Chapter 11

“Knock, Knock,” Hunter said, standing in the doorway of his brother’s office.

Looking up from his computer screen, Mason smiled broadly. “You guys are back from France!”

“Yup,” Hunter replied. “And we didn’t even have a chance to unpack before Kieran and Theo enlisted Fionn for some top secret project.”

“Ahh…yes…Theo and Norm are proposing to Smokey, then Kieran got involved and…”

“Say no more…I got the picture.” Sauntering in, Hunter claimed one of the chairs in front of his brother’s desk, asking, “How are you doing?”

Ignoring his brother’s question, Mason asked, “Have you looked over the financials I sent you? Beowulf Trust is having a banner year.”

“I have…you’re doing an amazing job. It seems our clients have doubled their money.”

Nodding, Mason shuffled through a few files on his desk before locating the one he wanted. Opening it, he took out a document and passed it to his brother. “Read the note.”

Quickly skimming through a report from Dire Enterprises, Hunter found the note on the second page. His head snapped up. “You gotta be kidding…Maximus is doubling his investment with us?”

“Yup…and he stopped by to tell me he was very pleased with Beowulf’s performance.”

“Fucking hell!” Hunter exclaimed. “You did good, brother.”

“ We did good.”

“Nope…this one’s all yours.”

Blushing, Mason waved his hand dismissively. “Thanks, but it took both our skills to get to this point.”

“Getting to the point of convincing Dire Enterprises to take a chance on us? Then yeah, it was both of us. But this?” Hunter said, holding up the document. “This is because of your work.”

Mason said nothing as he took back the document and slipped it into the file folder. He appreciated Hunter’s praise but if it weren’t for his brother’s work on the initial proposal, Dire Enterprises would never have invested a penny in them. In his mind, a large part of the credit belonged to his brother but he knew it was useless to argue the point with Hunter since once his mind was made up, nothing could usually change it. Leaning back, he said, “You look happy…how did it go in France?”

“Everything’s done. The vineyards and other assets have been officially transferred to Dire Enterprises—except for the Chateau, which Fionn gave to Alex since he was born there.”

“What about his castle in Scotland? Is he going to sell it?”

“I don’t think Fionn will ever do that since his mother is buried there. Also, it’s the ancestral home of the MacDùghlas Dragon Clan.”

“But isn’t Fionn the last MacDùghlas?”

“Alex is a MacDùghlas, even though he carries his omega father’s surname,” Hunter said. “And Fionn told me he was going to leave it to Alex’s son in his will. ”

Shaking his head, Mason said, “I still can’t believe Sawyer is gonna be a father.”

Snorting, Hunter exclaimed, “I can’t believe our wild and free brother has a mate he’s content to stay home with.”

A sharp pain stabbed Mason’s chest causing him to wince. He wasn’t sure about the cause, but it had been happening more often and he’d finally decided to see Mac about it. Resisting the urge to rub the spot on his chest, he replied, “Yeah…well only time will tell if Alex has tamed our brother.”

Hunter’s eyes narrowed after he’d caught Mason’s quick grimace. His gut told him he wasn’t well, but there was no sense in asking about it since his brother would never tell him. Mason had perfected the art of masking his emotions and, while Hunter valued that attribute in business, the same couldn’t be said when it came to his brothers’ health. Ignoring it for now, he asked, “Have you seen the mating gift Fionn gave Alex?”

“No, what is it?”

“It’s better if you see it in person since my description can’t do it justice,” Hunter said, smirking.

“Oh shit! That doesn’t sound good.”

“No…it’s good…really. It’s just that you have to see it to truly appreciate its beauty.”

“Huh uh…tell me, does our brother like it?”

“Sawyer? Yeah, he does…so does Alex.”

“What about Glenn?”

“Him? Maybe not so much,” Hunter replied.

“Why is that? ”

Grinning, Hunter said, “Ask me that again after you see it.”

Chuckling, Mason said, “Okay, color me curious now. Is it here or back in France?”

“Here. Alex insisted that it be up in their room and I’m sure he’ll be delighted to show it to you.”

“Good…I was just about to go see our newest cousin, Maxwell James.”

“I’ll go with you, but I have some news to tell you.”

“Oh fuck! Don’t tell me Fionn’s pregnant!”

“What? Hell no! What the fuck made you think that!”

“I don’t know. The way you said it just gave me that feeling.”

“Well, if it did, I didn’t mean it to,” Hunter said, shuddering slightly.

“Fine…got it…no little one in the forecast for you. Now, what’s the news?”

“It appears that Fionn has inherited the estate of his uncle and his cousin and he wants to use some of that to start a fund to help gay dragons, especially those whose parents have rejected them.”

“That’s great. I suggest you talk to Steel or Maximus about how to do it.”

“I plan to, but this is where you come in. Fionn wants to give part of the money to Beowulf Trust…to invest. Is that okay?”

Stunned, Mason stared at his brother, simply nodding, speechless after hearing what he’d said. Fuck! Having a dragon for a client was almost unthinkable—they were notoriously suspicious of all financial institutions. That Fionn would even consider it, much less follow through on it, would be a major feather in their cap. Finally, finding his voice, Mason said, “I’ll draw up the papers and when you two are ready, I’ll go over them with Fionn.”

“Great,” Hunter said, getting up from his chair. “Let’s go congratulate Dakota and Steel on the newest member of the pack.”

~/~/~/~/~

Awestruck, Theo just stood there taking it all in. The secret clearing all a-glow in the afternoon sun, was surrounded by virtually impenetrable trees. His gaze followed the trees upward into a soaring, lacy canopy where sunlight and green leaves intermingled together creating a magical space. Then he did what Slate had told him to do—he spun around in a circle, feeling the kaleidoscopic effect of the space on his soul, knowing it was the result of good spirits dancing all around him. Exactly what he wanted for Smokey—to give him some much needed peace after his recent run-in with Josiah.

“Wow! Just wow!” Fionn murmured.

“Perfecto!” exclaimed Kieran, clasping his hands together over his heart.

“This is a special place…filled with magic,” Remy said softly, feeling the sparks running up and down his outstretched arm. Swirling his hand, the clearing suddenly lit up with tiny rainbow-colored light flashes, all floating upward until they formed a soft glowing arch overhead. Then, with another wave of his hand, more tiny lights were draped from the lower tree branches, emphasizing the etherealness of the clearing.

“Oh. My. Gods!” Theo exclaimed. “I love it! ”

“Now, what else did you have in mind for your proposal to Smokey?” asked Remy.

“The bed! Just like this,” Kieran said, holding up a picture of a canopied four-poster bed. “And it absolutely has to have soft pink sheets cuz everyone looks good lying on them, a deep-pink down comforter to keep the love birds warm and toasty, and a bunch of plump pillows. Don’t forget to use sheer pink fabric for the canopy so in case Smokey is shy about doing hanky-panky in the woods, Norm can close them so no one can see.”

“If I make them sheer,” Remy pointed out, “Smokey will still be visible.”

“Oh I know, but it’ll give him the illusion of privacy,” Kieran replied, grinning. “Theo loves doing hanky-panky in public, so this way they’ll both be satisfied. Of course, Smokey could always change his mind and want to show his big cock to the world, but I don’t think Norm would like that very much even if Theo did. No, it’s better if the bed is covered in sheer pink because it gives them lots of options.”

Smiling, Remy raised his palm and on it sat a miniature bed with all the accouterments Kieran had wanted. “Like this?”

Bouncing on his toes and clapping his hands in excitement, Kieran shouted, “PERFECTO!”

“Uhm…isn’t that a little small for Smokey?” Fionn joked, his eyes twinkling.

“Duh…of course it is,” Kieran replied, lifting up the miniature bed from Remy’s hand. “This is for Theo to remember this very special time. ”

Taking the bed from Kieran, Theo held it reverently in his hand. “Ki is right…it’s perfecto,” he murmured. Then, shifting his gaze to Remy, he added fervently, “Thank you.”

Touched, Remy only nodded, before turning his attention back to the clearing, where he spied a perfect location. Then, in a blink of an eye, a full-size copy of the miniature bed appeared among the wildflowers adorning the ground. Grinning, Remy proceeded to add touches of his own. By the time he was finished, the clearing had everything Theo needed to make his and Norm’s proposal to Smokey one that would be remembered for the rest of their lives.

Gazing at the scene that was clearly out of a fairy tale, Theo fought back tears of happiness. Quietly, so as not to break the spell the clearing had cast over him, he whispered, “It’s beautiful!” Then passing the miniature bed to Kieran, Theo threw his arms around Remy, hugging him tight. “Thank you so very much! Smokey will love it and so will Norm.”

“I’m happy to have been able to help make this night special for all of you,” Remy murmured, returning the hug. “It’s the least I could do in return for you protecting my brothers from a demented killer.”

“Smokey was the one responsible for taking down Josiah,” Theo said, softly.

“I know, but you were the one who made sure Galen and Eamon felt safe. At bedtime last night, they spent an hour telling Carson and me how exciting it was and how your bear protected them. That was a far cry from how they were when our parents died—two fearful boys who had retreated into themselves. Smokey may have eliminated the threat, but it was you who turned what could have been another traumatic event for my brothers into a grand adventure. I owe you a lot for that.”

“You would’ve done the same for my cub,” Theo murmured, blushing.

“That’s what makes this pack the bestest!” Kieran exclaimed.

“Yup…the bestest,” Fionn echoed, thrusting a fist into the air.

Looking around the clearing, Kieran said, “We should make Remy a member of the Love Queens cause this is just absolutely fantastic! Let’s bring it up at our next meeting.”

“What meeting?” Fionn asked, confused.

“The one we’re gonna have to vote on Remy’s admission to the Love Queens, of course,” Kieran announced.

“Oh…okay,” Fionn replied.

“Uh…that isn’t necessary…” Remy started to say.

“It is,” Kieran said, nodding emphatically. “Otherwise, how else can you become a member?”

“Right…how else,” Remy muttered under his breath. Then, changing the subject before Kieran could come up with any other ideas, he asked Theo, “What are you going to wear for the big night?”

Theo’s eyes grew round as he looked at Kieran and Fionn. “Oh my gods! I don’t know! You guys have to help me! And what about Norm? Should we wear the same colors or…or…?”

“C’mon, we need Quin…he can tell us what’ll be perfecto for your big night!” Kieran said, grinning. Then, grabbing hold of Theo and Fionn’s hands, he pu lled them through the hidden entrance to the clearing and onto the moss-covered trail leading back to the pack house.

Chuckling softly to himself, Remy smiled one last time at the magical scene he’d helped create before following the trio down the path.

~/~/~/~/~

After his meeting with the new Alpha of the Silver Point Pack, Jackson leaned back in his chair, his mind on the new information he’d learned about Reeve’s friendship with Maximus. The fact that they knew each other did help ease his mind a bit, but he needed to know more and, since Reeve wasn’t being forthcoming about it, the only other source he could turn to was Maximus.

Rolling back his chair, Jackson rose, but before he took a step, his father-in-law walked in.

“Jackson, do you have a minute to talk?” asked Maximus.

“For you, always,” Jackson replied, sitting back down. “What’s on your mind?”

“Reeve.”

“What about him?”

“I wouldn’t normally have this conversation without his permission, but knowing Reeve as I do, he won’t give you the answers you need.”

“Why not?” asked Jackson. “After all, he’s asking me to trust him…why won’t he do the same for me?”

“I don’t know, exactly, but I’m sure it has to do with his childhood,” Maximus said, softly, pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts. “Mystia and I spent years tracking down myths and legends that I’d spent a good portion of my childhood reading about after I went to live with her. She saw how fascinated I was about them, so in an effort to help me get over the death of my father, we would pick one story at a time to pursue. That’s how I knew who David was, if you remember.”

“I do…go on.”

“One day, I selected one about the mystical white buffalo. I could tell Mystia wasn’t eager to get into that one, but I persisted. Relenting, she transported us to the spot where he was supposed to be, but there was nothing but bare ground for as far as the eye could see. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought we were in the underworld.”

“But you weren’t,” Jackson murmured.

“Right…but Mystia was clearly upset. She kept muttering about evil taking over. Frankly, I couldn’t make heads or tails out of her ramblings, so I started to walk, heading for a bluff I could see in the distance. Even to this day, I can hear the wind as it howled around me, filling my nose with dust and forcing me to choke as I struggled to breathe through my mouth. Mystia called me to come back, but some unseen force was pulling me to the bluff, and nothing could stop me.

“When I got closer, I could hear a continuous low moan. It was an unearthly sound…one I’ll never forget…but I also knew whoever was making it needed my help. When I got to the edge of the bluff, I looked down but saw nothing other than more barren ground. Refusing to give up, I searched for a way down. When I finally found it, I realized the only way to get down there was to skid down the slope on my butt, which I did, coming to an abrupt stop at the bottom. ”

“That musta hurt.”

“A little, but as I was dusting myself off, I realized the moan I’d heard from the top was now louder. Following the sound, I climbed over boulders, and fought my way through thick, thorny brush until I finally saw Reeve…or what was left of him.”