“No one is like Lucas,” Sage said.
Lucas was unique.
Bennett pulled his wrist away from Lucas’ mouth when he felt him get a little bit stronger. It would buy them time at least. Bennett licked his wrist to close the wound. Lucas sighed again and moved closer to Bennett.
“We’ll land in five minutes.” Vaughan’s voice came over the loudspeaker.
No one said anything else until the plane landed. When they touched down, Jules whispered, “I don’t want to go back home.”
“You’ll stay with my mom for a while, Jules. She’ll take care of you until you get back on your feet,” Bennett said to him.
After the engines shut down, Vaughan came to the front of the plane. “He wasn’t even strapped in, Bennett. Good thing I didn’t crash. Jeez.”
Bennett would have flipped him off, but he was too concerned with getting out and to his mother. The worry ate at him until panic set in, making his chest tight. Bennett was the first out of the door when Vaughan opened it. Bennett shifted and took off immediately.
He made it to his mother’s house in minutes. He landed on the lawn and shifted back just as Ladon opened the door.
“Where’s Mom?”
“Waiting for you in the bedroom.” Ladon drew his brows together. “Is he going to be okay?”
“I hope so, little brother,” Bennett said as he brought Lucas into the house.
“Me too. I hope, when I find my mate, he loves me half as much as you love him,” Ladon said, following him.
“What’s not to love,” Bennett said.
“I know, right? He would have to be crazy not to.”
Bennett smiled at his brother’s attitude. It seemed Lucas’ intervening had restored his brother’s confidence. Or maybe it was his little brother trying to make him smile. Either way, it made Bennett feel a little better about not contributing to Ladon’s abandonment issues.
“Next week sometime, come by the house. We’ll take the boat out, just you and me,” Bennett said.
“Awesome.”
Bennett carried Lucas through the house to the only bedroom on the main floor. He knew it was where his mom would want him to bring Lucas. When he got there, she had stuff on the dresser.
“Did you give him some of your blood?” she asked, mixing something, not looking at him.
Ladon stood in the doorway, watching silently. Bennett nodded, indicating that Ladon could come into the room.
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s the first step in the spell. Now, lay him on the bed.”
Ladon took Lucas’ hand when it was within reach. Bennett sat behind Lucas, holding him on his lap, still not able to let him go.
“Spell?”
“Yes. I have to find a way to channel through him. Steal his power in a sense and use it to heal him. This spell will help me do that, along with your connection with him.” She turned then and brought the worst-smelling stuff in the known universe over to the bed.
“By the gods, Mother. That’s nasty,” Ladon said and held a hand under his nose to try to block the smell.
“Shush. I need to concentrate. I’m not as strong as Lucas. I can’t just do this on a whim,” Mom said sternly, but Bennett saw the smile playing at her lips.
“He could struggle against this. He might not understand what’s going on. And, Bennett, this will be painful for him.”
He nodded, understanding immediately that she was telling him to keep his shit together. He just hoped he could. He honestly wasn’t sure.
