“Yes, but—”
“But nothing, Apprentice. Did you, or did you not, freely accept the magic of Others into you?”
Simon grimaced. Technically, he had allowed the pack to give him some of their body magic. “Well—”
“Enough. Simon Osbourne, you are guilty of betrayal of the Order of Mages, taking magic of Others into yourself for evil uses. You have risked us all with your foolish endeavor.”
“No, that’s not what happened. Please, hear me out.”
They ignored his pleas. “As such, you are branded Sorcerer, user of black magic, and must be stripped of your power.”
Simon started shaking and tried to beg them again to listen. “You don’t understand. I’m not a Sorcerer. I have used no black magic. I just saved some cubs who were being attacked.”
“Lies,” Master Thomas said. “I found him with the wolves, and he is bound in some way to their alpha.”
Simon turned to glare at Thomas. “You leave them out of this. You know nothing about what went on. You wouldn’t even listen to me, wouldn’t help me.”
Thomas ignored him and looked beseechingly toward the Conclave members. “I feel as if I have failed in my duties. If youpermit, I would see to the punishment myself. It is the least I can do to atone for my mistakes with my apprentice.”
They nodded in unison. “You may perform the ritual. It is wise that you accept some responsibility for this and know that you will be sanctioned by the Conclave once this is resolved. However, we recognize that darkness cannot always be detected or avoided. You have handled yourself as well as can be expected for someone of your limited experience.”
Thomas bowed before them, and the Conclave members trailed away, leaving the two of them alone. Watching from the window, Thomas made sure they were gone before turning back to Simon. “Well, that went better than I expected.”
“What? Thomas, why didn’t you help me?”
He laughed and grabbed Simon by the chin, forcing his head back. “Because I was helping myself.” He shoved Simon, who toppled over backward onto his bound arms.
Crying out in pain, Simon struggled to roll onto his side.
“I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?” Simon’s mind finally caught up with everything going on, and his eyes widened in horror. “Wait—you were helping yourself? It was you?”
Thomas smirked as Simon attempted to process the new information. Before he could wrap his brain around all the implications, Thomas raised his hands, and Simon saw a burst of red energy coming his way. He tried to roll over to avoid it, but Thomas was too close, and the spell hit him, his entire body going into spasms as it took hold. He screamed, feeling his arms and legs go numb.
“Your naivety is your greatest weakness.”
Simon had no idea what that meant, but he realized he also had an equally great strength within him. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the link he shared with Gray. The metal around his wrists might be binding his mage abilities, but he still had an alpha wolf and an entire pack at his back. He sent a call for help, forcing as much power as he could into the plea. He could only hope Gray could still hear him.
Thomas pulled Simon to his knees, then lifted him in a fireman’s carry. Unable to move, there was nothing Simon could do to stop him.After carrying Simon outside, Thomas dropped him onto the ground. His arm snapped, unable to take the weight of his entire body landing on it.
Simon screamed again, and Master Thomas kicked him in the side. His body flopped over, his broken arm trapped beneath him. The pain was too much to bear, and Simon blacked out.
22
Gray looked around at the concerned faces of his friends and trusted advisors. They all felt very uneasy about the situation, but none of them knew what to do. Gray wanted to go after the Conclave and knew the pack would support him. Cormac said his instincts were telling him the same thing, although he didn’t believe the Conclave would harm Simon.
Instincts won, and they prepared to go get Simon and bring him home. Most of the pack wanted to go with them, prepared to fight for one of their own. Gray listened to Cormac’s advice and agreed to only take a small group. Liam and Cade would accompany Gray and Cormac on their rescue.
Gray left the elders in charge, instructing Aunt Maggie to contact his father and explain the situation. If things didn’t go well, he’d need his father to resume his leadership of the pack. He hugged his son and promised to bring Simon home.
Rocky stopped him on the way out. “Alpha, I’d like to come as well. I think having someone from another pack along might help if things don’t go well.”
Gray agreed. If things did get ugly with the mages, having anotherwolf not in their pack along could help in any explanations they had to make to the Pack Council. “Come on. Let’s go.”
They were on the way when Gray heard Simon scream out to him. He howled, and Liam slowed the car. “No,” Gray commanded. “Drive. He’s hurt.” Liam floored the gas, and they sped through the night, Gray tracing Simon through their link.
Cormac snarled in the backseat. Gray looked over his shoulder and saw that his face was twisted in anger, his fangs fully protruding from his mouth. “Damn it. I should have known better. I should have warned him, protected him.”
Gray ignored him, keeping his mind on Simon. He tried to communicate with him but heard nothing in return. The silence terrified him, but he knew Simon was still alive. At the very least, he had that to hold on to.
