by Mary Rundle
“Make sure they’re pink,” Kieran said to Colton. Then, taking his mate’s hand, he said, “Macushla, I have to stop in and see Theo first so will you go get Queenie from our bedroom and take him to your studio? I’ll be there shortly but Theo and Quin need my help with something top secret…oh, and let Queenie out of his cage cause I think he needs to stretch his wings…oh, and don’t forget to keep the door closed and maybe the windows, too, or otherwise you’ll have to shift and fly after him to make sure he gets home safely. Gee, I think I got the hang of being a parent, don’t you?”
“Uh, huh. You’re going to be a great father, babe,” Logan said, kissing the back of his mate’s hand.
“Thanks, macushla! C’mon, I can’t wait to show Theo and Norm our squirt!”
~/~/~/~/~
“Hey, this is a pretty cool set-up,” Sawyer said, prowling around Zane’s computer room. “Are all of these set up for gaming?”
“Nope, that’s for my gaming,” replied Zane, pointing across the room. “The rest I use for programming.”
“And research,” David said.
“Oh yeah? What kind of research?” asked Sawyer.
“Right now, Jackson wants me to find mom’s friend,” Zane replied.
“How can you do that if you don’t know her name?” asked Sawyer.
“Well, in this case, I’ll try to access mom’s phone records for that day and go from there.”
“Holy shit!” Sawyer exclaimed. “You can do that? I thought that stuff was private.”
“It is…at least on the Internet, but I use the dark web,” said Zane, pulling out a chair for David. “Here, babe, this is your new computer.”
After sitting, David watched Zane fiddle with the laptop, then squeaked when a picture of him appeared on the screen. “How did you do that?”
“I made your photo the screen saver,” Zane smiled.
“I don’t know what that means, but why can’t I have a picture of you instead?” asked David.
“You can but let’s do that later, huh?” Zane said, while opening up a program. “This is a program I wrote for you to learn how to use a computer. Using the mouse…this is the mouse…you move the cursor on the screen around…that’s the arrow…and when it’s on the ‘start’ box, you click the mouse…like this. Now the program will take you through the basics, showing you how to use the computer.”
“You wrote this for me?” asked David. “When?”
“While we were in Scotland,” Zane chuckled. “You’re sort of the guinea pig…”
“Guinea pig? You mean like Móndaslu?”
“No, no,” laughed Zane, “not like your pet. I mean like a test subject. When I was doing it, it occurred to me that it might be useful for the boys in Cody’s home. It’ll give someone who’s never used a computer a good basic understanding of it and what it can do. I’m pretty sure I covered everything but if something isn’t clear to you, then I’ll know that part of the program needs some tweaking.”
Nodding, David said, “Okay, it’s nice to be able to help you out.”
Giving his mate a quick kiss and handing him headphones, Zane replied, “You’ll be a big help, babe. Use these to block us out.” Then heading for his gaming computers, he said, “Sawyer, c’mon, are you ready to have your ass kicked?”
“You wish,” Sawyer chuckled, sitting down next to his cousin on the love seat. Taking the game controller from Zane, he leaned back, staring at the big TV screen mounted on the wall. He smirked, knowing there wasn’t a chance in hell his cousin could beat him.
~/~/~/~/~
Leaving his mate, Jackson went downstairs to the hospital. Spying Colton and Ian outside Dakota’s room, he headed over to them. “Hey, got a minute?”
“Sure,” Ian replied. “What’s up?”
“How’s Dakota?” asked Jackson.
“Pissed at me,” Ian chuckled. “But otherwise he’s fine.”
“Our brother doesn’t want to follow Ian’s orders, but Slate is insisting he does,” Colton said. “So instead of getting angry at his mate…”
“Dakota’s blaming Ian,” Jackson grinned. “A doctor’s life is tough.”
“Goes with the territory,” chuckled Ian. “You can go in, if you want.”
“In a moment. How’s Mom this morning?”
“Slightly better than yesterday, but still in a coma. I hate to say it, but she needs Kieran more than me or Colton,” Ian replied.
“Have you decided it’s safe for Kieran to do more sessions?” asked Jackson.
“Not yet,” Ian said. “I wanted to wait until he had his ultrasound to make sure his pup was okay.”
“Okay, just keep me informed about it,” said Jackson. “Have you talked to Oracle yet?”
Nodding, Ian said, “Was just telling Colton about it.”
“Do you have a problem with Mac taking over for a while?” asked Jackson.
“His credentials are impeccable,” Colton said.
“I didn’t expect anything else from Oracle,” replied Jackson. “After all, she was the one who picked Ian.”
“Best decision ever,” Colton said, smiling.
“Ian, what about you? Any concerns?” asked Jackson.
“Professionally? No. Personally, only about Mac finding out about Dakota’s uniqueness.”
Colton turned to his mate. “Babe, Mac would lose his license if he violated a patient’s privacy.”
“I know, but still…for the right price, someone can always decide the risk is worth it,” muttered Ian.
“I hear you,” Jackson concurred, “but there’s something else you should know that may change your mind about that. Fionn is Hunter’s mate.”
“No fucking way!” exclaimed Colton.
“Fionn? Are you sure?” Ian asked.
“Positive.”
“Holy shit! Does Fionn know?” asked Colton.
“Maybe.” Jackson said. “If he does, maybe that’s the reason he fled to his hoard.”
“That must be driving Hunter’s wolf crazy,” mused Ian.
“That’s putting it mildly,” said Jackson. “This morning Hunter looked like he was going to explode before Kieran worked his magic on him.”
“Wait!” Colton exclaimed. “Does this mean Hunter will be staying with us?”
“Probably,” Jackson replied. “Which brings us back to Mac or any of the other cousins divulging our secrets. As Fionn’s mate, Hunter is now a member of the pack and, as my mate pointed out to me, he has a right to know everything about us, including our gifts. But before I do that, I just want to hear of any concerns anyone might have about it.”
Colton exchanged glances with Ian before replying, “Ian invited Mac to join us tomorrow to brief him about Dakota, Kieran and, of course, about Ian’s own pregnancy. Then, if everything went okay, we were going to ask him to do Dakota’s ultrasound.”
“Checking his skills out?” Jackson smiled.
“Maybe,” replied Ian, “We want to see how he reacts to an Alpha being pregnant. If he can handle that, then we’ll feel better about him having access to everyone’s medical records once he takes over.”
“As for Hunter knowing about my gift, I don’t see an issue with it,” Colton said. “After all, he’s one of us now.”
“Good to know,” Jackson said, “Let me know how it goes.” Then, entering Dakota’s room, he smiled at his brother. “Hey, howya doin’?”
“Pretty good, but…”
The rest of Dakota’s words were lost to Colton as the hospital room door closed behind Jackson. Studying Ian’s face, always alert for any indication his mate was under too much stress, Colton asked, “Babe, any reservations about Mac taking care of you? Delivering our pups?”
“Not, really!” Ian smiled. “At least not anymore, knowing his brother is a member of the pack.”
“Good,” Colton said, taking Ian’s hand. “Let’s go and get set up for the rest of Mom’s tests.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
~/~
/~/~/~
“Where are you going?” Mason asked Quin, who was headed for the door.
“Theo’s waiting for me. He’s going to show me his collection of romance novels,” said Quin. “I’ll be back later.” Then, checking himself in the mirror one more time, he left the motorhome.
Shaking his head, Mason asked Hunter, “Did you ever imagine a bear shifter would become Quin’s friend?”
His brother snorted, “Fuck no! But if I’d known how good it would be for Quin, I’d have gone and dragged Theo back to us years ago.”
“Too bad he isn’t your mate,” Mason said, slyly.
“Uh, no thanks. Bears mate in threes and that’s just not my scene.”
“Have you ever tried it?”
“Uh, uh. Have you?” asked Hunter.
“Yup.”
“Fucking A! Did you like it?”
“It was interesting,” Mason smirked. “Moving on, what were you saying about Jackson?”
“He wants to see me.”
“About what, now?”
“Don’t know.”
“Maybe Fionn is back,” Mason said.
“No, not according to my wolf.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” said Mason, “Weren’t you surprised that Logan didn’t go ballistic when Kieran hugged you this morning? I expected a blow out, but…it was so weird.”
“Yeah, I sure as shit don’t know what that was all about. No one seemed to care diddly about me getting touched by Logan’s mate.”
“You’re wondering too, aren’t you?” asked Mason.
“Wondering what?”
“Oh for shit’s sake…stop answering my questions with a question. You know damn well there’s something strange about the Blackwood Pack. Mac was talking about it yesterday. I mean c’mon…Jackie’s Alpha power, Kieran saving Aunt Hope—and look at that place,” Mason said, pointing to the pack house. “Where the fuck did Jackie get the money to build it? Hey, our grandparents left trusts for them just like they did for us, but no fucking way was there enough money to build this place, even if they put all their dough together.”
“Smartass,” Hunter said, running his hand over his face as he stared at his brother. Then he growled, “Fine. Yes, I have questions that I don’t have answers for. And yes, I agree something is very weird with Jackie’s pack, but hopefully, I’ll get some answers when I claim Fionn. Even though Kieran calmed my wolf—and that was a good thing—I know my mate’s in danger and it’s fuckin’ driving me crazy that Jackie’s hiding stuff from me.”
“Wait…What did Kieran do?”
“This morning, when he hugged me. I felt his hands heat up on my back and then my wolf went to sleep. I know you won’t believe me but that’s what happened.”
“Holy fucking shit! Mac told us yesterday Kieran did something like that to Aunt Hope. He said it saved her by removing some of her grief and sorrow.”
Hunter’s eyes widened. “Oh my gods! What kind of pack is my mate in?”
Chapter 17
Quin followed Theo and Norm into their bedroom where he found Kieran waiting for them. Stopping just inside the door, his shyness overcame him, making his need to flee surface. But before he could act on it, Kieran was at his side, touching his arm.
“Hey, Quin,” Kieran said, “Do you want to see my pup?”
“You have a pup?” asked Quin.
“Oh. My. God!” squealed Theo. “Let me see!”
Pulling out the ultrasound picture, Kieran held it out for Quin and Theo to see. “See, doesn’t he look like my mate?”
Peering over Theo’s shoulder, Norm frowned, then tilted his head. “Ki, what exactly am I looking at?”
“His squirt, pooh bear! See, right there is his nose…”
“Just like…” Kieran began.
“Absolutely! Just like Logan’s,” Theo giggled.
“If you say so, honeybunch,” replied Norm, dubiously.
“What do you think, Quin?” asked Theo.
Glancing at the photo, then at Kieran, Quin asked, “You’re an Omega?”
Nodding, Kieran giggled. “My spirit hides my scent from everyone except my mate.”
Taking the picture from Kieran, Quin stared at it in wonderment, then lightly tracing the tiny pup, asked, “When are you due?”
“In about four months,” Kieran replied. “I have so much to do before he comes, and my head is filled with nursery ideas and did you know my mate is the greatest interior designer of all time and I help him with all of his jobs? But he has already figured out the design for our squirt’s nursery so now I have to choose the furniture, and paint colors and bedding which I’ve already started on, so our squirt has a bed when he joins us. I hope Theo and Norm are going to have cubs so then my pup and their cubs can play together, isn’t that the bestest thing ever?” Before anyone could answer, Kieran rolled on, “So tell us about this top-secret thing you need our help with? This is so exciting—I’ve never been a secret agent before. Maybe I should get a trench coat, you know, like all the spies wear but of course it would have to be pink…hey we could all get pink ones and have a secret password and handshake and, oh, I know, we need a name for us…hmmm, maybe the pink…pink …yes...The Pink Panthers. ”
Quin’s mind was spinning, trying to keep up with Kieran. “Uhmm, the Pink Panthers? But Theo and Norm are bears and you and I are wolves. Why panthers?”
“Oh. My God!” exclaimed Theo. “When we were in Scotland, pooh bear and I watched a movie called The Pink Panther. Is that where you got the idea from?”
“Shoot, we can’t use that name now, because it’s been used,” Kieran said.
“Hey guys, we can pick a name later,” Norm said.
“Righto,” Kieran agreed. “Okay, Quin, go ahead, tell us what we need to do,”
“My brother, Hunter, told me this morning that Fionn is his Fated Mate!” exclaimed Quin.
“No way!” shouted Theo. “Fi must be over the moon!”
“No, I don’t think so,” Quin said, “Hunter told me Fionn is at his hoard and hasn’t come back to meet him. I think my brother did something that hurt Fionn’s feelings and that’s why he won’t come back. Hunter can be a bit clueless at times, although I love him dearly.”
“Why do you think he did something stupid?” asked Norm.
“Because I know my brother,” Quinn replied. “He is the best brother I could ever hope for, but he doesn’t really know how to...I guess the best way to put it is, be romantic.” Shaking his head, he continued, “I’ve tried to get him to read my romance stories, but he isn’t interested. He keeps everything to himself and I’m sure that’s upsetting his mate.”
“Your brother hasn’t done anything wrong,” Kieran said. “Fi is scared…”
“Scared of my brother?” Interrupted Quin. “No no no no no, that can’t be true. Hunter is the biggest teddy bear there is! Trust me, he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
“Not scared of your brother,” finished Kieran, “but of having a mate. He’ll be back, but he just had to take some time to think things through.”
“Are you sure? That’s not what’s in my stories. The Alpha always does something stupid because they think they’re always right and the mate always gets upset.”
“That’s what happened with you and Logan, Ki,” Theo said.
“See!” Quin said, nodding sagely.
Giggling, Kieran said, “It was very romantic. After I flew the coop, my mate followed me to Ireland and swept me off my feet by giving me a proper claiming. He is just the bestest mate ever!”
“Hunter isn’t like that,” Quin said. “Even if he hasn’t done anything dumb, I just know he’s going to really screw up when they get together.”
“Maybe we can help him,” Theo said, “You know, tell him what he should do to win his mate’s heart. After all, we know Fionn very well. Hey, did you know Fi’s an artist?”
“And don’t forget he loves listening to music,” Norm said.
“Ooohh, that’s good info,” replied Quin.
“Perfecto!” agreed Kieran. “We can give Hunter some fool-proof ideas on what to do to woo his mate.”
“Yessss! This is so exciting!” exclaimed Theo. “Ki, maybe our name should be something like …like…”
“I got it!” bubbled Kieran. “The Love Queens!”
“That’s perfect,” Quin said. “Maybe we can do this for other Alphas once we help Hunter. After all, I have four more brothers who’ve yet to find their mates.”
“And don’t forget Carson, and Adam,” Theo added.
“Absolutment!” said Kieran, excited now by future possibilities. “Oh, my goodness, that’s a lot of Alphas needing our help.”
“Okay, so how do we start,” asked Quin.
“Hmmm, what kind of artist is Fi?” asked Kieran.
“He draws but I don’t know what,” Theo said. “But he did promise to show me some of his work.”
“Okay, and Fi also loves music?” asked Kieran.
“Oh. My. Gods, YES!” exclaimed Theo.
“When we were in Scotland, he was always listening to music in his room,” Norm said.
“What kind? Anything in particular?” asked Quin.
Nodding vigorously, Theo said, “I never heard of him, but there’s one singer he played over and over. I think his name was Red Power or something like that.”
“Was it Red Force?” asked Quin.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Norm replied.
Grinning, Quin said, “Love Queens, I know exactly what we should do first.”
~/~/~/~/~
“Logan, you in here?” asked Jackson, pulling open the door to his brother’s studio.
“Yeah,” Logan answered, bending over his drafting’s table, sketching out a proposed floor plan of a Scottish house for Angus’ preliminary approval. “Close the door.”
“Squawk! Eat my meat! Eat my meat! Squawk, squawk.”
“What the fuck!” Jackson stared at the pink parrot perched atop the bookcase. “Did he say what I think he said?”
“Squawk! What the fuck, what the fuck, squawk!”
Rolling his eyes, Logan threw down his pencil. “Look what you did! How am I ever going to clean up his language if you insist on teaching him new stuff? And that reminds me, I thought you decided we couldn’t use that word anymore because of the pups, so why are you using it?”