“What do you think?” Anthony asked, his eyes still on the door as he reviewed the conversation in his head, picking out the importantpieces.
“I think we have a possible ace in the hole. If he is what he says. An experienced seer in the Moon Pack could only raise our standing among the other packs and possibly help us avoid conflict if they think we are preordained to win,” Silvermused.
“That would be nice. I’d enjoy having some time where our only concern is whether there are enough snacks available for the post moonrun.”
Silver laughed. “The answer is alwaysno.”
“True.” Anthony grinned. “And I don’t even need a seer to tell methat.”
Chapter 6
While driving home,Peter reflected on the meeting with his alpha. Zeus becoming involved or Quain having a vision weren’t on the list of things he had expected. At least Quain working for Anthony kept him within the pack. You couldn’t turn down a job offer from a god and expect to survive the encounter. He tried not to worry about possible repercussions. Anthony and Silver would protect one of their pack, even against Zeus. If things became tough, he could depend on Anthony to stand up to hisgrandfather.
“It was nice of Anthony to remove the bracelet.” Quain rubbed at his empty wrist. The rawness had vanished with his change, but Peter noticed Quain’s habit of checking that the bracelet had indeed beenremoved.
“Even if you weren’t pack, Anthony would’ve helped. He’s a good guy.” Despite Peter’s hang-ups about Anthony’s magic, the Alpha Mate took care of the pack the best way hecould.
“Yeah, I got that impression too. They both seem really protective. It seems like a good pack.” Quain rolled his wrists as if testing his newmobility.
“It is. They are the best. I’ve heard some really bad pack stories from some of the other members. I’m glad Anthony and Silver found me.” Curiosity drove him to ask his next question. “What was it like meeting Zeus? A few of the pack have met him before, but I haven’t yet.” The idea of meeting a god still boggled his mind. Until he’d joined the Moon Pack, he hadn’t truly believed theyexisted.
“Overwhelming.” Quain ran a hand through his hair. “Even being near him in a vision was like standing next to a bolt of lightning and waiting to be struck. I get the same impression but to a lesser degree fromAnthony.”
“Huh, I guess I didn’t think of that. I didn’t know Anthony was different than other magic users until I met the wizards and they felt way underpowered to me.” Peter turned the corner, then pulled into the parking garage. He cast glances at Quain as he drove, still thinking he must be dreaming. For him to find his mate was too good to be true. His subconscious kept waiting for Quain todisappear.
“They might be less powerful than Anthony, but that doesn’t make them less dangerous. They didn’t need a lot of magic to hurt me or trap me in my human form. Most of the time they used their fists or knives.” Quain didn’t say anything else as Peter pulled into his parking space, but a quick glance at his pale face had guilt slicing throughPeter.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound as though they were too weak to do harm. I’m just curious about magic levels. I have too small of a pool forreference.”
Quain shrugged. “I get what you meant.” His soft tone only made Peter’s guiltgrow.
A soft gasp from Quain had him turning completely to face his mate. Quain’s pupils had turned white again. Only because of his wolf senses could he hear Quain’s quietbreaths.
“What’swrong?”
Quain didn’trespond.
Is he having another vision? How often do they happen?No wonder his family didn’t let Quain drive. Before, Peter had worried about Quain’s family’s apparent control issues with his mate, but now, their protective policies were beginning to make sense. Safety came before convenience. The idea of finding Quain another driver went to the top of his to-dolist.
Remembering not to wake Quain from an episode, Peter stayed quiet and shut off the engine. Every instinct screamed at him to help his mate, but he remained on his side of the truck despite his almost desperate need to intervene and stop whatever was hurting Quain. Peter clenching his fingers around the steering wheel, trying to ignore the soft whimpering from his inner wolf. He would have to interrogate Quain about proper seer care. There had to be a guidebook somewhere. Maybe his family created one to help with all the seers Anthony claimed came from Quain’s bloodline. He hated thishelplessness.
After several minutes of sitting and silently freaking Peter out, Quain snapped out of his trance with a soft gasp and a startled jerk. Only the seat belt across his chest stopped him from slamming his head into thedashboard.
“Whoa, easy.” Peter grabbed Quain’s shoulder, figuring it was safe enough rightthen.
“Sorry. Just, sorry.” Quain gasped as if he couldn’t gather enough air into his lungs. Sweat dotted hisforehead.
“Hey, you’re safe. I’ve got you.” Peter had unbuckled his seat belt a few minutes earlier when it appeared they weren’t going anywhere. Without hesitation, he snapped Quain free and pulled his mate into his arms. Quain breathed in quick, short gasps for several minutes before calmingdown.
“Better?” Peter rubbed Quain’s back and ran his hand across his mate’s head in slow, soothing strokes, rubbing harder in sensitive areas. He wanted to soothe, nottickle.
Quain leaned closer to rub his cheek against Peter’s shoulder in a not-so-subtle scent marking motion. “Yeah,thanks.”
Peter tried to pull away only to have Quain grip his shirt in a tight fist. Unable to break free without hurting his mate, Peter pulled him into a quick hug. A warm wave of affection swept away the cold, hard part of his soul that had insisted he would be aloneforever.
“Take as long as you need.” He pressed a soft kiss onto the top of Quain’s hair receiving a soft laugh inresponse.
“Just give me another minute. I’ve never had anyone hold me after a vision. It’s nice. I could get used to this.” Quain took several long breaths against Peter’s shoulder before speaking again, seeming to gain comfort from Peter’s hold on him. “I usually have a notebook I keep my visions in, but it’s still at myplace.”
