“Shit, why didn’t someone tell me this?” muttered Zane.
“Don’t beat yourself up Zane,” Carson said. “The good thing is Lucius took Brady with him.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Dylon.
“Because right now, Lucius only trusts Brady,” Carson replied.
“So once Brady finds out what triggered his mate’s need to disappear…” Dylon began.
“He can convince Lucius that Zane is not a threat,” Carson finished.
Nodding, Dylon said, “Let’s hope he does it quickly.”
~/~/~/~/~
Before either of Alex’s mates could raise a hand to knock, the chateau door swung open revealing Fionn and Hunter. “Hey, you beat us to it,” Alex laughed.
“I thought you might have changed your mind about joining us,” Fionn said. “My mate said ‘no’, but you were standing outside the door for so long…”
“My mates were debating whether or not they would be wowed,” Alex replied, giving his brother a hug before walking into the entry hall. He stopped mid-step, stunned by the grandeur of it. “Holy moley…you weren’t kiddin’ about being wowed!”
Laughing at Alex’s reaction, Fionn said, “That was my first reaction, too. It was such a contrast to where I lived with my mother in Scotland.”
Turning to look at Fionn, Alex searched his brother’s face, looking for any signs of pain at that memory. When he found none, he grinned in return and said, “And from my room at the boarding school.”
“C’mon, Quin and Kieran are waiting for us in the dining room,
Fionn said, taking his brother’s hand. “As I suspected, Q is on pins and needles, worrying about whether you’ll like what he did…news flash…you will.”
“I haven’t met either of them yet,” Alex murmured. “They were gone when we arrived at the Blackwood Pack house.”
“Quin’s the youngest brother of my mate and yours. He’s so sweet…wait until I tell you what he did when I met Hunter,” Fionn said. “He’s a total romantic!”
“I was doing just fine without his help,” growled Hunter from behind them.
Ignoring his mate, Fionn continued. “I didn’t know any of what he planned but Ki, Theo, and Norman decided to…”
Spying the group approaching, Kieran rushed up, wrapping Alex in a bear hug. Then stepping back, he took hold of Alex’s hands, smiling at him. “Oh my gods, you’re finally here, hi I’m Kieran but you can call me Ki…Logan’s my mate and he’s Sawyer’s cousin so now you are my cousin just like Fionn is…isn’t it great? My pup has such a big family and to think I was all alone…well notallalone because I did have Theo and Norm but they were both locked up so it wasn’t like we could be together like we can now, but they were still my family…duh…I guess I wasn’t alone, but never mind. All that matters is my pup is gonna have lots of family.” Pausing for a second, Kieran tilted his head, listening to what his spirit was telling him. Then a giant grin split his face. “And I’m gonna be an cousin to your cub!”
Alex couldn’t help but grin at Kieran’s ebullient personality. “Nice to meet you, cuz! One can never have enough family, right Fionn?”
Not wanting to disagree with his brother, Fionn ignored the question, instead asking “Is Q ready to wow my brother?”
“See for yourself,” Kieran replied, pushing open the heavy, dining room door.
