“The Fates told me about it and last night Steel sent me a picture of a tattoo and asked me if I had ever seen it. The tattoo is a witch’s symbol for a protection spell and this one is an anti-scent spell.” She went on, “I will get our clothes organized and packed and please call to make sure our plane will be ready to go.”
“Are you comfortable leaving our boy alone?” Maximus teased.
“For goodness sake, Maximus, Slate is an adult. I am sure he will be just fine.” Oracle laughed at her husband’s foolishness. She gave him one last kiss before she stood up to leave as he picked up the phone to call their pilot.
~/~/~/~/~
Steel opened one eye, then shut it and groaned as he turned over. He could tell it was near or after noon. He’d been too tired to close the blinds last night and the sun shining through his window was high in the sky. He loved this house. He’d told the architect to bring the sky inside as much as possible so he could always feel he was part of it.
From his second story bedroom, he was able to see the sky in all its shades of glory—from dark nighttime blue, adorned with star diamonds, to stormy rainstorm gray, to the deep blue shades of a cloudless day. Maybe he should learn to fly a plane.Yes, that would be something I haven’t done yet.A smile creased his face, as he imagined what it would feel like, to be in a small, single-engine plane, high above the earth, feeling at one with the birds in the sky.
He jumped out of bed, eager to make breakfast and silence his grumbling stomach. Jeez, he was feeling good as he picked out his old, favorite, worn jeans and a green t-shirt. He walked barefoot down the steps, reaching the bottom just as his doorbell rang. Pausing, puzzled at the sound, he inhaled, trying to determine if he knew who might be at his front door.
It had to be someone who was close to him because they knew his security gate password. Suddenly he gasped.Hot Damn! It was his parents! What? Why? How?flitted through his mind, as he hurried to the front door.
“Mom, Dad,” Steel yelled, yanking open the door. “When did you get here? Why are you here? Oh, my gods, is everyone all right?” He couldn’t believe his eyes as his parents reached out to hug and kiss him. “Come in. Let me take your bags.”
“Everyone is fine, sweetie,” Oracle said, as she came through the door and set her purse down on the wood console table in the foyer. “How are you?”
Steel stopped and looked at his mother.Something was up. He just knew it by her tone.Hmmm, what’s going on? “Actually, Mom, I feel great today. Why?” he asked, trying not to say anything until he could figure out what was happening. He glanced at his father hoping to get a clue about why they were here, but nope, his father’sschooled face showed nothing.Great!Steel felt like a sitting duck, knowing something was going to happen to change his world but not a clue as to what it might be.Well, two can play this game.“Have you eaten yet? I was just about to grab a bite.”
Oracle smiled. “That would be great. Why don’t you let me make your favorite breakfast?”
Steel should’ve been surprised when his mother mentioned breakfast instead of lunch but she’d always been able to know things even if no words had been spoken. “That would be a real treat, Mom. I haven’t had the pleasure of your cooking for far too long.” Steel led the way to his state-of-the-art kitchen as his mother and father followed slowly, taking time to look around his home.
“This is a lovely home, son. The pictures you sent us don’t do justice to the location and beauty of the area. How many acres do you own?” Maximus asked.
“200,000, Dad. It gives my wolf plenty of room to roam without running into anyone,” Steel answered, as they reached the kitchen.
He sat down at the island next to his dad, watching his mother make his favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs and steak. And just like that, the image of Jackson sitting next to him eating breakfast resulted in a hard cock.Crap!Hoping to keep his parents from noticing his condition—shit, how bad would that be—he shifted in his seat, trying to erase the picture in his mind.
Casting around for a distraction, his glance fell on his mother.Wait a minute. Steel frowned.This visit is just too coincidental; it has to have something to do with the picture I sent her last night. Does she know what that tattoo means? Does it have something to do with Jackson being my mate? But that would be contrary to what she’stold me about my mate being a special wolf. But if Jackson is my mate, then Mom would have been wrong and that would’ve been a first.Steel’s eyes narrowed as he studied his mother hoping he’d be able to discover the purpose of her trip.
Unable to discern anything from her behavior, he turned and saw his father staring at him with an expression of hope before quickly reverting to a bland face. Steel was unnerved by his father’s look. What puzzled him more, his wolf was calm and curled up without any of the aggression he had shown yesterday.Enough!All of this was making him wary and he wanted, no, he needed to know what was going on.
Just when he was about to demand some answers, his mother served breakfast. His stomach grumbled loudly at the smell of the steak and eggs, startling his parents. Mumbling an apology, he told them he hadn’t eaten in a while. Even though he was more than curious about why his parents were visiting, he certainly didn’t want to get into the story of why he hadn’t eaten since meeting Jackson. Savoring his steak, he noticed his parents exchanging glances before they began to eat. He ignored it for the time being, focusing instead on enjoying the delicious breakfast his mother made for him.
Chapter 6
As the pack sat around the table after finishing the breakfast Dakota had cooked, Logan asked Jackson, “Are you going to file a police report for your stolen car?”
“I want to talk to Jimmy first. I’m not worried about Silver Point finding us through the police report but I’d rather use his address and phone number.”
Logan nodded. “Good idea.”
Jackson turned to Dakota. “Have you checked our food supply? Do we need anything in the short term? I want the shopping done once a month to limit our exposure. The less we’re out and about, the less chances of running into anyone from Silver Point.”
“We’re set for a week or so, but I’ll get a list together to give us a month’s supply. It’ll be trial and error for the first two or three months since I’m still trying to figure out how much I need to order for our little brother,” Dakota said, smirking.
“Fuck you, Kota,” yelled Zane, giving him the finger. “You know I’m a growing boy!” Dakota just laughed and threw a finger back.
Heading off to their chores, the brothers continued joking and teasing each other. Jackson smiled—it was a long time since that happened. He walked to his study, anxious to get the accounting set up so his brothers could access the corporate bank account. Sitting down at his desk, he booted up the laptop, but ended up staring out the large windows at the forest surrounding their pack house, a view he loved.
He was so lucky, he thought, to have gotten the first installment from his grandparents’ trust before themassacre. It allowed him to build this home for his brothers and take care of their needs. Now that he’d received the rest of it, the financial pressure was off. He didn’t think his Uncle, the Alpha of Silver Point Pack, knew about the substantial trusts for all his brothers, not to mention the trusts for their dead siblings.
But he’d deal with that another day, after he decided what to do about the actions of Silver Point. He’d thought about reporting it to the Universal Paranormal High Council but that would expose his pack to Silver Point and, right now, it was his word against theirs—not very comforting.
Jackson decided on the spur of the moment to do a Google search on Steel, hoping it would turn up something. He wasn’t sure why he was so curious; Jackson wasn’t going to claim him but he couldn’t shake the urge to know something about his mate.
