“Are you sure?” said Dean softly.
Silas merely nodded as he ate, as if it was no big deal. Dean squirmed uncomfortably and wondered if he really should drop the subject as Silas seemed to want to.
“How can one pup be so hard to find? It’s ridiculous!” said Silas suddenly, frustration and pain clear in his voice. His mind clearly focused on far more important things than Aaron.
Dean leaned over and placed his hand over his mate’s. “We’ll find him,” he promised. Happy to accept the change in topic, if this truly was what was on Silas’s mind.
Dark eyes met his, and Silas smiled softly. Dean saw the trust shining in his mate’s eyes and it made his heart skip. Silas believed him. Believed his word. The necromancer not only loved him, Dean had somehow earned his respect too. Silas thought he was capable of keeping his promise. Silas, aspiring supervillain, considered that Dean was also a force to be reckoned with. It was wonderful. Dean felt his chest puff out with pride. It made him absolutely determined to fulfill his promise. Silas’s son would be found.
Chapter twenty-one
Silastriednottofidget. He didn’t know why this meeting was making him feel on edge, but he didn’t like it. The sitting room in the main pack house was far more cozy than the Council Chamber. It was his territory, his den. He should have felt fine. Dean was by his side, as were Jasper and Brendan.
The circle of mismatched chairs everyone was sitting on should have made it feel informal. Although he didn’t know Luca very well yet, it was his younger brother sitting opposite him with his mate and some people from his coven. Everything was fine.
“Atticus is the most powerful mage I’ve ever seen. I thought it would be a good idea for him to try the tracking spell,” said Luca, gesturing to the young man on his right.
The human mage stared at Silas wide-eyed, a strange look on his face.
“Why’s he staring?”Silas asked Dean down the bond, not bothering to hide his unease and grumpiness.
Amusement bubbled back from Dean. Images of screaming teenage girls at pop concerts flowed down the bond. Silas interpreted that as Dean saying “Fan girling.”
Silas cast his gaze over the young human mage again. Long dark hair. Long black leather coat. Impressive boots that Silas would love to ask where he got them from. Silas stared into the mage’s hazel eyes. Dean was right, the human was an adoring fan. Silas had to fight the huge grin that threatened to spread across his face.
“Best thing ever,”he sent to Dean, nearly wriggling in his seat with glee.
Dean’s deep amusement nearly made Silas laugh out loud. Suddenly the meeting didn’t seem so uncomfortable. He could do this.
“I need some of your blood on this,” said the human mage as he leaned forward to hand over a rose quartz crystal.
Silas took it with one hand, whilst unsheathing his newest dagger with his other. Another present from Dean. That man knew his weakness for daggers. Dean could probably do anything, give Silas a beautiful looking dagger in penance and be forgiven. Silas suspected the alpha knew this. Not that the alpha had done anything that needed forgiving.
Silas could not resist giving the dagger a fancy flick and a twirl before setting it against his arm. The human’s eyes widened in awe, as did Luca’s. Silas hid his smug smirk. The hours and hours of practice that had taken, the amount of times he had dropped the blasted thing and nearly sliced off his toes, were all now more than worth it.
He drew a neat cut on his arm and let the blood drip onto the crystal in his hand. He handed the crystal to Atticus before wiping the dagger clean with a cloth he kept in his pocket for just such a purpose. The small cut on his arm stopped bleeding on its own. Then, with another twirling flourish he returned his dagger to the sheath on his waist.
Atticus held the blood covered crystal and closed his eyes. Silas felt the immense power, and it was his turn to fangirl. Someone this powerful thought he was cool? It was beyond flattering.
Silas tried not to hold his breath whilst he was waiting. He shoved his hands into his pockets and his right hand found the pebble Dean had given him. It was just the right size to carry with him everywhere, forever. And no one would ever know. Silas clutched it tightly.
After a while, Atticus opened his eyes and shook his head. “Nothing sorry. He is… somewhere, but I can’t get a fix.”
Silas’s stomach flipped over, and his heart started racing. He let nothing show on his face. The mage didn’t realize, but he had provided extremely useful information. When Silas couldn’t track the pup and both Thom and Eifion had failed, he had wondered if it was all a lie. Maybe he didn’t have a pup at all and that’s why magic was drawing a blank.
But now Atticus had been able to confirm it. Ash was real. He had a son. Happiness swirled through Silas, and it took him aback. He had always wanted pups, but he had never particularly desired pups of his bloodline and this was a fucking awful way to gain a child, to have one stolen from you without your knowledge or consent. But it seemed his heart didn’t care.
A weight lifted off of Silas’s shoulders as he realized the truth. He was going to be able to love Ash, and not resent him in some ridiculous, twisted way of blaming him for the circumstances of his birth. He could be a good father and give the pup the love he deserved. He just needed to find him first.
“Max?” asked Atticus, handing the crystal to the surly-looking man beside him. “My boyfriend is a light mage,” Atticus explained to Silas. “His magic is different, so it might work.”
Silas raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean you are a lord or a duke or something?” The only human so-called light mages he had heard of were nobility.
“No,” scowled Max, clearly not deigning to give any further answers. Silas liked him immediately.
Max closed his eyes and Silas felt the pulse of his magic. It had a different taste to it, but Silas couldn’t understand why so many thought that flavor of magic was acceptable and the flavor he practiced was called dark and was despised. To Silas’s mind, magic was magic.
Max soon shook his head in defeat as well. A gleam in his eye and a new set to his glare that indicated he hated failing. Silas decided he liked him even more.
