Heath kept glancing at Tristan, waiting for him to say something about their meeting with Jackson, but so far nothing had been forthcoming from his mate since they left the Blackwood Pack. Finally, unable to remain quiet any longer, he said, “You coulda knocked me out with a feather when I heard Jackson’s offer. Can you believe it?”
Tristan looked at his mate before turning his attention back to the road. “Which one?”
“The gold, of course!”
“Ah…yes, the gold…the reason my father, Josiah, killed my other cousins and my uncle. And now I will use it to help his pack…”
“Your pack!” Heath snapped. “It’s your pack now…as it always was supposed to be.”
Tristan shook his head. “No, see, that’s where you’re wrong. My father made it very clear he never wanted me to follow him as Alpha when he kicked my pregnant mother, who was carrying me, out of her home.”
“Fucking-immaterial!” Heath exclaimed. “What’s important is that you are the Alpha, and Jackson’s offer to share the gold with you proves it.”
“I agree, but I can’t help wondering why he’s doing it,” Tristan muttered.
“Because he knows your pack needs it.”
Chuckling, Tristan said, “Babe, you know more than I do that the Alpha of a pack doesn’t offer to share anything with another pack…especially something that’s potentially worth millions.”
“True, but he’s your cousin.”
“I got that, but still, it’s not normal. If I didn’t know better, I would think Jackson is acting like a…never mind, it’s not important. In response to your question, yes…I was stunned. It’s a lifeline that I’ll gladly grab with both hands. The things I can do with it for my pack members…well, it boggles my mind.”
“But?”
“But?”
“Yeah…what’s the ‘but’? I can hear it in your voice.”
Sighing, Tristan glanced over at his mate and said, “I don’t want to get my hopes up until Jackson gets the report from the geologist.”
Bursting into laughter, Heath chortled, “Jackson already knows there’s gold there…otherwise, he wouldn’t have said anything…he’s not that kind of guy.”
“Yeah, I guessed that, but still…I don’t want anyone to know about the gold until I sign the agreement with Jackson…okay?” Tristan asked, smiling at his mate.
“Wise decision,” Heath replied. “No sense in letting the word get out that there’s gold in them thar hills!”
“Quoting Mark Twain now?”
“What can I say…I loved reading him when I was a wee lad.”
“Wee lad? Isn’t that Scottish?” Tristan asked, smirking.
“Ay, but it sounds better than what my father used to call me.”
“And what was that?”
Shaking his head, Heath said, “Nope…not gonna say.”
“We’ll see about that,” Tristan muttered to himself. Then, as he turned onto the road leading to his pack land, he said to his mate, “Send a text to Jackson telling him we’re here.”
~/~/~/~/~
Head bowed, Oracle stood in front of the three Fates, listening to them discuss Frank’s request. So far, they hadn’t reached a consensus, which didn’t bode well, though she wasn’t surprised. No one—at least to her knowledge—had ever demanded to know the reason the Fates did anything, but leave it to Frank to be the first one. She wasn’t sure whether his refusal to comply with their request was his anger at her or something to do with the request itself.
Denport—a town she had never heard of—but one Frank knew a lot about according to the Fates. It would have been easier if the Fates had provided her with the information, but they insisted Frank should be the one to help her with her mission. Why? She didn’t know, which was unusual, since the Fates had always given her the complete story surrounding any of her missions. But not now.
Deep in thought, it took a moment before Oracle realized the Fates were silent. And lifting her head, she found them staring at her as if waiting for an answer. The only problem was she didn’t know the question. “I am sorry,” she said softly. “What did you ask me?”