“Thanks. We were on our way to check it out…”
“Because my mate won’t sleep until he knows his kitchen is spotless, right babe?” asked Slate, chuckling.
“Glad to see you know my brother so well. I’ll leave you to your inspection tour as I’m heading to bed. It’s my night to get up with Daniel so every bit of sleep I can get is a bonus.” After giving both of them a hug, Jackson headed to the stairs, but before he got there, he turned to Dakota and Slate and asked, “Is there a pup on the way?”
Smiling, Dakota nodded as his hand sought out his belly, where his little bean was growing.
“Congratulations to both of you. I won’t say a word so it’s up to you, whenever you announce it,” Jackson said, before continuing on his way to his bedroom.
Slate looked at his mate. “Babe, I never thought of making an announcement to the pack, did you?”
Shaking his head as he led Slate to his kitchen, Dakota said, “No, I guess we should, but do you mind if we keep it to ourselves for a while?”
“Not at all, but why?”
“When Jackson told us he was pregnant, some of my brothers made nasty comments and frankly, I just don’t want to deal with their reaction to me being pregnant.”
Growling, Slate said, “Well, let’s hope they learned their lesson with Jackson because they won’t like what I’ll say to them if they give you any shit. The way I see it, is not only will they be insulting my mate but our pup too. I don’t know what Steel did, but my advice to your brothers is ‘if you can’t say anything nice, then keep your trap shut’.”
Laughing at his mate’s version of the proverb, Dakota said, “I love the way you say it babe, now let’s see thedamage.” Pushing the swinging door open and flipping on the lights, Dakota gasped. “Holy shit, babe! What the fuck did they do?” He walked in slowly, running his fingertips over countertops, cabinet doors, and appliances before turning around and smiling at Slate. “I can’t believe how clean my kitchen is! It’s like new! I was always meaning to do a thorough cleaning but never got around to it. Everything is spotless…I mean…Every. Fucking. Thing. How did they do this?”
“It does look amazing. Hey babe, I think my brother left you a note on the island, next to the flowers,” Slate said, pointing to a folded piece of paper.
Dakota walked over and picked up the note. Opening it, he began to read,
Dear Dakota, While I have probably said ‘thanks’ for cooking such great meals for all of us, I’ve never told you how much I appreciate all you do to serve meals that are varied and delicious…all the time. But that is just a small part of what you do for everyone! With each new member, you take the time to research and make the foods from their homeland, giving them a welcome that comes straight from your heart. And then there are the pups...from the moment Daniel was born, you were there with his first bottle, making sure my son had everything he needed to grow healthy and strong and you have continued with Jessica and Jake. I have no doubt Ian and Colton, Kieran and Logan will find your help as valuable as Jackson and I have.
Making your dinner tonight reminded me of all the work that goes into cooking a meal. I was struggling just to cook for two so I can only imagine what it takes to do it for our pack. So as Alpha Mate, I’m instituting a new policy which will give you one day off a week from your cooking duties. Eventually, I hope to increase it to twodays as Theo’s knowledge and skill increase. So just let me know which day you want off.
Congratulations on your mating! May you and Slate be as happy as Jackson and I am!
Steel
PS: Don’t worry about your kitchen on your days off because I will personally insure it will be as neat as it is tonight.
Handing the note to his mate, Dakota sat down in one of the chairs at the island, blushing at the praise as tears dotted his long, thick lashes. He was astounded at what Steel wrote, never expecting it, but those words meant the world to Dakota; it was the first time anyone had taken the time to tell him how much he was appreciated.
Slate quickly read the note, smiling at what his big brother had written. Knowing what Steel’s words meant to his mate, he scooped up Dakota, setting him on the island. Framing his mate’s face with his hands, Slate gently kissed Dakota’s lips, then, using his thumbs to remove his tears, asked, “Babe, are you all right?”
“Yessss,” Dakota said with a shaky voice. “Do you know Steel is the first person who ever told me that my cooking was appreciated?”
“You’re kidding me?”
Shaking his head, Dakota replied, “Really. It means a lot to me he knows how hard I work to make each meal special.”
“Hmmm, well I was ready to kiss the ground you walk on after tasting your cooking this morning so…”
Giggling, Dakota said, “I think I’d like to see that.”
Chapter 24
Dakota woke just as dawn was lifting the darkness of the nighttime sky. Usually, the first thing he thought about was what was he going to make for breakfast, but today was different because his mate was not only in his thoughts, but had wrapped himself around him; Slate’s arm and leg were draped over him. Inhaling his mate’s scent, Dakota smiled, then realized he had smiled more in the last few days than he had in a long time. Chuckling at his foolish decision never to mate, that thought quickly ended as another from last night surfaced; the doubt that his parents were ever Fated Mates. He kept drawing a blank when he tried to remember who told him that when he was young. Giving up on that for now, as sleep called to him again, Dakota decided to ask Oracle today when they met. Moving closer to the warmth of his mate’s body, Dakota drifted off with a smile as he felt a twinge reminding him he now belonged to Slate.
~/~/~/~/~
The chatter around the dining table in Logan and Kieran’s hotel suite was almost impossible to follow—everyone was talking at once about what they did yesterday. Logan homed in on Kieran’s discussion with Fionn, Theo and Norman about the clothes they’d picked out for the young dragon.
“What’s your favorite piece we bought yesterday?” Kieran asked his friends.
