Chapter 1
Cody sat in the great room, listening to the chatter of his brothers as they played with Daniel, but his mind and heart were elsewhere. His Fated Mate was hospitalized—brutally beaten, almost unrecognizable and barely hanging on to his life. It was yet another time he was unable to prevent a tragedy, only this time the loss of his Fated Mate would affect him like no other loss had, and for the rest of his life.
He wasn’t sure how he’d survive—or even if he would—but he knew the only way to save his mate was for his brother to use the gift he received from the Fates.Seems so simple. Colton calls on Archangel Raphael, places his fingers on the dying shifter and poof…good as new. HA!Nothing was ever simple in his life and here was proof again, just when he thought he’d get a break.But nope…not me!Oh no, the Fates saw to that by giving me a mate who is a known enemy of the Blackwood Pack.
Carson placed Daniel in Cody’s arms and said, “Hey bro, I think it’s time for you to spend some time with your nephew.”
He looked down at his nephew and saw a smile on Daniel’s face. Breaking out of his depression, Cody hoisted Daniel up against his shoulder. Nestling his nose in his nephew’s chubby neck, Cody inhaled deeply, loving the fresh baby scent he found there. Cuddling Daniel close, he felt at peace; he saw his own aura turn to pure silver. Searching for his wolf, Cody found him sitting quietly, but still alert. That was a relief. He’d been fighting him from the moment he’d scented his Fated Mate.
Daniel cooed in his ear and Cody felt endorphins surge through his body, bringing a smile to his face. LoweringDaniel and nestling him in his lap, Cody played peek-a-boo before taking his nephew’s hands and clapping them in time to nursery rhymes. Daniel’s gurgling and cooing sounds opened Cody’s heart in a way it hadn’t felt since the death of his parents and younger siblings. His brother Logan was right. Daniel had brought new hope to the Blackwood Pack—even for himself.
Jackson studied his brother, glad to see smiles return to Cody’s face. Since the birth of his pup, Jackson had noticed how quiet his brother had been. It appeared all Cody needed was Daniel to bring him out of his funk. Looking at the interaction between them, Jackson remembered his joy when a new brother or sister joined the pack. As the oldest, he took care of all his siblings but he enjoyed the younger ones most. Probably because he was old enough to act as their father when his Alpha father was away on pack business.
But that changed when his Uncle Josiah, Alpha of the Silver Point Pack, ordered the massacre of the Fox River Pack resulting in the death of his parents and younger siblings. He and his six brothers escaped because they were in Las Vegas on an end-of-semester trip, celebrating being young and free and anticipating a summer of fun. Until the phone call came from Jackson’s friend Jimmy. During a night-long drive to find a place of safety for them, Jackson left his freedom behind and became Alpha of their newly formed Blackwood Pack.
But they made it, escaping a kill-on-sight order his uncle, Josiah, had placed on their heads. With the help of Jimmy’s wife, Mystia, a witch, the brothers built a new life for themselves. It was on a trip to see his lawyer about the trusts his grandparents had set up for the brothers that Jackson met his Fated Mate, Steel, one of the last four Dire Wolves in the world. And that’s when he discovered the Fates had given him a gift?the gift of being anAlpha/Omega hybrid who could have pups. And the pup Cody was playing with was Jackson’s first-born.
It was during Jackson’s pregnancy that his brother Colton met his Fated Mate—Dr. Ian Wallace who’d been called in as the attending doctor. It appeared the Fates knew what they were doing when Colton received his gift from them because it saved Jackson’s life after he had his pup. Now the Blackwood Pack had a new member, Jackson and Steel’s son, and his brothers had a nephew. Jackson looked around and saw Logan, his fraternal twin engaged in a discussion with Oracle, his mate’s mother. Cody, who was playing with Daniel, was the oldest of the triplets, while Colton, who was born next, was downstairs with Ian. The youngest of the triplets, Carson, was deep in a business discussion with Maximus, Steel’s father. Dakota and Zane, the two youngest of the seven brothers were trying to put together a wolf baby toy for Daniel.
Jackson sighed. Life was good right now and he would take it. The pack’s surrogate parents, Jimmy and Mystia would be over later to visit with their grandchild and tell Jackson more about the wolf shifter lying in a hospital bed downstairs. Jackson was puzzled by Mystia’s assertion that the injured shifter was important to his pack, mainly because he knew the shifter was an enforcer for the Silver Point Pack, the Blackwood Pack’s sworn enemy.
Jackson wondered who had beaten the wolf shifter within an inch of his life, but more important, he was apprehensive about the danger the shifter might pose to his pup. He knew if he wasn’t satisfied with the answers he received from Mystia, he would order all medical treatment stopped and let nature take its course. It would go against the position he’d always taken about killing but having a pup had changed his entire outlook.
Cody was glad Carson had handed Daniel to him because it was exactly what he needed. He propped his nephew up so he could look around and Cody saw a glow of silver in Daniel’s eyes. He smiled. What a gift Daniel had just given him—the first glimpse of his nephew’s wolf. Saying nothing, he turned Daniel towards Jackson and said, “Hey bro, look at your pup’s eyes.”
Jackson turned his head and then gasped. “Steel, look. Our son’s wolf! There…in his eyes!”
The room fell silent as everyone looked at Daniel who smiled at all the attention. Then everyone saw it and the room burst forth in exclamations of joy and amazement. And through it all, Daniel held court as he cooed and blew spit bubbles, happily waving his tiny fists in the air.
Steel strode over and lifted his son up in the air and Daniel started giggling. “Oh, aren’t you the smart one. Your wolf, and so soon! You are the most intelligent pup of all time!” Steel exclaimed, as he swirled Daniel around in a circle like an airplane.
“Son, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” Maximus said.
“Why not? Look how he loves it.”
“Uh, because I just fed him.”
“What does that have to do with…Oh shit!” he said as Daniel threw up all over himself and Steel.
Jackson chuckled. “Bring him over here and I’ll clean him up. What your father was trying to tell you is there’s a time and a place for Daniel to fly but right after eating isn’t one of them.”
“Are you going to clean me up also? My arms are covered with his puke,” pouted Steel.
“I think you need more than that,” Jackson laughed. “Give me Daniel and go change your clothes or else you’re going to smell like sour milk.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Cody snorted as he watched a disgruntled Steel leave.Steel better get used to baby spit-up.He had lots of experience with that when Jackson had pressed him into service to help with their young siblings.As his eyes turned from Steel, they caught Jackson’s staring at him with a raised eyebrow. He knew his brother was curious about his mood lately but Cody wasn’t interested in talking. That time would come soon enough and Cody wanted to delay it. Standing, he announced, “I’m going outside for a while.”
Jackson studied his brother, concern clearly written on his face. “Sure, but I want to talk later, maybe after dinner, okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be around.”
Jackson gave his brother a hard look before turning to his son. “Well sweetie, that was a fun ride, wasn’t it? How about we get you out of these messy clothes and make you look better? Jimmy and Mystia will be here soon and I just know they’ll want to cuddle with you.” Jackson smiled at Daniel as he stripped his milk-covered onesie off him.
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