“Don’t say a bad word, Aunt Maggie.”
She scoffed again, but Gray nodded, agreeing with her both her conclusion and the sentiment toward Thomas. Simon had a feeling Gray would discover as much as possible about what had happened. Simon would as well.
Garon looked puzzled. “But how did he getourmagic when the demon guy took it?”
“He must have stolen it from the demon too,” Maggie said.
“You know,” Simon added, “the demon did seem to have some mage magic when I first faced him. I remember wondering about it at the time, but I don’t know that I ever said anything about it to anyone.”
“Someone from the Conclave must be aware of this.” Cormac ran his hand across his hair, then turned to Simon. “You’ve never dealt with them before, have you?”
“No,” Simon answered. “But I don’t know for sure that itwasthe Conclave. Or the entire Conclave, anyway. They didn’t even give me a chance to speak.”
“That is unusual. From my experience, the mages tend to gather as much information as they can. For them to act first, disregarding the bigger picture, doesn’t fit with my knowledge of their procedures.”
“Well, I don’t think we’re going to figure it all out tonight, at any rate. We’re all okay, and that’s what’s important.” Gray hugged Simon closer and Garon squeezed him from the other side. “Tomorrow, we’ll begin unraveling all of this and try to get some answers.” He looked over at Cormac. “We can count on you for help?”
“Of course. I’ll do whatever I can. I still have a few contacts within the Conclave, although it’s been years since I’ve worked with them.”
“Anything will help at this point. We have too much to lose to not use every resource we have.”
“Agreed.”
“On that note,” Aunt Maggie said, “I think it’s time for us to call it a night. This will all still be here tomorrow.”
Everyone cleared out of Gray’s bedroom. Aunt Maggie showed Cormac to the guest room while Gray and Simon helped Garon get ready for bed. When the house was finally quiet, Gray and Simon slipped back into the master bedroom and stood looking at each other for several long minutes.
“Any regrets?” Gray asked.
“Just that you guys got hurt.”
“Nothing else?”
Simon stepped closer and wrapped his arms over Gray’s shoulders. “Nope.”
“Me either,” Gray whispered as he lowered his lips to Simon’s. They tasted each other for a moment before Gray groaned and dragged Simon closer. He drove his tongue into Simon’s mouth. Simon answered his demand and opened wider, teasing Gray’s mouth with his own.
“Dang, you’re good at that,” Simon said on a gasp as they broke apart.
“Just at that?” Gray smirked.
Simon chuckled and began stripping off his shirt. “I’m not sure I remember. Maybe you should refresh my memory.”
“I’d be happy to, mate.”
Simon paused and looked up at him. “Wow. It didn’t feel real until right now.”
Gray tossed his T-shirt aside and stepped in close. “It’s real.”
“I don’t even know what it means to be a werewolf’s mate.”
“And I don’t know what being mated to a mage is like. Don’t worry, Simon. We’re in this together. We’ll figure it out as we go.” He pulled Simon back into his arms with a smile.
Simon looked up at him and let out a small huff of air. “It’s crazy how much better I feel when I’m in your arms.” He leaned forward so his forehead rested against Gray’s cheek.
Gray nuzzled into him, and they stood there holding each other for several minutes. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just in shock, I think. My head is spinning. But I don’t really want to hash it all out right now. Let’s just make tonight about us. Besides, isn’t this our wedding night or whatever it’s called for mates?”
