~/~/~/~/~
Carson entered his office, then slammed the door shut. Angry, hurt, and upset, he paced, trying to accept the fact that the man he was sure was meant for him actually belonged to his brother. When Jackson told them the news, it took everything he had to keep silent. Carson remembered the shitstorm after he tried to break up Cody and Dylon’s mating and there was no way he would ever do that again.Fuckingbedamned!Kicking at a box on the floor in frustration didn’t help so he was back to pacing.Maybe if I met him first…before Dakota…yeah that’s a stupid thought.Frustrated, Carson cursed the Fates for giving Slate to his brother.We would have been perfect together. I know it!
When his anger was gone, Carson sat at his desk, head in his hands, now trying to deal with the hurt that was left, finally admitting to himself that at the core of his pain was the sense of once more being left out. Now he was the only ‘Cocky C’ unmated.When will I ever get my happily ever after?
~/~/~/~/~
“Hey, sorry we’re late,” Jackson said as he entered Zane’s computer room.
“No problem,” Zane said. “Wow that was a shocker about Dakota and Slate, eh? I mean, Dakota didn’t sayanything to me when I saw him before lunch. I wonder if he found out when he delivered Slate’s lunch?”
“Possible. So what news do you have about the Silver Point enforcers who were there during the massacre?” asked Jackson, unwilling to discuss his brother’s mating with anyone until he spoke with Dakota.
“In one word…nothing. I have researched every pack in the US and other than Silver Point, no one has hired new enforcers since the massacre. So I can’t find the names of who were our uncle’s enforcers at that time.”
“So, another dead end,” Steel said.
“Yes and no. The High Council has records of every member of every pack and I can access those files. The problem is, I can only see the list of current members. The older lists are archived and not accessible by computer.”
“Who can see those records?”
“I’m not sure. Dylon might be able to help because he trained with their elite force and seems to know a lot about the inner workings. Or maybe Frank could help.”
“I’ll talk to Dylon first. Was that all?” Jackson asked.
“Uh, no. I wanted to ask you something but it has nothing to do with the stuff I’m doing for you.”
“Do you need to speak to me in private?”
“Oh no, nothing like that. Uhm, okay, I’m just going to say it. Can I go to Scotland for a week? I have already asked Kieran and he said it was okay with everyone. I mean I haven’t ever been any place and I found the proof you needed and I know I still have other work to do but I promise I will get it done when I come back.”
Jackson smiled listening to Zane’s speech and wondered how many times he rehearsed it, then asked, “When would you leave?”
“I was thinking if I left Saturday night then I would have a full week in Scotland before everyone came back, well except for Ian and Colton.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jackson said. Then added, “Babe, would you make sure Zane has everything he needs in the way of documents.”
“Sure.”
Grinning, Zane felt excitement humming through his body.Holy shit balls, I’m actually going! Hot damn!“Oh, wait, what about my clean up duty with Carson? I can’t leave him to do that alone. He’s still doing Cody’s chores along with his own.”
“I’ll take care of it. Just have a good time…you deserve it. And don’t get into any trouble and make sure you listen to Logan.”
“Yes,mom, I promise,” Zane said, laughing.
~/~/~/~/~
The late afternoon sun flooded the entire cave and it finally woke Dakota’s wolf. Stretching, then shaking his fur out, Dakota relished the quietness in his mind. Unfortunately, it would be short-lived because he had to head back and deal with the mess at home. Frankly, he was surprised Jackson hadn’t already sent someone to find him, especially since he was MIA for lunch but then he guessed everyone was involved with Slate.My mate! No our mate!Dakota corrected himself after his wolf growled at him.
A breeze floated in and suddenly his wolf was on alert, their mate was nearby. Dakota stilled his wolf, listeningfor any sounds that would tell him where Slate was. Not hearing anything, Dakota lay and crept to the opening where his eyes searched until they found the Dire Wolf sleeping across the path leading to the cave. When his wolf saw the protectiveness of his mate, he yipped in happiness as he bounded over to Slate, who awoke just as Dakota’s wolf landed on him, greeting him with long licks on his face.
Chuffing at the affection, Slate’s wolf returned it, happy to be grooming and marking his mate with his scent. Taking it as a good sign, Slate shifted and then said, “Dakota, I promise you, I will not claim you without your consent but I would like to talk to you, so would you please shift so we can?” Holding his breath for what seemed like ages, he was finally rewarded with the sounds of his mate shifting back.
Chapter 9
Before him stood his mate—a naked mate—with a perfect body that ticked all of Slate’s boxes. He had fucked more men than he could remember in his long lifetime but none had ever come close.Sheer fucking perfection!Except for the frown on Dakota’s face. Slate studied it, trying to figure out why his mate looked so sad.Is he unhappy because I ended up as his mate?
Seeing Slate naked brought back all the delicious feelings Dakota experienced in the bedroom but it also drove home the impossible situation he was now in. Dakota spied a backpack on the ground behind Slate, guessing one of his brothers left it there for him. Stepping around his mate, Dakota retrieved it, zipped it open and took out the clothes meant for both of them. Smiling to himself at his brothers’ love, he handed some jeans to his mate and then put on his. While his mouth still watered over Slate’s delicious naked chest, at least Dakota thought he’d now be able to talk to him. “C’mon, I know a better place where we can figure out what to do about this,” Dakota said, leading the way through the forest until he arrived at a shady glen with a mountain brook running nearby. Kneeling down by the cold mountain water, Dakota scooped up handfuls of it to quench his thirst before sitting back against a tree.
