“I’ll get it,” Alex said, jumping up from his chair before heading out of the room. “I never met an Oracle before, so this should be interesting.”
“Wait, Alex! I’m coming with you.” Rising, Glenn rushed after his mate.
Riley watched them leave the room, then turned his attention back to Sawyer. “Aren’t you going, too?”
Nodding his head slowly, Sawyer stood. The last thing he wanted was for his mates to find out about the special abilities of the Blackwood Pack this way, but now it was too late. Oracle was here and he could only imagine what his mates would say when they found out the pack secrets he’d been concealing from them.
~/~/~/~/~
Jackson listened as Dylon related his late-night phone call with Glenn, keeping his face impassive while trying to grasp Sawyer’s situation. Two mates: one of them Willow’s son and the other a rare fucking shifter that, as far as he knew, was only the second time in shifters’ history it happened. If he had any doubts regarding the reappearance of his cousins at his pack, they were gone, as still another piece of the puzzle about the Fates’ plan for all of them fell into place.
No longer could he deny it was just a set of coincidences that happened by chance. Each time a brother or one of his cousins met their Fated Mate, the Blackwood Pack’s powers were enhanced, and Sawyer was just the latest proof of this. But what was the Fates’ end game? That still remained unclear to Jackson so he decided to put it aside for now. When Dylon finally fell silent, Jackson asked, “Glenn promised Sawyer would call me today?”
“Not exactly,” Dylon responded, his lips turned down in frustration. “Glenn promised to ask Sawyer to call but he refused to make him do it.”
“Fine…if I don’t hear from him by this afternoon, I’ll call Hunter to let him know about Sawyer’s two mates.” After studying Dylon’s expression and posture, Jackson asked, “Is there something else I should know about Glenn? Do you think he’s a threat to the pack?”
“Gut feeling? No, not Glenn…but he’s made a lot of enemies through the years. If one of them decides to right a wrong they feel he did to them, we might end up being collateral damage.”
“Has Cody had any visions about Glenn, Sawyer or Alex?” asked Jackson.
“No…he hasn’t but if he does, you’ll be the first person to know…I promise.”
“Thanks.”
“One other thing…we know The Collector is after Alex but what we don’t know is who let the cat out of the bag about him being a dual-shifter. I think we should make that a priority because stopping any leak about Alex will not only make it safer for the pack, it’ll also help protect Sawyer and Glenn.”
Nodding, Jackson said, “Zane is already looking for Alex’s father…and hopefully that will fill in more blanks but I’m assuming his father is not the leak. Check with him and see what other details he found about Alex’s background.”
“Will do.” Rising, Dylon asked, “Have you asked Oracle if Sawyer and Glenn are going to get gifts? Cody seems certain, but…”
“I have but didn’t get an answer…at least not the one I wanted.”
“Just wondering. Cody seems certain Sawyer is going to, based on how rare Alex is.”
“That makes sense, especially if you look at what the Fates have done so far. I’m going to speak to Oracle again in light of this new information.”
Nodding, Dylon said, “In the meantime, I’ll call Glenn. Talk to you later.”
Jackson leaned back in his chair as he watched Dylon leave. Turning to face the window, he put his feet up on the ledge, thinking about Dylon’s news. It wasn’t what he expected, nor was it bad, but he’d be lying to himself if he said it didn’t cause his gut to tighten. And that was the problem right there. There wasn’t any reason he should have that reaction to the news about his cousin finding mates, but he did. And it was time to face the truth. There was danger coming to his pack. His gut told him but more importantly, his wolf agreed, putting both of them on edge. But until he got more information about what trouble might be heading their way, all Jackson could do was to wait.
Turning around when Steel called his name, Jackson smiled at his mate, the constant in his life that made all of his problems easier to solve. “Hey, babe…is your mom free?”
Shaking his head, Steel said, “She’s not here. According to dad, she’s down in LA.”
“To see Sawyer and give him his gift?”
“Yeah, according to my father, she left early this morning…before any of us were up. She should be with Sawyer now.”
“Why didn’t she wake me up? Your mother promised she would tell me as soon as the Fates gave her permission.”
Sighing, Steel sat down next to his mate. “I know…and I asked my father about that. According to him, my mother claimed it was of the utmost importance she get there immediately.”
Chapter 33
“Fuck! I better tell Hunter.” Picking up his phone, Jackson found his cousin’s number, but before he could call, his phone rang. After checking to see who it was, he accepted the call and said, “Hi Penn. Hey, Steel’s here so I’m gonna put you on speakerphone, okay?”
“Go ahead,” Penn said.
