Logan stood, looking at Jackson, then turning to his brothers, “I think it is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. As I see it, Jackson’s still what he’s always been to me but now he is just a little bit more. So, yeah, I’m okay with the fact that I’m going to be an uncle.” Logan paused for other questions but hearing none, he left to find Zane.
Jackson remained still as quiet settled in the room. Dakota spoke first, “Congratulations Jackson and Steel, both on the mating and the pregnancy. I have no problemwith anything you said tonight but I still have questions about how this all came about.”
Oracle, who was silent during the discussions, began to speak. “Dakota, maybe I can answer some of your questions if that is all right with Jackson.”
“That’s fine,” said Jackson. “Go ahead, Dakota, and ask. What do you want to know first?”
“Not now, if that’s okay. I want to think about this first but I mean it, bro, I support you wholeheartedly.”
“Thanks Dakota, whenever you’re ready, talk to Oracle.”
The triplets were looking at each other and Steel could see they were communicating among themselves silently. He only hoped the final results would be positive for his mate. Steel knew Zane’s reaction hurt his mate deeply and he marveled at Jackson’s calm demeanor when faced with hateful words. He was on the verge of shifting when Zane shouted those foul words, but years of practicing control stood him in good stead.
Zane’s actions, however, were tempered by Dakota’s words of support and for that reason alone, Steel vowed to find a way to help Dakota finish his schooling. Now Steel was waiting for the final three to voice their feelings.
After imperceptible nods from his brothers, Cody spoke. “Congratulations on your mating Jackson. We’re happy for you, bro—you deserve it. We reaffirm our allegiance to you as our Alpha. Regarding the elephant in the room—yeah, you have our support there too. To say we weren’t blown away would be an understatement. I didn’t even know it was possible. I thought only Omega wolves could get pregnant, so this is fucking unreal.”
Steel let out his breath; just Zane left to decide how he felt after calming down. Shit, the end of this meetingcouldn’t come fast enough. He needed to take his mate to bed and kiss him senseless. Jackson smiled at the triplets. “Thanks guys, that means a lot.” Then he stood, signaling the end of the meeting. He walked over to Mystia. “Are you going to head back to Jimmy?”
“Yes, he’s missing me,” Mystia said.
As she rose to embrace Jackson, he whispered in her ear, “I have more questions about this pregnancy but they can wait until later. Thanks for being here for me.” Mystia smiled and Jackson asked Cody, “Can you give Mystia a ride down to Jimmy’s?”
“Sure, no problem, bro.”
Steel was at his side as Jackson turned to Oracle and Maximus. “Thanks for being here. Colton, please make sure that Steel’s parents have everything they need.” Steel then took his hand and said, “Good night, everyone, I need some alone time with my mate,” and at that, the room erupted with rowdy laughter and cat calls.
~/~/~/~/~
His paws dug down, disturbing the forest floor, tossing pine needles and dead leaves aside. He couldn’t help it. He had to escape, so he ran. Finally, he stopped. Now the anger was gone but Zane was still upset. Fucking hell, he was so screwed up in his head.Jackson—having a baby? No way.His father made it clear what an Alpha did and having babies wasn’t one of the jobs. He couldn’t wrap his head around it. For the first time ever, he was glad his father was dead so he wouldn’t be embarrassed by his firstborn son being a freak. But just thinking about Jackson that way made him feel he was betraying him.
And that thought drove Zane crazy because Jackson meant the world to him. He’d picked up the pieces of their lives and by sheer strength of will, forged a new onefor all of them. He wasn’t sure how Jackson had done it because, Zane was mostly out of it; too busy grieving for his parents and siblings. He’d just gotten to a place where it didn’t feel he was drowning—yep, my head is now firmly above water—when this news threatened his new-found peace. Could he blame Jackson? No, not really, his brother was right—the Fates made Jackson this way.
This meant his outcry about the Fates making a mistake was wrong and, what was worse, he knew it when he called his brother an abomination.Shit, Shit, Shit, how could I hurt Jackson that way?Zane owed his brother his support even if for no other reason than what Jackson had done for him since the massacre. Zane lifted his nose, sniffed the air, snorting as only a wolf could; it seemed Jackson was still protecting him even if he didn’t deserve it for being such a brat.
Zane watched as a beautiful white wolf sauntered into the clearing, stopping before him. He knew it was Logan and his brother wasn’t angry; he just looked at Zane and then licked his face. A sudden shimmer and Logan, appearing in his human form, asked Zane, “Do you want to talk about it?” Zane thought for a moment, nodded and another shimmer appeared as Zane shifted back. He flopped down on the moss-covered forest floor, staring through the trees at the darkening sky. Logan lay down next to him, mirroring Zane’s actions and waited.
“Logan, I’m sorry I said that about Jackson. I guess I opened my mouth before I thought it through. I know I hurt him and will apologize,” he said. “I know it’s not a choice—the Fates decided it. It just caught me unaware and I hate change,” he said, closing his eyes. “I never used to until Mom and Dad were killed. Now I try to make every day just like the one before. And when Jackson said he could get pregnant, I knew I’d never be able to find security in the sameness again. So, I gotangry at him and wanted to hurt him. Does that make me fucked up or what?”
Logan filtered Zane’s confessions through his mind and sought to find the right words to help his brother. “You know, Oracle told me about this before Jackson came back from his mating and at first, like you, I was shocked. But then I felt envy and jealousy. How lucky Jackson was to have a pup of his very own. Something none of us even thought possible unless our fated mate turned out to be a male Omega. And you know how rare those are.”
Logan let those words sink in and continued, “But now that obstacle has been removed from Jackson. So yes, at first my feelings were negative. But then I got to thinking, it’s not the only strange thing. For instance, the seven of us are gay, we’re all Alphas, we’re all white wolves. And only the white wolves in our pack survived. Strange, right? So, after talking with Oracle, I think we’re each meant for some special purpose here on earth and I can’t wait to find out what mine is.”
“Do you think that’s why the Fates saved us?” asked Zane.
“Yes,” replied Logan.
Zane was quiet for a while, then asked, “What happened at the meeting after I left?”
“I don’t really know. Jackson sent me to keep an eye on you right after you shifted and ran into the forest.”
“So typical,” Zane smirked. “Always the big brother.”
“You got that right, bro and don’t you forget it. Ready to head back?”
“Yeah, and… Logan, thanks.”
Chapter 18
