“I agree. I’ll talk to Dylon…his father might be able to help us find out the names of prisoners admitted after a certain date.”
“Riley can get me that information,” Smokey offered.
“He works for Ghost…right?”
“Actually for Glenn.”
“Okay…good to know that there’s another option, but for now, I want to keep this in-house. And, Smokey?”
“Yeah?”
“Who and what Cain is stays between us…for now.”
“Sure…but my mates are gonna know.”
Grinning, Jackson said, “So you finished the claiming!”
“Yup…I claimed my two mates and they have claimed me and each other.”
“Congratulations!” Jackson replied.
“Thanks…and thanks for helping Theo and Norm with it.” Then he added, “Just so you know…I accepted.”
“Never doubted it for a moment,” Jackson said, grinning.
“What about my mates knowing about Cain?”
“It just means I’m gonna have to have the pack meeting sooner than later,” Jackson replied. “But would you ask them to keep quiet about him until I have the chance to talk to everyone about why I’ve chosen to accept a human into the pack?”
“Sure…anything else?”
“Just this…Cain’s had a tough life and he needs a friend…someone he trusts…” Jackson began.
“I can do that.”
“Good…and I might as well tell you that I’m assigning Cain to help Theo in the garden. He’s interested in gardening and I think getting his hands in the soil and watching things grow will also benefit him in other ways.”
“Okay, but I hafta ask…is he a threat to Theo?”
“What does your bear tell you?”
Smokey was quiet for a moment, then said, “He’s okay with it, so I guess I am too.”
“The other reason I want Cain to help in the garden is Theo’s pregnancy. Gardening is hard work…I know because I helped my mother when I was young. Having Cain as his assistant will avoid Theo having to lift heavy stuff, you know, bags of soil, compost, and whatever else, which, according to Mac, is something he shouldn’t be doing at this stage.”
“I know…Norm and I were trying to figure out how one of us could be with him anytime he’s out there.”
“You still can be, but now neither of you have to worry about it if you can’t. Even though Cain is human, he’s young and strong, so I’m sure he’ll be able to do what Theo needs done.”
Nodding, Smokey headed for the door. “I better get back to my mates who are probably wondering where I am.”
“Thanks for saving Cain,” Jackson said softly as Smokey walked past him.
Stopping, Smokey turned and looked at Jackson. “Thankyoufor saving Theo and Norm from that asshole, Arald…and you should also be thanking them because they encouraged me to finally accept who I am.”
Smiling, Jackson replied, “It seems the Fates have been busy making sure Cain will live to fulfill his purpose, then.”
Pausing for a moment, Smokey thought it over, then started to chuckle. “They do work in mysterious ways…most things seem to work out the way they’re meant to be, I guess.”
