Kieran’s eyes shone with happiness. “Duh…perfecto! Squirt has been eager to go and has begged me to ask you…well, not me, actually, but he did beg our spirit, so after I found out, I was gonna to ask you but Theo thought I should wait until we got home since then Fionn and Hunter could come with us, but Squirt didn’t want to wait. Did you know he pouted for two days when our spirit told him it wasn’t gonna happen? Can you believe that? After our spirit told me that, I entered it in his baby book. I can’t believe how smart our Squirt is…already he can talk to our spirit, know what he wants, and even express emotions, so when are we leaving? Squirt is gonna be so happy when our spirit tells him.”
Chuckling, Logan said, “Our Squirt is gonna be a handful...just like someone else I know…but I can’t wait for him to join us, so we’ll be a family of three...a dream come true.”
Even though Logan tried to hide it, Kieran detected the nervousness about becoming a father in his mate’s voice, even though there was no reason for it. His mate was going to bea fantastic dad. Linking his hands behind Logan’s neck, Kieran kissed him deeply this time, using the power of their love to erase any doubt Logan might have. When he felt the tension leave Logan’s body, Kieran leaned back until their eyes met. Then, grinning mischievously, he said, “I’m thinking we should do what Brian and Reif are doing…whatcha think?”
Logan’s eyebrows shot up. Smiling seductively, he pressed his hard cock against Kieran’s and murmured, “I think you have a great idea.” Without waiting for an answer, he scooped his mate up into his arms and headed for their bedroom.
~/~/~/~/~
Jackson had planned to be up earlier, but after the night spent enjoying Steel’s presence, it just wasn’t possible. Descending to the first floor, he paused for a moment, listening to the clang of pots and pans in the kitchen as Dakota began making breakfast. Smiling at the familiar noise, he walked slowly down the hall, his mind busily organizing his day.
“Hey, Jackson, you got a minute?” asked Sawyer.
Looking up, he saw his cousin leaning against the wall next to the door to his study. “Sure, what’s up?” Jackson asked, opening the door and then heading to the chair behind his desk. Sitting down, he turned on his computer before asking, “Where are your mates?”
“Sleeping,” Sawyer replied, sitting down in front of his cousin’s desk before continuing. “It’s about Henri.”
“Alex’s grandfather?”
“Yeah…last night we found out he sent you an email requesting permission to visit Alex…did you get it?”
Opening his mail program, Jackson searched through the list of unopened messages until he found it. Clicking on it, he quickly scanned it before looking back at Sawyer. “I don’t have a problem with it, but I want to talk to Fionn first.”
Frowning, Sawyer asked, “Why? There isn’t any bad blood between him and Alex.”
“I know…and I’m grateful for that, but I just want to make sure that Henri’s presence here until Alex gives birth won’t bring up Fionn’s bad memories of his father deserting him,” Jackson explained. “The last thing your pregnant mate needs is to be caught in the middle…between his grandfather and brother.”
“I don’t think that will happen.”
“Maybe not…but do you want to take that chance?”
Shaking his head, Sawyer said, “Of course not…but I don’t want the alternative to happen either.”
“Which is?” asked Jackson.
“Glenn suggested if Henri can’t come, we go to France until after the cub is born.”
“Shit,” Jackson muttered. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, considering the cub will be a dual shifter.”
“Exactly…so could you please talk to Fionn today? Alex is worried about you giving his grandfather permission.”
“Sure,” Jackson said.
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Sawyer replied.
Jackson watched his cousin leave before picking up his phone and sending a text message to Hunter. He didn’t think Fionnwould mind, but he owed it to the young man to listen to any objections he might have, just in case he did.
Chapter 6
As much as Cain loved his new bed, it was impossible for him to enjoy its embrace after six in the morning. Years spent in prison had frozen his internal alarm clock to wake him up at that time, and there seemed to be no way to reset it to a later hour—at least not yet. Yawning, he rubbed his eyes, got out of bed, and headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower, he dressed and then, at a loss for what to do next, sat down on the edge of the bed and waited. Compared to his present situation, prison routine was easy and as long as he followed the rules and didn’t make waves, his life had been much better than when he lived on the streets—especially after Sarge died.
But things changed when he ended up in the paranormal jail. Initially, his cellmate was another human, locked up for killing a shifter, but he didn’t fault him for that and they got along okay. One day, though, he woke to find the human gone and, in his place, another man who turned out to be a ferret shifter. That was a shock since the men who’d sent him to bid at the auction had told him that only wolves were shifters.
Although Cain kept to himself as much as possible, his new cellmate wouldn’t leave him alone. At first, the ferret shifter taunted him about being only a human, but when Cain ignored his verbal jabs, his cellmate upped the ante.
It started late one night when he awoke to find himself on his belly, tied to the bunk bed metal frame. His pants were pulled down just enough to give access to his hole. Realizing what was about to happen, he tried to free his hands, panicking when they remained locked in place. Then, turning to the only other weapon he had, he began screaming for the guards, but his cellmate quickly silenced him by shoving a t-shirt into hismouth. His last hope of escaping was gone; Cain shut his eyes tightly and retreated into the place in his mind where nothing could hurt him.
Finally freed in the early hours of the morning, Cain rubbed his wrists and ankles while trying to figure out what to do next. Reporting what the ferret shifter had done was out of the question, since anyone who ratted on another prisoner instantly had a target on his back. So, he decided to turn the tables on his sleeping cellmate, but the guards got to the shifter before he could finish. The guards beat Cain unconscious, and when he came to, he found himself alone and naked in a maximum security cell.