~/~/~/~/~
Waiting impatiently on the shoreline, Michael listened for the arrival of his men. He peered out over Loch Ness, hoping to see where David was but the night sky gave no help as its darkness merged with the blackness of the water. Finally, he heard the motor before seeing a small fishing boat pull up to the shore. Climbing aboard, he said, “Head straight out from here about 100 yards.” Keeping an eye on his phone map showing him where David should be, Michael’s head shot up when the app reflected he had reached the spot. Peering through the dark, he saw…nothing.
“Stop,” he growled, searching for another boat but seeing only the black of the night. “Where the fuck is he?” Turning in his seat, Michael looked behind him then down at his phone. “Do you have a spotlight on this tub?” he asked the man at the wheel.
“Ahh, yeah.” The pilot flipped a switch and suddenly a beam of light shot out across the water.
“Move it so I can see everything around us,” Michael ordered. When the light had made a complete circle and Michael hadn’t found the boat he thought David would be on, he growled in frustration. Glancing down at his app, he knew something was wrong; it showed he was right where David should be. That left him with two possibilities—either David’s tracker had fucked up or David was at the bottom of Loch Ness. Both pissed him off to no end.
“Take me back,” he growled. When the boat’s bow bumped against the shoreline, Michael jumped and, taking one last glance at his phone, headed off into the night.
~/~/~/~/~
Angus was making his rounds checking to make sure every pack member was safe when he was suddenly tossed to the ground. Rising and shifting, he snarled in warning to the person who’d dare to attack him but saw no one. Padding around, he sniffed the ground, looking for a scent so he could show his attacker the errors of his ways. Unable to locate anything, he looked up just in time to see a wave of light shoot at him. Quickly lowering himself to the ground, he watched as it passed over him, then glanced to see where it came from just in time to see another approaching him.
Realizing they were coming from the cottage Zane and David were in, his wolf cautiously crept toward it, all senses on the alert. It certainly was nothing he’d ever seen before, and he wondered if the men hunting David had somehow snuck past his guards and into the cottage.When he was finally below one of the windows, he paused, waiting for another wave to pulse. After it passed over him, he shifted and peeked in the window. Gobsmacked at what he saw, he quickly lowered himself and sat on the ground, stunned at being a witness to an extraordinary power.
~/~/~/~/~
Mystia and Maximus were waiting for Oracle when she returned to her suite. “Oh, thank goodness you are here, Mystia. I was just about to call you. What did you find out about David?” Oracle asked, sitting down next to Maximus.
“Not a thing. No birth or school record. He wasn’t a member of any of the packs in Tuscany or in Italy, for that matter. Everyone I asked never heard of him, even the head witch of Italy…and if anyone would know, she would.”
“How would she know?” Maximus asked.
“Well, normally she wouldn’t, but I called in some favors and asked her to use her Ruling Orb,” Mystia answered.
“And…” Maximus said.
“And nothing. It drew a blank. It’s as if he never existed…that is, at least in Italy. How sure are we that he was born there?” asked Mystia.
“Logan told us and he got it from David,” Maximus replied.
“Hewasborn in Italy, that much I know,” Oracle said.
“Thank you, Oracle, but that only muddies the waters more. If the Ruling Orb can’t find any proof David livedin Italy, than I have to conclude there is black magic at work here,” Mystia said.
“Black magic!” exclaimed Maximus, intrigued at this possibility. “In what way?”
“Someone has erased all evidence of David’s existence and the only way I know it can be done is with a black magic spell,” Mystia answered, then adding, “I need to inform the Witches’ Governing Council immediately.”
“Why?” asked Maximus.
“It’s the law that if a witch has proof or believes black magic has been used, she’s obligated to make a report to the Council immediately. The law was put in place a long time ago when black magic was used to create havoc among humans and the only way David’s existence can be concealed like this is by a powerful witch using it.”
Maximus, who’d been thinking about various possibilities, said, “Maybe a witch placed a spell on the Ruling Orb, blocking it from revealing details about David.”
“No, Ruling Orbs are immune to all kinds of magic, including black,” replied Mystia. “I’ll be back after I make my report.”
After Mystia left, Maximus looked at his wife. “Why did you go to see Logan tonight?”
Sighing, Oracle said, “Zane and David claimed each other and I was hoping Logan had found them.”
Maximus studied his wife’s face, seeing what others would not notice—stress, worry, and concern. Pulling her into his lap, he wrapped his arms around her, kissingher softly on the cheek. “Darling, it will be okay. We’ll find them before any harm befalls them.”
~/~/~/~/~
Zane held David in his arms; his mate had fallen asleep after their second round of fucking. Snickering softly at his mate’s eagerness to go yet another time, Zane decided David was a secret sex fiend.Who would have thought that? Not me, that’s for sure.Resting his head on his mate’s soft hair, he thought back to their claiming. Even Zane knew it wasn’t a normal claiming, at least not according to what he learned in school, but as to what it was, he was clueless. He really needed to speak with Oracle because there was more to David than just being able to pop from place to place. And then there was his own gift that David also received.What is it?
