Members of the Pack High Council arrived to take custody of the humans, who would be questioned and dealt with according to pack law. As much as Gray wanted to deal with them personally, a situation of this magnitude, one that broke all known tradition of keeping to themselves, had to be handled by someone who knew more than he did about the Others.
More questions needed to be answered, and the Council left questioning Simon to him, for the time being. They decided not to force Simon to remove his compulsions. They wanted to take the opportunity to study the spells he used to see what they could learn about his abilities.
The members of the Council weren’t the only ones who wanted to know more about Simon. The mysterious mage had lingered in Gray’s thoughts since the moment he’d driven away in his tiny green car.
Gray hadn’t taken the time to process the attraction he’d felt for Simon, that simmering heat that came out of nowhere the first time he’d laid eyes on the mage. Oddly, the cubs were all enamored with him as well and praised his bravery during their rescue.
Even Garon, who typically disliked strangers, made sure Gray knew Simon was “awesome.” His son had also let him know Simon had been hurt in the process, more than he’d let on. Garon’s description of the demon rushing Simon, Simon getting hit with a spell or something so strong that it had knocked him off his feet, and then doing whatever he’d done to get the demon to drop where it stood, had been told with such wonder that Gray began to feel a bit of awe for the mage himself.
And now he had Garon’s amazing mage as a friend of the pack, and a pack that was a bit freaked out over what said mage had done to the humans. When you added in the lust Gray felt for Simon, the intensity like nothing he’d ever felt before, the hits just kept on coming.
Nevertheless, his son and the other cubs were safely home, and Gray was determined to keep it that way. The combination of fear and fury that had kept him going for the past few days eased into a simmering rage. Unanswered questions never sat well with him, especially when it came to his pack’s safety.
After a few hours spent dealing with the repercussions, Gray stood in the doorway of his son’s bedroom and watched Garon sleeping peacefully in his own bed. Garon twisted around beneath his blanket, and his hair fell into his face again. Gray walked quietly over to the bed and brushed it back. Garon let out a soft breath and snuggled into his pillow.
Gray dropped to his knees beside the bed, exhausted from the past few days. He needed to rest but couldn’t bear to leave Garon alone just yet. He leaned his head onto the mattress and reached up to slide his hand under Garon’s. His son’s fingers closed over his, and Gray began to calm, the stress and fear fading as he drifted to sleep.
After a few hours’ rest, he woke up feeling calmer and more in control. He quietly closed the door to Garon’s room and followed his nose to the kitchen to let Aunt Maggie know he’d be leaving. As suspected, he found her standing at the stove, making their breakfast. Gray swiped a piece of bacon and avoided the spatula she swung at his hand. He completed their morning ritual by placing a quick kiss on her head.
“Morning, Alpha,” she said.
Gray’s father’s oldest sister had the same gray hair and blue eyes that all the members of their father’s line possessed. Her hair was twisted up into a knot on the back of her head. Combined with the apron she wore over her clothes, she looked a bit like a grandmother from a Norman Rockwell painting. Of course, if Gray ever mentioned that to her, she’d swing more than a spatula at him.
“Morning, Aunt. I need to head out on some pack business. You’ll be okay with Garon for a while?”
She turned from the stove and gave him the look only mothers can give. Her children might all be older than Gray and out on their ownnow, but she still had the look down perfectly. “Do I need to tell you to be careful, nephew?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good. ’Cause I can see the rage in you, boy, and don’t think I can’t. There’s a reason why we don’t mix with the mages, and happenings like this are one of them.”
“I understand. I have to get some answers, though. This pack depends on me for their safety, and I won’t let them down.”
“No, you won’t. There’s untapped strength in you that you’ll be needing soon enough. Your father trusted you to lead this pack, and he was right to turn it over when he did. Clear your mind and trust your instincts. And if you ask me one more time if I’ll be okay watching that boy of yours, I’ll show you just how well I can use this spatula as a weapon.”
She surprised a smile out of him. Gray knew he didn’t need to ask; Aunt Maggie had helped him with Garon from the beginning and had stepped up to help full time when Becky had left. As she’d told him then, she was bored and needed something to do besides sit around and knit socks. Gray didn’t know what he’d do without her.
“No need to get violent.” He grinned and backed away slowly. She huffed at him as he left to find the mage who had won his son’s trust so quickly and completely.
IT WAS easy enough to track Simon down. Liam had had the presence of mind to memorize Simon’s license plate number, and then all they needed was some quick maneuvering on the computer. Gray left the hows up to the more technically inclined members of the pack and focused on the results.
Gray would have missed the turn if his GPS hadn’t told him he’d arrived at his destination. The driveway was much like the one onto the pack lands, surrounded by trees and tucked into the landscape.
The similarities ended there, however. Simon’s home didn’t have a huge fence or a gate covering the drive. Carefully organized flowers and shrubs lined the path, and as Gray continued down the drive, headmired the time that must be spent maintaining so much landscaping.
The little cabin was also encircled with flowers, and Gray was left to wonder about this mage who appeared so different from everything he’d been taught in the past. The mages he’d heard of were dark and dangerous men, quick to kill anything that threatened them or stood in their way. They didn’t live in an idyllic country cabin surrounded by beauty. And they didn’t rescue werecubs who had been kidnapped.
Simon was clearly different, and as Gray stepped from his truck, his interest in the mage grew. This was not his enemy, but Simon wasn’t his friend.
Yet.
The thought gave him pause. Why would he even think about befriending a mage? His father wouldn’t, Gray knew that, but his father wasn’t here, and Aunt Maggie had always told him to trust his instincts. His instincts were telling him to keep Simon close, closer than he’d even considered before this very moment.
Before Gray reached the door, he heard a groan of frustration from the backyard and the quiet sounds of Simon mumbling to himself. Gray followed the sound of Simon’s voice, not quite able to pick up the words even with his enhanced hearing.
Rounding the back of the house, Gray found Simon sitting cross-legged on the grass. The sun turned the bare skin of his chest a golden brown and highlighted his chestnut-brown hair with a multitude of colors, from blond to the darkest of reds.
Simon looked a bit older in the morning light, closer to his midtwenties than Gray had first thought. He was slim, probably a little too thin for his size. Aunt Maggie would want to feed him a pound of bacon a day to put some meat on his bones.
