“I’d like Oracle to answer, if you don’t mind,” Brady said, staring intently at her.
“The vampire who turned Lucius also had a witch cast a death spell on him,” Oracle explained.
“That can only be done using black magic,” Brady murmured. “What activated it?”
“Lucius went more than two weeks without drinking his master’s blood.”
“Where’s his master?”
“Dead. He was killed along with two other vampires who were with him,” Oracle said.
“Do you know who cast the spell?”
“No,” Oracle answered, “and without a magical signature, there is no way Remy can locate the witch who did it.”
“Did you ask my… uh…Lucius if he knew?”
“No, but it does not matter because he had never heard of a death spell much less knew he was a recipient of one,” Oracle said, softly.
“How close to dying is he?”
Lowering her eyes, Oracle answered, “Very close. Lucius has given up all hope and while Kieran is doing his best to give him some, the spell prevents most of it from reaching him.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Brady said, abruptly, as he rose from his chair.
“You’re going to claim Lucius, then?” asked Jackson, somewhat taken aback by Brady’s quick decision.
“Of course,” Brady replied. “He needs me.”
“I understand that, but what if he didn’t need you, would you still want to claim him?” asked Jackson.
“Absolutely. Of course I was surprised since I never expected to have a Fated Mate, but I knew immediately I would claim Lucius if he would have me. The only reason I quizzed Oracle so thoroughly is that I wanted to understand what I was facing when I arrived.”
“Fair enough,” Jackson said, rising. “Remy, nice to meet you and please tell my brother I think he’s a lucky man.”
“I think I’m pretty lucky too,” Remy smiled, joining Oracle and Brady in the center of the room. Then, with a wave of his hand, he whisked the trio away.
Staring at the now vacant spot where his mother had been standing, Steel grinned, “Giving my mother a hard time, I see.”
Sighing, Jackson plopped down in his desk chair. “I didn’t mean to…I just didn’t want Brady to be pushed into something just because he felt sorry for Lucius.”
“Did you really think he’d allow that?” Steel asked, turning to his mate.
“I…I’m not sure…he’s such a gentle soul. Mystia told me why he was banned by the Witches’ Council…and I was afraid Brady would rush to help Lucius even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness.”
“You thought my mother would play on Brady’s willingness to fight for the underdog?” asked Steel.
“Honestly? No, I didn’t…but this whole thing is unusual…it’s the first time I ever heard of the Fates allowing Oracle to tell someone who his Fated Mate is before they actually met. It just threw me off a bit,” Jackson said, “and I wanted to make sure Brady knew he had a choice.” Jackson began to nervously tap his fingers on his desk before saying, “Hopefully, your mother will understand why I did it.”
Chuckling, Steel said, “I don’t think anyone has ever challenged my mother…at least relating to Fated Mates.”
Groaning, Jackson buried his face in his hands. “Fuck! Leave it to me to be the first.”
“Babe, don’t worry, my mother won’t be upset about it.”
Peeking through two fingers at his mate, Jackson muttered, “I was out of line and you know it.”
“No, you weren’t. What you were doing was being a good Alpha and my mother knows that and, what’s more, respects you for being one. Trust me, my mother will enjoy telling my father how someone finally challenged her.”
