“Yes, Alpha,” Hunter said. Feeling Jackson’s control, he stood still, watching his cousins walk away from him, smirking at their attempt to keep him from listening with his wolf hearing. Shifting his gaze, Hunter sought out the man on the porch who was now tied to him by the Fates, wondering how his cousin would react when he took his mate back east.
Once Jackson felt he and Logan were far enough away from Hunter, he stopped and said, “Okay, what’s Kieran up to now?”
Glancing over his brother’s shoulder to make sure Hunter wasn’t heading for the motorhome, Logan leaned in and whispered into his brother’s ear.
Jerking back, Jackson stared at Logan. “That’s fucking impossible!”
Shaking his head, Logan leaned in again and repeated himself.
The color drained from Jackson’s face as the implications of Logan’s news sank in. Looking toward the porch and zeroing in on his brothers, he thought about how this news would hit them. Then, turning back to Logan, Jackson murmured, “Are youabsolutelypositive?”
“Yes.”
“Is Kieran okay?”
Logan asked their spirit before answering, “Yes, he’s doing what he can.”
“Get Ian and Colton here but don’t let them know why.”
“Will do, but please protect my mate,” Logan said, before heading for the porch.
Nodding, Jackson strode over to Hunter, blocking his view of the porch and snarled, “What the fuck are you trying to pull? Why didn’t you tell me about this in the first email you sent?”
Waves of powerful anger emanated from Jackson, nearly pushing Hunter to his knees. Forcing himself to stand his ground, he answered, “I did what my mother wanted.”
~/~/~/~/~
“Who are you?” asked Mac after Kieran entered the bedroom, wondering how this powerful Shaman found out about his patient.
“I’m Kieran,” he said softly, walking to the side of the bed, looking down at the person his spirit told him about. “I can help, do not worry.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, he placed his hands on the frail arm resting on top of the covers and began drawing out the darkness smothering the heart.
Keeping an eye on the Shaman, Mac checked his patient’s vitals, surprised to see them improving. “What are you doing?” he asked, moving to the other side of the bed.
“Removing the darkness that’s killing her,” Kieran whispered, absorbing the grief, despair, and hopelessness inside and replacing them with love. It was an arduoustask to peel back each layer and, as he removed years of crippling blackness, his aura slowly began to darken. He knew many repetitions would be necessary before she’d show any improvement but his determination to give her a fighting chance kept him stripping away as much as he could this time.
~/~/~/~/~
Giving Hunter one last dirty look, Logan headed over to the porch, hoping no one asked questions about why Kieran disappeared into the motorhome because he had no answers to give. Stopping at the foot of the steps, he looked up, zeroing in on the duo Jackson wanted. “Ian, Colton, Jackson needs you right away,” Logan said quietly, not wanting to reveal his agitation.
“Is someone sick?” asked Ian, squeezing through the crowd. “Do I need my bag?”
“Yeah, you might need it,” Logan answered.
“I have it, babe,” Colton said, taking his mate’s hand as they descended the front steps.
“Is there a problem?” asked Slate, wrapping his arms around Dakota who was holding Daniel.
Cursing to himself, Logan debated what to say; any lie would be detected. Not able to come up with anything, he glanced at Steel, knowing Jackson had already told him what was happening and, seeing him silently mouth “no,” said nothing.
Steel then answered Slate’s question. “Someone is sick in the motorhome and Jackson wants Ian and Colton to see if they can help.” Turning toward Dakota, he reached for Daniel.
Giving a quick nod of assent, Logan said, “Ian, Colton. C’mon, Jackson wants to talk to you first.” Then,abruptly leaving with them, he was able to dodge answering any questions.
~/~/~/~/~
“What the fuck do you mean, Hunter…you ‘did what your mother wanted’?” growled Jackson, pissed at his cousin’s explanation. “What does your mother have to do with this? Why didn’t she contact me? Don’t you think I…hell…my brothers have the right to know?” He was getting worked up, now, trying to control his raging wolf. “Don’t you think we might have helped? You didn’t think about that? Fuck…you’re an Alpha! You could have simply called me, and no one would’ve stopped you.” Jackson averted his gaze, unable to look at the man he’d spent his youth admiring. Now those fond memories evaporated when he found out the real reason his cousin had contacted him.
Stepping away, Jackson fought to keep his power under control, knowing he’d regret any action taken in the heat of anger. Clenching and unclenching his fists, he stared at the ground, searching for his Omega part to help cool his Alpha half. Inhaling deeply, Jackson began to calm down.
