Kieran turned to Logan and, tugging at his mate’s hand said, “Babe, can I see you in the bedroom before Dakota arrives?” Looking at Colton and Ian, he added, “It’s a mate thing, okay?”
“Sure go ahead,” Colton said. “I want to talk to Ian anyway.”
Logan shrugged before following his mate into the bedroom. Shutting the door, he asked, “What do you want to tell me?”
Plopping down at the foot of the bed, Kieran fidgeted over his decision to share a secret with his mate, but knew he could withhold it no longer. Plunging into the deep end, he said, “Cody is a seer and the Fates gave him the gift to become invisible.”
Logan gasped as he stared at his mate, “Invisible? Like disappearing so no one can see you?”
“Yes, and Dylon has a gift too.”
“What’s his gift?” Logan asked.
“He’s been given the strength of Hercules.”
“Holy shit!” said Logan, astonished at this revelation. “Did Cody have a vision about you? Is that why he and Dylon went to Tajikistan?”
“Yes, the Fates wanted him to save me.”
“Fuck! Who else knows this?”
“Jackson, Steel and Oracle as far as I know.”
“Not Colton or Carson?”
“No…not unless they learned about it while we were here.”
Logan mulled over what he’d just learned, before saying softly, “Slate’s in terrible danger, isn’t he?”
Tears now falling from his eyes, Kieran nodded. “Slate will die unless we find him quickly.”
Chapter 40
Strange voices filled his ears as Slate groggily opened his eyes—then promptly closed them as sleep tugged at him. His brain was foggy; he felt exhausted, like he’d been swimming through miles of mud. Fighting the dream world calling to him, Slate forced his eyes open again, trying to focus on who was speaking, but it was too dark. Only sporadic flashes of light illuminated the owners of the voices.
“He’s waking up! Give him another shot!”
“It’ll kill him! We need him!”
“Then give him a smaller dose! Just don’t let him wake up!”
“Fine, but if he croaks, you still owe me the money.”
Slate felt a prick in his arm and his world went dark again.
~/~/~/~/~
Dakota’s eyes popped open and stared at the slice of sunshine coming through the opening in the curtains. As he relived the horror of last night, tears filled his eyes, Slate was gone, taken by someone who wants Fionn’s hoard. Whether Slate knew where it was or not, his gut told him Slate would never be released, so unless he could find his mate himself, he would lose the mate who was his world. He promised Maximus he would always protect his son and now he was helpless—knowing Slate was going to die, never to see his pup. His failure to keep that promise now darkened his soul as a new panic attack began; Dakota squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to block out the pain.
Kieran had sat next to Dakota’s bed all night, keeping his hand on him so he could rest. When Dakota arrived, he looked lost as he walked in, holding Slate’s phone to his heart and, other than pleading with Logan to save Slate, he didn’t react to anything said to him. Kieran saw Dakota shut down as he sat on the edge of the bed after letting Ian examine him, followed by a shot to help him sleep.
Returning to the bedroom after using the bathroom, Kieran was greeted by a sour smell signaling Dakota’s panic attack was in full bloom. Rushing to the bed, Kieran placed his hands on Dakota’s chest, drawing out the fear and hopelessness causing the distress. He could see Dakota’s breathing even out, hear his heart slow down and feel hope return. When the transfer was complete, Kieran removed his hands, sitting down on the bed beside Dakota.
As his panic attack faded, Dakota opened his eyes and found himself staring into the vivid blue eyes of Kieran. “What did you do?”
“I stopped your panic attack,” Kieran said.
“But how? I tried, but it was too powerful for me. I couldn’t do it.”
