“You mean, I’m supposed to be a babysitter to an out-of-control dragon?” Jackson sputtered.
“No, of course not! The old shifter described you as a mentor, helping the young dragon use his power for good. His words, not mine,” replied Penn.
“That’s fine, but what about my pack? Are we in danger?” asked Jackson.
“No…Fionn’s power will be ineffective within the pack.”
“But, what about outside the pack? What if Fionn uses his power…whatever it may be—and kills innocents? You said his power is dangerous. What will protect our pack against claims levied by families of those he kills?”
“It can’t happen, because your Alpha power controls his power. If you give his dragon an order forbidding its use, Fionn must obey it, whether or not he agrees. According to the old shifter, the gods will have given you everything you need to control Fionn’s power until he understands how to use it responsibly.
“Why did it take so long for the gods to send another white dragon? Did something happen to the last one that angered the gods?” asked Steel.
“According to the old shifter, when the other dragons found out a white dragon existed, they grew fearful of it and, after learning of the accidental destruction of a human village by fire, some of the dragons claimed the white dragon was responsible and used it to justify killing him. The gods blamed themselves for not giving the white dragon a protector who had the power to control every paranormal being on earth. The old shifter told me I would know who the gods had chosen when I met him. As soon as your Alpha power forced me and my wolf to submit, even though you didn’t require us to, I knew it was you,” Penn said.
Jackson finally had the answer to why his Alpha power had grown so formidable since he’d given birth to Daniel. “So, according to the old shifter, my Alpha power can control every type of paranormal on the earth, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck, babe, you’re one bad-ass Alpha,” Steel chuckled.
“Yeah…and you better not forget it,” joked Jackson.
“Penn, one other thing. When will Fionn get his power?” asked Steel.
“Don’t know. I asked the old shifter that, too, but he didn’t have an answer for me.”
“Maybe he just didn’t want to tell you,” Jackson said.
“Could be, but I rather doubt it since I didn’t scent any deceit,” replied Penn.
“What about the hearing Fionn has to attend? Logan believes the uncle knows about the white dragon which is the real reason he filed for emergency custody,” Jackson said. “Logan thinks the uncle may try to kidnap him if the hearing doesn’t go his way.”
“Good point. I wondered why the uncle would risk perjuring himself in court. I’m doing some research to see if there is a different way for Fionn to attend,” replied Penn. “If there aren’t any more questions, I’ll get going. I hate flying in the dark.”
“Babe?” asked Steel.
“Nope, I’m good. Thanks for coming out, Penn,” Jackson said.
Penn stood and buttoning his jacket, said, “You know, I had decided after all this time, the old shifter was blowing smoke up my ass so if I sounded strange when you mentioned Fionn’s dragon to me, that’s why. I was shocked when it turned out he was telling me the truth.”
Chuckling, Steel rose. “You should know better after all the times you stayed at our house, especially after meeting some of those strange visitors that came to see mom. C’mon, I’ll walk you out to the chopper.”
“True. Oracle did have some interesting house guests,” Penn recalled. “Oh, by the way, I won’t be repeating anypart of this discussion to Fionn. That’s for you to decide—what and when you want to tell him.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” replied Jackson before Penn and Steel left his study. Swiveling his chair so he could look out the window at the forest, he leaned back, contemplating the story Penn just told him.
~/~/~/~/~
“Dakota, can you home in on Brian’s thoughts?” asked Logan.
“I can try,” Dakota replied. Closing his eyes, he turned on his gift, beginning the process of sorting through all the fragments of thoughts bombarding his mind. Knowing the voice he was listening for, he was able to quickly bypass the rest.
Reif watched Dakota, not understanding what was happening, then, after a few minutes, his frustration burst forth. “No offense, but…”
Kieran raised his finger to his lips, quieting the sea dragon.
“Got him. He’s headed to the marina,” Dakota said.
