pacing, causing a shiver of fear to run through his body. “Mate, is everything all right?”
Turning at the sound of Fionn’s voice, Hunter rushed to him, giving his mate the once-over to make sure he wasn’t hurt. Sighing in relief, Hunter replied, “I’m fine. Did you find the rings?”
Extending his right hand, Fionn opened his fist to reveal two gold rings. “Sorry it took so long, but you can’t believe how many rings I have; these should be the right size.
Selecting one of them, Hunter held it up to his mate’s chest. “Perfect. Do you want to see if Ian’s available now or do you want to do it later?”
“Now, please, if you don’t mind.”
“Now it is.” Handing the ring back to Fionn, Hunter grinned. “Do you know where the hospital is?”
“All the way downstairs according to Ki.”
“Hmm…well, hopefully there’ll be someone who can point us in the right direction if we get lost.”
Giggling, Fionn said, “Maybe Jackson should hand out a map of the pack house when someone new joins.”
“Good idea. Let’s go and get your nipples pierced.”
~/~/~/~/~
“Fi went to his hoard again!” Theo exclaimed, wringing his hands in distress as he looked up into a tree where Quin was hanging jar lights.
“Oh, no! What happened?”
“I don’t know! Fi asked me to bring his backpack to Hunter’s room and when I got there, Hunter answered the door and told me Fi was at his hoard.”
“Did my brother say why?”
“No, but he was frowning,” Theo said.
“Darn it! I just knew my brother would mess up. Now what should we do?”
“Maybe Ki can help us,” Theo said. “Oh shoot. Ki and Logan went to see Ian.”
“Oh, my goodness, there isn’t anything wrong with his pup, is there?” asked Quin.
“I never thought of that. Ki just told me he’d be out to help us as soon as they were finished. That doesn’t sound like Ian had bad news,” Theo said.
Appearing in the clearing, pushing a cart laden with tables and chairs, Norm asked Theo, “Where do you want these set up, honeybunch?”
“Right under the hanging candles, pooh bear,” Theo said, as he helped Quin down from the tree. After Norm had set the table and chairs in place, Theo tilted his head, appraising the setup, before saying, “We need flowers and a tablecloth.”
“I’ll do the flowers,” volunteered Quin.
“And I’ll ask Kota for a tablecloth,” Theo said. “What about Robin? Is the love song ready?”
“He promised me it would be,” Quin grinned, holding up his crossed fingers.
“Ohhhh, this is going to be fabulous!” squealed Theo. “I have to get back to the kitchen but pooh bear, would you go with Quin to get the flowers? We need lots of them.”
“No problemo, honeybunch.” Giving his fiancé a quick kiss, Norm left with Quin.
~/~/~/~/~
Back in their room, Hunter stood in front of Fionn. “Let me see them, pet.”
Staring at the heat in his mate’s eyes, Fionn slowly lifted his shirt, unveiling his nipple rings.
He could feel his dragon’s fire rushing through his veins, intensifying the effect of the rings.
The constant friction between his shirt and the rings sent shivers of arousal down to his groin, keeping him needy.
“Gorgeous, just fucking gorgeous,” Hunter growled, lightly circling his fingertip around one.
Moaning at the sensuous touch, Fionn closed his eyes, his body leaning into Hunter, drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
He could no longer remember why he’d been so reluctant to claim his mate.
His world finally felt right. The Fates gave him exactly what he needed.
Someone who made him feel secure; protected, but not overpowered or under someone’s control.
And even though Hunter hadn’t said it, Fionn knew his mate loved him—completely and unconditionally—just as his mother said he would.
All of it causing Fionn to realize he’d begun to trust Hunter—something he’d never thought possible just a few days ago.
“Pet, your phone is ringing.” Hunter lowered his hand to Fionn’s hip, steadying his mate.
Whimpering at the loss of his mate’s touch on his nipple, Fionn thrust his hips forward, making contact with Hunter’s cock. “Oh, fuck, yes!”
Stilling Fionn’s movements, Hunter growled, “Phone…someone’s calling you, my pet.”
Snarling at the interruption, fire shot from Fionn’s mouth, hitting Hunter’s chest, igniting his mate’s t-shirt. Aghast, he quickly placed his hands over the flames, smothering them before looking up at his mate. “Oh fuck, I’m so sorry, so very sorry!”
Laughing at the mishap, Hunter covered Fionn’s hands with his, before lifting them off and seeing the charred hole in the front of his shirt. “Pet, look…no harm done.”
Squinting at his mate’s chest, Fionn found Hunter’s skin reddened. “Oh, no, I burned you!”
“Nope, not even close, but…is this something your dragon does often?”
“Fuck, no! Well, not often…usually only when we have intense feelings. I better work on controlling him more now, since I have a mate. I’m really sorry.”
“Maybe next time we should turn your phone off,” chuckled Hunter, removing his wrecked shirt and tossing it into the hamper. “Who called you?”
Checking his phone, Fionn groaned. “It’s Penn. I better call him back.”
“Penn? The attorney handling the probate of your father’s estate?”
“Yeah.” Hitting redial, Fionn grimaced as he put it on speaker. “Hi Penn.”
“Congratulations on your mating, Fionn. I’ll make this brief. The final hearing regarding distribution of your father’s assets is scheduled for the day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Be sure to bring your mate because his rights supersede your uncle’s rights. Not saying he’ll pull anything but best to be prepared.”
“Hi Penn, I’m Hunter, Fionn’s mate. What can Fionn’s uncle do at this late date? Haven’t all the claims against the estate already been submitted?”
“The deadline for filing claims has passed,” Penn answered, “but the judge can always allow a late one if there’s a good enough reason for it.”
“Got it.”
“Thanks Penn, We’ll be there,” Fionn said, ending the call. Throwing his phone down on the bed, continued, “I can’t wait for this to be over so I never have to see my uncle again. Of course, that only gives me another problem to deal with.”
Taking Fionn’s hand, Hunter led him over to the love seat, gently pushing him down on it before sitting next to him. “Tell me what you mean by ‘another problem’.”
Huffing, Fionn stared at the floor, thinking about the list he made back at his hoard about having a mate.
One point was having someone he could talk to who would always put him first. “My father owned a number of businesses…I’m not really sure what they do…
but now I own them…well, I will after the hearing.
But I don’t know what to do with them…except I know I don’t want to run any of them. ”
“Okay, so sell them.”
Jerking his head up, Fionn stared at his mate.
He was prepared for an endless litany of reasons why he was wrong.
“Just like that? You aren’t going to try to convince me I should run them?
Preserve my father’s legacy? Save them for my children?
Keep my father’s memory alive? You know, all the shit others tell you to do when they’re trying to guilt you into doing something you don’t want to do? ”
“Do you want me to ‘guilt’ you?” asked Hunter, smiling.
“Fuck no. I just didn’t expect you to tell me to sell them,” muttered Fionn.
“Pet, you said you didn’t want to run them so I’m assuming you aren’t interested in overseeing anyone else doing it.
If that’s how you feel, then the only logical choice left is to sell them.
As for the rest of those ‘reasons’…from what you’ve said, your father’s only legacy is you.
Children? Yeah, probably not going to happen, as far as I know, and I see no reason to keep alive the memory of an asshole who didn’t love you. ”
Grinning, Fionn rolled onto Hunter’s lap, straddling him and hooking his arms around his mate’s neck. “You. Are. The. Best. Mate. Ever!” Leaning in, he locked his lips to Hunter’s, moaning as he felt his mate’s hands playing with his nipple rings.