His body ached again but nowhere near as badly as before the cubs had helped him. The reactions to the negative energy he’d absorbed worried Simon. The dark spell inside him remained trapped in the bubble he’d created around it.
Digging out a stubborn weed, Simon focused on the darkness for a moment. It seemed to be growing weaker, which Simon thought was a good sign. With no clue how to get rid of it himself, he dreaded asking Master Thomas for help.
He would have to get over his apprehension before their regular training session, scheduled for later in the morning. Simon had already meditated, finding it easier than before to center himself. It surprised him, especially considering everything he’d been through over the weekend.
He wiped his sweaty face on his grime-covered T-shirt, the last slightly clean spot now covered in new lines of dirt and sweat. Theheat was menacing, even though it was still relatively early in the day, and the humidity thickened the air to uncomfortable levels. He decided to take a water break and try to cool down a little before he continued working in the garden.
With a little concentration, he could feel the presence of a pack member close by. Someone had been near all weekend. It seemed Gray had decided not to leave him completely alone.
Instead of annoying him, it made Simon feel safe to know he was being watched over. Depending on someone else was a novel feeling for him. Part of being a mage required an ability to be alone. Mage training demanded a solitary focus, broken only by the master helping the apprentice.
Because of Gray, someone hovered just a few feet away, and he found he liked it quite a bit. He wiped off his soil-coated hands and brushed stray mulch from his knees. Simon cleaned himself as well as he could for the moment, went inside, and grabbed two icy bottles of water. Carrying them back outside, he called out, “You might as well come on out and grab a drink. I know you’re there.”
A moment later, a sheepish-looking Cade emerged from the trees. “Hey, Simon.”
Sweat dripped off Cade, his dark green T-shirt soaked. He had a camouflage bandanna tied around his shaved head, and it too was drenched.
“Hey yourself. Did you guys really think I wouldn’t know you were there?” He handed over the water, and Cade rubbed it over his forehead for a moment before answering with a shrug.
“Well, we are trained for this sort of thing. How did you know?”
“I guess I could feel you.” Simon paused, considering the oddness of that statement. “You know, ever since the other night, I’ve had this connection or something with the pack. It’s strange. Oddly comforting, though.”
Cade didn’t seem too surprised. “That’s what it’s like being in a pack. You always know someone is there when you need them.”
“And you don’t mind it?”
“Mind being in the pack? No, but then I’ve never known anything else. I think it would be lonely not knowing they were there.”
“Yeah. I can see that.” Simon was all too familiar with that feeling.
“Don’t you mages have groups or something? It seems weird that you’re out here by yourself.”
Simon shook his head. “Nope. We all stay pretty much to ourselves. I’m not really sure why, but that’s the way it’s always been. My grandfather was a mage before me, and he had this place. It’s where he came to work.”
“So his family didn’t even live here with him?”
“No. They had a house in town. I was allowed to come here after my tenth birthday when I started developing mage magic of my own. No one else was allowed to come.”
Cade shook his head. “No offense, but that just doesn’t seem right to me.”
“None taken.” Simon thought it was pretty unusual himself. He saw families on television and in movies, and although he couldn’t really compare them to reality, it would be nice to have something similar. He longed for a family of his own, maybe a big brother to hang around with or aunts, uncles, and cousins to visit during the holidays. Since his grandfather passed, he rarely saw his parents, and his grandmother had moved to a condo in Florida.
“So what do you do here anyway? I saw you out here this morning, but you were just sitting there with this goofy look on your face.”
Simon tried not to blush but couldn’t help it. He’d been able to center himself this morning as soon as he thought of Gray. And the thoughts weren’t exactly pure. “I was meditating,” he explained.
Of course, Cade must have noticed his pink cheeks. “Uh-huh. And just who were you meditating on?”
“Shut up.” Simon could feel his face burning as heat crept up his neck and across his cheeks.
Cade burst out laughing. “I knew it!”
Simon punched him in the arm. “You know nothing, and if you say anything, I’ll… I’ll… curse you or something. Turn you into a frog.”
Cade laughed so hard he doubled over. “You were totally daydreaming about my alpha while sitting in the middle of the yard. He’s going to love that.”
“That’s it,” Simon said, giving Cade a shove, “now you have to help me weed and get my flowers planted.”
