“No, no. He is all yours. If he ever wants to meet his birth mother, I’m here, but otherwise…” Cora trailed off with a shrug.
Suddenly, Silas turned on his heels and left. Dean glanced at Jasper, who nodded and chased after the necromancer. Dean got to his feet, resting his hands on the table.
“Did you touch him?” he growled.
Cora stared at him in horror, her jaw dropped and she flushed. “No! No, he was barely more than a pup! I was brought a um… container. I never even saw him.”
Dean glared at her, trying to peer into her soul to make sure she was telling the truth. He didn’t miss the irony that she thought Silas was too young at the time, the very month they gave him to Alpha Greenwood, but Dean supposed it wasn’t like she had any say in that. He couldn’t imagine Silvanus listening to her. He glared at her some more until finally he was satisfied. Then he turned to leave.
“I… I,” stammered Cora. “The name Silas means forest, so I named his son after the first tree, Yggdrasil. The sacred tree is an ash tree in the old stories.”
Dean stared at her. He didn’t know what to say to that, but the care she had taken in naming the pup strangely moved him.
“I tried to do the right thing,” she explained weakly.
Dean nodded and left. He knew all about trying to do the right thing.
When he got outside, he was relieved to see Silas sitting in the passenger seat of the car. Jasper was in the back seat, leaning forward to put his hand on Silas’s shoulder. The necromancer’s head was down, his dark hair hiding his face.
Dean walked over to the passenger door and yanked it open, reached in and grabbed Silas, pulling him out and into his arms. Jasper jumped out and hugged the omega from behind, making a Silas sandwich. The necromancer stiffened for a moment, then relaxed into the embrace. Gratitude flowed down the bond and Dean hugged him tighter.
Silas needed to learn that he had a pack now, and this was what proper packs were like. They were there for each other through thick and thin. They had each other’s backs. Silas would never be alone again.
Chapter fourteen
Silasthrewopenthedoor to Dean’s office, making Dean jump out of his skin.
“Did you know that the Grandmaster of Derwent Coven was a wolf shifter omega?” demanded Silas as if it was somehow a secret Dean had been keeping from him.
“I… er, heard he was a shifter,” answered Dean. He hadn’t heard about the omega part. That was interesting.
Silas sighed and crossed his arms. “An omega who fought his way to leading a coven of dark mages? I have to meet him.”
Dean nodded in agreement. It sounded like a great idea. A kindred spirit for Silas. Someone like him, probably the only person like him in the world.
“Come on, let’s go!” snapped Silas, gesturing towards the door.
Dean blinked. “Now?” he asked helplessly, but Silas had already left.
Dean followed his mate. He found him in one of the communal rooms, talking on his mobile whilst simultaneously cornering Eifion. Dean listened to the one sided conversation, his eyes going wide as he realized Silas was informing the Derwent Coven of his imminent visit.
Dean felt his eyebrows raise in surprise, then happiness bubbled through him. Silas was taking an interest in something. A distraction like this would be good for him, help take his mind off the pup, being thrown, and everything else that weighed on his mind.
Silas ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He looked up at Eifion.
“Can you open a portal to the Derwent Coven, please?”
Dean watched as Eifion sighed wearily, but the mage said nothing, merely gave a languid gesture with his hand. A portal opened behind Dean and he flinched. He hadn’t expected the swirling doorway to appear right behind him.
Silas had learned how to create portals himself, but Dean knew they were hard work for his mate. Immensely tiring, not that Silas would ever admit it. Whereas, for Eifion they seemed effortless. Dean did feel sorry for the mage though. He was pretty much their magical Uber, as he frequently complained. And they didn’t even pay him.
Well, Silas was being very polite to him and he got to live in the pack, free for the first time in his life, so Dean supposed it wasn’t all bad. It was payment of a sort. Hopefully, it was enough.
Silas was stepping through the portal, so Dean scurried after him. Trying to put his thoughts in order so he could appear calm and intelligent and not embarrass Silas. Being the mate of the Grand Master of the Council was hard work, but Dean wouldn’t swap it for the world.
As Dean stepped through the dizzying portal, he heard someone shriek very excitedly, “Oh my god, frigging Silas Northstar is coming to visit us!”
It made Dean grin, even though it irked him a little that many people still referred to his mate by his old name. But it was what it was. Silas had always hated that name, but it was the name he had been known by whilst he was growing his infamy. It wasn’t surprising that people still used it.
