It was the first time Simon had heard this news, and it shocked him. “What does that mean?”
“You know what it means, Simon. If you have not progressed by your twenty-fifth birthday, I will have to report to the Conclave that you are unable to achieve mage status. At that time, I will be assigned a new apprentice, and you will not be allowed to study and advance within our group. I’m sorry, Simon, but you must see that you can no longer allow yourself to be distracted by trivialities. Time is of the essence, and your progression as a mage must be your first, and only, priority.”
Simon hadn’t known, actually, and the thought of never being able to become a mage in full devastated him. It had been his dream since childhood, when his grandfather had first recognized the gift in Simon. His grandfather had managed Simon’s education in his early years, until his death when Simon was thirteen.
Simon had become even more set on his path after he’d lost his grandfather. It was his way of honoring his grandfather’s memory and one of the reasons he’d accepted the cabin as a bequest when he turned eighteen.
The cabin and a generous sum of money had been held in trust for him until that time. His grandmother knew it was meant to be Simon’s as he followed the path her husband had so many years ago.
“It’s my only priority, Master Thomas. I’ll prove it to you.” Simon forced his mind away from everything else, determined to become a mage and fulfill both his and his grandfather’s dream. If the occasional stray thought of bright blue eyes and steely gray hair invaded his mind in the future, Simon would tuck them away as a curiosity that was better forgotten.
6
“That is not acceptable,” Gray said into the phone Thursday morning. “I need that system updated ASAP. What do I need to do to make that happen?”
One of Gray’s first priorities after the kidnapping was to upgrade the compound’s security system. The disabled camera on the back gate was only the beginning of the changes. A new guard schedule had been created, with a majority of his pack members volunteering more of their time to take on additional shifts.
For the more technical side, Gray had used a contact of Garon’s stepfather, Alex. He knew a were from another pack who specialized in security. The upgrade was going to put a large dent in the pack accounts, but for Gray, there was no question that there needed to be some serious changes made to the way they protected themselves.
Rocky “Don’t Make Fun of My Name” Harris explained the problems he encountered due to the rushed request. “There’s really nothing else I can do, Alpha Gray. You wanted the best, and that’s what I’m getting for you. Unfortunately, some of the components I need for your system are on backorder for another week.”
“And then we’re looking at another week to get everything here and installed?”
“I know you’re frustrated, and so am I. I could do a substitute, but honestly, it’s not worth it. We’re only looking at a few days’ difference either way you look at it.”
Gray pounded his fist against the desk. Every day his pack went with less than adequate protection was another day they were more vulnerable to a second attack. “Just do what you have to do, Rocky. Pay for overnight shipping, put pressure on them, whatever it takes.”
“Already done and I’ll do it again. These guys want to keep my business and want me to be happy. They’ll jump through a few hoops for me if they can to get it done earlier.”
“I appreciate it.”
“No problem. Did you get the new guard rotation worked out like I recommended?”
“It’s done—a bit hard to decipher, but we’ve got it in place.”
“Excellent,” Rocky said. “Imagine if it’s hard to figure out for you guys, how hard it will be for anyone trying to find a weakness in the routine.”
“Good point.”
“I also wanted to let you know that I’ve cleared my schedule for next week. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to fly out personally and handle the installation.”
“It’s more than okay with me. Alex trusts you completely, and I know he wouldn’t have recommended you if you weren’t the best.”
“Alex is a good friend. I wish all alphas were like you guys. Anyway, I’ll be there as soon as I finish the job I’m on. I’ll let you know the details in a couple days.”
They finished their call, and Gray hung up the phone. The issues with the compound’s security were just one of many he’d been dealing with this week. The humans they’d captured, who were working with the demon, had been questioned by the High Council.
The Council member who had called with the results was highly amused. Apparently, they hadn’t been able to get anything out of the first human until he’d counted to one hundred thousand. Once he’d reached that magic number, he stopped and looked around, wondering where the hell he was.
The second was too scared he was going to be eaten and would only talk when he was in the kitchen, cooking. They had never seen anything like it before and wanted to know more about the mage who had planted such entertaining suggestions in their minds.
It wasn’t quite the reaction Gray had expected, but he had to admit he was just as fascinated by Simon. He couldn’t get the mage out of his mind, his thoughts circling back to Simon frequently since he’d seen him last on Monday. Gray found himself in the unusual position of regretting his promise to stay away. He wasn’t a man who frequently had regrets.
As tempting as it was to call Simon and ask if he’d learned anything new, Gray forced himself to focus on the tasks at hand. He was frustrated by his lack of knowledge surrounding other magical beings, and although Simon would be an excellent resource, he needed to get information from other sources as well.
He was an educated man, and over his years of study, he’d done more research papers and dug through more obscure references than he cared to admit. Even his current role managing the pack’s finances required a large amount of analysis. But all that experience didn’t help him one bit when trying to learn more about the world in which he currently found himself entrenched.
Every child of the High Moon Pack received training in their ways from an early age. Pack history, rules, and traditions were all emphasized from the beginning of a cub’s education, in addition to how to deal with living in a human-dominated world. However, study of the other creatures that coexisted with them had never been part of that schooling. Mages, demons, vampires, and all the rest were just Other, and not important to them.
