“Nope…I checked every pregnancy connected to a birth of a dragon. There aren’t any that are unexplained. So, I figured Alex’s mother wasn’t a dragon.”
Pausing for a moment, Jackson thought about Zane’s conclusion before saying, “Fine, his mother wasn’t a dragon, but then his father had to be, right?”
“Given he’s a dragon too, it’s sounds logical,” agreed Zane.
“Yeah, but something tells me you didn’t find anything that would shed light on who Alex is.”
“You’re right. I checked every database…everywhere…Alex simply does not exist nor can I find out who his parents were.”
“So we’re at a dead end,” mused Jackson.
“Not yet,” Zane said, grinning. “I discovered a trust fund for an Alexandre Fouché. According to the documents, it was set up by his father. And before you get excited, the trust document only has the name of the law firm…”
“Fuck!”
Holding up a hand, Zane continued. “However, the law firm who did the legal work for Alex’s father still exists. I’m currently searching their files, and hopefully they haven’t taken any steps to conceal their client’s name.”
“How long will it take before you have it?”
“Don’t know. Right now I’m doing the current files because the trust carries a recent date. If nothing turns up, I’ll dig deeper…like the private files of the individual lawyers.”
“Okay…anything else?”
“Yes…you know I’ve been keeping tabs on the Collector.” After Jackson nodded, Zane continued. “The word on the street is he’s looking for a special dragon who’s in the LA area. I don’t know if it’s Alex…but I thought you should know.”
In his gut, Jackson knew without a doubt, the dragon The Collector was searching for was Alex. “Can you check to see if there are any other dragons in LA or the surrounding area?”
“Maybe…give me a minute.” Turning back to his computer, Zane’s fingers flew over his keyboard, accessing a database listing the whereabouts of each Dragon clan. Typing in his search parameters, he hit a key, then sat back as thousands of lines of data filled his screen. After several minutes, he looked over at Jackson. “According to the High Council, there aren’t any dragon clans in or around the LA area but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a dragon there. Someone could be visiting…or in LA on business. Unlike other paranormals, the High Council doesn’t require dragons to inform them in either of those cases.”
“Right.” Standing, Jackson knew who could give him the answer to his question. “Thanks. Hopefully, the mystery of who Alex Fouché is will soon be revealed,” he said before leaving Zane’s room. Once in the hallway, Jackson pulled out his phone, quickly sending a message before continuing towards Logan’s studio.
~/~/~/~/~
Opening the bedroom door quietly, Sawyer entered, heading over to the bed to check on Alex. Looking down, he smiled at the occasional slight snores he heard from his mate who was still in a deep sleep. His eyes roamed over the face, now relaxed, his need to feel those plump lips pressed against his, tempting, but Sawyer refused to give in to it. Until he could hear Alex ask for it or see permission granted in his mate’s eyes, he would never, could never, take what wasn’t given freely. Reaching for the blanket, Sawyer pulled it over Alex, tucking his mate in. Then, he slowly retreated from the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
After making a couple sandwiches, Sawyer grabbed a beer from the fridge and carried his snack outside. Sittingat the picnic table, he ate while considering his next step. Even though he promised to call Jackson, it didn’t feel right to talk with his cousin before speaking to Hunter, especially if Mac was right about the Blackwood Pack being the safest place for Alex. Taking a swig of beer to wash down the last of his food, Sawyer pulled out his phone, tapping Hunter’s phone number.
“Sawyer?”
Hearing the sleep-laden voice of his brother, Sawyer grimaced, realizing he forgot to account for the time difference. “Hey, Hunt…sorry. Go back to sleep. I’ll call back tomorrow.”
Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Hunter said, softly, “No, wait…gimme a minute.” Assuring Fionn, who’d awakened, that everything was okay, he rose, heading into the cottage living room where he wouldn’t disturb his mate. Lowering himself into a club chair, Hunter stretched out his legs before continuing. “Okay, talk. Did you claim your mate?”
“Not yet. It was supposed to be tonight but Alex was exhausted from all the things we did today and fell asleep. I put him to bed, then called Mac to make sure my mate was all right. He told me to call Jackson to find out why his pack can protect my mate better than I can.”
“Have you called Jackie?”
“No…I wanted to talk to you first, especially since the plan for us was always to return home.”
“About that…things have changed.”
“How so?”
Sighing, Hunter replied, “I was going to go through this when we returned from France, but you finding amate…and a rare one at that…changed my plans. What I’m about to tell you must stay between us because my mate’s life depends on it, not to mention those of our cousins and their mates.”
“Does Mac know?”
“Yes…probably not all of it but that will change.”
