“Well, you came home smelling of wolf but you never mentioned meeting one. So, we were wondering how you picked up the scent,” Logan said quietly. “Was it the man who picked you up or was it, maybe, a wolf he had contact with?”
Shit! Fuck! And double crap!Jackson knew anything he said less than the truth, Logan, being his twin, would know. But maybe he could get around it by just answering their questions and not volunteering additional information. Chancy, but he hoped it would work. “The man who gave me a lift was a wolf but I didn’t recognize his scent; therefore, it’s unlikely he’s from around here.He certainly wasn’t connected to Silver Point and that was my main concern. I didn’t mention it because he drove off after he dropped me at Jimmy’s and I doubt we’ll see him again.”
Cody asked, “Did he know you were a wolf?”
“No, I saw him surreptitiously sniff but he didn’t come up with a scent. I think he thought I was human.” Unfortunately, all this talk of his mate caused his cock to harden and Jackson knew within a short time his brothers would start to smell his arousal.Best make a hasty retreat.“I’m going in to see if I can help in any way to hurry breakfast along since I’m hungry. You guys coming?”
“We’ll be there in a minute,” said Logan, watching Jackson get up and head inside. After the door closed, Logan turned to face Cody. “I don’t think he lied to us but I just have the feeling there’s more to the story. I know Jackson and considering our situation, there’s a reason he didn’t bring up the fact he met a wolf. Did you bag the sweatpants?”
After Cody nodded, Logan then added, “Good, I want Mystia to sniff them to see if she can tell us anything about this wolf. I hate to go behind Jackson’s back but I feel there’s more to the story than Jackson’s telling us. And that’s exactly what worries me because Jackson has never kept anything from me.”
“I know how it is,” agreed Cody. “Colton, Carson, and I are the same way. Triplets can’t keep secrets from one another. I don’t know why but it’s always been that way with the three of us. Let’s go in and have breakfast before Zane eats it all with the excuse, he’s a growing boy,” Cody said. He and Logan then broke into laughter.
Chapter 5
Steel’s wolf was snarling and snapping as he drove away from Jimmy’s after leaving Jackson behind. He just couldn’t understand his wolf.What am I missing here?Jackson is not my mate.My mate has to be a wolf—he knew it because he’d been told not only by his mother who was an Oracle but by no less than three other Oracles. His mate would help save his species of wolves.
The importance of this was impressed upon him throughout his life. He stepped on the gas, eager to get home to do some research. He needed answers because he had a feeling of foreboding about what was going to happen to Jackson and that was driving his wolf crazy.
Finally arriving home, he stopped at the fifteen-foot-high gates, keyed in his passcode and then drove up the long driveway to his sprawling home, nestled among the trees on the knob of a small mountain. Although there were taller mountains to roam on his 200,000 acres of land, this spot spoke to his wolf spirit. He inhaled deeply as he got out of the truck, feeling his body reacting to the sights and smells around him.
Looking around, he wondered if Jackson would like this spot as much as he did. And that did it—his cock hardened in a second and his blood started to heat up.What the fuck? He drove the image of Jackson’s firm body from his mind and thumped his cock several times to get it to go down.
Hmmm, what to do first?Decision made, he stripped out of his clothes and stood still for a second before he called on his wolf and shifted. Birds scattered as the noise of bones cracking and stretching filled the air. When the sound faded away, Steel stood in his wolf form, shaking out his fur and scenting the air. Deer to the east, a smallblack bear and her cub ambling along the trail to the south and, yes there it was, a path that was free of any animal—Steel knew it wouldn’t be a good day to engage in a sparring match. His wolf was too unsettled for that.
He struck out at a full run for the trail leading north to one of the tallest mountains on his land. His large paws made no sound on the thickly carpeted forest floor. Steel had gotten so many mixed signals from his wolf today he needed this time to figure out what was happening. He knew his wolf needed it also. While he was running, Steel examined his wolf’s feelings regarding Jackson because it was much easier to understand his wolf when they were one, especially now, since he hadn’t understood his wolf’s reaction to a man who had no scent.
Taking in the smells and sounds of his forest, his mind searched and filtered through his wolf’s feelings. Steel found possessiveness, yeah, he already knew his wolf wanted to claim Jackson. The next feeling was protectiveness; he saw this when his wolf wanted to find and kill the men who attacked Jackson.
Searching to see what else his wolf felt—oh my gods—what the fuck, love?His wolf loved Jackson because he knew Jackson was his mate. He nearly stumbled when that fact hit him.No! No! No! Jackson was human and couldn’t be my mate—or could he?His wolf had never been wrong before. He turned around and raced back home. He had to do the research immediately because if Jackson was indeed meant for him by the Fates, then Steel needed to claim him fast.
Approaching his house, he fought his wolf to force a shift because his wolf was hell bent on finding his mate. Entering his home and ignoring his nakedness, Steel headed straight for his library. He impatiently yanked the door open and his wolf vision saw specks of dust dancingon the air currents of the huge, two-story, open room, lined with bookcases on both floors. His large desk sat in the middle of the room under a ceiling painted with stars and moons. He crossed over to his computer and entered the search terms he was looking for.
Waiting, he drummed his fingers on the desk, as Jackson’s beautiful face flooded his mind. The quickness with which his cock hardened and the swiftness of the heating of his blood left him breathless.Shit, my reactions are happening quicker and growing in strength.His cock was now harder than he ever experienced in his long life and he stroked it vigorously, trying to relieve some of the pain.
The computer finished its search, displaying a list of documents and books to review. Quickly glancing at the screen, Steel printed it out and started his research. As the hours dragged on, he was no closer to finding the answers than he’d been in the beginning. So far, he’d found no evidence to support his wolf’s claim the human was his mate.
Still, it could be true, since he still had over three-quarters of the list to review. Sitting among a pile of books, he rubbed his eyes to remove some of their tiredness. He’d been up more than 24 hours and needed sleep before starting fresh again in the morning. Before he did, though, he sent the picture of the tattoo on Jackson’s chest to his mother asking her if she’d ever seen it before. He just had a gut feeling it was important and, hopefully, she would know what it meant. That knowledge would help narrow his search among the remaining documents and books.
Steel entered his bedroom, wanting to collapse on the bed but forced himself to the bathroom where he turned on the water, climbing into the shower. As the hot waterstreamed over his tired and dirty body, his mind again returned to Jackson.Crap, I never got his last name. Well, at least I have an idea of where he lives. I wonder if anyone at the gas station…And then before he completed the thought, his cock was up and proud, waving around as if it were trying to find Jackson’s ass.
Moaning, touching his hardness, he knew it needed his attention immediately. As he wrapped his hand around it, he pictured Jackson on his knees, his full cock-sucking red lips wrapped around his cock as he thrust it down Jackson’s throat. The picture immediately caused an orgasm and his roar resonated as he came, painting the glass walls with long endless ropes of his cream.
Falling to his knees while the water cascaded over him, he tried to catch his breath and was so weak he couldn’t stand. Something was very wrong with him—this had never happened—and it was only getting worse. If he didn’t solve this soon, he was going to start having spontaneous orgasms. His breathing settled down and he slowly got to his feet, turned off the water, and grabbed a towel. His hair was still damp when he stumbled into the bedroom, fell onto his bed and was asleep before he could draw the covers up.
~/~/~/~/~
Across the globe, Steel’s mother, Oracle—whose name revealed what she was—looked at the picture Steel sent her. She walked toward her husband’s mahogany-paneled study, calling out to him as she entered. “Maximus, the time has come.”
“What time, Oracle?” Maximus asked absentmindedly, as he continued typing on the keyboard of his computer which sat atop his antique cherry desk. But when the happiness in his wife’s voice finally filtered into his brain, he stopped, looked up at her and waited.
Oracle sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around Maximus’ neck, kissing and licking him along his jaw. After giving him a long and sensuous kiss, she said, “Steel has found his mate, but he doesn’t know it. We have to go and make sure he does not screw this up.”
“What makes you think he’d screw it up?” Maximus asked.
“One, because he is thinking with his mind instead of his body, and two, his mate has a protection spell on him so even though Steel’s body and wolf know the man is his mate, Steel can’t smell him and therefore won’t pursue him,” Oracle explained.
“How do you know about the protection spell?”
