Reaching out, Vasile wrapped his arms around Lucius, hugging him tightly. “Trust metrayhor,everything will work out for you.” Then giving Lucius one last pat on his back, he added, “And I expect many dinner invitations once this mess is all behind us.”
Chuckling, Lucius wiped his face dry. “I’d like that…you’re the first friend I’ve had since becoming a vampire…I mean other than Brady but he’s my mate so I kinda put him in a different category.”
“As he should be,” Vasile said, smiling Then suddenly sensing danger was approaching, he knew it was time to leave. “Are you ready to transport us to the Blackwood Pack? I’m eager to meet their Alpha.”
~/~/~/~/~
Theo sent a grateful glance to Norm as Smokey resumed his place on the ground. Giving Smokey a moment to collect himself, Theo packed up the remainder of their dinner in the picnic basket, placing it to the side before moving closer to his mates. Then reaching out, he linked their hands until they formed a circle, squeezing them lightly. After making sure he had Smokey’s attention, Theo murmured, “No matter what is said tonight, I want you both to know it won’t affect the love I have for each of you. Pooh bear already knows this, but I thought you should hear it also, Smokey.”
“It’s the same for me,” Norm murmured. “Whatever the secrets we hear tonight, my love for you guys will not change.”
Nodding, Smokey swallowed several times, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat caused by his mates’ words. He wanted to keep them in his heart…to truly believe they were speaking the truth. There was only one way to find out. “My name is Gabriel Hamilton…but my friend Kevin called me Smokey when we first met and it stuck. My father was a California grizzly and my mother was an Eastern black bear shifter. They met when they were in college back east and after they graduated, he stayed and married my mother.”
“Why didn’t they live in California?” asked Theo.
“My father’s family refused to acknowledge the marriage…mainly because my mother wasn’t a grizzly. According to my grandfather, they thought my father was polluting their blood line by marrying someone who wasn’t like them.”
“Our Alpha thought the same way,” Norm muttered. “I heard him talking to my parents about it one night.”
Glancing at him, Smokey said, “Yeah…a lot of shifter species feel that way.”
“What happened when you were born a grizzly…did that change anything?” asked Theo.
Smokey snorted. “Short answer, no…but in reality it changed everything. We moved as far away from both families…up near the Arctic circle. It was the only place my mother’s father…my grandfather…deemed safe for me.”
Theo’s eyes widened. “Safe…for you…why? Did your father’s family try to take you away from your parents because you were a grizzly?”
Shaking his head, Smokey muttered, “No…they didn’t want anything to do with me because I wasn’t a pure blood grizzly.”
“If they weren’t the problem…then…” Theo mulled it over for a few seconds before it came to him. “Oh no, it was your mother’s family who didn’t accept you because you were a grizzly!”
“Nope…well yes but not because I was a grizzly, exactly,” Smokey said, pausing for a moment. The time had come to tell his mates the truth and hell if that didn’t scare the shit out of him. “Uhmm…I got…the…oh hell…I’m a Manetu…but not just a regular one…. I’m the head Manetu…well at least I’m supposed to be.”
Norm sensed Theo’s confusion which mirrored his. “What’s a Manetu?”
“Is that a new type of shifter?” asked Theo. “Is that why your grandfather didn’t think you were safe with your mother’s people?”
“Nope, trust me, I’m a California grizzly, Theo,” Smokey said, smiling.
“Manetu…Manetu…I’ve heard that term before,” Norm muttered, trying to recall where. “Isn’t it an Indian term?”
“You mean Indigenous people, don’t you?” asked Theo.
“I do,” Norm said, looking over at Smokey. “Sorry about that. Manetu was in an old book about Indians I read a long time ago. It was in the Alpha’s library.”
“Is that why you call Norm ‘Eagle Feather’?” asked Theo. “Because you are part…”
“Yeah…my mother’s family came from an ancient Indian tribe that lived in the Eastern part of North America long before it became a country. Even though the names are now more ceremonial than anything else, every member of the tribe still receives one. Names can be related to things like traits or behavior. In my culture, the eagle is revered for its bravery and strength, so an eagle’s feather is highly regarded.”
“Wow!” Theo exclaimed. “You certainly nailed it for Norm. Eagle Feather is absolutely perfect.”
“I agree,” Smokey said, grinning at Norm. “I’m very honored you’re my mate.”
Even if Norm had known what to say, it would have been of no consequence since Smokey’s explanation of the meaning of his name had left him speechless. Glancing at Smokey first, then Theo, he realized they were in agreement about the name for him. Shaking his head in denial, he finally found his voice. “I don’t know why you think I’m strong or brave, but I’m not. Ask Kieran…he knows how scared I was in Arald’s prison. And strong…no way. If it weren’t for Ki, I would have died. He’s the one that should be Eagle Feather…not me.”
Smokey’s grin faded from listening to Norm’s objections. His mate was wrong—he knew it and so did his bear but that would provide little solace for his mate. Searching Norm’s face, he found the reason behind his objections. Part of it was his youth, though there was also something else. And now he finally understood they all were carrying secrets that needed to be exposed. He wouldn’t push Norm, though—he’d wait until his mate was ready. In the meantime, there was something hecoulddo that might help Norm understand why Smokey picked that name for him.
“One of my grandfather’s lessons taught me the true meaning of words like bravery. He heard me call my friend ‘chicken’ when he refused to jump over a deep ravine. When I told him why I did it, he asked me to write down my definition of brave. When I finished, he read it, and began to ask me questions. For instance, did I think a mother was brave if she ran into a burning building to save her child? Of course, I did, that was simple. But my eyes needed to be opened wider. Throughout the afternoon he posed many other scenarios, all different, yet tied together with the common thread of bravery.
