“Okay,” he said, quietly.
Chapter 27
“Okay?” asked Glenn.
“Yes, okay. I can’t deny what you said because that’s how I’ve felt my entire life. But I always blamed the circumstances I found myself in…which is why I left New York as soon as I could. Yeah, it was better in some ways, but I still felt like I was under someone’s thumb. I want to be in control of my life and if that will happen when your tiger claims my fox, then I’m all in,” Alex said.
“It will, I promise you,” replied Glenn. Then turning to Sawyer, he asked, “What about you? All in, also? Or do you still have questions?”
“Just one…how do you know about all this stuff? And why are you so confident about what’ll happen when our animals claim Alex’s?”
“I asked my tiger what the fuck was going on when I scented Alex through the door,” Glenn said. “I knewyouwere my mate but had no idea the Fates had given me another one. He explained everything to me…why he was selected for Alex’s fox and why he couldn’t also be the mate to Alex’s dragon.”
“Wait…you knew I was your mate?” asked Sawyer. “How? I know I never met you before tonight and I damn well never scented you.”
“I picked up your scent on Ghost.”
“Ghost? My surfing instructor? Holy crap! Are you a surfer too?” asked Sawyer.
Chuckling, Glenn shook his head. “Nope. Never had the time or the desire to learn. Ghost used to work with me before he retired.”
“What did you do? Or are you still working?” asked Alex.
Hesitating for a few seconds, Glenn wondered what Sawyer knew from Dylon or his cousins, Cody and Zane, regarding his work, but then quickly decided it didn’t matter. Getting caught in a lie, whether outright or by omission wasn’t how he wanted to begin his relationship with his mates. “I worked…or to be accurate, I work for the High Council Intelligence Agency. I’m on a month-long vacation and when it’s over, I’ll be officially retired.”
“You’re a spy?” Alex asked, gob smacked. “My mate is a secret agent? I can’t believe it!”
Groaning silently, Sawyer cursed his luck. Of course he’d end up with a mate that had, or has, at least for now, a fucking awesome job. The Fates were making sure to keep him in his place, first, as a middle child with no particular talent, and now, an adult with nothing amazing about his life. Why he expected otherwise was just wistful thinking on his part, but at least he knew the role, having lived it with his brothers. Only this time it would be with his mates and, as usual he’d be last, the one no one paid attention to—and why would they when one of his mates was a dual shifter and the other a secret agent?
Smiling at Alex’s response to his disclosure, Glenn was relieved his mate wasn’t upset about his soon-to-be past. Glancing over at Sawyer, his gut clenched as he watched sadness wash over his mate’s face before a forced grin replaced it. Quickly reviewing the information he knewabout Sawyer, Glenn couldn’t find the answer there. Obviously, his other mate wasn’t as excited about his job as Alex was, but reason behind Sawyer’s reaction was a mystery he meant to solve. But before his mind could turn to that, Alex continued with his questions.
“O.M.G! Did you go on secret missions? Can you tell me about them…or maybe you can’t…” Alex paused, then dropping his voice to a whisper. “I’ll understand if you can’t…top secret…and all that stuff.”
Shifting his eyes between his two mates, the contrast was easy to see. While Alex was leaning forward, his eyes sparkling with eagerness to learn more, Sawyer’s shoulders drooped, his eyes shuttered as if he were expecting bad news. Going with his gut, he said, “There might be some that have been declassified, but I’ll have to check first.” Settling his gaze on Sawyer, Glenn looked for any signs the man’s wolf scented the little white lie he told to Alex. He knew exactly which of his missions were no longer confidential, but his sixth sense told him this was not the time for it. Not until he figured out Sawyer’s issue with him.
Snorting internally, Sawyer smelled the dishonesty of Glenn’s answer but chose to ignore it. In fact, if he could, he would have preferred to ignore the whole night—well not the part spent sleeping with Alex. No, that part was safely tucked away in his memory box reserved for special moments in his life. Clenching his jaw in defeat, Sawyer knew he was being unfair to Glenn, but the last few days with Alex had made him feel that the Fates had viewed him as special. Otherwise, why else would they give him such a special mate? But that line of thinking was shot to hell when Glenn announced his line of work and Alex’s response to it.Yeah, yeah yeah…another pity party…give it up Sawyer…stop hoping you are someone else other than who you are.Just another reality chat with himself that failed like the others he’d tried over the years. It was time to change the subject; he certainly didn’t want to see Alex enthralled by Glenn’s stories of danger and death. As he tried to figure out what to say, his great memory—one of his attributes he could always count on—came to his rescue. Narrowing his eyes, Sawyer focused his gaze on Glenn. “You never answered my question about why Jackson didn’t call me instead of sending you?”
Picking up on Sawyer’s irritation, Glenn proceeded slowly. Without knowing its cause, the last thing he wanted was to upset his mate further. “What do you know about my mother’s kidnapping?”
Shrugging, Sawyer replied, “Not too much…some guy wanted her because she was rare…holy fuck! No! Tell me it’s not true! Tell me I’m wrong!”
Shrinking down at the anger in Sawyer’s voice, Alex quickly glanced around, looking for somewhere he could escape to…away from what he was sure was coming.
Seeing the fear on Alex’s face, Glenn gave a soft growl. “Stop…right now, Sawyer. Our mate thinks we are going to fight…so cool it. I’ll explain everything.”
Quickly looking at Alex, Sawyer saw the truth of Glenn’s words in his mate’s face and in the tension of his posture. Taking a deep gulp of air, he held it for a few moments before slowly exhaling it as Mac had taught him. Then, gathering Alex into his arms, Sawyer murmured an apology into his ear before assuring him everything was okay. When the tension was finally gone from Alex’s body, Sawyer looked over at Glenn. “I know only thesketchiest of information about it but what I do know, is not good. Is the same asshole after Alex?”
“Who’safter me?” exclaimed Alex, his brow knitted in worry. “No one knows where I am.”
“A man who calls himself ‘The Collector’ hired a couple of thugs to kidnap my mother,” Glenn began. “Members of the Blackwood Pack discovered it and mounted a rescue, just about the same time my agency informed me she was missing. I ended up meeting some of the pack in New York and, after my mother was found, we decided it was in our mutual interests to work together to find the man who was behind it.”
“And this…what did you call him…The Collector…is after me? Why?”
“He calls himself ‘The Collector’ because he buys or kidnaps rare shifters for his ‘zoo’. As the last Bali Tiger shifter, my mother is obviously rare and was selected by The Collector because of that,” Glenn said. “You, being a dual-shifter, is exactly why the asshole is after you.”
“But…but, no one knows what I am…except you and Sawyer,” murmured Alex, anxiety growing at the thought of being in another cage that sounded much worse than any of his others.
“Don’t forget your father’s lawyer,” Sawyer said.
