Norm saw Theo’s face and knew the cause. Before Theo could respond, he jumped in, changing the subject. “Where do you live, Smokey…I mean before you came here?”
Smokey also caught Theo’s reaction to his question and figured out quickly what Norm was trying to do. “Down in…”
“Wait a minute,” Theo said, softly. While he appreciated Norm’s attempt to save him from his painful past, he realized it wasn’t right—not if his plan was going to succeed. Glancing at Norm, he murmured, “Thanks pooh bear but Smokey needs to hear this so he can understand.”
“No I don’t…not if it’s gonna cause you pain,” Smokey muttered.
“Honey bunch, you heard Smokey…you don’t have to tell him,” Norm said, patting Theo’s knee.
“But I want to,” Theo replied, his voice filled with emotion. “It’s important…otherwise how will he ever know me.”
“Shh, Shining Star,” Smokey crooned, joining his hand with Norm’s upon Theo’s knee. “I already know everything about you I need to know.”
Dashing the wetness from his eyes, Theo first looked at Norm, then Smokey, seeing feelings for him on both their faces. Placing a hand over his heart, he felt the hurt he carried ebb away, making room for his mates’ love. Gone was the pain of his parents’ deception. Gone were the years spent locked up; his love for Smokey had melded together with the love he had for Norm. Smiling through his tears, he lowered his other hand on top of his mates’, squeezing them. And when they looked up at him, he whispered, “I love you both so much!”
Chapter 30
Stunned, Smokey stared at the mate whose words electrified the air between them. They were the words he’d longed to hear but never thought he would, especially so soon after finding Theo. And then, before he could tell of the love he felt for both his mates, the ugly truth of who he was blocked everything in his mind. Unable to stay any longer, Smokey abruptly stood up, closing his eyes to avoid seeing the confusion and hurt in Theo’s face.
Oracle was wrong. The Fates were wrong. Theo and Norm deserved someone better than he, but if Oracle was right, his mates would die if he left them. Frustrated, he stalked off into the meadow, stopping only when his bear roared angrily at leaving their mates behind. When the reality of the situation hit him, Smokey cursed. There were no choices, not when his mates already owned his heart, not when his bear had already bonded with Theo’s and Norm’s. He could only hope that when they learned who he was, he wouldn’t be rejected yet again. He doubted his heart could take it if they did.
Startled by Smokey’s reaction to his declaration of love, Theo’s eyes followed his mate until he stopped. He waited, hoping Smokey would come back, but nothing happened. That’s when he realized something was very wrong and he needed help to fix it. Turning his gaze from Smokey’s broad, muscled back, Theo looked over at Norm, sending him a silent plea for help that was impossible for his mate to ignore.
Rising, Norm brushed the crumbs off his shirt, gave Theo a reassuring smile and then, leaving the gazebo, headed over to his grizzly mate, pondering the best approach without giving away his bear’s mind link with Smokey’s bear. He wasn’t hiding it, actually, it was more like there hadn’t yet been an opportunity to tell Smokey—at least not one he’d taken advantage of. His hesitation stemmed from his fear of what Smokey’s reaction would be when he found out, especially if he looked at it as an invasion of his privacy. If that happened, Norm wanted to make sure Jackson and not Theo was with them so that the Alpha could protect him from an angry grizzly.
Approaching Smokey from behind, Norm stopped at his side and placed his hand on the grizzly’s lower back, letting it rest there for a moment before whispering, “Please, come back.”
Smokey glanced sideways, meeting Norm’s gaze and found only compassion there. Once again, he was touched by his mate’s selflessness and it gave him hope. “There’s something…” he murmured, then stopped, knowing Theo needed to hear him too.
Norm understood at once. “Smokey…you aren’t the only one…we all have secrets that need to be brought out of the darkness… it’ll be hard, sure, but we have to do it.”
His mate was right. They deserved to know everything, but just the thought of what the possible consequences could be struck fear inside of him—a fear so real, so deep—it nearly split Smokey in half. And that was a feeling he’d never experienced before in his life, even during his years working for the agency when life and death situations were common.
Looking back on those tumultuous years, he now realized they were a piece of cake compared to what was facing him now. A full body shiver ran through him at what Norm was asking him to do—the one thing he swore to his grandfather never to reveal. Sighing, he nodded. Taking the hand Norm offered him, Smokey walked reluctantly back to the gazebo. The time had come to break his vow.
~/~/~/~/~
“I don’t understand any of this,” Lucius said, looking down at the letter in his hand. “I was dozing in your library and suddenly I’m here… wherever here is.” Looking up, he scanned his surroundings before turning his attention back to Vasile. He still couldn’t believe it; one minute he was sleeping and the next he was in Vasile’s arms as they sped away from the coven house. “Tell me again…why did we have to leave?”
“Because a witch broke into my home,” Vasile replied.
“How can that happen?” asked Lucius. “I still don’t know a lot about the paranormal world, but even I know witches don’t do that kind of stuff.”
“Exactly the point,” Vasile huffed. “It has never occurred before because there are laws in place to prevent such incursions between the vampire and magic worlds. If a magic user wants to visit a vampire at his coven, there are protocols that must be observed. Showing up at my front door with no warning is definitely not acceptable.”
“Do all magic users know this?” asked Lucius. “Maybe the witch is new and doesn’t know the rules?”
“Not possible,” Vasile answered. “But even if one were to believe that remote possibility, why would she break into my home? Why not wait to be invited in?”
“I don’t know,” replied Lucius, now puzzled. “Maybe someone was chasing her and she thought she was safer inside than standing outside waiting to be invited in.”
“Lucius,” Vasile said softly, “she came for you. That’s why we left…I promised Brady I would get you to safety if you were in any danger.”
In his heart, Lucius knew it was true but his mind was finding it hard to accept he was being hunted. Reading Brady’s letter again, he no longer could deny the reality of his situation. Even though his master was dead, there were still others who wanted him. Brushing a lone tear away, he looked up at Vasile. “Why me? Why can’t they leave me alone? Don’t I deserve some happiness? My whole life was taken from me against my will and now…and now…when I finally find my fated mate, some stupid witch wants to take me from him.”
“The answers to your questions will reveal themselves in time,” Vasile said softly. “But I swear I’m going to do everything in my power to prevent harm from happening to you…and so is Brady…and Mystia…and a whole lot of other people. You aren’t alone anymore,trayhor.”
Relief flooded Lucius at Vasile’s promise. He wasn’t sure exactly what the vampire could do to prevent him being kidnapped, but at least there was someone he could count on until Brady returned. “That helps…me…a lot,” he said, hesitantly.
