“No, he’s not…at least not anymore. After Fionn’s father died, his uncle tried to get custody. Not that he was close to my mate but, according to Jackson, he was after Fionn’s hoard.”
“I’m a little confused. Does he still have a guardian or not?”
“He doesn’t have one anymore. Last week, there was a court hearing and the judge found my mate to be of legal age.”
Smiling, Mason said, “That’s good, right? Your mate is free to go home with us.”
“Yes…no…I don’t know. Jackson told me Fionn has the right to reject me as his Fated Mate. Did you ever hear of bullshit like this? I never did.”
“What the fuck is Jackie smoking? If this is his attempt to keep you from your mate then we need to hire a lawyer,” growled Mason.
“He claims it’s his rule and Fionn will be given the choice to accept me or not. According to him, he’s adamant about respecting individual rights and personal decisions about how pack members want to live their lives.”
“I don’t get it. Has all his Alpha power gone to his head?” asked Mason.
“I don’t fucking know. Last night, at times, he seemed almost like the Jackie I knew and then he would come out with shit like this and I wondered who the hell I was talking to.”
“Have you checked to see if Fionn is still with his hoard?” asked Mason.
“No, I promised Jackie last night I wouldn’t do it again and I won’t. After listening to all the crap Fionn has gone through since his mother died, I respect his reason for going to the one place no one can reach him.”
“But that doesn’t allow you to protect him. Your wolf must be going crazy.”
Taking another sip, Hunter swallowed before answering. “Last night, after Jackie told me what Fionn suffered, my wolf tried to gain control several times and only Jackson’s Alpha power stopped it.”
“Holy fucking shit! That isnotgood.”
Smirking, Hunter said, “Try telling me something new. At least this time Steel didn’t make an appearance.”
“What’s with Steel? Do you know what kind of wolf he is?” asked Mason.
“A fucking big one, who can partially shift!”
“Iknowthat but what kind of wolf shifter is he?”
“Not a clue, but then, I wasn’t going to stick around and ask him after he released me,” Hunter said. “But getting back to my mate, I don’t think Jackie told me everything. When he was telling me about Fionn, there were questions I asked that he refused to answer. Like how did Logan find out Fionn was being held a prisoner? And who killed Fionn’s father? Not that I have a problem with that one since I would have done it myself if the asshole was still alive.”
“He told you he wouldn’t answer your questions?”
“Well, not exactly, but all he would say in response to my questions was I would have to wait until Fionn came back.”
“Why couldn’t he tell you? I don’t get it,” Mason said.
“Well, I don’t either and that’s why I need your input on all this.”
“You better start again from the beginning,” Mason said, now wide awake.
Chapter 12
Theo carefully slid out from under Norm’s arm and leg that were pinning him to the bed. Noting the time, he quickly dressed and then, quietly slipping out of their room, headed for the kitchen. He wasn’t sure Dakota would be there this morning but if he wasn’t, Theo would start making breakfast by himself. It was the meal he had the most confidence in doing so he was pretty sure everything would turn out all right.
Humming to himself, he hustled into the kitchen and finding it empty, grabbed the eggs and bacon, setting them on the island along with everything else he needed. Working efficiently, he added seasoning to the scrambled eggs, whisking them before pouring them onto the griddle next to the sizzling bacon. Taking a deep sniff, he basked in the aroma of the cooking food.
Crossing the great room filled with the scent of breakfast, Steel grinned at the thought his mother had returned early and wanted to surprise him. Pushing open the kitchen door, he stared at Theo, dancing to some imaginary beat while standing at the stove. “Hey, Theo…”
Startled, Theo swirled around, holding out the spatula like a knife, ready to do battle. Seeing who it was, he lowered his arm. “Don’t you know better than to sneak up on a person? I could have hurt you, then what would the Alpha say? He wouldn’t be happy, I know that much.”
Squeezing his lips together, Steel fought back the laughter threatening to erupt at the image of him being attacked by a spatula. “The Alpha would blame me, Theo,” Steel said.
