“He said today.”
“Good, then we can do the private concert and dinner tonight. Theo, you’re on food duty, Quin and I will dothe rest. Now all we have to do is make sure Fionn and Hunter show up,” Kieran said.
“I’ll ask Robin to arrange that. He owes me a favor since he told Sawyer about Fionn,” Quin said.
“Perfecto! Okay, Love Queens, Operation Save Hunter is on,” Kieran said.
~/~/~/~/~
Stunned, amazed, shocked—none of those words did justice to what Hunter was feeling when he saw his wolf with wings.Fly? My mate expects me to fly with him?Staring at Fionn, Hunter’s mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out. The idea a wolf could fly was so far out of the realm of reality, he didn’t know what to say.How fucked up is that?Uhm…thanks for the wings? What the hell am I going to tell my brothers? Oh shit…Jackson. He’s planning a run in a couple of days…what’s he gonna say?
“Mate, aren’t you going to answer the door?” asked Fionn, his smile fading as he watched Hunter’s reaction to the news. When his dragon told him how to claim their mate, he didn’t ask questions, he just did it. But now, he was pissed off at himself for not taking the time to ask his dragon what actually would happen when he claimed his mate.
“Huh?” said Hunter. When the knocking started again, he realized what Fionn had asked him. “Uhm, sure.” Standing, he gazed at his mate, realizing he’d fucked up, then headed for the door, eager to get rid of whoever was on the other side so he could make things right. Yanking open the door, Hunter growled, “Yeah?”
Theo squeaked when he saw Hunter’s face. Stuttering, he was finally able to spit out, “I-I-I b-b-brought b-b-breakfast.”
Glancing at the trolley laden with food, Hunter remembered that his mate needed to eat. “Thanks,” he growled, snatching the cart from Theo’s grasp, wheeling it into the room and slamming the door behind him.
Gasping at Hunter’s abruptness, Theo only had a moment to look at Fionn’s face before the closing door blocked his view, but what he saw caused him dismay. Pivoting, he left to find Quin and Kieran to tell them about it.
Silently placing the food on the table in their room, Hunter cursed himself for hurting his mate—all because he couldn’t form a coherent sentence about his wolf’s gift. After everything was ready, he strode over to Fionn, intent on making it right. Getting down on one knee in front of his mate, Hunter grasped Fionn’s hands. “Thank you for the wings because they take a great deal of worry off my shoulders. I’m sorry, my pet I didn’t say it sooner, but I’m very happy to have them.”
Searching Hunter’s face, Fionn saw only the truth of his mate’s words, but that only confused him more. “Why did you look so angry before?”
“I wasn’t really…more like a ‘holy fucking shit’ moment with an ‘I don’t know how to fly’ tagged on.”
“I can teach you!”
“I hope so, pet, because otherwise, I’m going to look pretty dumb running alongside my brothers with my wings flapping at my sides.”
Giggling as he visualized that scenario, Fionn lifted one of Hunter’s hands, rubbing the back of it against his cheek. “I’m sorry, also. I thought you were angry with me.”
“No, not at all, my pet. I truly was overwhelmed, but really, I think it’s the best gift I ever received. My brothers are going to be so jealous.”
“Hey, maybe later I can give you your first lesson.”
“Good idea. My wolf and I are very possessive about you, so knowing I can go with you when you’ve shifted makes both of us very happy. C’mon, I promised you something to eat and luckily, Theo delivered our breakfast.” Rising, Hunter pulled his mate up, leading him to the breakfast table.
Sitting down, Fionn lifted the covers off the food dishes and found piles of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and a couple of steaks. Shoving the steaks over to his mate, he said, “These are for you.”
“Nope, one belongs to you,” Hunter replied, jabbing his fork into a red, juicy sirloin and placing it on his mate’s plate, followed by heaping servings of the rest of the food. When a loud rumble sounded from Fionn’s stomach, Hunter laughed. “Eat up, my pet, we have lots to do today.”
~/~/~/~/~
“You’re sure Hunter and Fionn claimed each other?” Jackson asked Steel.
Dumping Fionn’s backpack on the desk before answering, he said, “From what I’ve been able to put together, Fionn came home last night, met Hunter, and they’ve been fucking like bunnies ever since.” Then he began to chuckle.
“Thank goodness for that.”
“Why? They’re Fated Mates, after all.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Jackson picked up the backpack and threw it onto the loveseat. “I kinda thought Fionnwouldn’t want to surrender his freedom…especially since he fought so hard to get it.”
“Were you worried about that?” asked Steel.
“Yes. Fionn told me about his father who ruled him and his mother with an iron fist. It’s the reason Fionn wanted to be independent. Thankfully, Penn was able to achieve it for him. When I found out Hunter, who’s a strong Alpha, was his mate, I thought Fionn would reject him, even though my cousin isn’t anything like Fionn’s father.”
