“I have no doubt of that,” Cody said, “but, please, would you tell me your age.”
“I’m twenty-one. But what does that have to do with anything? I’m of legal age, so are Theodore and Norman. We can live together and I will take care of them,” Kieran asserted again.
“I do understand that. How old were you when you were sold to Arald?” asked Cody.
“I told my parents I was gay when I was almost nineteen. They were trying to force me to mate with the Alpha’s daughter. I knew I couldn’t do that so I decided to tell them the truth. I thought they’d understand…instead they drugged me one night and the next morning I woke up chained and caged inside Arald’s house of horrors.”
“Kieran, while I understand your desire to take care of Theodore and Norman, I don’t think it’s possible,” Cody said, raising his hand to forestall another outburst from the young man, “for a couple of reasons. One, and probably the most important, is the rarity of Ghost Bear Shifters. Theodore and Norman will be targeted by every criminal out there if the word gets out. Two, they should finish their schooling so they’ll be able to support themselves.”
“I can protect them. And teach them what they need to know. I was doing that when I could. They’re smart and will learn quickly…”
“I’m not disputing you, but if they are your friends, don’t you want the best for them?” asked Cody.
“Of course, I do.”
“Then listen to what I’m proposing. You, Theodore and Norman will accompany me, Dylon, and the pups home to the Blackwood Pack where all of you will have your own room and the best medical care and support in whatever you decide to do once you are fully recovered. Meanwhile, Slate will work to find all of Arald’s money and other assets which will be split among his victims as partial compensation for the crimes he committed against all of you.”
“What’s the Blackwood Pack?” Kieran sounded skeptical.
“That’s my pack,” Cody said. “My older brother, Jackson is Alpha and he is mated to Slate’s brother Steel. Then, there’s Logan, then me, Colton, Carson, Dakota, and Zane. Colton is mated to Dr. Ian Wallace and you met Dylon, my mate. Our pack was formed when everyone in our birth pack was killed.”
Kieran paused for a moment, before asking, “If I understand you right, the Blackwood Pack is led by a gay wolf?”
Chuckling, Cody said, “Yeah, why? Is that a problem?”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Kieran answered, “No, I’ve just never heard of that. Before I say yes, I must talk to Theodore and Norman about your offer. They may have some questions.”
“Sure. Do you want to talk to them now?” asked Slate.
Standing, Kieran said, “Yes, I know they’re worried. Thanks.”
After Kieran left the suite, Cody stood, cradling Jake in his arms, and said to Dylon, “Come on Dad, time to put our sleeping pups to bed.”
Dylon was surprised when he looked down at Jessica and found her as fast asleep as her brother. Rising slowly and making sure he didn’t jostle his daughter, he followed his mate into the pups’ bedroom. After giving each a soft good night kiss and tucking them in, Cody and Dylon quietly left the room, leaving the door ajar so their pups’ cries could be heard.
On the way back to the living room, Dylon stopped and pulled Cody into his arms. Gently kissing his lips, he whispered, “Are you all right, my pet? No problem with keeping your visions behind the wall in your mind?”
Cody leaned in for another kiss, then said, “No. But when we get home, I want to look behind the wall. I think the visions I had about everything that’s happened here have disappeared. Do you know what that means?” Cody whispered excitedly. After seeing Dylon shake his head, he continued, “I won’t ever feel the pain from those visions again. If that’s true, isn’t it wonderful? I know I’ll have more in the future but I’ll never again suffer from these.”
“We need to ask Oracle when we get back,” Dylon said quietly with hope in his eyes. Just the possibility his mate would have a reprieve between his visions would be the second best gift he could ever receive. Wrapping his arm around Cody’s waist, they walked slowly to the living room.
~/~/~/~/~
Kieran raced to his friends’ room.Holy shit balls! This could be the answer to our prayers.Knocking before opening the door, he walked in and saw his two friends tangled up on the bed, kissing each other. “Hey, stop for a second. I got something to tell you.” He tapped his foot impatiently waiting for his words to sink into the two love-sick bears. Finally, when he thought he’d have to splash cold water over them, they stopped kissing and looked at him with puffy lips.
“What is so important you have to tell us now?” asked Theodore.
“Thisisimportant so shut up and listen. Cody has offered us a safe place to stay and finish our schooling. Slate is also going to try to get us some money from Arald. You know, to pay us for all the shit we went through. If he can do that, when we get the money, we’ll be able to move into our own place and start our new life like we always planned.”
“No shit!” exclaimed Norman.
“How do you know you can trust him?” asked Theodore, always suspicious of something sounding too good to be true. The last time he’d done that, he ended up at Arald’s.
“I’m not sure I trust Slate, but I trust Cody. It’s his pack we would be living with.”
“But that’s a wolf pack,” complained Theodore, “we’re bears. I don’t know about this. What happens if we don’t like it there? Then what? Are we going to be locked up again?”
Kieran sighed inwardly. He couldn’t really blame Theodore or Norman. Arald wasn’t exactly a great spokesman for wolf packs. “Look, why don’t you come and meet Cody, at least. Then make up your mind. If you don’t want to go, we won’t. We’ll stick together no matter what.”
