“Really? Fuck, yes!” Through their mind link Jackson asked Steel to join him in Zane’s computer room as soon as possible and followed his brother downstairs eager to see if proof had been found to prove his and his brothers’ innocence.
~/~/~/~/~
Ian woke up and immediately knew Colton was missing from the bed. Sighing, he turned over, his hand going to his small baby bump, rubbing the tiny mound. His mate didn’t know it yet, but Ian knew he was having twins even though the ultrasound Colton did only showed one pup. He was going to have another one to see if the second pup was visible before they left, but had decided against it because his mate was freaking out about them having only one.Fuck! I don’t think I could handle my mate if he knew I was having two pups.It would explain his extreme tiredness but just to make sure, Ian wanted to talk to his mother about it first before worry set in.
Then, with the newly discovered Scottish Wolf shifters added to the mix, it was a lot to handle for either of them. This was supposed to be a simple trip to the land of his birth and a chance for his adoptive parents to meet his mate.What a clusterfuck!Discovering that Kieran was the powerful Shaman he’d been told about and then, the revelation about the existence of his subjects, had made it a non-stop merry-go-round with little time to catch their breath.
Rolling over at the sound of their bedroom door opening, Ian watched as Colton came into the bedroom, his forehead creased. “Babe, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. How are you feeling this afternoon?” Colton asked, walking over to Ian.
“Good, but I woke up alone. C’mon babe, what’s wrong?”
Colton sat on the bed next to Ian, placing his hand on Ian’s belly and caressed the slight bump he found there. “I called Jackson and asked him to speak to Oracle about your newly found subjects. I can’t believe she didn’t tell us.”
Placing his hand on top of his mate’s, Ian replied, “Maybe she didn’t know. I’ve known Oracle for a long time and in all that time I never found her to be untruthful.”
“Yeah, I know. Jackson said something like that.”
“Babe, what’s really bothering you? You know I have no intention of staying in Scotland. Oracle made it clear the Fates didn’t expect that of me. The only reason I want to meet them…well, two reasons really…is first to assess their healthcare situation. And second, to see what else I can do for them. The fortune Oracle gave to us is doing nothing but collecting more interest. I was thinking we might be able to put it to use.”
“What exactly are you thinking of doing?” Colton asked, wondering what his mate had cooking in that sharp mind of his.
“Well, housing, jobs, food mainly. And a hospital. I’m sure they don’t have one and I thought after you determine what’s needed, you could design it and we could hire Dire Enterprises to build it. The same with whatever housing is needed.”
Colton smiled; then it slowly faded from his face. “I like those ideas but I have to be honest with you…I think it’s too much for you to take on while pregnant.”
Ian growled. “I’m not a fucking invalid!”
Oh, oh! Wrong thing to say.“Sorry babe, I wasn’t implying you were. I’m just wondering how we are going to supervise everything when we are back home.”
Ian grinned. “I’ve an idea about that, too. I thought my parents might like to stay in Scotland and I know my father would love to be in charge of the project. I’m betting they know some of the survivors also.”
Colton considered Ian’s ideas, his smile slowly returning. “I love it. So they would act as your envoy with your subjects and I can take you back home and spoil you rotten until our pup is born. Count me in.”
“Whoa! What do you mean ‘until our pup is born’? What happens afterward?”
Colton laughed and lay down next to Ian. Gathering him up in his arms, he buried his nose in his mate’s hair, breathing in the scent he craved all the time. “Well, I could be persuaded to continue after our pup arrives,” hemurmured, reaching down to stroke Ian’s cock, wanting to taste his mate now, all worries pushed aside.
Groaning, Ian arched his back, thrusting his cock through the hand gripping it. Loving the feeling, his body responded to the pleasure his mate was giving him.Oh yes, spoil away! This is perfect!
~/~/~/~/~
Turning over, Fionn kicked the covers off his body and opened his eyes.I can’t believe I slept the afternoon away.Looking around, he found it hard to believe that in such a short time he’d gone from a prisoner in a cave to sleeping in a bed that seemed to have been made by the gods. Never had he ever felt anything like it, vowing he was going to buy this bed and ship it to California. But first he had to make sure his asshole father didn’t take his hoard away and that was the first order of the day.
Everything had gone from bad to worse when his mother died. His father was angry Fionn’s mother willed her hoard to him and left nothing for her husband. That’s when his father changed from a man who ignored his son to a sadist, hell bent on spending his life figuring out ways to make Fionn’s miserable. Rom, the doctor his dad brought in to “cure” him, thought his father had just found out he was gay, but that was just more bullshit from his father.Dear old dad knew I was gay before my mother died.Fucking asshole!This latest scheme of making his gay son marry a female dragon was nothing more than a ploy for his father to get his hands on Fionn’s hoard—he was sure of it.
Ha! He won’t be able to make me marry now!He wasn’t sure about going to live with a bunch of wolves but at least it would keep his father from killing him.One step at a time.He was safe for the moment and when they got to California, he would hire a lawyer to gain hisindependence from everyone. Then, and only then, would he be free because when it came right down to it, from the time his mother died, he only trusted himself.
Rising, he looked at the clothes he was given to wear with distaste—scrubs, he thought they were called—and wondered if Logan would let him go to his home and pack his belongings since his father was forbidden to be in Scotland while he was here. Then it would be easier to make sure his hoard was hidden further so his father would never find it. Luckily, his mother had prepared several secret locations where he could keep his hoard safe and out of his father’s greedy reach.
Looking back, Fionn realized his mother must have known what his father would do after he learned his wife left him nothing. It was the biggest insult she could have given her mate but as far as Fionn was concerned, his mother was justified. The little attention he received from his father was a ton more than he’d given to his wife. Snorting in disgust, his mind flickered back to the scene of the grieving husband at his mother’s gravesite.What a fucking farce! Where the hell was my father when my mother caught the dragon fever and lingered for months wracked in pain? Not by his wife’s side! Oh no, he was too busy adding to his hoard to be bothered.
Fionn’s painful memories of taking care of his mother while spending night after night praying to the gods to save her, flooded his mind causing tears to fall. He wiped them away quickly as he remembered the promise he made to her before she died, and resolved to keep that vow, no matter what.I will, Mother, I will do what I promised you! I won’t forget!He owed it to her and maybe the guilt he felt at his inability to save his mother would lessen when he did.
Hearing voices, Fionn peeked out his bedroom door and saw Theo and Norman in the living room. Hoping they might have something he could wear until he could get his clothes, he ducked back in and pulled on the pants and top he wore yesterday. Strolling out to them he smiled at his new friends. “Good afternoon guys,” he called out.
“Hey, Fionn. How was your nap?” asked Theo.
