Chapter 1
Slate cuddled his nephew while listening to his brother brag about everything Daniel could do and wondered if he was going to be subjected to the dreaded photo show. After meeting Daniel, he could understand his brother’s behavior?his nephew was special?but Slate wasn’t willing to “ooh” and “aah” for hours on end while viewing an endless stream of baby pictures celebrating each of Daniel’s achievements.
After twenty minutes of listening to Steel, he knew his brother was going to protect the shit out of Daniel but he also knew what rolehewas going to play. He’d be the cool uncle who brought his nephew wild and outrageous gifts and showed him how to have fun. In a déjà vu moment, he flashed back to their childhood. Steel was the voice of reason and caution while he had all the fun ideas. Blocking out his brother’s voice, his mind drifted to his brother’s mate and the reaction he had when he met Jackson—surprise and shock as he felt an Alpha power rivaling his dad’s. Of all the Alphas he met in his travels, none could come close to matching Maximus, but Jackson had—even surpassed it if he wasn’t mistaken.
“Babe,” Jackson said to Steel, “I think the ‘Daniel is fantastic hour’ is up…he needs his nap…unless you are volunteering to stay up with an overtired pup all night.” Lifting Daniel from Slate’s arms, Jackson said, “Glad we finally met, brother-in-law, see you at lunch.”
Steel watched his mate and son leave before turning his eyes back to his brother. “What’s the real reason you came, bro? And don’t give me any shit about meeting Jackson and Daniel.”
“What the fuck? You’ve pestered me to visit ever since you met your Fated Mate and when I do, what happens?You begin your interrogation of why I came. Fuck off! I don’t know why you’re hassling me. I had to see Penn about some legal crap and thought as long as I was here, I’d drop in. Why didn’t you tell me about Jackson? How come you never told me his Alpha power is stronger than Dad’s?”
“Because it wasn’t when I met him. Ever since we had Daniel, his power has grown, and it hasn’t stopped. I asked Mom about it, but she couldn’t tell me anything.”
“Is this part of his gift from the Fates?”
“I don’t know. But it’s not the only thing that’s changed with my mate…his wolf is as big as mine now.”
“No fucking way! And that all happened after he gave birth to Daniel?”
“Yup. I’m guessing it’s the Fates’ way of protecting Daniel but that’s only a guess. This is uncharted territory, so anything is possible.”
“What does Jackson say about the changes?”
“Nothing. He takes it all in stride,” Steel said, adding, “well, if you won’t tell me why you really came here, when I know your business with Penn could have been handled by phone, let’s go see Mom and Dad. Did you tell them you were going to visit?”
“Nope. Thought I’d surprise them.”
“Uh-huh. Did you suffer a head injury when Arald captured you…because you know youaretalking about an Oracle being surprised?”
Chuckling, Slate said, “Hey, it can happen. You told me she didn’t know why Jackson changed.”
Steel rose. “I didn’t say she didn’t know; only that she couldn’t tell me anything…a world of difference. C’mon, time to show our parents you’re still alive.”
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Wondering how this had happened, Dakota sat at the kitchen island, head in his hands, trying not to panic.A Fated Mate! My Fated Mate!He shouldn’t have been surprised but he was—gobsmacked to be exact. His mind flipped back to a scene in his favorite movie.Of all the kitchens in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine. Well, he didn’t really walk into mine but in a way he did.Ever since childhood, the kitchen represented the place where he was secure, protected from all the noise he heard in his head every day. Now, as Dakota sat where he thought he’d always be safe, a hurricane had blown in, tearing apart his carefully constructed world, leaving only rubble. He would always remember the moment.
As usual, his morning was going according to schedule, breakfast was over and he was in the process of making rare roast beef sandwiches for lunch. The beef was ready and he was kneading his rustic Italian bread dough thinking about his latest student, Theo. A recent addition to the Blackwood Pack, Theo, arrived with Norman and Kieran after his brother Cody and his mate, Dylon, rescued them from Arald, who, according to everything he’d heard, was a real asshole.
When Cody approached him about taking on one of the rescued shifters as an intern, he was leery at first about whether it would work since he already had Lizzie—Dylon’s mom—as his assistant. He’d been working with her for a month and loved every minute of it—it was the first time since his mother had been killed that he could feel her presence in his kitchen. But in the end, when Cody assigned Theo to him, it was a perfect match—hisintern had always wanted to learn to cook.Dumb fucking luck!
But now it seemed his luck had run out. Dakota wasn’t like his brothers, Logan in particular, who wanted to find their Fated Mate. Oh no, he had first-hand knowledge of the pain it had caused his mother to be in that position and he’d made up his mind early that he would never mate. At first, it seemed strange for him to think that way—wolves always talked about finding a mate—but the longer he thought about it, the more he realized it was the right decision for him. After all, he was gay, so it wasn’t as if he’d ever have any pups. What Dakota wanted out of life was to become a chef. And if he was lucky, it would be at some top rated restaurant where he could learn how to eventually run his own. His mother backed his plan, and he was in culinary school when his family was massacred, throwing his life into chaos.
It had been a very long journey since that fateful night in Las Vegas—when he learned his beloved mother had died—to get where he was able to find a modicum of happiness. Now his hard, fought-for peace was shattered.What the fuck am I going to do?His cock hadn’t gone down since the first whiff of orange blossom, allspice, and whiskey drifted into his kitchen when Slate walked through the front door. It had taken Dakota a minute before he realized the full implications of what it meant, and that’s when panic set in. Dropping the dough into the bowl, Dakota quickly covered it before inching closer to the doorway, trying to hear what Slate was saying.
The good news was Slate wasn’t staying long and the bad news was…Oh shit, what the fuck am I going to do until he leaves?Hitting his head with his hands, Dakota needed a game plan—one that would keep Slate from ever knowing who his mate was while he carried on asusual.Shit! Shit! Shit! What about Oracle? Does she know? Will she tell Slate? What a fucking clusterfuck!
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Knocking on his parents’ suite, Steel glanced at Slate, searching his face, seeing nothing except the brother he’d loved since the moment of his birth. Their childhood was magical with a steady stream of witches, warlocks, vampires, dragons, and every other kind of paranormal coming to seek out his mother. The fun they had hiding behind the heavy velvet drapes while peeking out, giggling at the strange-looking visitors their mother welcomed to her sitting room was something Steel treasured. And, of course, they’d always be discovered by the visitor who’d produce a small toy or treat for each of them.
Their closeness was the result of only having each other as playmates and then being buddies as they grew up. Both came out at the same time, went to the same schools, and studied business in college. They grew up knowing what their future would be—guardians of the Dire Wolf Treasure. After graduating, they joined the family business, learning it from the ground up until the day their father handed over the running of it to them. Dividing up the roles, each found a place that suited his personality and talents.
While Steel was the strategist and perfect for the role of Chief Executive Officer, Slate excelled as Chief Operating Officer; he loved having a hands-on, front-line approach to fixing problems. They worked well together, always listening and respecting each other’s ideas and opinions. Under their management Dire Enterprises grew to be a multi-billion dollar company. And while their closeness in business kept Dire Enterprises runningsmoothly, it also now clued Steel in to the fact that his brother was keeping a secret.
Oh, he did believe Slate wanted to meet Daniel and Jackson, but there was another reason his brother had decided to visit now—a reason he was keeping to himself. But Steel had no doubt he’d be able to ferret out the information sooner or later, as he had done all through their childhood—too bad tickling wasn’t an option anymore. Grinning to himself, Steel opened the door to his parents’ suite after knocking and hearing his father’s deep voice answer, “Come in.”
“Mom, Dad, look who finally decided to drag his sorry ass here to meet Jackson and Daniel,” said Steel, closing the door behind them, looking on as his father and mother embraced Slate.
