“Dylon,” said Jackson, “I don’t know your mother very well but from what she said, you are lucky to have her for a mom. It warmed my heart to hear her fight for the right to meet your mate. Not every parent welcomes a male mate for their son, but your mother did. I’m confident my brother will be included under her broad umbrella of love and protection. And I couldn’t ask for anything better for one of my brothers than that. But we do need to talk about the secrets of the Blackwood Pack.”
“Okay” Dylon said, “but you should know I promised my mate I won’t tell my parents anything.”
“Thank you,” said Jackson, “I have thought about it and my concerns focus on my son Daniel and my brother Colton. I assume your parents know you worked for the Silver Point Pack as an enforcer, correct?”
“Yes, they do.”
“And your father is a member of the Universal Paranormal High Council?”
“Yes, Vice Chair.”
“When you spoke to them last night did your father mention the Blackwood Pack’s complaint filed against the Silver Point Pack?”
“No. I didn’t know anything about it until Cody told me last night after my call.”
“Fair enough. Are they going to ask why you left a job you were happy in? At least I assume you were.”
“My mother, no…”
“But your father?” Jackson asked.
Dylon paused, thinking of his father, then said, “Yes, he will ask, particularly because of the complaint on file.”
“What will you say when he does ask you?”
Dylon was stunned.Fuck, of course. That’s the problem. I can’t tell him about the beatings because that would expose Colton’s power.He looked at his mate and saw his mate understood the problem immediately. “I don’t know, sir. But I won’t put Cody’s brothers in danger. I can’t. Even if it was a possibility, which I assure you it isn’t, it would hurt my mate and my wolf would never forgive me.”
“Lying is not an option either since your father will detect it, so, in this case, why don’t we figure out how to shave the truth enough so you don’t lie and can satisfy your father while still protecting us.”
“That works for me. The less I say, the better it will be.”
“Okay, but first let’s deal with the matter of my son. I’m sure Cody told you I’m an Alpha/Omega hybrid…the only one in existence…so how are you going to introduce my son, Daniel?”
Dylon, finally happy to show his Alpha he had at least thought about this problem, said, “Nothing more than he is your son. I think my parents will assume you adopted him or used a surrogate. I mean, after all, how likely is it my parents would think you could have a baby. I never heard of it and I’m sure neither did they. The less said the better it is. Nobody is lying so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Jackson mulled it over and mind linked to his mate to get his reaction. Once in agreement, Jackson said, “I think it’s a perfect way to handle it. Steel will make sure his mother is there to act as a buffer regarding any line of questioning that might occur.”
Cody spoke up, “About the other matter, there’s another point we need to consider. Dylon’s father called Josiah looking for his son. According to Dylon’s mother, our uncle told him he would find him and have him call him back.”
“Shit! Tell me how you came to be in the condition you were when Jimmy found you,” said Jackson.
“Well,” Dylon began, then looked at his mate. “Ma moitié,do you want to hear this?”
“Go ahead. I’ve already seen it in a vision.”
“Okay,” Dylon said, squeezing his mate’s hand, turning to Jackson. “Rudy…do you know who Rudy is?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Rudy called me into his office and showed me a videotape of me talking about the kill order. He asked me why I talked about pack business to an outsider. I denied it even though the guy on the tape looked like me. Of course, at that time, I didn’t know it was me. I denied it and pleaded with Rudy to give me time to clear my name.”
“But he wouldn’t do it, right?” Jackson asked, sure of the answer. He knew Rudy was a mean son-of-a-bitch, a perfect second for his uncle.
“No, instead he had the other enforcers take me to a cell to keep me locked up until I confessed. After several days, the beatings started.” Dylon paused and he heard a small cry from his mate. Checking to see if he shouldstop, he continued after receiving a nod from Cody. “The beatings were so bad I had to shift to heal and then after I did, they’d beat me again. This kept up for at least a week, maybe more, but I lost track of time in there. The last time was different because their fists were aimed only at my face and nowhere else. I remember trying to shield myself but they put a stop to that by holding my arms and legs straight out, so I couldn’t protect myself. Finally, I must have passed out because I remembered nothing until I woke up in your hospital.”
Jackson was horrified. Dylon was tortured, no other way to look at it. He glanced over at his brother and saw tears falling from Cody’s eyes.
At that moment, Dylon saw them too and, scooping his mate up in his arms, he hugged him and softly crooned words of comfort in his ear.
