“Yes,” Colton said. “I better go get him so he doesn’t chop my head off. He’s been worried out of his mind along with the rest of us.”
Jackson smiled. “I would never let him decapitate you.” Then, more seriously, he said, “So this is the gift you got when you mated Ian, huh?”
Colton was unnerved by Jackson’s question. “What do you mean?”
“Colton, I remember everything including you healing me as my body was giving up…the bright green light, the buzzing, and you calling to Raphael for help. I’m proud of you…that the gods found you worthy of one of their powers. Why did you hide it from me?”
Colton closed his eyes and threw his head back in frustration. He never wanted anyone to know and now Jackson did. Now he had no choice. Colton opened his eyes and stared at his brother. “Promise you will tell no one. As my Alpha, I demand that promise.”
Jackson vacillated. If he promised as Colton’s Alpha, it would never be possible to share his brother’s secret with anyone, including his mate. Looking at his brother, Jackson noticed tension reflected in Colton’s eyes and the angst in his brother’s demeanor. He wondered how Ian had missed these signs in his mate but that wasn’t his business. His job as Alpha was to minister to and help pack members with problems too big for one person tocarry. And he could see his brother was greatly agitated. “I promise as your Alpha,” he swore. “Now why are you so troubled by the Fates’ gift?”
Colton explained what happened to him in Mexico and how the Archangel Raphael healed him and gave him the same power. And what happened when Ian woke up from his fainting spell and thought he’d saved Colton. “I won’t take that away from him…it would hurt him and I can’t do that. So the only way out is to keep it a secret and never use the power,” Colton said.
“But you did use it…on me. What changed your mind?”
“You changed it. I would never forgive myself if I hadn’t done everything, including using my power, to save you. I knew I would never be able to look at Steel, my nephew, or Oracle if I didn’t save the person who means more to me than any other, except my mate.”
Jackson was touched by Colton’s words, “Thank you, bro. I’m so proud of you; your decision is proof the gods chose wisely. Now when are you going to tell Ian?”
Colton was speechless.What the fuck?The only conclusion he could come to was Jackson didn’t understand why he couldn’t do that. “Ahh, bro, I thought I made it clear why I couldn’t do that.”
“Yes you did. But how are you going to explain my miraculous recovery?”
Colton hadn’t thought about that but had to admit his brother did have a point. “I don’t know. What am I going to do? The thought of hurting my mate makes me physically ill.”
“Mind if I give you a piece of advice?”
“Please.”
“Rip off the band-aid.”
“What are you talking about? What band-aid?”
“In the long run, you’ll hurt your mate more by keeping a secret than if you just tell him now. Sure, he might be upset…although if I know Ian, he won’t be…but it will make your relationship stronger. And isn’t that what you want?”
“Yes, but he’s going to be so angry I kept this from him.”
“Yup, I imagine he will. But learn this Colton…no secrets between mates. Besides, he’s going to find out soon enough through your mind link.”
“I’ve been blocking him.”
“Colton,” Jackson chided, shaking his head, “you have some groveling to do.”
“I know. Okay, let me think about how I’m going to do it.”
~/~/~/~/~
Suddenly, Cody heard a door open down the hall and knew Steel and the pup were heading back to Jackson.Boy was Steel going to be surprised!Quietly closing the door to the recovery room, Cody faded into the background, waiting for Steel to pass so he could go back upstairs. Now that he knew Jackson was all right, he wanted to avoid any questions about why he was there while everyone else was sleeping.
~/~/~/~/~
Steel approached Jackson, holding their son who’d dozed off. He kept staring at his tiny face, noticing bits of Jackson in him. Even though it hurt, he would have something left of the man who’d stolen his heart. Steel glanced up, narrowing his eyes. He could have sworn someone was standing outside Jackson’s room a moment ago. Suddenly, his wolf was standing and alert, searchingfor something that Steel couldn’t see. Quickening his steps, he arrived at the door to Jackson’s room and heard voices.Wait! That’s my mate’s voice. What the hell is happening?
He yanked open the door, charging in to protect his mate, and came to a full stop at the picture before him. Jackson was sitting up, in perfect health talking to Colton. Dumbfounded, he moved toward him, still not believing what he was seeing.
Jackson’s head had turned toward the sound of the door opening and saw his pup in Steel’s arms. Reaching to take the pup, he said, “Oh my gods, Steel, you have our baby. Is he healthy? Ten fingers and ten toes? Come here you big boy, what a rocky start to the world you got.”
Steel, still stunned, passed their son to Jackson. He looked at Colton, who shrugged, which told him nothing. Finally finding his voice, he asked, “Babe, what happened?”
