Jackson glanced at Steel and shrugged, then said, “I don’t know. Logan didn’t say anything. Is it important? I can call him back and ask him.”
“Please, but what would be better yet, is if he could take a picture so I can see exactly what they look like,” Maximus said.
“Okay, I’ll do that now,” said Jackson.
“Good, in the meantime, Oracle is spending some time with Daniel before leaving, so if that’s all for now, I’ll join her,” Maximus said and, after Jackson nodded, he rose and left.
“I think Dad has a pretty good idea about David,” Steel said,
“Yup,” said Jackson. Giving his mate a quick kiss, he rose, pulling his phone from his pocket and called his brother.
~/~/~/~/~
After Morgan closed the door, silence surrounded David as he thought about what to say. The whole Fated Mate thing threw him for a loop since he’d been told by the High Priestess, he’d never have one because of what he was.Well, that just shows how much she knows!But there was no sense denying it as his wolf was still prancing up a storm and howling his mating call and that felt so strange as his wolf rarely made his presence known. Time stretched on and he felt confused his mate hadn’t said anything yet.What was he waiting for?
Zane watched as his mate looked around the room, then at the floor, then at the ceiling, and then at his nervous hands, picking at something on the couch. He wished he had Kota’s empath ability to feel emotions because it would certainly help him figure out what David was waiting for. Looking closely at his mate, Zane noticed the rigidity of David’s body; his mate didn’t know what to do and was probably waiting for him to say or do something. “Hey, do you want me to tell you about myself?” he asked.
David gratefully smiled at his mate, then said softly, “That’d be great.”
“Hmmm, well, I’m the youngest of my brothers…well not the youngest originally…but the youngest now and I have six other brothers. The oldest, Jackson, is also my Alpha and we live in California. You met Logan, he’s mated to Kieran. Oh, Logan is the twin of Jackson, then there’s Cody, Colton and Carson…triplets…Colton is upstairs with his mate Ian. Then Dakota is next…he’s only two years older than me and the one I’m closest to. I call him Kota for short and you’ll meet him because he’s upstairs too, with his mate Slate, Steel’s brother who is mated to Jackson. A bit confusing, huh?”
“No, I got it. Go ahead, tell me more,” said David.
“Uhmm, let’s see. Oh yes, I’m a major geek. I have my own computer lab set up at home. Right now, I’m beta testing a program for my nephew…oh shit, I forgot to tell you about my nephews and niece. Daniel…that’s who I originally designed the program for…he’s the son of Jackson and Steel, and then there’s Jake and Jessica…Cody and Dylon’s pups. They’re twins but obviously not identical.”
Giggling, David said, “Well, I’m relieved to hear that.”
Transfixed at the musical sound of his mate’s giggles, Zane grinned. The melancholy look had finally left David’s face.
Chapter 5
“What else can I tell you about me?” pondered Zane.
“You said you weren’t the youngest originally. What did you mean by that?” asked David.
Zane felt the pain of his loss again with the reminder of what happened, and his sadness was reflected in his face. Opening his mouth to speak, then shutting it, he wasn’t sure how to explain what happened.
Seeing his mate’s face turn grim, David regretted his question. “Hey, that’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” he said, softly.
“No, that’s all right. You should know everything before you make a decision to claim me. Briefly, my parents and six younger siblings were massacred by my uncle and he wants to kill me and my brothers, too.”
David felt a deep cutting pain against his chest as if he’d been slashed. He pictured Zane being killed by a crazy-ass uncle, and his wolf howled in sorrow. Shocked at the pain, David could only utter, “Fucking douchebag!”
“That, he is.”
Seeking more information about the danger his mate faced, David asked, “Is that why you’re in Scotland? Because you’re hiding from him?”
“What? No! I arrived yesterday for a vacation. Colton and Ian came because Ian was born in Scotland, but he left when he was very young. Logan and Kieran came over from Ireland where Kieran’s from because Kieran wanted to join Theo and Norman.”
“Who are Theo and Norman?”
“Oh shit, I forgot to tell you about them. Theodore and Norman along with Kieran were rescued by my brother Cody and his mate Dylon from a prison in Tajikistan where this asshole, Arald, was running a slave auction. Anyway, after they were rescued, Cody brought them back with him…which was a good thing because it turned out Kieran was fated to be Logan’s mate. Oh, and by the way, Theo and Norm are Ghost Bear Shifters.”
“Are they members of your pack?”
“Yeah. Originally Cody was their guardian, but they objected to that since they are adults so now, he’s more of a big brother.”
“Any other shifters belonging to your pack?”
