“I tried, but it appears the different Alphas didn’t file any reports about these killings, so it’s impossible for me to match up the babies I rescued with their blood relatives.”
“Did you ask the Alpha of the new pack you’re moving to if it’s okay for you to bring them?” asked Owen.
“I mentioned it in my letter, and when Cody Blackwood wrote back, he said it was okay,” Indrik said.
“Wow! A wolf pack that agrees to take in other types of shifters? Unbelievable!” exclaimed Owen. “How did you find out about them?”
“Through a teacher I knew. He told me about a pack that was starting a home for gay shifters whose parents didn’t want them, and…”
“And you thought they would need a teacher,” Owen said, grinning.
Shrugging, Indrik said, “Well, it sounded like it would be a perfect place for me. Luckily, I was the first one who applied.”
Owen frowned. “Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”
Glancing over his shoulder at his cousin, Indrik said, “Odd? Not really. Why?”
“Well…why did they hire you so quickly? Shouldn’t they have interviewed more teachers? It just seems weird that they made a decision so quickly.”
Stopping, Indrik turned around and looked at Owen for a moment before saying, “Maybe, but I wasn’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. I needed a job that came with a place to live and would accept the babies.”
Dropping his gaze, Owen shifted from one foot to the other nervously for a moment before muttering, “Did you tell them exactly how many little ones are coming with you?”
Turning back around, Indrik resumed walking, keeping silent for several minutes before saying softly, “No…I figured it was better to ask forgiveness later than to ask permission first. And besides, I didn’t know how many I would find when I first contacted the Blackwood Pack.”
“Good thinking…I guess,” Owen said. “I just hope they don’t change their minds when they see all of them.”
“They won’t,” Indrik said forcefully, trying to convince his cousin that everything was fine, but deep down, he wasn’t so sure. Cody assured him other kinds of shifters wouldn’t be a problem, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t change his mind when faced with them in person. Sighing quietly, he picked up the pace, hoping his cousin wouldn’t ask any more questions about the Blackwood Pack since his research hadn’t given him a lot of information about them.
~/~/~/~/~
Before Fionn could knock, the door flew open and his brother, Alex, trailed by a grouchy tiger, stood there grinning at him. Waving at both of them, he said, “Hey Alex, Glenn, where’s Sawyer?”
Alex rushed into his brother’s arms and hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad you came…I need your help.”
“Sure…what’s up?” Fionn murmured, refusing to let go of his brother even though Glenn was giving him the evil eye.
Breaking the embrace, Alex grabbed Fionn’s hand and pulled him inside. “I need help in figuring out what I should do if my cub doesn’t turn out to be a fox.”
“I thought he’s a fox,” Fionn said.
“And a white tiger,” growled Glenn.
“I know…but Mac isn’t sure now,” Alex said, wringing his hands.
“Why does it matter?” asked Fionn.
Alex’s eyes grew round. “Because then he’ll be adragon, that’s why!”
Confused, Fionn shifted his gaze to Glenn for a moment, but all he found was the same grumpy expression the tiger always had whenever Fionn was around his brother. Turning back to Alex, he asked, “Shouldn’t you ask Mac about it? I know nothing about giving birth to a dragon.”
It took a moment for Fionn’s words to sink in, but when they did, Alex grinned at his brother. “I mean, I need your help in figuring out what to do about his hoard. I never had one…well, not until you gave me one…so I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Should I divide my hoard and give him half of it…or maybe I should sell some of the gold statues and stuff and give him the money I get for it…and what about the chateau? Should I give him half of that too? See what I mean? I’m so confused.”
“Oh, now I understand,” Fionn said. Then, thinking for a moment, he continued, “Usually when a dragon is born, all of his relatives give a present made of gold. It can be like the statue I gave you as a mating gift, or it could be something else…something the giver values highly…or it could be gold bars or even coins, although that doesn’t happen very often since itwould have to be a lot of them in order to be considered a worthy gift.”
“But you’re the only dragon relative I have,” Alex said sadly. “Other dragons will laugh at my baby when they find out how small his hoard is, especially if I can give him only one gift.”
“They better not!” growled Glenn, wrapping his arms around Alex. “I won’t allow it, sweetheart, and Sawyer will back me up.”