“Right now, you can only see yourself staying here…in the Blackwood Pack…but there may come a day when you decide to leave…and I don’t want you to feel you have to stay just because you don’t think there are any other choices.
“Knowing how to use a computer will help you get and keep a good-paying job…an opportunity denied you because none of your foster parents cared enough to make sure you were prepared for being an adult.” Sofia paused for a moment. “Gosh, the way I’ve gone on, I sound like a school guidance counselor,” she chuckled. Then, in a more serious tone, she said, “Cain, I may have overstepped when I spoke to Jackson about this without asking you first, but…”
It took Cain several moments for everything to sink in, but when it had, tears welled up and slowly rolled down his cheeks. No oneother than Sarge had ever worried about him, but by some small miracle, Sofia had come to his rescue. But unlike Sarge, who protected him from the dangers of living on the streets, she was doing something more—making sure he had choices in his life.
“Oh, honey,” Sofia murmured, getting up to hug Cain. “Don’t cry, everything will be all right, you’ll see.”
Wiping the tears away, Cain could only nod, hoping it was true. But even if it wasn’t, he would always cherish the memory of Sofia caring enough to help him.
~/~/~/~/~
It was the scent of pine and cedar filling his nose that greeted Mac as he slowly opened his eyes. It took him a moment to realize it was his mate. Smiling, he closed his eyes again, relishing the closeness of Ollie beside him.My mate…I have a mate…wait till I tell Sawyer!
Mac had dreamt of this moment since he was in his teens, and it had motivated him to join Frontline Doctors after he’d become a physician He was over the moon when he was hired, knowing he was one step closer to achieving his goal by widening his circle of potential mates.
When he received word of his first assignment—to the Blackwood Pack—he hadn’t known his cousins lived there but soon found out when he and his brothers reunited Aunt Hope—who’d been living with them—with her sons who she’d thought were dead. His brothers had planned only a short stay before returning east, but when his brother Hunter found his Fated Mate, Fionn, everything changed.
Mac smiled, remembering his mother’s last request that Hunter and his brothers take Aunt Hope back home. After their motherdied—and Aunt Hope took a turn for the worse—Hunter decided to head west to honor her request. And thus began a journey that neither he nor his brothers could ever have anticipated. Not only did Hunter find his Fated Mate, but so did Sawyer, Mac’s twin. And now it was his turn.
I’m so fucking lucky…a mate and a great job on top of it.Running his fingers through Ollie’s curls, Mac felt desire begin to stir inside him, triggering his need to sink his cock into his mate’s heat. But he would have to wait until Ollie awakened, which he was sure would not be soon. Glancing down at his mate’s sweet face, Mac could still see the exhaustion there, even though his mate had slept soundly through the night.
Closing his eyes, Mac thought about Theo’s parents and Ollie’s insistence that they needed to be rescued. He didn’t disagree—well, that’s not true, if he was being honest with himself—but that didn’t mean he liked the idea. He only hoped that Jackson would allow Sawyer and Glenn to go with him and Ollie, while keeping Theo in the dark about the plan to rescue his parents just in case the mission went south. The thought of failure sent a shiver running down his back at the image of his mate getting hurt after Mac had just found him.
“What’s wrong?” Ollie whispered sleepily.
“Nothing, babe…just a bad dream,” Mac murmured, tightening his arm around Ollie’s back. “Go back to sleep.”
“What time is it?”
“Too early to get up,” Mac said softly. “Sleep, my love.”
“Just a little more…” Ollie murmured, his voice fading as sleep reclaimed him.
Relieved his mate was once again asleep, Mac turned his thoughts back to the upcoming rescue and all the possibilities of what might go wrong, including the health condition of Theo’s parents. There was only so much he could do out in the field; if anyone was near death, then he’d have to try to keep them alive so that Colton could use his power on them. And for that to happen, they’d have to get back here as quickly as possible.
Mac made a mental note to ask Jackson if they could use the Blackwood Pack van for the trip, as it would give him space to set up a temporary emergency room in the back of it. And although he wouldn’t be able to fit in everything he’d like to, there would be room for Theo’s parents and critical equipment. Satisfied with his plan, Mac inhaled his mate’s scent once more before falling back to sleep.
Chapter 7
After leaving Jackson’s study, Sawyer was halfway across the great room when the scent of freshly brewed coffee made him veer off towards the kitchen. Pushing open the door, his eyes landed on Dakota for a moment before shifting to the mugs of coffee on the counter in front of his cousin. Smiling, he headed over to them and, taking a mug from Dakota’s outstretched hand, downed a sip before asking, “Has anyone ever told you how fucking smart you are?”
“My mate does all the time,” Dakota replied, grinning. “What are you doing up so early?”
“I wanted to talk to Jackson before my mates got up,” Sawyer replied. “How’s Max doing?”
Dakota’s face broke out in a big grin. “Absolutely fantastic…did you know he can roll over already?”
“No shit!”
“Yeah…Oracle told us that Dire Wolf pups grow quickly, but according to Colton, Max is ahead of where he should be right now.”
“How’s Slate handling being a father?” asked Sawyer.
Shrugging, Dakota replied, “He’s getting better…but he’s still learning that our son needs to do things on his own…like roll over.”
“Yeah…well, maybe there’s hope for me when our cub is born. Glenn thinks I’m gonna be too protective…just like Slate,” Sawyer muttered.
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing, cuz…you just have to figure out when to loosen the apron strings, a little bit at a time, and when to keep them tight.”