“Yeah, okay. I better get back to sleep since there’s another tough day ahead of me. Tell Jackson ‘hello’ and give my nephew a big hug and a kiss for me.”
“Will do. Hang in there, bro.”
After exchanging good-byes, Steel hung up, thinking about what his brother said. None of it made sense. Usually, by the time the parties agreed to a peace conference, they were all eager to participate. Here it seemed to be the opposite.Why?What are we missing here?
Chapter 32
As the four of them headed up the stairs for lunch, they heard Jackson yelling for Steel to come quickly. Cody and Colton exchanged a glance, then ran the rest of the way, concern clearly etched on their faces. Dylon joined the dash with Ian close behind him and reached his mate just at the top step.
“What the fuck is happening?” asked Dylon.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good,” answered Cody as he rushed into the great room. He stopped quickly as he saw what his brother was yelling about. As Dylon, Colton, and Ian bumped into him from behind, Cody started to chuckle for there, in front of him on the floor, was Daniel or to be more correct, Daniel’s small silver wolf. His nephew had finally shifted completely. Glancing up, he saw Zane, Dakota, Logan, Carson, Oracle and Maximus standing in a wide circle around the pup.
Steel had run in from the opposite side, his face breaking out in a huge grin as he saw his son’s wolf. “Holy shit! He did it! Way to go Daniel!”
Daniel sat on the floor, while his silver eyes took in everyone as they gathered around him. Lifting his head, he let out his first howl—and then again and still once more to make sure everyone knew there was a new wolf in the pack. Looking to his parents for their approval and getting it, he began to walk around, unsteady at first, sniffing everyone and finally ending up in a heap at Jackson’s feet where he was promptly picked up and cuddled in his father’s arms.
“Fuck!” exclaimed Zane. “Who won the bet?”
“What bet?” asked Jackson.
“First time Daniel completely shifted. Duh! What else would it be?” answered Carson. “It wasn’t me.”
“Me either. Shit, I should have written a program to give me the date,” Zane said.
“It was me,” Logan said. “I just used how old Jackson was when he did his first shift.”
“Damn,” said Colton, “I should’ve figured that out.”
“Daniel’s amazing,” Dakota said. “But why are his eyes silver?”
“I don’t know, but they are gorgeous. They remind me of moonlight,” Jackson said, then glancing at Oracle asked, “Do you know?”
“No, the Fates have not told me anything about Daniel yet. But my, oh my, he is darling with the silver fur and matching eyes, isn’t he, Max?”
“Yes,” Maximus said, “hmmm. He reminds me of something.”
“Reminds you of what, Dad?” asked Steel.
“Something I read a long time ago. I’ve forgotten most of it, but Daniel’s combination jogged something in my memory. Most unusual. Oh well, I’m sure it will come back to me.”
Cody said, “Well, I won the bet about his eye color.”
“Fuck,” Zane exclaimed, “I’m losing my edge.”
“That’s right, bro,” said Logan, “and that makes this win all the sweeter.”
“What do you want to do about Daniel’s lunch?” Dakota asked Jackson. “Lunch is ready but I don’t think you’ll be able to give his wolf a bottle.”
Jackson looked down at his son and saw he’d fallen asleep, tired out from all the energy he’d expended shifting for the first time. “I don’t think it matters right now.” Turning to Steel he said, “Hon, would you bring out his porta-crib from my study and set it up in the dining room? When he wakes up, he’ll have shifted back and I can feed him then.”
“I’ll get it,” said Colton, smiling at Ian. “I need all the practice I can get between now and when our pup is born.”
“Good idea,” said Steel, “I’ll get you a beeper so when the poop patrol is needed, I can buzz you.”
“Poop patrol? How did offering to get a crib morph into changing diapers?” asked Colton with a look of bewilderment on his face.
“I thought you just said you wanted to practice fatherhood?” asked Steel, “Well, diaper changing is part of it.”
