A/n: NOT EDITED. Short.

Chapter 26 – Chelsea POV

Day after day I gave Kieran updates on Oakley, listening to him war with himself over why he was coming down here to see her anyways. After giving one overall gag order – no one tell Oakley and Kieran that they are mates – I continued thinking what would be done when Oakley finally was removed from the induced coma Jack had placed her in, knowing that I had no right to forbid anyone from being with their other half but we did have to protect Oakley.

I wasn’t just concerned with Oakley though, I was uneasy for Kieran as well, even if he lashed out and was somehow able to hurt Oakley, I know he would be consumed with guilt. The biggest obstacle I had found was his location, where he chose to reside. It would take someone – without mine or Gabriel’s teleporting gift at Oakley’s speed – two hours to get to where Kieran remained on one of the tallest of four mountains on the island.



Despite his concern for Oakley, Kieran showed no signs of shifting into his human form, and while I could have ordered him to do so, after three years in this form, and meeting his mate, he still wasn’t inclined to shift on his own. Gabriel, Jack, Lux and I, all thought it needed to be done on his own, because Kieran felt that he was ready to take that step, forcing him to be human didn’t mean he would miraculously be ready or able to handle whatever demons he was facing.



“He’s back,” Grant said referring to Kieran, sitting next to me, taking the spot Ben had vacated to go play with his new island friends. “He comes around the same time every day, give or take one hour,” I shrugged, drawing yet another picture of Oakley, again from Kieran’s point of view. This time, instead of her eyes being the main focus, it felt like I needed to get her lips parted perfectly right, her upper lip larger than the bottom, the shade of pink, and the slight lines the focus of this piece.



I listened for a moment only to Kieran, his thoughts as he watched a group of children – Bradley, Dayton, Farrah, Sage, Clover and Ben – play in my back yard, but he wasn’t truly focused on them. No his mind was replaying Oakley reading to him, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort…” the beginning of the book, ‘The Hobbit,’ she had been reading to him on top of his mountain.



“It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with paneled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats—the hobbit was fond of visitors,” Kieran listened, watching as her lips parted the words flowing from her mouth, beautiful regardless of the words being said. Oakley smiled at him, her face relaxed in a way I realized she only was with him, ‘I guess you’re nothing like the hobbit huh?’ she giggled while he stared at her, wondering if she hadn’t been told he didn’t like to be around others, ‘I mean all the way up here!? You sir, mountain King Wolf are not fond of visitors,’ her voice joking, playful to me, but mocking but to Kieran, yet his anger never flared.



“What’s got you smiling so big?” Grant asked curiously, pulling me from Kieran’s’ thoughts, turning to him the picture in my lap the colored pencil waiting for use, “Ben said you were drawing her… you’re quite good,” he complimented but still waiting to be clued in on what I was thinking. “Yeah, Kieran, this,” I said putting the colored pencil down and holding my sketch book for Grant to see, “is how he sees Oakley, or rather, this is how she is when with him,” I corrected. Too young for a boyfriend… or mate… he thought glancing at Oakley.



“Yeah she is young… Ava found her mate… it’s Casey-”



“Little Boss?” he chuckled throwing his head back, the name Oakley gave seemed to have stuck, “Yes… Little Boss has a mate, but to her he’s just someone that plays with her… especially when she didn’t have kids her age around, now she has more of that but she still finds comfort in him. He wants her happy, safe and it’s hard because sometimes she cries and it’s because she wants her friend. Yet sometimes she cries and it’s probably hard for Casey because she wants her momma and papa, but overall she happy and-” I stop abruptly this sounding more and more like a session. Grant eyed me, “She has so many people around – in a way you didn’t – that she’ll always be loved…” I snorted, “You’re good,” he just laughed.



So much like Norine, he thought as I rolled my eyes, I pursed my lips, “What was she like?” I only side glanced. “You know I’m not sure but I don’t think she knew Chelsea, that you weren’t with your father I mean… I –I’ve spoken with Julia about it, when the kids aren’t around and I believe with full conviction, that if Norine had known you weren’t with your father, she would have searched for you. Norine was different… when Pat first brought her around, she was always trying to overcompensate, but it wasn’t fake, you could tell that she had a hard life, and she was trying everything to just be welcomed in…” nothing like Sarah…



“We were a hard working family and she was full of surprises, when her and Pat got married, she paid off our parents house, what was left on loans they had taken out against it. Before Oakley was born, she paid for two semesters of College, and then one for Julia as well, she was intelligent, I mean she tried to hide it, just blend in but she’d have these talks with our dad and while he had experienced it, Norine could hold her own. She never gave anything away of course, but I guess thinking back it made perfect sense. She lived through that same history as my father,” he thought resting his head back.



“She was happy to be your mom, but I think with Oakley and even Ben, she reveled in what she didn’t have when she was having you. She also demanded that Oakley and Ben be born at home, she refused to go to a hospital… again… knowing what I do now it all makes sense,” I didn’t interrupt just sat listening as I worked on Oakley’s drawing – I had plans for this one. “We all loved Norine and in our family we just – we didn’t understand her just leaving but as her husband Pat was the one with the right to report something. That night when he came home, he called all of us frantically, worried, and when we questioned Oakley she was just – spacey. It was so different, I mean her answers just made no sense, but she repeated them over and over. Yet it was her behavior after everything that set off alarms – Oakley never asked for momma too much. Again it’s hindsight but loud noises – clacks or bangs – would throw her into tantrums.”



“Pat retreated and Oakley in a way she did as well, but she hung on his every word, the love she had for her daddy. It was disappointing to watch so we all chipped in, but again it’s not the same thing – getting attention from your uncles and aunts when what you really are craving is just something from your daddy. He’d give her a smile and you’d think he’d spent the day with her showering her with attention, then Sarah came around.”



“You don’t have anything against her?” I realized.



“Naw – of course not, she was no Norine, but again it was nice to see her pull him out of his shell and my mom and dad, Lillian thought it was amazing that Sarah would help Pat be a better father with Oakley and Ben, but when he said he was moving her in. My parents offered right away to let her move into their home instead, if she was having a hard time, but Pat said that he couldn’t embarrass her that way and then, it was like all the things we wanted to see him do for Oakley he began doing for Amelia. No amount of telling him differently made a lick of difference, and then it got worse, but he was already too deep in, but I mean now… things are going to get much harder for them.” He said regretfully, but then continued, focusing back just on Norine, “she was an excellent cook, she’d make all these dishes and when you’d ask her how she did, she’d say she saw it on T.V.,” always had an explanation…



Everyone once in a while I’d stop working and close my eyes, concentrating on the images – thoughts that Grant was thinking of specifically, until finally, I went back to where we started before leaving, “I know you’re worried about her having her mate, but this is how he see’s her,” I showed him the drawing, it’s not just a physical thing, yeah they’ll find each other attractive, it’s not like they're going to be sexually active or anything like that Grant. Kieran… even Oakley, she doesn’t seem like the touchy feely type, and him for wildly different reasons, but from his thoughts I think…” I said slowly, “Oakley finds that he is easy to talk to,” he sat up shifting his body to face mine, his eyebrow high arched on his forehead.



“I know he doesn’t speak,” I smiled, “but Oakley's used to people that speak, and not listening to her, this is different. I’ve already prevented anyone from telling them they're mates; let them figure it out on their own, in their own time. Rushing or declaring that I think it’ll get her hurt, not physically though by Kieran. He doesn’t even understand why he keeps coming down here to get the information, he’s frustrated,” I said with a smile.



“He has seriously told himself that he won’t come down here three times in the last 10 days… grumbling… after fixating up on his mountain, he comes down and waits until either Gabriel or I tell him that she’s okay,” I realized it was more so his wolf than his human side. The wolf wanting to make sure he heard it from someone with authority and no one had more authority here now, than Gabriel and I – in Kieran and his wolfs’ eyes.



“He comes everyday,” Grant deadpanned, I shrugged, “You can monitor Oakley… I mean obviously no more scaling the mountain to see him or lying about it. Although I don’t think she even knew why his scent was calling out to her-”



“Really?”



I nodded quickly, “After climbing all she did was talk about herself I think, and she began reading something, Kieran keeps replaying her reading. He likes it…” I hated speaking for him but I knew that Grant was only concerned about Oakley.



He snorted, “Of course, an island full of people that want him to shift back into his human form, Oakley probably didn’t even question that, just sat there reading out loud,” she’s a good girl… one day Julia and I… he thought with no animosity, and I almost wanted to mention me changing him and Julia, wondering if that was something they’d be interested in, but I held off. Instead, I nodded standing taking my supplies and going closer to Oakley’s still form, “I’ll be back later,” I whispered near her ear – even though I was sure she couldn’t hear me – as I always did, before avoiding Grant’s gaze. Heading up the stairs I dropped my supplies on kitchen counter – picking up the canvas for Kieran – walking outside, the children all planning a simple game of ‘Tag’ in the backyard, Kieran - his jet black coat dirtied near his paws - stood on all fours his grey eyes focused on me.

However instead of telling him from a far, how Oakley was recovering, I was going to do so up close and give him a little gift, “Here I made this for you,” I turned the canvas towards him, showing him the drawing of Oakley I had created with a bright smile. “We’re going to be waking her up pretty soon, but since she can’t come climbing up that mountain anytime soon, I thought you’d maybe like a picture of her to take back to your… home,” he growled his eyes narrowing but I held my smile in place.

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