Page 125 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

“Do I get one of those?” a tremulous voice asked.

Dellan turned his head and smiled at his half brother. “Get your ass over here.” He and Jake pulled Jamie into a hug that seemed to stretch into minutes.

You hug them all you want.Horvan sounded a little croaky too.Plenty of time for introductions later.

Dellan didn’t want to let go of either of them, for fear it would somehow break the spell, and he’d wake up back in Homer Glen in the house his stepdad had built for his mom, his dad nothing but a distant memory.

I’m not going anywhere.

With a shock, Dellan realized the voice in his head was that of his dad.

What the fuck?

Chapter Twenty-Six

THAT SHOCKEDexpression was all it took to confirm Jake’s suspicions.

“I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” He’d wondered if Dellan shared his gifts. Well, he had his answer.

“I only found out I could do stuff like that when I met Rael. He’s one of my mates. The first time we met, he heard my voice in his head. And then I spoke to him in a dream. But I thought that was because of the mate bond.” Dellan bit his lip. “Apparently not.”

Jake’s heart skipped a beat. “You look like me, but when you did the lip-biting thing a moment ago? Lord, you remind me of your mother.” His breathing hitched. “Dellan, is she….” He didn’t want to voice the fear that wound tightly around his heart.

Dellan’s face contorted, and that told him everything. Pain lanced through Jake’s chest.

Oh, Miranda.

“I hate to break up the reunion,” a deep voice rumbled. “But we need to get back to our camp and onto a plane.” The guy was huge, with broad shoulders and an equally broad chest.

“This is Horvan, my other mate,” Dellan informed him.

Jake smiled. “I have a severe amount of catching up to do. And you’re right. This conversation can wait.”

He was in no hurry to have his heart broken.

THE C-17’Sengines droned, but Jake pushed the noise into the background. Dellan hadn’t left his side since they’d boarded thetrucks, and that was fine by him. He didn’t want to let his son out of his sight for an instant.

A lot of the soldiers around him were asleep, and Jake imagined that was a combination of a very early start and downtime after the mission, not to mention adrenaline crash. They were an impressive bunch. Jake was awed at how quickly they’d moved to free all the inmates, with very little loss of life.

His gaze fell upon Brick. Seth had fallen asleep in his arms.

“He hasn’t had much of that the last few days,” Jake murmured to Dellan. “He’s wiped out.” He paused. “You do know he’s—”

“Your son, and therefore my half brother? Yeah, I know. I found that out when we rescued Aric from the camp in Bozeman.”

Jake smiled. “Love that kitty.” Aric was presently curled in Seth’s lap, his eyes shut tight. What made Jake smile even more was the fact that even in sleep, Aric was in contact with both his mates. His paw was now resting on Brick’s arm, where earlier his tail had been draped over it.

“We were so relieved when we learned Jamie was with you and Seth.” Dellan sighed. “I think we turned his life upside down.” He glanced farther along the plane’s interior. “I think Brick is avoiding Jamie.”

“Why would he do that?”

Dellan frowned. “Because Brick was the reason they caught Jamie. He’s the reason Jamie ended up in that camp. The Gerans took his parents hostage, saying they’d release them if Brick provided information. Except we think they pretty much killed them right off the bat.”

Jake frowned. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Then Brick needs to talk to Jamie, and soon. I can understand why he’d feel responsible, but as Jamie told me, they would have caught him at some point, regardless. How did he phrase it? ‘Did I like beingcaught? No. But I found my people, and I can’t be angry when I’m so fucking happy.’” Jake couldn’t wait a moment longer. “Tell me about your mom.”

“She… she died about a month before the Gerans took me.”

Jake fought the urge to weep. “Did she… did she ever remarry?”

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