Simon floored the gas, and the car jerked forward. His eyes flitted back and forth between the road ahead and the rearview mirror. He’d never used compulsions like that before, especially not on an Other, so he couldn’t be sure how long the magic would hold. Simon drove on automatic pilot, his course set for town. He pressed one shaking hand to his still-bleeding nose, ignoring his injuries in his eagerness to be as far away from the demon as he could get. Every set of headlights on the nearly deserted road had him fearing the worst.
He didn’t know if the demon would break free of his spell as easily as it had the first one, and Simon wanted to get the kids back to their pack before it could catch them again. Calculating his reserves, he tried to come up with some sort of plan in case their abductors caught up to them. He had little energy left to work with and could only hope to get them home without any further trouble.
Before he knew it, they were back in town, and Simon had no idea where to take the children. He pulled into the parking lot of a small shopping center and laid his head on the steering wheel. Taking a deep breath, Simon focused on gathering his energy and putting his shields back in place. It took much longer than it should have, but after a few moments, he felt steady again and lifted his head.
The children were all watching him closely, their eyes guarded and still suspicious. He turned to the older boy and asked, “Where to?”
The boy didn’t answer for a long moment, simply staring at Simonwith an expression of curiosity that gave Simon pause. His dark hair had slipped farther down his forehead and into his eyes. Simon brushed it back. The boy grinned and shook his head, forcing the hair back down into his face. It was obviously a familiar gesture. Simon could picture his mother doing the same thing.
The moment seemed to settle whatever question the boy had. He grabbed Simon’s hand where it rested on the steering wheel and pressed it to his forehead, then to his mouth and licked it.
Simon felt a burst of magical energy that his empty stores quickly absorbed. He started to pull away, but the boy squeezed his hand, keeping it in his own. He raised his eyes to meet Simon’s and bit his lip. He looked puzzled for a moment, as if he were trying to remember something, before he spoke. “I am Garon, son of Gray. I declare you friend of the High Moon Pack.”
The other children gasped, and their eyes widened in wonder. They all reached for Simon and gently petted him. The youngest, still wrapped in Simon’s jacket, climbed over them all to press a little kiss to Simon’s cheek. As they all touched him, their magic began to mingle with his. The ache in Simon’s chest eased, and the trickle of blood from his nose slowed to a stop.
Garon smiled a little-boy smile, and a small dimple appeared in his cheek. It seemed to contrast with how calmly he’d handled the situation so far. He released Simon’s hand and turned his attention to the road in front of them. “Go toward the old mill. I’ll tell you where to turn when we get closer.”
The other children settled back into their seats, satisfied with Garon’s decision, their wariness of Simon completely gone. Simon rubbed his hand where Garon had licked him and detected a tingle of the powerful body magic inherent to all weres. He would figure it out later, but first, he had to get these children back to their pack.
2
Gray pounded his fist against the dash of the SUV, and its driver glanced over at him in concern. “Where the hell are they, Liam?” It was a pointless question, and Gray knew it.
Gray looked over at Liam, his beta and one of his best friends. As kids, they’d often been mistaken for brothers, but now Liam’s dark hair and beard contrasted sharply to the gray in his own. The stress lines around Liam’s brown eyes showed the tension they both felt.
They had driven through and around town, all of their advanced senses on alert for any sign of the cubs who had vanished from their compound two days before. The fact that Gray’s own son was among the missing only added to his anxiety, but in reality, all of the cubs were his responsibility.
They stopped in front of an off-the-beaten-track bar, its neon beer signs flashing on and off in an annoying display. “You sure you want to do this?” Liam asked.
Gray stared at the peeling paint on the exterior of Billy’s Billiards for a moment, then stepped out of the car. Liam followed, and they entered the bar side by side. The outside may have been dilapidated, but the inside hadn’t changed in years. A dark wood bar, polished to ashine, stretched the length of the far wall. The man Gray sought stood behind it.
Several humans sat at the bar, clustered around one end with beers in hand. A television mounted on the wall showed a sporting event in progress, and they all stared at the action like the world would end if they missed a play. Gray and Liam strolled to the opposite end and sat on the wooden stools.
The establishment’s owner and namesake made his way down to their end of the bar. When Billy stopped in front of them, he tilted his head slightly to the side, and his gaze flashed down for a moment. Gray acknowledged the sign of respect with a nod. “Alpha Gray,” Billy said, his voice low, “what can I get for you?”
“The usual,” Gray answered. Billy grunted in acknowledgement of the prearranged signal for information, not alcohol. He turned around to mix Gray’s drink. He pulled a glass from the rack, filled it with ice, and poured rum and soda. Someone paying close attention would notice his thumb covered the top of the rum.
When he carried the drink back, he pulled a paper coaster from a stack and placed the drink on it. He glanced down the bar, made sure the humans remained caught up in the game, and nodded at Gray.
“We’ve got a problem, Bill. Hoping you’ve heard something,” Gray said, his voice so low that only another with supernatural hearing could pick up the sound.
Billy was a lone wolf. Gray’s father, former alpha of the High Moon Pack, had given him permission years before to live in their territory without being a member of their pack. In return, Billy kept his eyes and ears open for anything unusual and shared information with them.
As Alpha of the High Moon Pack for the past four years, Gray had only come to him once for anything other than the occasional drink. “Not much going on lately, if you want the truth. It’s been quiet.”
“We’ve got five missing cubs, taken by at least two humans and something else we couldn’t quite catch the scent of.”
“Fuck,” Billy whispered. “What would be stupid enough to take werecubs?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you would have something for me to go on. There’s more. I can’t even mind-speak to them,” Gray said. “What could have taken them that could be keeping them from communicating with me?”
Gray had asked himself the same question many times over the past couple of days, and it was another that had no answer. An alpha could communicate mind to mind with members of his pack. It was a little-known fact outside of the were community. Gray had heard nothing but silence from the cubs since their initial cries for help.
The fact that something had the cubs, something strong enough to block his connection to them, infuriated Gray. Nothing should be able to come between him and his pack.
Nothing.
Billy’s eyes narrowed, and a low growl emerged from deep in his chest. “I need to call Mandy. Have her get the kids home. They’re with her folks for the weekend.”
