His only hope was to talk to Cody to find out how his brother kept his mind partitioned all these years. But how to get his brother alone? That was the question Colton was wrestling with that made him miss Oracle’s announcement. Startled after Ian elbowed him to get his attention, Colton looked up and saw Maximus coming toward him with a gift.
What the fuck is this about?Colton grimaced inwardly when he heard Oracle talk about the Fates decision to bring two special healers together as fated mates. Sucking in his breath, Colton wondered if Oracle was about to break her promise to him.
“I was given this gift to give to Ian and his fated mate by his parents a long time ago. You all have seen Ian’s wolf and know that he is royalty…”
“Wait a minute…royalty? What are you talking about?” asked Ian.
“Ian,” smiled Oracle, “you were born to the King and Queen of Scottish Wolves and were a very welcomed gift from the Fates. As I told you and Colton previously, no male Omega wolf had been born in over 700 years…that is, aroyalmale Omega wolf.
“When the war turned against the Scottish Wolf shifters, the King and Queen summoned your nanny and her husband. You were entrusted to them for your safety and smuggled out of the country…your identity kept secret. Unfortunately, your parents were killed as was every other Scottish wolf shifter. One day, Mystia appeared at your home in the Scandinavian Mountains. The Fates sent her to cast a spell so your true identity as a royal male Omega wolf would be hidden from everyone.”
Colton could feel Ian’s emotions as his mate sat next to him, frozen. He reached over to hold his mate’s hand and found it to be ice cold.Oh shit, my mate is going intoshock!Quickly lifting Ian onto his lap, he wrapped his arms around him, giving him warmth and comfort. Rocking his mate slowly, Colton murmured words of comfort into his mate’s ear, offering reassurances of his love no matter what Oracle revealed.
After giving Ian time to think about what she said, Oracle continued, “Your guardians loved you as if you were their flesh and blood and are so proud of the doctor you have become. They send their love and best wishes to you on finding your fated mate. Before you left Scotland with them, the King and Queen entrusted them to give you this at the time of your mating.” Then she turned to her husband. “Maximus, if you please.”
Maximus stood in front of Ian and Colton holding a small trunk, encrusted with gemstones and gold hammered straps and hinges. Ian looked at it but couldn’t bring himself to reach for it. His mind was still miles behind Oracle trying to come to grips that people he regarded as his parents were only guardians appointed by his real parents. Shaking his head, he rejected that thought because his memories of the love and care they gave him as he grew up made them his parents. Maybe not by blood but in every way that mattered.
Finally, Colton said, “Babe, do you want me to accept your gift?”
Nodding, Ian leaned back against Colton’s chest, afraid of seeing what was in the chest.
“Thank you, Maximus,” Colton said, taking the gift and setting it on the table in front of them. Rubbing his fingers over the gems, he asked Oracle, “What are these?”
“Smoky Quartz,” Ian said, faintly.
“Smoky Quartz?” Colton asked.
“The national gemstone of Scotland,” Ian murmured, gazing wide-eyed at the trunk.
Oracle smiled, “Smoky Quartz are very rare, brown gemstones found in the Cairngorms area of Scotland…a very rugged place. They are sacred and for many years only royalty could possess them.”
“Well, that makes sense,” muttered Colton. “Babe, are you ready to open it?”
“Yes, but would you please do it?”
Colton shifted Ian to one of his legs and then leaned forward to lift the lid. Colton could see a glow coming from within which grew in intensity as the lid was raised. When the trunk was fully opened, a collective gasp could be heard—everyone was astonished by the intensity of the light. Reaching in, Colton drew out a very old manuscript, written in a language he didn’t recognize. He placed it in Ian’s hands.
Ian recognized the language immediately—he’d spent many hours learning it at his mother’s knee. Carefully turning the first page, he scanned the words and realized he held…the history of the Royal Scottish Wolf Shifters, from their beginning to the time of the war. Looking up at Oracle, he said, “This is my history…my roots…where I came from. Why did my royal parents want me to have this when this history ended when they died?”
“Before I answer your question, what else is in the trunk?”
Ian then reached in and pulled out a golden crown which glowed with an ethereal light. Setting it on the table beside the trunk, he reached in again and pulled out another crown—smaller in height—but glowing with the same light as the first. Then he found a key, covered ingold, as long as his hand. Turning it over and examining it, he asked, “What does this unlock?”
“The door to your castle.”
“My castle?”
“Yes, your castle in Scotland. Is the trunk empty?”
Ian peered over the edge of the ancient box and saw one other item. Scooping it up, he sat back against his mate, holding a ledger in his hand. He caressed the cracked, worn, dark green cover, imagining his royal parents writing in it. Slowly opening it, Ian looked at the figures on the first page and cried out, “Is this for real?”
“Yes, Ian, the ledger details the wealth of the Scottish Wolf Royal Family. It has grown and is now about ten times the amount listed there.”
“But what am I going to do with it? I’ve more than enough money I saved from my job with Frontline Doctors. And a castle? I don’t need it. The same with these crowns. Trust me, I won’t be wearing them in the operating room.”
Oracle chuckled, “No, I am sure of that. Now I will answer your question about the history. At your birth, the Shaman told your parents you would be the savior of your people. Of course, no one knew at that time there would be a war which would wipe out the Scottish Wolf. But it did happen. You are now the King of the Scottish Wolves and Colton is your Consort.”
Oracle continued, “However, the Fates were not bound by your royal roots when picking your mate; instead they focused on the other part of you the Shaman disclosed after your birth. And that was your ability to help the sick and injured. No, you are not a natural healer like Colton, but you possess innate medical knowledge which is whyyou advanced through your schooling and training so quickly.”
