“I would be honored to be your friend, Soren.”
He looks at me with what I can only describe as awe. Smiling, he shakes his head. “Well, then… I’d be honored to be your friend, too.”
I can’t fight the grin that springs across my face. Before I can say a word, Soren’s phone rings. He frowns at the screen and answers. “Hey, Fergus. Everything okay?”
I focus, homing in on the distant sound of Fergus’s voice.
“Something’s wrong…” The witch sounds weak and feeble. If this is a ploy to keep me away from Soren—
Soren’s heart skips a beat. “What is it?”
“I don’t feel well. The whole room is spinning, I—” There’s a crashing sound that makes me wince.
“Fergus?” Panic tightens Soren’s voice. “Hello? Answer me, Gramps! Oh shit. I’m calling an ambulance.” Soren taps hard on the screen and paces away from the bench.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” a faint female voice asks.
“My granddad just called and said he was feeling sick and—and then it sounded like he fell over. I think he passed out. He’s not responding!” Soren fumbles out some more information about Fergus and gives them his address before hanging up. He whirls around, eyes wide and face pale. “I’ve got to go, Lyall. Sorry!” He races past me and back into the bar.
Shit. If he’s going home, then that means I’ll need to shift into Buddy again. He’ll only be more upset if he thinks Buddy has run off on him. I run to Soren’s apartment, which is nearby. Fortunately, a group of friends is leaving the building, and they hold the door for me on my way in.
I climb the stairs two at a time until I’m outside the door. It’s locked, but all it takes is a hard twist of the knob,and I’m in. Fergus lies in the middle of the living room. The scent of magic that permeated the air around him is gone, but his heart rate is strong.
Thank the gods, he’s not dead then. I know what’s wrong. He expended too much magic trying to keep Soren hidden from me all these years, and it’s taken a toll on his body. The same happened to our village healer after the attack on our village. She was well after rest and prayers to Freya. Fergus should be the same.
Distant footsteps make me tense. Someone is coming fast. I shift to my wolf form just as Soren bursts into the apartment. He doesn’t stop to question why the door is open. “No, please, no!” The devastation in his voice tears my heart to shreds.
“Granddad. Please, don’t do this. Not yet. I need you!” Soren clasps the older man’s hand. Sobs shake his shoulders, tears bright in his eyes. “Come on, everyone else left me alone. Don’t you leave me, too!”
Oh gods. He doesn’t remember that my family abandoned him. I know this, but it still feels like an accusation. Tears had still been wet on his cheeks as he’d sat in the boat and faced the horizon. He’d cried alone in that boat as he rowed toward the portal that had taken him away from me.
I won’t let him suffer alone again.
“Soren. I’m here. It’s okay.”
He looks up, and his mouth falls open. “W-what? Lyall? When did you get here? How? And where’s Buddy?”
Shit. I’d shifted without even realizing in my haste to comfort him.
I don’t know how I’m going to talk my way out of this.
If the TTA finds out I’ve exposed Soren to the paranormal world against their orders, then we’ll be over before we’ve even had a chance to start.
Chapter 8
Soren
When we arrive atthe hospital, only a short ride away in the West Village, Lyall and I follow the paramedics as they wheel Fergus into the emergency room. My granddad doesn’t always look his age, but seeing him sprawled out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth reminds me that he won’t always be here. I just never thought that day would be today. I thought we had more time together. I—
“He’ll be all right,” Lyall says. His hand is big and warm on my shoulder.
I blow out a shuddery breath, blinking fast. “God. I hope so.”
I can’t lose him. He’s all the family I have left.
The nurses wheel Fergus down the hall, and he disappears from my sight. “Come. Let’s find somewhere to rest.” If it weren’t for Lyall’s hand on my shoulder keeping me grounded, I probably would have walked into walls as he steers me back in the direction we came from.
I’m in such a daze, I don’t realize where we are until Lyall says, “Soren. Have a seat.”
