When they got closer, Gray and Liam both realized where they were headed. “Fuck,” Gray yelled. “What the hell is up with this place?”
Cade explained quickly to Cormac where they were as they all leapt out of the vehicle. Cade immediately shifted, as did Liam, and the two wolves raised their noses into the night air.
Gray allowed his wolf some control, partially shifting. He was stronger this way, and he was prepared to do whatever he had to do. Cade began to creep around the side of the house, his sense of smell directing him.
They found Simon pinned to the ground, face-up, his arms stretched out and attached to stakes. One arm was bent at a weird angle, and Gray snarled again. Cormac rushed to Simon and yelled for Gray. He didn’t need to—Gray was right behind him.
Blood pooled under Simon’s wrists where deep slashes cut into his veins. Cormac ripped the stakes away and threw them aside, freeing Simon’s arms while Gray pulled off his shirt and tore it into pieces. They wrapped Simon’s wrists, trying to staunch the flow of blood.
Simon cracked open his eyes, and he whimpered in pain as they pressed on his wounded arm. “It’s okay, baby. We’ve got you.”
“Gray”—Cormac pulled Gray’s attention away from Simon’s face—“he’s lost too much blood.”
Gray listened to Simon’s heartbeat, heard it slowing with each beat. “Simon, agree to be my mate. I can save you, sweetheart, but I need a better connection with you.”
“No, Gray. He’s too far gone. I’ll have to turn him.” Cormac rested his palm against Simon’s face. “I won’t lose you.”
Simon’s gaze drifted to Cormac, then to Gray. He smiled weakly and raised his hand to Gray. “Mate,” he whispered, his eyes drifting closed.
Gray spared a quick glance to Cormac, who reluctantly nodded his agreement. The vampire didn’t think it would work, but Gray knew his wolf, and it would fight to keep its mate.
His teeth elongated, partially forming a snout. Turning Simon’s head to the side, he bit into the tender skin between Simon’s neck and shoulder, his mind forming the words that would bind them together.
Liam and Cade both growled behind him, snarling and snapping. Cormac turned, but Gray kept his focus on Simon and saving him. He heard a struggle behind him, heard a whimper of pain from one of his wolves. Finally the mating bond slipped into place, and he pushed every bit of healing magic he could muster into Simon.
As he did, he could feel his pack’s energy entwine with his, all of their focus on Simon and healing. He hadn’t called out to them, but they joined in anyway. Simon’s heartbeat sped up again, enough to assure Gray that he was out of danger.
Gray released his hold on Simon’s neck and turned quickly to assess the situation. Cade was down and Liam struggled against some sort of spell that held him in place. Cormac fought with Thomas, who screamed as he threw spell after spell at the vampire.
Cormac went down, and Gray stood up and stepped between the mage and his mate. Thomas raised his arms, ready to throw a spell at Gray. Gray realized he could feel pack magic in the mage. Familiar magic. Magic taken from his son. Gray’s wolf took over, and he shifted as he leapt through the air and tackled Thomas. A spell hit him that knocked him to the side. Before Thomas could turn back to Simon, Gray was up again. This time, he used the stolen pack magic against the mage.
He called to it as an alpha to his pack, ordered it to stop. Thomas stopped and shook his head. A red burst shot toward Simon, and Gray jumped in its way, letting it strike him instead. He howled in pain, but before he could do anything else, he heard a scream.
Cormac grabbed Thomas from behind and jerked his head to the side with so much force his neck snapped. It didn’t kill him, but it rendered his body useless. Cormac’s fangs, on the other hand, finished the job in moments. He sunk his teeth into Thomas’s neck and began to drink.
Gray watched, waiting to see if Thomas broke free, even though he knew it was unlikely. Thomas’s mouth opened and closed in horror, and after a few more moments, it was done.
Cormac dropped Thomas’s body and spat, and blood flew through the air and landed over the grass. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion of magic in the air, knocking both Gray and Cormac off their feet.
The air was filled with light. Blue and green streams flew through the air and straight to Simon. They hit him full force before Gray could even move. Simon arched up, his spine leaving the ground beneath him, and his mouth fell open in a silent scream.
SIMON’S senses slowly began to return to him, but he couldn’t focus on any one thing. He felt the ground under his back and wondered for a moment where he was. He knew he was lying on grass, simply because he could feel it tickling his neck. As he began to regain control, his memories started to come back to him.Gray!
He tried to force his eyes open, but they refused to cooperate. They felt weighted down and sluggish to respond. Simon could hear the sounds of a fight going on around him. Muffled thuds and grunts of pain filled the air, but they seemed to be coming from a distance. But not. Now they sounded too close. He was so confused.
Finally, his eyelids began to function, and Simon was able to open his eyes a little. When he finally got them to blink a bit, he caught aglimpse of Gray standing over him. He looked ready to attack. There really was a fight going on. Simon could hear it more clearly now. Someone was saying spells. He tried to cry out, to warn them the mages were bad. He still couldn’t speak.
His body began to register pain, his arms first, and Simon remembered the agony of feeling his arm break beneath him. His wrists were on fire, the skin stinging and burning. His neck was next. It ached, so Simon turned his head a little, thinking maybe he was lying on it funny. Something stretched and Simon could feel a warm, wet trickle start rolling down before it dripped onto the ground. Oh God, Gray had bitten him. Mated him. He’d agreed to it, and now they were mates. He remembered.
He forced his eyes to open fully just as Gray let out a roar and leapt away, shifting to his wolf in midair, his clothes dropping to the ground. Simon tried to call out to him, to make him come back. He couldn’t speak, though. A soft whimper of frustration escaped. Why wasn’t his body cooperating with him? Why was he so weak?
Simon struggled to turn his head a little so he could see where Gray had gone, just as Cormac landed on the ground several feet away from him. He wanted to go to him, to help, but Cormac was already stirring and began an unsteady climb to his feet. A howl startled Simon, and he turned his head in time to see Gray go down. Then a scream, oh God, it was so horrible. Simon followed the sound and saw Cormac with his face buried in Thomas’s neck. Thomas was hanging limply in his arms, his blood spraying out around Cormac’s mouth. It landed against the vampire’s bright white shirt in a horrifying burst of color.
Simon wanted to tell him to stop, and opened his mouth to try, when lights began flashing around them. They came straight for him, blue and green swirling together in this dark mist of color. He heard Gray cry out as they hit Simon and enveloped him.
Pain. It was all Simon could recognize. So much pain. He screamed but didn’t hear the sound. And then there was nothing.
GRAY shifted back to his human form, his body sluggishly responding to his commands. He ended up mostly crawling. Simon was totally wrapped in the weird light, his body actually beginning to hover off the ground. Gray didn’t know what to do, and he just wanted to do whatever it took to get to Simon. Arms came around him, and he turned with a snarl to see Cormac holding him back.
