“Sure…she and my father live here.”
Surprised, Cain asked, “She’s here…in the house?”
“When she isn’t away on some assignment…why?”
“Uhm…no reason,” Cain said, deciding to ask Sofia to take him to see her so he could thank her in person. But that would have to wait. His lack of sleep was catching up as he fought a yawn.
Steel smiled to himself at Cain's unsuccessful attempt, then asked, “Did you get any rest last night?”
Shaking his head sheepishly, Cain said, “I came here instead of going to bed like Sofia wanted me to, but I guess I shouldn’t have since I fell asleep here.”
“Sleeping is overrated,” Steel said, smiling. “I’ve always thought a good book can do more for your mind and body than tossing and turning all night long could ever do. But right now, you need some rest.”
As much as he wanted to disagree, Cain couldn’t. Giving in to the demands of his body, Cain reached for the books on the side table, intending to put them back on the shelves.
“You can leave them there for now,” Steel said, getting up. “I’m sure you’ll be back later.”
“Okay, but I’m not sure when that will be,” Cain replied, putting the book in his lap on the side table along with the rest of them. “Sofia has a schedule of what I’m supposed to do every day, so I’m not sure when I’ll have some free time.”
“No hurry…they’ll be there when you come back,” Steel said, heading for the door. “C’mon, I want to show you something before you go to bed.”
Cain glanced longingly at his pile of books for a moment before hurrying after Steel. He didn’t know where they were going, but he hoped he’d be able to find his way back to his bedroom.
~/~/~/~/~
Waking up, Mac kept his eyes closed, savoring the heaviness of Ollie’s head on his chest.A mate! And a perfect one, too!Everything he had ever wanted was now his—a fact that would take some time getting used to.
It was still hard to believe that he had found his Fated Mate after years of praying to the gods for one throughout his youth. It was the one thing he wanted most. There were times he thought it would never happen, and he’d contemplated just picking someone he could bond with, but Sawyer had always talked him out of it. It hadn’t been easy, at times, to believe his brother, but in the end, his trust in Sawyer persuaded Mac to keep looking.Thank goodness I did!
“Fleetwood,” Ollie murmured sleepily. “Is it morning yet?”
Mac glanced down at his mate and grinned. “Fleetwood, huh?”
“My mother loved their songs.”
“Oh yeah? Which one was her favorite?”
“Don’t Stop…it’s mine, too,” Ollie said. “I used to listen to it a lot after my parents died.”
“Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow…” Mac sang softly.
“Yeah…it became my mantra during the first year after their deaths. It got me through the worst of my grief.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
Shrugging, Ollie murmured, “It is what it is… did I wish it never happened? Of course, but we don’t get to pick and choose what happens to us in our lives, only how we react. It took me a while to figure that out, but once I did, the grayness of my world faded and was replaced with color. Now, I no longer try to forget the memories I have of my parents and the good times we shared but treasure them instead.”
“That’s a good way of looking at it.”
“What about you?”
“It’s different for me…neither of my parents died unexpectedly. My father hadn’t been well for a while, so it was almost a relief when he died because then he wasn’t suffering anymore. It was the same with my mother…she was a seer and knew she was dying, so she spent every day she had left giving us her knowledge and advice. Some of it didn’t make sense, but one thing she was very insistent about was that my brothers and I visit our cousins, and that’s why we’re here.”
“Did she know you’d meet me here?” asked Ollie.
“I don’t know…she never said anything, at least not to me. However, I have a feeling she knew since three of us have met our mates here.”
“You know that’s weird, right?”