Interrupting, Brian said sheepishly, “Me mate thought it was a good idea to take the nessies to meet Angus tonight.”
Glancing over at Logan, Kieran grinned. “Isn’t that exciting,macushla? The nessies’ first trip! You don’t have to worry about anything, well except making sure we all get there safely, but I’m not worried because I know you will be so careful, especially since it’s gonna be our squirt’s first trip too…well, the first one he’ll be aware of since he was so tiny the last time we flew but this time he’ll be very aware and he’s jumping for joy, well not literally jumping but you know what I mean, right? I think this has to be the bestest of bestest ideas I have ever had!”
“Your idea?” Logan asked faintly.
Nodding vigorously, Kieran said, “We were all with the nessies after their naps, and Reif thought they should invite Angus so he could meet all of them, and that’s when my bestest idea happened. Once I told Brian and Reif about it, they agreed it would be better so the nessies could meet all the Scottish Wolves at once. After that, it was just a matter of figuring out how to do it, but luckily Reif’s fathers had brought with them a big leather bag that all the nessies could fit into and Reif was going to carry the bag as he flew alongside us, but then the nessies wanted to ride a black dragon so the bag will sit between me and Brian who can hold on to the bag and to you at the same time. So it all worked out in the end.”
Raising an eyebrow, Logan shifted his glance to Brian and asked, “You okay with this?”
“Nae really,” Brian muttered, “but the Shaman assured me ye wont let me fall.”
Logan’s eyes widened comically for a moment at Brian’s answer. Shaking his head, he said, “I was referring to the baby nessies…are you okay with them being on my back?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Nae danger to them… they can fly…it’s me I’m worried aboot.”
“You weren’t the last time you rode my dragon,” Logan said, smirking.
“Ay…but me mind was on savin’ my mate,” Brian replied, then sighed. “I swore after that time ner’er to do it again, but then…”
“You didn’t count on your nessies looking at you with their puppy eyes,” Logan said, chuckling.
“Naw, someone shoulda warned me aboot it,” Brian muttered.
“That wouldn’t have mattered…no one can resist those eyes,” Logan said.
“Ay, that’s aboot right,” Brian said resignedly. “C’mon, Julius, Papa Nessie is waitin’ for us.”
“Don’t forget to put on their sweaters and the puffer coats I brought for them, along with the knitted hats I made for them,” Kieran said, smiling as Julius took off toward Brian. “They’re color-coordinated, so they will look absolutely fabulous when they meet Angus for the first time. Oh, and don’t forget to wrap each of them in their blankets before putting them in the bag.”
After Brian and Julius left the room, Logan turned to Keiran and asked, “You made them coats?”
“Not just me, exactly…Q helped me with stuffing them with down feathers since according to him ‘there isn’t anything warmer’. I also made them real long so their entire bodies would be covered. I was gonna make them with hoods but Q thought it might be more useful for them to have beanies so they could wear the hats when they sleep if it was a very cold night and since they live in Scotland, there are lots of cold nights so I knitted each nessie a beanie to match the color of their puffer coats.”
“Makes perfect sense,” Logan said, smiling.
“Yup…perfecto!” Kieran agreed, giggling.
“Speaking of cold weather, make sure you dress warmly since it’s gonna be chilly tonight. There won’t be any clouds to keep in the warmth from the ground.”
“Already on it,” Kieran said, grinning. “I’m gonna wear my pink silk long underwear under my black jeans, which, you know, are lined with pink fleece, and my pink puffer jacket with the new hat you got for me after my last one got ruined. I still don’t knowhow you found me one since the lady told me I’d bought the last one, but then you can do anything.”
“Well, not everything. I can’t figure out why Reif and Brian changed their minds about keeping the nessies’ existence a secret and decided to take them to see Angus and the entire pack of Scottish Wolves.”
“Oh, that’s easy. Angus and the Scottish Wolves owe Brian their survival, so they can be trusted to keep the secret about the nessies. And after you told Brian and Reif the reason Jackson wanted you and me to meet with the Alpha of the English Wolves, they thought it would be a good thing if they had an alliance too.”
“They already have one with the Blackwood Pack,” Logan said.
Nodding, Kieran said with a catch in his voice, “They know that,macushla, but we aren’t here all the time and what if some humans find out …or greedy paranormals who think it would be a good idea maybe to capture them and that would be so bad for the nessies and it would hurt Brian and Reif so much and in that case, it would be good if there was a place the nessies could hide while Brian and Reif…”
“Along with the Blackwood Pack, take on the bad guys,” growled Logan.
“Absolument,macushla, and no one knows that the Scottish Wolves are still alive so no one would look for the nessies there and they’d be safe and happy because they’d have met Angus and the rest of the pack so Reif and Brian wouldn’t have to worry about their babies…”
The unshed tears Logan heard in Kieran’s voice broke his heart, and the enormous need he felt to take away his mate’s painnearly brought him to his knees. Wrapping his arms around his mate and pulling Keiran tight to his chest, he murmured, “Hush,mo anan cara, I promise you that no matter what happens in the future, all the nessies will be safe from anyone who would dare threaten them, whether they are with Angus or with us at the Blackwood Pack…okay?”
Burying his face against Logan’s chest, Keiran nodded briefly, knowing his mate would always keep his promise to him. The scent of his mate eased his tension, and he felt satisfied that, for now at least, the nessies would be safe.
When Logan felt the change in Kieran’s body, he bent down and kissed the top of his mate’s head, then murmured, “Babe, you need to change so we can go. Angus is waiting, and since the nessies will be with us, I’ll have to fly slower than usual.”