It wasn’t the first time Ciro’s age had been addressed in connection with the darkness that grows inside of all mate-less Canis lupus. And until the Great Luna had come to him, he hadn’t ever had an explanation for it. And though now he understood, the reason was extremely personal. The Great Luna had told him that his mate had endured some truly disturbing things in her short life. Because of that, she’d chosen someone for her who would have unlimited patience. She had chosen a male that would be willing to wait any amount of time it would take for her to feel safe with him. And because she needed a male with that much long suffering, she’d made Ciro age much slower than others of his kind, which caused the darkness to spread slower as well. He wouldn’t share all of this with Lucian, so he gave the only answer that would still keep his mate’s privacyintact.
“It has been the will of the Great Luna,” Ciro answered. “She is the creator, and I am the created. Who am I to question her? She has called me to trust and obey. I will strive to dojustthat.”
Lucian’s lips tilted up ever so slightly in what might have been a smile. “Your answer makes it clear why she chose you. You are a man of integrity, Ciro. Men such as you are few and far between. The five healers that have been revealed to us have experienced men with no integrity, no respect, and no selflessness. Each of the males she has chosen for those healers are exactly whattheyneed.”
“Now if we could just get to them.” Cirogrowled.
“We will. In the meantime, we can take comfort in knowing that the pixie king will protect them with his life. Theyaresafe.”
“Gustavo is with them. That could be a good thing, but it could also be a very bad thing,” Ciropointedout.
“Yes,” Lucian agreed. “But, Sorin, Adam, Crina, and Elle are all formidable warriors. If Gustavo succumbs to the darkness before he can claim Anna, they will be able to dealwithhim.”
“So, for now, we wait.” Even as patient as he was, Ciro was still an Alpha wolf, with the drive to protect those who were under his care. Doing nothing was not in the genetic makeup of any Canislupusmale.
“We wait for the right time to act.” Lucian paused and took in a deep breath. “I have a feeling there is much going on that we do not understand. But we have to be smart as we hunt our prey. Volcan is powerful. He’s proven that he’s knowledgeable as well. If we run into battle rashly, we will not walk away unscathed, if we walk awayatall.”
“I agree. Speaking of waiting, have you seen Dillon’s Beta, Dalton?” Ciroasked.
“Yes, he’s in mourning,” Lucian said, sounding just as concerned ashefelt.
Ciro’s wolf growled. “He’s pining for his mate as if she’s lost to him. He’s lost weight, he’s reclusive, and he rarely phases from his wolf skin. I know it is not my place to questionDillon,but…”
“I can,” Lucian finishedforhim.
Ciro nodded. “You can and he won’t respond as though you’re challenging him. Right now, our wolves recognize you as the Alpha of this impromptu pack. He will treat youassuch.”
“I will talk with Dillon. He’s a good Alpha, but he knows of Dalton’s history, and that may be why he’s giving the wolfleniency.”
“If Dalton continues like this, he will need to be caged and given an Alpha command to eat. He is of no help to his mate if he’s as weak as anewbornpup.”
Lucian didn’t say anything more. Ciro had made his point. He’d debated going to Dillon himself, but Dillon would be insulted and possibly see it as a challenge. They didn’t need to begin fighting amongst themselves. If they started that nonsense, they might as well wave the white flag of surrender toVolcan.
“Did you see Thadrick sparring with Nick?” Lucian asked, changing the subject to something muchlighter.
Ciro nodded and smiled. “I’ve never sparred with a djinn,” headmitted.
“Not many have. They are rather aloof. Thadrick, I think, has gotten bored and is curious about what he’s been documenting for the supernatural history books. It’s been an interesting couple ofyears.”
“And bound to only get moreinteresting.”
Of that, Ciro had nodoubt.
* * *
Dalton’s wolfdid not like the djinn. Then again, Dalton’s wolf pretty much hated anyone that wasn’t Jewel. Apparently, he decided that everyone else was not worth the dirt his paws tread on. There were moments Daltonagreed.
“DaltonBlack.”
Thadrick’s voice carried on the wind as he traversed the steep hill upon which Dalton had momentarily paused in all his wandering. He didn’t like the way the man said his name, as though he were familiar. The fact that Dalton, all the supernaturals for that matter, was familiar to the centuries-old, all-knowing djinn pissed his wolf off more. The djinn, keeper of their history, knew the pasts of all the supernaturals. How the legendary creatures managed such a feat, hedidn’tknow.
As soon as Thadrick was standing next to him, the wolf’s hackles rose. Dalton wanted to laugh when he let the wolf have some control, and the beast flopped onto his side like aboredcat.
Thadrick simply stared down at him. “It takes much more than that to insultme,wolf.”
Dalton let out ahrrumph.
“It has been a very long time since I have been in the company of other supernaturals,” Thadrick said, obviously deciding to ignore Dalton’s cold-shoulder act. “Seeing what happens in my mind’s eye is not the same as being present. I will admit that this present-ness is taxing for me at times. The very air is charged with the emotions emanating off of eachofyou.”
