“Absolutely!”
Oracle and Maximus reached Jackson’s study just as Dakota was wheeling his cart through the door. Following him in, Oracle took one of the chairs facing the desk as Maximus sat on the small couch and thanked Dakota for the mug of coffee.
Zane hurried in with clothes and handed pajama pants and t-shirts to Theo and Norman and, after grabbing a mug of coffee, moved over to sit next to Maximus.
When Ian came in with his medical bag, Jackson said to Theo and Norman, “Guys, do you mind if Ian gives you a quick look-see while we wait for Logan and Dylon?”
~/~/~/~/~
Striding to Logan’s room, he chafed under Jackson’s order of ‘no fighting’ because if he had his way, Logan would be sorry he ever messed with Kieran. Once he was at Logan’s door, Dylon stopped, and inhaled deeply several times, forcing himself to calm down. Finally, he was ready to deliver Jackson’s order, so he pounded on the door. “Logan,” he yelled. “Jackson wants you! Right now!” He waited a nanosecond before he started pounding again.
Kieran had made sure Logan would have a very deep and restful sleep before he left the room so the roars of the bears and the smashing of the furniture never woke him up. Even now, the heavy, insistent pounding by Dylon hadn’t disturbed his sleep. But when Dylon grabbed hisleg and dragged him out of bed, landing him on his bare ass on the floor with a thunk, Logan woke up with a snarl, fangs dropped, claws out. Looking up at his attacker, Logan thought he was still dreaming. “What the fuck?” Logan uttered before he realized Kieran was sleeping in his bed and the sheets were in a pile beside him. Growling at the thought his mate was naked in front of Dylon, Logan leaped off the floor with the sheet in his hand to cover Kieran up.
Standing, Logan was sure he’d been knocked unconscious when he hit the floor because he was staring at an empty bed. Swirling around, he growled, “What did you do to Kieran?”
“Kieran? Nothing! He’s gone, asshole and I want to know what you did to cause him to run away because, I swear, if you’ve hurt him, you will answer to me whether Jackson likes it or not.”
Logan’s face was blank as he tried to process what Dylon was saying.Kieran gone? My mate? My Fated Mate? No-no-no-no-no! Nooooo! He has to be here!But as hard as he tried, he could not sense his mate.Oh, my gods, is he really gone? My Kieran left me?Trying to make sense of it, he shook his head while telling himself he’d been right to keep his wall up. Kieran left him as everyone else had during his whole life so why should he have thought his mate would be any different? Schooling his face into a neutral calm expression, he turned back to Dylon. “I didn’t do anything to Kieran except claim him as my Fated Mate. If he doesn’t want to stay, I’m not going to force him. Now, why did you invade my privacy?”
Dylon opened and closed his mouth several times before shutting it.What the fuck? How the hell did sassy Ki end up with a cold fish like Logan…shit, that’s above my pay grade.Narrowing his eyes, he looked at Logan withcontempt and when he finally could speak, he spit out, “Jackson wants you in his office immediately but for Theo and Norman’s sake, shed the ‘I-don’t-care-about-Kieran’ attitude cause those two…those two are heartbroken Kieran left them behind. So, if you have any decency in you, please remember that Theo and Norman think they’ve been rejected by the one person who made sure they survived their time in Arald’s hell.” And with that, Dylon stomped out of Logan’s bedroom.
Sitting on his empty bed after Dylon left, Logan tried again to find his mate but to no avail. He had to face the reality that Kieran had left.But why didn’t Theo and Norman go with him. This isn’t making any sense. He didn’t know why Jackson wanted to see him since he couldn’t provide any answers to his twin’s questions nor did he want to talk about it. Kieran was gone and that told him everything he needed to know. Sighing wearily, Logan rose and went over to his closet to pick out his clothes. Standing in the color-coded closet, he felt the darkness come back to claim him and that’s when it happened. Tears flowed as he cried at the loss of the one person who was supposed to be with him forever.Gods, what a fucking fool I was to believe I would ever have a happy ending. I need to get a grip otherwise my brother will never believe that I don’t care if Kieran left. Oh shit, what the hell am I going to do?
Chapter 21
Jackson’s eyes narrowed as he studied his twin but decided to deal with what he saw later. Instead he said to the group in his office, “Kieran is gone and according to Theo and Norman, he left because he was rejected.”
“My friend left because his Fated Mate rejected him,” said Norman, pointing to Logan.
“Logan, is Kieran your Fated Mate?” asked Jackson.
“Wasmy Fated Mate,” Logan corrected.
Growls erupted from Dylon and the bears, but Jackson ignored them and continued, “Was? So, you did reject him.”
“I didn’t reject anyone. I don’t know why you all are looking at me like I committed some grievous offense. Kieran rejectedmewhen he left, so stop with the blame game.”
“You did, too, reject Ki. He said so in his note to us,” cried Theo.
“What note?” asked Logan.
“We went to his room this morning to see if you had claimed him and found a note he left for us. You rejected him…and stop calling Ki a liar! He left because of you!” yelled Theo.
“Enough Theo. Colton, did you or Carson find the note Theo and Norman say Kieran left behind?” asked Jackson.
Stepping forward and handing a piece of paper to Jackson, Colton replied, “Here. I think there was more but this is all we have.”
After reading the note, he passed it to Logan whose face turned white as he read it.
Looking up at his brother, he whispered, “I don’t understand this…I didn’t reject him at all…”
Looking at his brother, Jackson made a decision, “I want to talk to Logan alone. Please wait outside until I call.”
Cody spoke up. “I think I should be here also.”
“No, Cody, I’ll get to you after I speak with Logan first,” Jackson said, then waited until everyone filed out before getting up and walking around the desk. He leaned down to give his twin a hug before sitting again. “I know this is painful, but please
tell me what happened when you claimed Kieran. Has he claimed you also?”
