“He fired me,” Mac said. “Told me I wasn’t Theo’s doctor anymore.”
Jackson sat there stunned. He was sorely mistaken if he thought the worst thing was Norm assuming Smokey was guilty of causing Theo’s distress.Dammit, when will I learn not to make assumptions!Rubbing his hand over his face, Jackson thought through the options available to him and they weren’t good.
“Do you want me to see if Ian will take over?” asked Mac.
“No…at least not yet. Ian and Colton have three new pups to take care of and one of the reasons you’re here is to give them time with them.”
“Do you want me to talk to Norm?” asked Steel.
“If anyone should, I should be the one,” Smokey growled. “After all, I am their mate.”
“Somehow, I don’t think that matters to Norm right now,” Jackson replied. “The cub is his, so that makes it Norm’s responsibility…as he sees it.”
“I agree with Jackson,” Mac said. “Norm feels he’s already lost his mate. If it appeared to him you were trying to take his cub too…well…”
“I never said I was going to do that,” Smokey protested. “All I want to do is…”
Waving his hand in agreement, Jackson said, “I know that, Smokey, but right now I doubt very much Norm would see it that way. Look at it from his point of view…up until two hours ago, Norm and Theo were happy when they found out Theo was expecting. It was their first chance at having a real family after their parents gave them to Arald. And while Theo made no secret of his wish to have cubs, Norm kept his feelings close to his vest, other than agreeing he wanted them.
“But hidden away inside him, was the need to replace what Theo had lost when they ended up locked in cells, stripped from the only lives they’d known. According to Kieran, Norm never took the time to grieve for what he’d also lost because he immediately took responsibility for Theo. From the moment they woke up to their new reality, Norm was always there for Theo, above all else.”
Listening to Jackson’s explanation, the first tendrils of doubt at what the Fates had done began to wind themselves around Smokey’s heart.Who am I to interfere with the hard fought-for happiness Theo and Norm finally found? And why the hell are the Fates playing with people’s lives?Theo and Norm deserve better and if the Fates won’t do it, then I will.Rising from his chair, Smokey said, “I’m needed back in LA…uhm, there’s a situation…” Turning quickly, he left Jackson’s study unable to finish his thought, distracted by his bear’s howls of grief echoing in his ears.
“What the fuck?” Steel growled. “Did that asshole just walk out on his mates…right when they need him the most?”
“Smokey is sacrificing his happiness for Theo and Norm’s,” Jackson murmured. “He thinks if he’s out of the picture, then Theo and Norm’s life together can go on just the way it was before he showed up.”
Mac shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way. Theo and Norm’s bears know they have another mate and until they’re all together, happiness will not be possible…for any of them. Dammit! That stress will have an adverse effect on Theo’s pregnancy and most likely…”
“He’ll lose the cub,” Jackson whispered when Mac was unable to voice the words out loud.
~/~/~/~/~
Standing next to the SUV, Smokey couldn’t force his fingers to open the door so he could get in. It seemed his bear had decided to throw a tantrum at his decision to leave. Unable to fight his agitated animal anymore, his head fell forward and he rested his forehead against the car. Closing his eyes in frustration, his mind sought a solution to the current standoff between him and his bear, never hearing the front door of the pack house open.
“Lord Manetu.” Oracle waited, but when there was no response, she hurried down the steps and over to Smokey. Laying her hand on his forearm, she repeated his name. “Lord Manetu, please, we must talk…I have a message from the Fates for you.”
It was the coolness of her fingers on him that caught Smokey’s attention. Lifting his head, he caught his breath at the sight of a stunningly beautiful woman with long silver hair falling in layers around her face highlighting sculptured cheekbones and soft lips. Her ice-green eyes pinned him in place as she waited for him to answer. He said the first thing that came to mind. “My grandfather told me about your kind…what does an oracle want with me?”
“Your grandfather was a very good man,” Oracle replied, softly.
Nodding in agreement, Smokey wondered if his grandfather had met this oracle as his description had matched perfectly with the one before him. “How did you come to know him?”
“He came to see me, seeking audience with the Fates when you were born.”
“Why?”
“I believe he wanted to verify who you were, Lord Manetu.”
Exhaling, Smokey raised his eyes to the sky, wondering if his grandfather was having a good laugh at his expense. He’d spent many years avoiding his destiny, certain he’d succeeded when those who knew who he really was had died. But it seems he’d failed—this oracle knew and that probably meant others did, too. He took a step back, mumbling, “I gotta go.”
“Please…hear me out first,” Oracle urged. “It is about Theo…and Norm. Please.”
Smokey’s bear howled in pain at the mention of his mates, forcing Smokey to stop in his tracks. Deciding not to mate with Theo and Norm was one thing, but knowingly hurting his animal by refusing to listen to the oracle was something he couldn’t do, especially since he sensed what was coming. Sighing, he reluctantly nodded. “But not here.”
“Is there a location you would prefer?” asked Oracle.
Smokey shook his head. “Not really…just not here where anyone can hear us.”
