“In a manner of speaking, but there was one difference,” Oracle said, softly. “Artur acted out of love, truly believing he was fulfilling his promise to Jean-Luc to keep their son safe which, in the end, caused Alex a lot of pain. He grew up believing his parents had abandoned him. It almost cost Alex a Fated Mate when he first rejected Sawyer, afraid to chance being tossed aside by another person in his life.”
“Is he happy now?” asked Quin.
“Yes, I believe so,” Oracle said.
Frowning, Fionn had heard enough. As hard as he tried to imagine it, surviving his childhood without his mother would have been impossible. Snorting softly, he knew he’d barely made it after she died—which brought up another question. “Why didn’t my father save my mother? He certainly had the means to.”
“When Eideard learned of your mother’s illness, he saw an opportunity to seize her hoard. I do not know if you remember, but your uncle visited when she first became ill.”
“Faintly. My mother asked me to stay in my bedroom while she spoke to him,” Fionn said.
“After his visit, he persuaded your father it would be best if your mother were to die, freeing Artur to remarry a young, healthy, female dragon who would give him an heir who was not sickly, like Fionn, or a freak like Alex. By this time, Artur’s mind had already begun to lose its grip on reality.
“Eideard took advantage of this. He found a young, female dragon who was willing to mate with Artur and, in return, would receive your mother’s hoard when she died. What Artur did not know about was the secret agreement between his brother and the female dragon.”
“Which was?” asked Hunter.
“She would turn over the majority of the hoard to Eideard,” Oracle said.
“Why would she ever agree to that?” asked Fionn.
“Because Eideard told her Artur was dying, so she would be inheriting his hoard quickly, rather than waiting years for it”
“But wait,” Logan said, “that doesn’t make any sense. Fionn would have had first claim to his father’s estate.”
“True…but the female dragon did not know about Fionn. In the meantime, Eideard was giving his brother an ultimatum: Either Artur named him as sole heir or he would tell the Dragon Council about Alex.”
“Oh what a tangled web we weave…” Kieran murmured.
“…when first we practice to deceive,” Logan said, finishing the quote.
“Any guilt I felt about killing Eideard is certainly gone,” growled Hunter. “That fucking asshole was responsible for the death of my mate’s mother and almost killed my mate, not to mention what he did to Alex.”
“What about my cousin, Niall?” asked Fionn. “Did he know what his father was doing?”
“My guess is yes, pet,” Hunter murmured.
“Unfortunately, that is correct,” Oracle said. “Your uncle promised his son Artur’s businesses.”
“They were truly evil,” Logan murmured.
Fionn agreed, but it didn’t help him figure out what to do about his brother. If anything, it only made him more wary of letting anyone get close to him again, other than his mate and friends, all of whom had proven they could be trusted. His brother, on the other hand, was an unknown entity. He looked at Oracle. “I appreciate knowing what happened but it doesn’t change my feelings about my father. I can’t just suddenly forgive and forget his treatment of me, especially after his multiple attempts on my life. And that leads me to wonder how Alex can fit into my life, now.” Fionn shrugged, before saying. “I honestly don’t know, except it’s not fair to blame him for the actions of my father…actions Alex had no knowledge of or say in.”
Hunter knew his mate was overwhelmed by the agonizing choice facing him. “Pet,” he murmured, “no decision has to be made now. You have a lot to process, so give it some time.”
“Hunt’s right,” said Logan. “No one expects you to decide about Alex today.”
“May I make a suggestion?” asked Quin.
“Please,” Fionn said, “I need all the help I can get.”
“Instead of thinking of it as an all-or-nothing decision, approach it by taking tiny steps.”
“That’s a great idea, Q,” Kieran said.
Frowning, Fionn asked, “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Quin said, “maybe first think about how it would be to have a brother and whether you want one. I can tell you from experience, I’m very glad I have five of them, but that’s just me.”
