Chapter 1

Tristan nodded at several of Reeve’s men as he walked through the morning mist to his grandparents’ house, his thoughts focusing on what had happened the previous evening. It had been a long night filled with sleepless hours as his mind fixated on the man who claimed to be his mate. Mate! What the fuck does that even mean? He’d laughed at such an archaic term but quickly stopped when he saw the hurt look in his visitor’s eyes. Before he could apologize, the man had fled. Stunned at his “mate’s” reaction, Tristan had sat there a moment before finally coming to his senses and getting up to go after him. But by that time he was nowhere to be seen.

After failing to find the man, Tristan had slowly walked back to his office, realizing there were parts of being a wolf shifter his mother failed to tell him about. Like what I’m supposed to do when a strange man announces I’m his mate. Sitting down in front of his stack of unread files, he’d contemplated calling Reeve, but decided against it. The only people who would keep his lack of knowledge a secret were his grandparents, but it had been too late to visit them. So he had no choice but to wait until the next day to get his questions answered.

Reaching his grandparents’ house, Tristan stopped for a moment, staring at their red door—a vivid reminder of his mother’s favorite color. A flash of grief nearly brought him to his knees before he could push it aside. Then, satisfied he wasn’t going to embarrass himself, Tristan raised his hand, but before he could knock, the door swung open .

“Son!” Pete exclaimed, smiling at his grandson. “Just in time for some of your grandmother’s blueberry muffins.”

“Who are you talking to, Pete?” Kathy asked, as she emerged from the kitchen. Then, seeing her grandson, she hurried to the door. “Oh my goodness, what a surprise!” Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around him, giving him a mother-bear hug and a kiss on his cheek before letting go.

Grinning at his grandmother, Tristan said, “Grandpa told me you made my favorite muffins.”

“Now, you’ve done it,” Pete said, ushering his grandson into the kitchen. “I’m going to be swimming in blueberry muffins from now on.”

“Oh hush, now,” Kathy murmured.

“I guess I’ll have to come here more often,” Tristan said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Joining her husband and grandson, Kathy watched with satisfaction as Tristan popped half a muffin into his mouth. She waited until he’d finished three before asking, “Okay, sweetie, what’s the matter?”

~/~/~/~/~

Jackson glanced at Steel with a questioning eyebrow as he waited for someone in the room to speak. After seeing the almost imperceptible shake of his mate’s head, the Alpha returned his attention to the three men sitting in front of him. He could tell by the glances between Cody and Dylon that they were busy using their mind link to communicate with each other, but Slate said nothing, just sitting there looking stunned by the turn of events .

He certainly understood Slate’s reaction and regretted having to spring this on him so soon after Dakota had given birth to their newborn son, Maxwell James, but it couldn’t wait. Jackson knew that he was asking a lot, especially since Slate would perceive Cain as a threat to his mate and Max, but time was running out. Before he could make a decision about Cain Foster, he had to give the three of them, who knew about Cain’s previous involvement in shifter trafficking, a chance to argue against him joining the pack.

Finally, the quiet in the room was broken when Dylon spoke. “First of all, Cody and I trust the Fates know what they’re doing by putting a human in the pack, but what about you, Jackson? Can you say the same?”

“I can,” Jackson replied. “But, if you’re asking me if I like it, then my answer is no, I don’t. It goes against every law set up to protect the paranormal world. I wish there was another way we could eradicate this threat to our world, but there isn’t.”

“There’s something I don’t get,” Cody said. “Why is the High Council supporting this? Aren’t they guilty of violating their own laws by allowing a human to join a pack?”

“I’m guessing they’re choosing to look the other way,” Jackson replied. “None of them is willing to challenge the Fates over this.”

“Or challenge my mother, either,” Steel added.

“True,” Dylon smirked.

“Jackie, what exactly do you want from us?” asked Cody, frowning.

“Simply put…to trust Cain. Unless you three can do that, I won’t allow him in the pack. ”

“Trust a fucking criminal?” Slate snarled, unable to keep quiet any longer. “That human you are so willing to have in our pack is the same one who tried to buy Theo and Norm. Or have you forgotten that?”

Baring his fangs, Steel growled, “Back down, brother.”

Laying his hand on his mate’s arm to calm him, Jackson said, “I haven’t forgotten and I know I owe the Fates for saving Theo, Norm, and Kieran.”

“And now, you’re willing to jeopardize everyone else?” Slate growled.

Feeling the tensing of Steel’s muscles, Jackson tightened his grip on his mate’s arm while surrounding Slate with his Alpha Power and forcing him to tilt his head in submission. “Be careful of what you accuse me of, Slate. I have never, nor will I ever, carelessly put my pack in danger…and you know that. The welfare of each member of my pack is my primary concern…and that also means securing their future. I already know humans have threatened some of my pack members and they’ve also hunted other shifters.

“Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. In fact, it’ll only escalate with time as others are recruited by this small group of human extremists to their cause. The Fates know this…as do I. Whether I like it or not, I don’t have the luxury of waiting, hoping these renegades will get tired of hunting us, because the longer I delay, the more my pack faces danger…and that includes Dakota and Max.

“Human incursion into our world is nothing new—our history is rife with examples…hell, you don’t have to look any further than what happened to the Scottish Wolf Shifters to see what’s in store for us if we bury our heads in the sand. But, unfortunately, this time it’s wo rse than before. Humans now have advanced technology at their fingertips along with weapons of unprecedented accuracy that can reach us from miles away without us even knowing they are there.

“Add to that, shifters who are willing to betray their own kind and we’re looking at a situation our world has never faced. Whether we like it or not, we need Cain right now to help us prevent the humans from waging war against us. Their biggest weapon of all is that none of us can infiltrate this group because we’d be immediately identified by their shifter members. And these traitors are also revealing secrets about our world that can make humans even more dangerous than before because they’ll know all our secrets.”

“Speaking of secrets,” said Slate, “what about the knowledge Cain will get about the special gifts the Fates gave us…how do you know he won’t use that for personal gain?”

“I don’t…but that’s where trust comes in,” Jackson replied. “It has to work both ways in order for this to succeed.”

“Do you honestly believe you can trust him?” asked Slate.

Pausing for a moment, Jackson thought about his meeting with Cain, before saying, “Actually, I do.”

“You sound surprised,” Slate said.

“I guess I am,” Jackson replied, smiling. “When Oracle told me about the Fates’ plan, to say I was skeptical is an understatement. But I’ve since changed my opinion.”

“Why?” asked Cody.

“I met with Cain and found out he has good in him… ”

“Right!” Slate snarled. “Tell that to the shifters who were about to be sold off.”

“Back down…I’m not warning you again, brother,” growled Steel.

“The measure of a man cannot be judged by one act, but by who he is inside,” Jackson said, quietly. “Cain was dealt a shitty hand in life; his troubles started in childhood when his parents abandoned him and he was forced to survive any way he could. It’s easy to judge a person who made bad choices when you haven’t walked in his shoes and don’t know if you would’ve made the same decisions.

“Cain has good inside him…I know it, but that doesn’t mean he gets a free pass from me based on his tough life. It just means he has to work harder to overcome his past in order to have the quality of life he always wanted. The Fates know this and, more importantly, I know it. Rest assured, Cain has not and will never fool me. I expect him to live by my rules and if he fucks up, he knows I’ll punish him. But I’ll also be there to support him, just as I have done for other members of this pack.”

“I have to agree with the Fates’ reasoning,” Dylon said. “We haven’t been able to make any headway in finding our adversaries. Every web search Zane does ends up as a dead end. And even if there were leads, we’re still at a disadvantage because we know nothing about the shifters involved. What if they also have special gifts? Going in without complete knowledge would put us all at risk.”

“Will you have a problem working with Cain?” Jackson asked Dylon .

“No…my job is to make sure this pack remains safe and if that means working with a human, then so be it.”

“I agree with my mate,” Cody said. “However, I have one suggestion…give Cain time to get used to living in a pack.”

“Good idea…he’ll have a job along with assigned chores. How he handles it will give me an indication of how well he’s integrating into pack life,” Jackson replied.

“I’ll hold off questioning him until you give me the go-ahead,” Dylon said.

“Yes…I need to build trust between him and the pack and it can’t happen if Cain feels threatened,” Jackson replied. “Other than the ones in this room, no one else will know he was charged with a crime.”

Shaking his head, Slate murmured, “Throwing the wolf in with the sheep.”

“Don’t you mean throwing the sheep to the wolves?” asked Cody, smirking. “Slate, do you really think the Fates would do that to us?”

Running his hand through his hair, Slate said, “No…yes…honestly, I just don’t know, but what I do know is my mate and pup are not safe anymore in the Blackwood Pack if Cain is allowed to join.”

“You can’t mean that!” Cody exclaimed, clearly distressed at the thought of his brother and nephew leaving.

“They are safe, Slate,” Steel said. “Even though Cain is a human, Jackson’s Alpha Power will control him if he decides to harm any of us. Furthermore… ”

“Wait a minute…Jackson’s Alpha Power will work on a human? Are you sure?” asked Slate.

“Yes,” Steel assured his brother, “and not only on Cain but also on any other human who poses a threat to our world. According to our mother, the gods and the Fates felt it necessary to expand Jackson’s power so the Blackwood Pack would be protected.”

“The other thing you should know,” Jackson said, “is that Cain will be implanted with a tracking device that will tell me where he is at any time. He won’t be able to remove or disable it, nor can anyone else, without my explicit permission.”

“Well…that’s something, I suppose,” Slate muttered.

“I won’t stop you if you want to leave,” Jackson said, softly. “But you owe it to your mate to discuss it with him first. Dakota has the right to make his own decision.”

Slate’s shoulders slumped in resignation. “I already know Dakota won’t leave…he’s happy here and I can’t take that away from him. It’s just…”

“You’re worried about Max,” Jackson said.

“Yeah, I am,” Slate murmured, looking down at his big hands. “He’s so tiny and fragile. One swipe of a paw could kill him.” Then, looking at Jackson he asked, “What if I fail him? What if I don’t…”

“Stop right there,” Jackson said. “Every parent plays the ‘what if’ game but it’s an exercise in futility. No matter how hard you try to protect Max from harm, you’ll never be able to do it a hundred percent of the time. And while you are trying to do that, you’ll miss all the important moments in your son’s life.”

“Dakota said the same thing,” Slate muttered .

“Listen to your mate, brother,” Steel replied, grinning. “I always do with my mate.”

Snorting, Jackson shook his head. “Now that’s a bunch of bullshit.”

“Jackie’s right,” Cody said, smirking at Steel. “Have you forgotten the time when…”

“We aren’t talking about me right now,” Steel said, stopping Cody from reminding him of times he’d rather forget.

Jackson’s smile faded as he grew serious. “Max is tiny right now, but he’s going to grow—and fast. And before you know it, he’ll be shifting and playing with the rest of the pups. Don’t let your fear of what might happen in the future keep you from enjoying the present with your son.”

Steel rose and walked around Jackson’s desk to his brother. Leaning down until they were face to face, he said, “Max is lucky to have you as his father.”

“That remains to be seen,” Slate replied, the corner of his lips lifting.

“Nope…I know it because remember, your big brother is always right,” Steel murmured, pulling Slate into a tight hug. “You’re going to be a great father.”

“Thanks,” Slate murmured.

Letting go of his brother, Steel grinned at Slate. “Remember, even if you do fuck up, our father will never let anything happen to his namesake. So stop worrying.”

“Gee, thanks…that makes me feel so much better,” Slate said wryly, before punching his brother’s arm .

“Ouch!” Steel exclaimed, rubbing the spot as he looked at Jackson. “Are you going to let him get away with that?”

Chuckling, Jackson said, “Sit down, both of you.” Then, he added, “Max has a slew of protectors in the pack, so I can’t think of a safer place for him to grow up in than here.”

Sighing, Slate replied. “You’re right…sorry for…”

“No apology necessary,” Jackson replied. “Now, what about Cain? Will you treat him the same as you do every other pack member?”

“I’ll try,” Slate replied. “But I have one request…can his bedroom be in a different wing?”

“Done,” Jackson said. “But remember this…the success of the mission the Fates have given us depends on trust among all of us…and that includes Cain. There may be a time when Dakota’s abilities are needed and if you harbor reservations about Cain, Dakota will know it.”

“I understand,” Slate murmured. “I won’t put my mate in danger, even if it means accepting a human into the pack.”