“Ask me anything you want. I want you to know everything about me.”
“What happened to your parents and younger siblings?”
Zane lowered his eyes. He knew his mate would ask about it sooner or later so, taking a deep breath, he began. “When my brothers and I were in Las Vegas to havesome fun at the end of the school year, my uncle and his enforcers came to our home in the middle of the night and killed everyone in our pack, including my parents and young brothers and sisters. We couldn’t even bury them, because afterwards, they burned every building to the ground including everyone they murdered, and nothing was left but ashes.
“We only found that out when Mystia went there a week later; Dakota had begged her to help him, so we could give them a proper burial. I was heartbroken but Kota, it was so much worse for him. I watched him day after day, spiraling downward with no end in sight. I knew what was causing it…our mother’s death. You see, Kota’s an empath and I think mom helped him deal with the negative emotions around him. And without her help, he was overwhelmed. Anyway, after our family was killed, Jackson took control and formed a pack with just the seven of us, keeping us busy building our new home.
“We lived in tents and Dakota cooked for us over a campfire; I was worried as I watched him climb inside himself. I didn’t know it at the time, but Jackson had asked Logan to help get me through that summer so one day, when we were up on the roof, pounding in shingles, I told him what I thought was happening to Dakota. I was so afraid I’d lose a brother that I begged Logan to talk to Kota, to make sure he was okay.”
David sat stunned as he took it all in, then asked, “Did he?”
Nodding, Zane said, “The next day when we were back up on the roof, Logan told me everything was cool with Kota. I don’t know what he said, but after that, Kota seemed better, but it took a long time before he was morelike his old self. Since he’s found his Fated Mate, he looks a lot happier than he’s been in a very long time.”
“Do you still miss your family?” asked David, suddenly angry at himself for asking such a stupid question.
“More than I can say,” Zane answered, tearing up, “especially my mom. After she died, I realized how much she supported and encouraged me to follow my dream. I don’t know how she did it with so many pups to take care of, but she made me feel special, like I was the most important person in her world. That’s what I miss the most…the feeling that I mean everything to someone.”
“What about your father?” asked David, treading carefully.
“Huh! My father was a piece of work. It’s taken me a long time to accept that because I ignored every bad thing he did to my brothers especially to Logan. I felt I had to support his actions because not only was he my father, but the Alpha of the pack. I spent my teenage years supporting him and his iron-fisted policies. But I had to hide who I really was, which I hated, because I wasn’t being honest.”
David hesitated slightly before asking Zane, “In what way?”
“One day, I heard my father berating my mother for giving birth to pups that never should have been born because they were abominations. According to him, his standing as the pack’s Alpha had been damaged because his first born was, in his words, ‘a fucking faggot.’ By that time, I knew I was gay, but hadn’t told anyone because I was afraid my dad would hate me, so I said nothing, in fact, that’s when I became my father’s biggest supporter.
“Eventually, Jackson realized I was gay and keeping it a secret was hurting me so he took me shopping for some computer thing I wanted, but that was only a pretense. Instead, he drove to a coffee shop, bought us lattes and encouraged me to tell him who I really was. It took a while but when I finally came out to him, I suddenly felt lighter…my world seemed brighter. That’s when I realized how much I was hurting myself by not being honest about who I was.
“We talked a long time, so long the sun was setting when we headed back home. Once I felt the freedom in my soul…when I could publicly acknowledge who I truly was…I knew there wasn’t any way I was going back in the closet. But Jackson convinced me to keep it from our father since he was going back to school and didn’t want me to incur my father’s anger while he was gone.”
“Did you ever tell your father?”
“No, never had the chance but I don’t really care. I did tell my mother, Kota, and my other brothers because I felt safe if they knew. Jackson told me only to tell people I felt safe with and he made sure I understood my father was not one of them. I kept up the pretense with him, but couldn’t wait until I could escape to college where I could begin living my life as an out-and-proud gay wolf shifter.”
Changing the subject, David asked, “Is Cody’s home for gay boys open to all types of shifters?”
“Yup. I’m super proud of him and Dylon for doing this and I plan to teach classes about computers to the boys.”
“What does Colton do?”
“He’s a nurse and Ian is a doctor. Steel built a hospital on the bottom floor of the pack house when Jackson was pregnant. It was a good thing, too, because Jackson almost died. Ian’s an omega and his pregnancy is freaking Colton out, if you can believe that.”
“I don’t understand…Ian’s a doctor and Colton is a nurse…what’s the prob…oh no, there’s something wrong with the pup! That’s it, isn’t it?”
Chuckling, Zane said, “No, not at all. Jackson said it’s because they are Fated Mates so whatever medical knowledge Colton has is eclipsed by his wolf’s overly protective nature right now. He said Steel was just as protective when Jackson was pregnant with Daniel.”
“That’s a relief,” David said, letting out a deep breath he’d been holding. Then he asked, “Don’t you have one more brother?”
“Carson…my arch rival when it comes to bets,” Zane said, hastening then to explain when David looked puzzled. “My brothers and I bet on everything and usually I have the winning bet so Carson is always trying to beat me by placing the first bet. For instance, let’s say we’re at the dinner table when Kieran and Logan announce they’re having a pup. I’d immediately call out, betting it’s a boy and so Carson is left with the pup being a girl.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, really, cause the odds are even…50-50. But instead he’ll say, ‘I’m betting Kieran is having twin boys instead of taking the girl bet so I’m forced to make a bet for either two girl twins or a boy and a girl.”
“Sounds complicated,” David said, grinning.
“Yeah but it’s fun. When Jackson was pregnant, there were so many betting pools…like the day Daniel would be born, what his name would be, the color of his eyes, it was hard to keep ‘em all straight.” Zane laughed.
“Did you win any?” asked David, sure of it, but asking anyway.
