Fagan felt a bit shaky. The whole foundation of his world had changed in a matter of hours and he wasn't quite sure how to cope with it. The only thing that seemed solid in the whole damn thing was his golden warrior.
His mate.
Wow.
He had a mate.
Fagan was still reeling from that discoverying and all that it meant. Life hadn't been hard at the monastery, but it hadn't been fabulous either. Until now, he hadn't realized he could live another path, a path with Beck.
There was a part of him that was confused by all that had happened. He didn't understand why the elders hadn't taught him about mates if he was meant for Beck. He hadn't even been taught about shifters.
That seemed so wrong.
There was another part of him that seethed with anger. He wanted to go before the headmaster and demand to know why he'd never been taught about mates or shifters or even the peace treaty between shifters, humans, and the Sidhe.
He hadn't even known he was Sidhe.
That was more than wrong. It bordered on betrayal. It made Fagan wonder about the other omegas who had gone before him. Had they ended up confused and angered when presented to their mates? Had they even been presented to their mates?
Fagan knew from things he'd overheard when the guards were talking that a few of the omegas had died, never going wherever it was they were meant to go. He just had no idea how they had died. He was beginning to suspect they had resisted whatever plans the headmaster had for them and they paid for that resistance with their lives.
"Beck, when you talk to the high council, is there a way to find out what happened to the other omegas? If I haven't been taught about mates and shifters, I suspect they haven't been taught anything either. I worry about what might have happened to them."
"I can ask, Fagan, but I can't promise the high council will answer. They tend to only let out the information they want to let out. They are a very secretive bunch."
"Don't they work for the people?" Fagan was pretty sure that was how things were supposed to work.
Beck snorted. "You'd think that, wouldn't you?"
"I'm assuming from your tone that they don't."
It had been kind of sarcastic sounding.
"The high council might have started out as a council for the people, but there are a lot of people who believe they started working for their own purposes a long time ago."
Fagan cocked his head, turning it toward Beck. "And what do you believe?"
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'absolute power corrupts absolutely'?"
"Yes, but the full phrase is 'Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. It was first written by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton in 1887."
"Well, it's true. I think that when someone has the power of life or death over others, it creates too much temptation. The power goes to their heads and they start making decisions based on what they want versus what is best for others."
"You're a shifter king. You're in charge of the lives of others. Does that mean the power has gone to your head?" Fagan kind of wanted to know what he had gotten into here. Had he tied himself to a crazy man hungry for power?
"I think that anyone who is in power, no matter what position they have, is susceptible to being corrupt. It's knowing when to rein yourself in that is the key."
Fagan wasn't sure that answered his question.
"Look, while I am alpha here, and my word is final, these guys would never follow me if I was power hungry. They've been fighting too long, just like I have. At this point, we all just want a place to call home. I'm hoping you and I can provide that for them. They're more like brothers than pride members."
"Oh." That actually sounded kind of nice. "I've never had a home before." Not a real one, and he didn't think his room back at the monastery qualified.
Beck's arm wrapped around him, pulling him close to the alpha's side. "Then we'll just have to build a home for all of us, because I've never had a real home either."
Fagan liked the sound of that.
"Do you need to hold onto me or anything?"
"I have my cane with me, but I prefer not using it if I can help it. If you'll let me hold onto your arm and tell me if I'm going to run into anything, that would be helpful. Once I get a chance to map the place out, it won't be a problem. I have a form of eidetic memory. I can remember any room I've mapped out, any face I've touched, and any voice I've heard before."
"Handy."
Fagan's eyes rounded for a moment. "Very."
"Okay, the great room has the living room, kitchen, and dining room. There are French doors at one end, the front door at the other. Off of the great room are our bedroom, the guest bathroom, a guest room, and my office. One the far side of the room from where we are now is a set of stairs that go up to the second floor where the others have their room plus a rec room. There's also a pantry and laundry room off the kitchen and a hidden staircase that goes down to the basement."
"Why hidden?"
"That's where we do all of our training. There's an indoor gun range, armory, small infirmary, storage room, and a couple of bunks in case we need to be down there for awhile."
Fagan squinted. "Are you preparing for armageddon?"
It would be good to know this.
"We stood as guards for the high council for twenty-five years, Fagan. We learned to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst." Beck's arm moved against Fagan as he shrugged. "We're probably just a little more paranoid than we need to be, but I'd rather be prepared if things go to hell thaen get caught with my pants down."
Fagan could understand that. It was kind of like making sure there was always a little extra food on hand in case you had unannounced visitors. It would be embarrassing to not have enough food to feed your guests. Better to be prepared just in case.
"Will you teach me to shoot a gun?"
Beck stilled. "You want to shoot a gun?"
Fagan chuckled at the fear he could hear lacing Beck's voice. "I don't have plans to run off and rob a bank or anything, Beck. I just want to shoot one. I never have. I want to know what it feels like."
"Okay, I guess we can do that." Beck started to walk again.
From the layout he'd given and because they were after food, Fagan figured they were headed for the dining room or the kitchen. That was good. He was starving. He hadn't had anything to eat since lunch.
"Your friends aren't going to get all weird if they see me mapping the place out, are they?" Mapping a room was a necessary evil for Fagan. He just hated when people treated him as if he was stupid or delicate after watching him.
"After you put Jaggar in his place, I think they all have a healthy respect for you."
Fagan winced. "I didn't mean to strike him. I hate violence, but I didn't know him and he was going toward me with angry intent. I merely protected myself."
"You did good, little one. Jaggar knows it, I know it, and everyone else knows it. Jaggar had no business threatening you or making you feel like you were danger. He and I will be discussing his behavior at a later date."
"I'd rather you didn't." He was never going to make friends this way. "I can take care of myself and now Jaggar knows it. If you jump in, he's going to think I need you to fight my battles."
"Uh..."
Fagan wanted to roll his eyes, but it was kind of lost on people with his milky white eyes and all. It usually weireded them out.
"I don't mean big battles, Beck. Just...I'm not an invalid."
"No, I get that, Fagan. I'm just not sure everyone will. I think people will see a blind man and assume you can't do anything on your own, even protect yourself."
Fagan smiled. "Then we'll just have to prove them wrong."
"Tell you what," Beck said. "I'll make you a deal."
"What sort of deal?"
"I'll let you do what you need to do under two conditions. One, if you ever need help, not matter how small, you will ask. I don't want you to be afraid or uncomfortable admitting there is something you can't do. We're mates. We're supposed to help each other."
"Okay, I guess I can agree to that." It kind of made sense. "What's the other condition?."
"If I feel your safety is in danger, you let me protect you without question."
Fagan wasn't sure how he felt about that condition. "Beck—"
"Baby, listen to me." Beck grabbed both of Fagan's arms. "I don't know how things were in the monastery, but out here life is precarious. You could get hit by a bus crossing the road."
Fagan gulped. "A bus?"
Maybe he'd skip crossing roads.
"That's just an example. What I mean is that things can get dangerous, especially in the world of shifters. We're kind of testosterone driven. You saw that with Jaggar. You were able to deal with him, but you won' be able to deal with everyone in the same manner. A lot of people don't play fair. They'll use your lack of sight against you."
"I'd like to see them try."
Fagan suddenly understood what he'd been training for all of his life. Yes, he was to care for and protect his master, but he was also supposed to take care for himself. Blind or not, he had the ability to be a force in his new life.
"I'll agree to let you protect me under my own condition. Let me fight my own battles until I need you. I'm going to fall down and bump into things. I'm going to get hurt. People are going to treat me differently. You can't save me from any of that, and that's your burden to bear."
Fagan grunted when he was crushed in Beck's arms.
"I will gladly take that burden on if it means having you in my life."
Okay then.
"Hey, guys," someone called out from the other room, "food is on."
"That was Greyson, right?" Fagan asked.
"It was," Beck agreed.
"Guess we'd better go eat then."
He was starving.
Fagan sniffed the air as they walked closer to the dining room. His stomach began to knot with worry when he figured out some of what he was smelling. "Beck, I don't eat meat. I can't."
Beck patted his arm. "I know, little one. There areis plenty of other things for you to eat. I can see a fruit tray, some different cheeses and breads. And I think there are a few different pasta dishes."
Fagan blew out a relieved breath. "Okay, good. I tried meat once, not believing the elders, and I was so sick I wanted to die. I never took the chance again."
"It won't be a problem if I eat meat, will it?"
"No."
Beck chuckled. "You had me worried there for a minute. I'm a tiger. We like our meat."
"You can have it." Fagan shuddered just thinking about the one and only time he'd tried meat. He'd take almost anything else.
Beck stopped. Fagan heard a chair scrape across the floor. He reached out until he felt the edge of the chair then sat down. It went a long way to show Fagan that Beck had heard him when the man didn't try and push his chair in.
"So," Beck asked, "how hungry are you?"
Fagan just smiled.