“So let’s cover it with a blanket,” Alex said. “Will that work for you?”
“Yeah…” Glenn said, “and also maybe moving it into the corner.”
Nodding, Alex replied, “My dragon is okay with that.”
Grabbing a blanket off the bed, Sawyer handed it to Glenn. “Here…you can do the honors.”
Once the statue was covered and moved, Glenn’s sigh of relief caused Sawyer to chuckle. “Now can you go to bed? My cock has been hard ever since I saw Fionn’s gift.”
Taking his mates’ hands, Alex grinned at them. “I hope neither of you plan on sleeping tonight because I still have stuff on my list. Ready to make our own porn?”
~/~/~/~/~
No matter how Lucius tried, he couldn’t stop nervously tapping his fingers on his knee. And he knew what was causing it—his agreement to return to the Blackwood Pack house after the Alpha arrived at Brady’s house and explained the reason Zane killed Valerian. It didn’t make any sense to him, but Brady seemed satisfied Lucius’ life was not in danger. And since Brady asked him to trust him, he had no choice but to do so because to do otherwise would’ve hurt his mate.
So that’s how Lucius found himself sitting, once again, in Dylon’s office, but this time, Jackson was also there, standing guard over the two of them. He didn’t understand why his mate had insisted on it, but he could tell Brady was calmer. The only thing betraying his mate’s outward appearance of ease, was the tight hold he had of Lucius’ hand and the whispered instructions about disappearing if there was a hint of a threat.
At times like these, Lucius longed to return to his life as a human. At least there he knew the rules, unlike his perplexing existence as a paranormal. But now, once again, the rug had been pulled from under him; the world he now found himself in was vastly different from Valerian’s. It brought back all the insecurities that plagued him when he first became a vampire. Having to learn a whole new set of rules—rules Valerian refused to clarify—had forced Lucius to spend most of his time trying to make heads or tails of them, living in fear of what his master would do to him if he messed up.
While listening to Dylon discuss the information Mystia had uncovered, Brady reached over, placing his other hand on top of his mate’s moving fingers. It was a lot to ask his mate to trust him and, that Lucius did so without complaint, infused him with a warmth he never expected. But the whole episode showed him how ill-prepared his mate was for his life as a vampire. Without knowledge of the paranormal world, Lucius would end up living a wretched life, always on edge as to what was coming next. That was unacceptable to him, but a solution would have to wait until the Ruler of All Magic was safe. Turning his attention back to Dylon, Brady asked, “What exactly are you proposing we do about the low-level magic users?”
“We need to get them out of there before Zohar can succeed with his plan,” Dylon replied.
“How many are we talking about?” asked Brady.
“Unknown…but Zane discovered Kadin Fadington reserved four semi-trailers for the day after tomorrow.”
Doing a quick calculation in his head, Brady said, “Given that, there are about 2000 low level magic users at the Council’s headquarters.”
Letting out a low whistle at the number, Carson muttered, “That’s a lot of bodies to move.”
“Sure is…and it’s gonna take time to get them loaded,” Dylon said. “And don’t forget the number of people that will be needed to do it. It would be easier and faster if Zohar used magic.”
“He won’t though,” Brady said. “He’s too smart for that.”
“How so?” asked Dylon.
“Translocating that many people requires a number of magic users…even if everyone’s magic is as powerful as Zohar’s,” Brady replied.
“Moving them by truck will take a lot of time,” Dylon said. “It seems it would be faster by magic.”
“You’re right, but there’s another problem with using magic,” Brady said. “Doing so would leave magical signatures, identifying the magic users who defied an order of the new Ruler of the Mystic Realm, leaving them open to the possibility of losing their magic. And regardless of how strongly a magic user supports Zohar, there are limits to it.”
“Hmm…okay, so moving them by truck is the only option open to Zohar,” Dylon mused, as he pondered the problem.
“What are you thinking?” asked Carson.
“As I see it, there are only two options for us…one, hijack the trucks once the low level magic users are inside…”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Remy said.
“I agree,” Carson said. “I think it’ll put them at risk of being killed by Zohar once he discovers what we did.”
“And even if that doesn’t happen,” Brady said, “Where are you going to put 2000 plus magic users? They will need round the clock protection, food, shelter…at least until the Ruler can enact new laws allowing them to return to their families.”
“All good points,” growled Dylon, “and that’s why I think option two is the way to go.”
“Which is?” asked Brady.
