Ollie sighed in frustration at the total clusterfuck facing him. His cousin’s pregnancy had thrown a huge monkey wrench into his plan, which meant it wasn’t viable now. And it would delay his efforts to free Theo’s parents, which, considering the condition they were in the last time he saw them, could end up turning his rescue into a recovery of bodies instead. He needed to think of a new plan, but his throbbing head, a leftover of Smokey shaking him nearly senseless, made it impossible. What he really needed was a good night’s sleep on a soft bed.
Ollie’s sigh told Mac more than any words could. Running his eyes over his mate, he saw the weariness etched in his face and his body slumped in the chair. Cursing himself for not noticing it before now, he stood and walked over to Ollie. Holding out his hand, Mac said, “You need sleep…tomorrow we can talk to Jackson and ask him for help. He has the resources we need.”
Looking up at his mate, Ollie asked, “He does?”
“Absolutely…so how about we go to bed and get the rest we both need before we take off on this rescue mission?”
A small smile graced Ollie’s face as he took the offered hand and got up. A kernel of optimism flared inside him. Maybe everything wasn’t as hopeless as it seemed.
~/~/~/~/~
Entering his study, Jackson smiled at Steel, who was waiting for him. Walking over to his desk, he sat down. “Danny’s asleep?”
“Yup…it was a three story night.”
Shaking his head, Jackson grinned. “Our son certainly has your number.”
Shrugging, Steel replied, “I can’t help it…especially when he looks at me with those puppy eyes.”
Chuckling, Jackson said, “I know…he knows how to use them, especially with you.”
Steel conceded his mate was right, but he had no defense against his son’s blue eyes that reminded him of Jackson’s every time Danny looked at him. It always reminded him of the vow he’d made when Jackson lay dying after giving birth, that their son would only know love. And he had kept his word to make sure Danny would feel secure in the love of his parents. And if that meant he would read three stories instead of one, then he was delighted to do so. Changing the subject, he asked, “Why did you want to know if Groose called me?”
Before Jackson answered, he clicked on an icon on his computer screen, opening the surveillance video from the security system Steel had installed. Running it back, he stopped when he found what he was looking for. Pointing at the figure at the front gate, he said, “Theo’s cousin showed up at the front door tonight, and I wondered if Groose told you of his arrival.”
Steel’s brow furrowed as he took the mouse out of Jackson’s hand and clicked on the picture to enlarge it. “No…he didn’t mention it…just a minute.” Reversing the video to the beginning, he played it again, but this time in slow-motion. Frame by frame, he could see the attempts the man had made to squeeze through the iron bars of the gate without success. At that point, Steel expected the man to use the intercom, but it didn’t happen. Instead, the figure looked around, and then suddenly disappeared. “What the fuck? Where did he go? One moment he was there and the next he was gone.”
“Somehow,” Jackson mused, “with no one knowing he was here, Theo’s cousin was able to enter my land and reach the front door of the pack house. Thankfully, it was Ollie and not a person intent on doing harm to my pack.”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Steel muttered, rewinding that section again. Then slowing the video down more, he watched, but the only thing that was different was a slight wobbliness of the man before he vanished. “Where’s Theo’s cousin now?” he asked.
“With Mac, who just so happens to be his Fated Mate,” Jackson said.
Whipping his head around, Steel stared at his mate. “Fucking hell! Really?”
“Yup…and Smokey isn’t happy about it, but I don’t know why,” Jackson said, answering the questioning look in his mate’s eyes. “I’m going to talk to him tomorrow morning and find out what’s behind it.”
“Good…in the meantime, send the video to Zane and ask him to check it for any signs of tampering. Do you want me to talk to Groose tomorrow about Ollie?”
“No, let’s wait till Zane can review the video,” Jackson said as he sent the file to his brother. After shutting down his computer, Jackson turned to Steel and grinned. “Never a dull moment, is there?”
Standing, Steel pulled his mate up into his arms, and whispered in his ear, “I can promise you it won’t be dull tonight. I ordered a special present for you, and it arrived this afternoon. Ready to see what it is?”
Chapter 4
It was only after Mac shut the door to their bedroom that Ollie finally let go of the breath he’d sucked in on his journey through the Blackwood Pack house. The sheer amount of love he could feel around him was surprising, since it wasn’t what he expected to find in a wolf pack. And he quickly realized it was the perfect place for Theo to be after his cousin’s harrowing experience with Arald. From the moment Theo had fainted, everyone who rushed to his cousin’s aid was a protector or caregiver. Even the Alpha’s reaction confirmed in Ollie’s mind how safe his cousin was at the Blackwood Pack.
When Ollie first discovered that Theo was living in a wolf pack, he was sure his cousin was a prisoner, as he’d been with Arald, because he couldn’t come up with any reason his cousin would choose to live with wolves. But his friend at the High Council had assured him it had been Theo’s choice to live with the Blackwood Pack. Still, he’d remained unconvinced until his friend sent him proof, prompting him to search for Theo’s parents and learn why they sent their son to Arald’s.
“Oliver? Is everything okay?” Mac asked after his mate just stood there, staring at the door. And when Oliver didn’t answer, Mac said his name again, but louder this time. “Oliver!”
Mac’s voice finally got through to him, snapping Ollie out of his reveries and, after blinking several times, his eyes finally focused on his mate. “I’m…ah…what was it you wanted?” he asked, slightly embarrassed for not responding sooner.
Mac studied Ollie for a moment before he reached out and took one of his mate’s hands. Tugging Ollie close to him, he presseda soft kiss to his ear before whispering, “I asked if you wanted to take a shower before we go to bed.”
Nodding, Ollie smiled. “I would absolutely love to wash four days of road grime off before you claim me.”
“C’mon then, the bathroom is this way.” Lacing his fingers with Ollie’s, Mac led his mate into the en suite bathroom, smiling at the soft gasp he heard when the giant walk-in shower appeared in Ollie’s view.