~/~/~/~/~
Hunter waited until Fionn was in the shower before calling Jackson. Listening to the ringing, he hoped his cousin would answer quickly before his mate finished.
“Hey Hunt,” Jackson said, “I hoped you’d call.”
“Oh shit! Because of Fionn’s gift?”
“Err…no…why?” asked Jackson, slightly confused.
“Because Oracle called me, wanting to talk to Fionn. He thinks…”
“No, it has nothing to do with his gift.”
“Then what?” asked Hunter, glancing at the closed bathroom door.
“Uhm…well…it seems Sawyer’s mate…”
“Alex.”
“Right, Alex is Fionn’s half-brother. Oracle…”
“You’re fuckin’ shittin’ me! Hold on…Fionn doesn’t have any family left.”
“Ahh…yeah…about that. It appears he does. Oracle will explain it but I wanted to give you a heads up. My recommendation is you keep this to yourself and let Oracle handle it. I have no idea how Fionn will take the newsabout his father cheating on his mother, but my guess…not well.”
“Fuck!”
“My thoughts exactly,” Jackson muttered. “Hunt, this news may devastate Fionn and he’s gonna need you for support.”
“An understatement if I ever heard one,” muttered Hunter. “Listen, I gotta go before Fionn gets out of the shower. I’m not happy about this at all…and I don’t like keeping this a secret.”
“That’s up to you…I’ll back you, whatever you decide,” Jackson said. “Just let me know, okay?”
“Yeah…bye.” Sitting on the bed, Hunter stared at the phone’s dark screen, wishing it could provide an answer as to what path to take. Keeping secrets always had a way of coming back and biting him in the ass, but his need to protect and shelter Fionn from any further pain prompted him to take that chance.
~/~/~/~/~
Knowing Hunter felt the same way about Fionn’s reaction to a long, lost brother, Jackson wasn’t sure about it all turning out for the best. Which is why he found himself opening the door to Logan’s studio, hoping his brother and mate would agree with his plan. Entering, he found himself looking at Queenie, swooping down from his perch across the room, heading straight at him.
“Quick! Close the door, Alpha!” Kieran cried out, waving his arms in an attempt to distract the parrot.
Jumping up from his drafting stool, Logan ran toward Jackson, pushing him aside before slamming the doorshut in the nick of time. Leaning against it, he grinned at his brother. “Try knocking next time, willya?”
“That’s okay, Alpha, I think Queenie has cabin fever today, you know, because it’s so nice out and he’s been staring out the window so I know he wants to be outside butmacushladoesn’t think he shouldgo flying by himself, so we were waiting till it got dark so we could go with him.”
“Logan’s right,” Jackson agreed. “Queenie needs protection when outside.”
“Babe, I promise you, Queeniewillgo outside tonight.” Then, shifting his focus to his twin, he asked, “What’s up?”
Eyeing the pink parrot, Jackson asked, “Any progress improving his language?”
Letting out a loud bark of laughter, Logan pushed himself away from the door, heading to the sofa in his studio. “Have a seat. As to his language…that would be a resounding ‘no’.”
Opening a box of treats, Kieran extracted two, then held them in his hand for Queenie who was now perched on the back of a chair. “It’s not his fault,macushla,” he insisted to his mate.
Raising an eyebrow, Jackson smirked at Logan. “Why is that, brother?”
Giggling, Kieran sat down on his mate’s lap, then said, “Oh…”
