“Hmm…I know just the perfect spot.” Oracle smiled. “Follow me.”
It took a moment before Smokey realized the oracle had quietly slipped into the woods surrounding the pack house. Giving a quick look, he searched for the enforcers who’d been there before, but finding none he followed her. It was a different path than the one he’d used, but it had the same effect on his bear. Now settled down, his animal was easier to control and for that he was thankful.
Surveying the place the oracle had led him to, its tranquility began to calm his anxiety, exactly what his soul needed. Returning his gaze to her, he nodded at her gesture, sitting down next to her on an old fallen log. Then he waited.
“I think this could very well be my favorite place,” Oracle said, waving at the meadow surrounding them. “When my son Steel bought this land, I was upset. It was on the other side of the world from where we lived and I dreaded the thought of him being so far from home…which was silly since he had moved out many years before.”
“Yeah…” Smokey chuckled, “…my ma always felt the same way. When I was twelve, she made me promise I wouldn’t leave home until I was thirty.” Smokey’s chuckle at his mother’s demand turned to a hoarse cough when the memory of her death reminded him it hadn’t mattered in the end. She was the one to leave him. Wanting to forget that part of his life, he gestured at the gazebo framed with slender, white, Aspen limbs. “Left over from a party?”
Smiling, Oracle shook her head. “Kieran did that. Theo and Norm are his best friends and they asked him to help plan their wedding. As I understand it, that is where they will say their vows.”
Smokey’s gut clenched and he shifted in his seat at the mention of his mates’ wedding. Looking away, he pushed it out of his mind, refusing to be the one standing in their way. “What’s the message?”
“You mean from the Fates?” Oracle asked.
“Yeah…just tell me so I can get going.”
Ignoring his demand, Oracle asked, “Why are you keeping your identity a secret?”
Turning around, Smokey stared at Oracle, before a bark of laughter erupted. “My grandfather warned me about you…said he never could get a straight answer from you.”
Smiling, Oracle replied, “Not true…he just had to believe.”
“Okay…I’ll bite. What didn’t he believe in?”
“You…and your importance to the paranormal world.”
Shaking his head vigorously, Smokey growled. “You’re wrong…he did believe in me…even more than my parents.”
“I agree…he did a wonderful job teaching you about your abilities, but he refused to finish the job, leaving you unprepared for what is coming.”
Looking skeptically at the oracle, Smokey contemplated her cryptic claim before rejecting it. He didn’t know what her game was but he wasn’t gonna play it. Returning to her initial request, he growled, “What message do you have about my mates?”
Oracle looked him in the eye, her voice devoid of all emotion. “Theo and Norm will die unless you claim them as your mates.”
Stunned, all Smokey could do was to stare at Oracle while his mind tried to comprehend the message.My mates die?Finally, shaking his head in disbelief, he growled, “Bullshit! Won’t happen.”
“Are you willing to take that risk?” asked Oracle softly. “Theo and Norm are your mates and they need you just as much as you need them.”
Pain sliced through Smokey as the image of his dead mates firmly took hold in his mind. Closing his eyes, he stood and called for his bear spirit, demanding to speak to him. At first, his bear refused to cooperate but when Smokey stood firm, his bear reluctantly gave in. When his bear spirit finally appeared, Smokey was shocked at his condition. The powerful spirit Smokey was used to seeing was gone; instead a weak and faint version faced him.
Stumbling back in shock, Smokey could only gape at his bear spirit as the truth of what was happening to him—and his mates—became clear. Not only would Theo and Norm die, but so would their cub, along with himself, if he went through with his plan to leave. He couldn’t do it…hewouldn’tdo it. Sighing, Smokey dismissed his bear spirit, finally realizing there was only one path forward that would guarantee the survival of them all.
Opening his eyes, he found the oracle’s eyes on him, her worry and concern clearly reflected in them. “Norm won’t accept me.”
“He will, because he needs you.”
Smokey scoffed. “That’s why he won’t…”
“Give him a chance…I think you will be surprised.”
Smokey turned away, gazing across the meadow.Give them a chance…advice from his grandfather he’d heard throughout his childhood but, as time had proven, never worked out. The pain of rejection had made him into a loner—someone who acquiesced to what life had given him until Kevin came along and sought to be his friend. It changed him in a way he never realized until he saved Glenn on a mission, not even thinking twice about the danger to himself. They bonded over their narrow escape with death and their relationship grew fast and deep. Finally, he understood the gift Kevin’s friendship had given him; the ability to not judge others too quickly and, yes, to give them a chance. Because the stakes were so high, he had to make things right with his mates and they with him. Rejections by any of them were not an option.
Rising, Oracle glided over to Smokey and touched his shoulder. “He will not reject you…and neither will Theo.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Ignoring the question, Oracle stepped in front of Smokey, so she’d be able to see his reaction to her next words. “Your mates are in danger…only they do not know it. Norm can sense it and if they are to be saved, they will need your help. Otherwise…”
